In the midst of the Christmas season, and on this Feast of the Holy Innocents, I implore you not to turn Christmas into little more than seasonal escapism. Yes, it’s been a tough year and we could all use a respite from reality.

Who wouldn’t want to escape from thinking about this pandemic and its rising death tolls, the vitriol of our divided nation, the economic suffering of so many, and the racism that tears down entire communities?

But when we escape into the saccharine sweet Christmas Industrial Complex, we ignore why Jesus entered the world in the first place. Christmas isn’t about escapism or a diversion from reality, because Jesus entered right into the brokenness of the human condition.

Jesus is birthed into the midst of our lives — not just the brave and happy public faces we show the world on social media or in Christmas cards — but all of it. The struggles, the triumphs, the pain, the joy.

That’s the point of these 12 Days of Christmas. And I pray you’ll enter into them with renewed commitment to lifting up the poor and downtrodden, the suffering and the hopeless.

That we will all embody the words of Mary in the Magnificat by exalting the humble and meek and filling the hungry with good things. If we are truly to embrace this season, Christmas can never be about escapism.