Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus—Emmanuel, God with us. Yet the incarnation is not only something we remember; it is a truth that confronts us. God came near in Jesus to heal, to reconcile, and to call humanity back to God’s ways. On this holy day, joy and hope must also make room for honesty and repentance.

I pray daily to live into the heart of the faith expressed in Micah 6:8: to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. Jesus makes that calling unmistakably clear in Matthew 25:31–46, where he identifies himself with the hungry, the stranger, the sick, and the imprisoned. Mark 12:29–31 centers everything on love—love of God and love of neighbor. And Paul, in Galatians 5:22–23, reminds us that the Spirit’s presence is seen not in power or dominance, but in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Measured by these Scriptures, we cannot pretend that all is well.

America’s history carries deep wounds that still ache today. The Trail of Tears, chattel slavery, segregation, and the ongoing suffering of refugees and immigrants are not footnotes of the past; they are living realities whose consequences persist. These are not merely political issues—they are spiritual ones. They reveal how often fear has replaced love, power has replaced humility, and silence has replaced compassion.

This is why 2 Chronicles 7:14 speaks so powerfully to our moment:

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.”

Notice where healing begins—not with blaming others, but with God’s people. Confession is not about self-condemnation; it is about truth-telling. To confess is to stop justifying harm, to stop spiritualizing injustice, and to acknowledge where we, individually and collectively, have failed to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Confession requires humility—admitting that we have benefited from unjust systems, remained silent when voices needed defending, and chosen comfort over costly love. It calls us to pray not for God to bless our nation as it is, but to transform it into what it should be. It invites us to seek God’s face, not God’s endorsement.

Christmas tells us that God entered the world vulnerable and poor, born among the marginalized, later fleeing violence as a refugee. If we claim to follow Christ, then confession must lead us to repentance—real turning. Turning toward justice. Turning toward welcome. Turning toward mercy. Turning toward the fruit of the Spirit that reshapes both hearts and societies.

On this Christmas Day, confession is a holy gift. It clears the way for healing. It opens space for God to do a new thing among us. The Christ who is born today still calls us to be his body in the world—humble, honest, and brave enough to repent, so that love may finally have the last word.

Prayer

God of mercy and truth,
We confess that we have not loved as you have loved us.
We have turned away from suffering, remained silent in the face of injustice,
and chosen fear instead of compassion.
Humble our hearts.
Open our eyes.
Turn us from our sinful ways,
that you may heal our land and renew your people.
As we celebrate the birth of Jesus,
give us the courage to follow him—
doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with you.
Amen.