When All Creation Sings

This powerful reflection takes us from the joy of Christmas to a sobering reality: the massacre of innocent children in Bethlehem. Drawing from Matthew 2:13-23 and the cosmic praise of Psalm 148, we're confronted with a fundamental tension at the heart of Christian faith. While all creation is called to praise God, we see empire responding to God's arrival with violence. Herod's slaughter of children reveals how power operates through control and domination, while God enters the world as a vulnerable refugee baby. This isn't just ancient history; it's a pattern woven throughout Scripture and our own lives. We're attracted to empire's promises of security, certainty, and control, yet we're called to follow a God whose power looks like love and whose strength looks like weakness. The challenge isn't whether to participate in civic life, but recognizing that our ultimate allegiance can never be to human systems of power. We join creation's cosmic chorus of praise through acts of spiritual resistance: choosing mercy over power, welcoming the vulnerable, refusing to let fear dictate our ethics, and declaring that Jesus, not Caesar, is Lord. Even when we struggle and fail, the invitation remains to trust that love proves stronger than violence.