On this second Sunday after Christmas, we step back from the story of Christmas itself to reflect upon the choices God made to create, to redeem and to brin everything to himself. They are the choices that show God’s majesty, mystery and mercy.
Sometimes we take for granted such great themes such as creation, redemption, and sanctification without appreciating the extraordinary power they have to enable us to appreciate our worth and place in God’s plan.
The readings call us to look at the mystery of God, the mystery of his providence, and His mercy in giving us an eternal future with Him.
His majesty is displaced in the generosity of His choice to create a world and to create each one of us. We did not have to be; yet God chose to call us into being.
The mystery of His plan is shown in the time and place where we live, just as God chose Bethlehem as the place for His son to be born. So God chose the circumstances of our life as the place where we would dwell and grow in grace.
Finally, His mercy is shown in the future that he has prepared for each one of us. Whatever the success or failure of our projects here on earth, fidelity to Christ will bring us a splendid inheritance that will never end.
The majesty, mystery, and mercy that we see in the nativity scene are reflected in the majesty, mystery and mercy God is showing in each of our lives. No one is unimportant. We are all products of God’s majesty, surrounded by His mystery and being made Holy by His Mercy.