Making a List. Checking it Twice: Bring Peace

We often romanticize the Christmas story into a picture-perfect scene, but the reality behind Mary and Joseph's experience was filled with real family drama, disappointment, and fear. Matthew glosses over the chaos in just three sentences, but beneath that narrative lies betrayal, shame, broken futures, and family conflict. This mirrors how we approach our own holidays—glossing over financial struggles, family arguments, loneliness, and grief just to maintain the illusion of a perfect Christmas. Yet God didn't send Jesus into a perfect world; He sent real peace into our real mess. Through Jesus, God made peace visible and tangible—healing the sick, welcoming outcasts, feeding the poor, and ultimately taking our brokenness to the cross. The angel's message to Joseph wasn't just information; it was God's word of promise and plan that brought peace amid chaos. That same word comes to us today, speaking peace into our confusion and reminding us we're part of God's plan. We're called not just to receive this peace but to be messengers of it—making God's peace real and visible by forgiving, comforting the lonely, giving generously, and sitting with those who mourn. Christmas isn't about perfection; it's about Jesus being peace on earth in the midst of our beautiful, messy reality.