Another year comes to an end this week and we are a changed people. As the world began the third millennium twelve months ago, we had no idea what the New Year would bring. We joked remembering Stanley Kubrick's 1968 movie, 2001 Space Odyssey, but the year became 2001 World Odyssey for we have been taken on a trip that we never imagined. Many of us thought we were watching a sick film clip as we learned the news on that unforgettable morning in September. It is hard to remember what was foremost in our minds before but the remainder of the year has been filled with events we will never forget. Not only were thousands of innocents slaughtered on that day but our own innocence was lost, our sense of being safe in the United States, our belief as residents of this nation that we are somehow protected both physically and philosophically from the terrorism that we know occurs in other parts of the world. Wives and husbands, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters died on that day. Their buildings were chosen because they represented power, financial and political. People have died since then as part of the War on Terrorism in military service in Afghanistan and in the U.S. postal service where an angry dog was once the only fear. The residual effects have influenced how we live our lives: monitoring our mail boxes, seeing guards above and below the Golden Gate Bridge, waiting in line at airports, reaching out to Muslim sisters and brothers as they experience distrust and suspicion from those who would stereotype, and enduring the accelerated economic downturn following that day of terror. We are not the same people we were on September 10^th. We cannot go back. Our reality has changed. Our trust level has changed. Our lives have changed.

Two thousand and one years ago on the day, determined much later, to be the beginning of the first millennium, a baby was born and he was laid in a feeding trough in a spare room in Bethlehem. A new baby was not an unusual occurrence. Most people were unaware of the birth except maybe Joseph's relatives, the grandparents and aunts and uncles who had also gathered there for the census described in Luke's gospel. It was quiet, people going about their business working, shopping, cooking, and visiting, not unlike early September 2001, in any of our own neighborhoods. Slowly the word spread about the baby and, following a star, magi came from the east asking of the whereabouts of the infant king of the Jews. As the current ruler of Judea, King Herod's jealousy was sparked by their search. He was perturbed by their questions and hoped to use the magi as informers so he could do what he felt needed to be done to defend his leadership. In a dream the magi were warned about Herod so, after they presented their gifts, they took a different route home angering the king further. Tricked, he unleashed a vicious attack on the families of Bethlehem and the surrounding district ordering the murder of all male babies age two and younger. We can imagine the sorrow that the slaughter of those innocent children brought to the mothers and fathers, the families of Bethlehem. As Matthew recorded the story, he quoted from the prophet Jeremiah to help us understand what a terrible, painful time that was. "A voice was heard, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more." The victims of September 11, are no more. As the world was shocked and stunned on that morning, the people in Bethlehem of Judea were also shocked and stunned. Life in that little town would never, ever be the same as children grew and families were constantly reminded of the two year gap in the ages of their boys, of their young men. What crime did they commit? Only that they looked like, might have been, that baby Jesus, the one who the magi said was to become the king of the Jews. Afraid of the power of a baby, Herod destroyed them all and the hopes and dreams of the families and community along with them.

Another Joseph, more than a millennium before, interpreted the pharaoh's dreams and offered refuge in Egypt to his brothers escaping certain death from famine in their land. To save the life of the Bethlehem baby, his Joseph took seriously the words of the angel in his dream. He was present with Jesus and Mary, lifting and carrying the baby away from Herod to find refuge with his family in Egypt. There they stayed safe from the infant slaughter until, while again sleeping, Joseph learned that Herod died. A man of dreams and a man of action, Joseph realized that he could not return to his family's home in Bethlehem. Not only was the son of Herod, Archelaus, ruling there but Jesus would be the only boy his age amidst mourning families. His life would continue to be at grave risk when the new king learned of his existence there. Instead Joseph lifted and carried the baby. With Mary, they went to Galilee. There he made their home in a town called Nazareth.

Don't we wish we could go home to the way things were before September 11? Life certainly wasn't always perfect but it was a time when we felt more secure in our nation than we do today. Like the "Where's Waldo?" story, even if Bush is able to "Get bin Laden" as he frequently assures us, will we feel at peace? I don't think so. I would love to go back to our own quiet pre-9/11 Bethlehem. Unfortunately, too much has been uncovered that, as a nation, we should have been aware earlier. As we welcome people into this country, we haven't been thorough with background checks or diligent about using the information we have. Life is different now and we cannot be as casual, as free, or as private with our own lives. At Herod's threat, angels and dreams guided Joseph and his family from Bethlehem to Egypt, back to Israel, then on to Nazareth in Galilee. It is not safe for us to return to the Bethlehem of babies and angels and lambs and sheep. There are still Herods in the world and we must move on to Nazareth. It was there that Jesus grew to an adult caring for people, teaching, preaching, healing, and fighting oppression. It was there that he said, "Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of justice: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs." (Matthew 5:10) It was there that he said, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth: it is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34)

In addition to the cause of terrorism that is the worldwide Herod today, there are also Herods in our individual lives that seek to kill the good that grows within us, that seek to stifle the wholeness that God wants for us. For some that Herod is alcohol or other addictive behavior that pulls us away from family, loved ones and responsibilities. It is so hard to let go. Its presence kills those around us, the innocents, even when they are not the ones who consume. For others, it is a craving for possessions or titles that symbolize our success and tell us that we are important, are accepted, that we have arrived. Unfortunately, the feeling is fleeting lasting only a short while before we need, again, to be reassured of our own worth. Others of God's children are stepped upon and trampled as we leap over them to get what we feel we deserve, what we feel we need. The death of the innocents happens again and again as we justify our behavior to ourselves, to our family and co-workers. Another Herod is fear. At times it controls our lives making us feel vulnerable and full of worry keeping us from living with spontaneity and love. When the Herods control us, we live in exile separated from God, from each other and from all humankind. We die to ourselves and to God but that is not what Christmas is all about. Marcus Borg has said, "Christmas is about the end of exile and coming home — not to the home of our childhood, which is forever gone, but coming to be at home with God."

In the midst of the Bethlehem crisis, Joseph made his love known to his family by his presence. He lifted and carried Jesus away from Herod. We saw photos and heard stories of office workers and firefighters who were present, who lifted and carried people away from the terrible destruction at the World Trade Center Towers. The prophet Isaiah describes God as one who is full of mercy and love, who doesn't stop distress from happening but is our savior in all our distress, who is present with us, who doesn't wait for us but comes to our own Ground Zero, who lifts up and carries us. Can we trust God with our life as Todd Beamer did when he prayed with the passengers on United Flight 93 and then called out, "Let's Roll!"

Now Let's Roll into the Year 2002, the second year of this millennium. As we have been doing this Fall, may we continue to examine and rearrange the priorities in our own lives as we battle the Herods that have controlled us in the past. Let us move on to a new Nazareth where we can grow to live our lives working for justice for all humanity. And, knowing it won't be easy, may we welcome God's presence in all our struggles relaxing into God's loving arms as we are lifted and carried into this New Year.