The sentimental Christmas carol “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” may be the theme song for December 24 and 25. But by the 26th, many of us have changed our tune. It’s now “On The Road Again.”

Whether traveling back from a family Christmas gathering, setting off on a snowy or sunny Christmas week vacation, or just returning to the routine of work and daily travel, journeying is a big part of season we call Christmastide, those Twelve Days of Christmas extending from Christmas Eve to Epiphany Eve.

In this week’s gospel text from Matthew, Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus are once again on the move. Having traveled to Bethlehem for Jesus’ birth, Joseph now receives an angelic directive to hit the road again. A Roman decree, the census ordered by Quirinius, the Governor of Syria, had sent the fami…