Ukrainian Catholic ChurchAustralia, New Zealand and Oceania
Homily by Fr. Taras Gorpynyak on the Sunday after Christmas
December 27, 2025
The Lord often speaks “quietly”: through our conscience, through Sacred Scripture, and through the people whom He sends into our lives. But this “silence” of God is not weakness. It is a way of God’s action that teaches us to trust rather than forcing us by power.
Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
Today, on the Sunday after the Nativity of Christ, the Church turns our attention to the events that took place after the birth of the Savior of the world. In these events we no longer hear the singing of angels, but we hear weeping; no longer the worship of the shepherds, but the hostility and fear of Herod; no longer the silence of the Bethlehem night, but the flight into Egypt.
The Evangelist Matthew tells us about the anger and fury of King Herod, about the slaughter of the infants, and about how an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and commanded him: “Rise, take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt” (Mt. 2:13).
Why does the Church give us precisely this Gospel passage? Because Christmas is not only the joy of God’s coming to earth, but also the truth that evil does not disappear quickly. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, comes into a world that resists God. Yet despite this, God’s plan of salvation remains firm and unchanging.
God acts quietly:
Let us pay attention to how God leads the Holy Family and cares for them. Not thunder from heaven, not angelic armies—simply a dream, a quiet voice of an angel speaking to Saint Joseph.
So it is with us as well—the Lord often speaks “quietly”: through our conscience, through Sacred Scripture, through the people whom He sends into our lives. But this “silence” of God is not weakness. It is a way of God’s action that teaches us to trust rather than forcing us by power. We do not always understand God’s decisions, but we can be certain: where God’s will is, there is also God’s protection.
Christ comes into the world to overcome evil, not to avoid it
Herod is only a symbol of that evil which raises its head before God. But Christ is the light that the darkness cannot overcome. Even in the darkest episodes of the Christmas story, we see that God does not abandon the world. He acts, He saves, He leads history toward salvation. Therefore, Christmas is not only a feast of tenderness, but also a feast of hope amid everyday realities—a feast of the victory of God, who has entered into our history.
What does this mean for us today?
- If your path is difficult right now—remember: the Holy Family also had its flight, its night, its fear. But God was near.
- If the world seems dark—remember that Christ entered precisely such a world.
- If your heart is weary—Christmas reminds us: God became close, God became one of us.
May this Sunday after the Nativity of Christ remind us that God does not come only into our celebrations—He comes into our hardships as well. Not only into the manger, but also into exile. He comes not only into joy, but also into struggle. Christ was born to be with us—forever.
Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
