Lessons for the Second Sunday of Christmas and Epiphany Eve: Jeremiah 31:7-14; Psalm 84 or 84:1-8; Ephesians 1:3-6,15-19a; Matthew 2:13-15,19-23 or Luke 2:41-52 or Matthew 2:1-12 (as you will read, I chose to read all of Matthew 2.)
Today is the Second Sunday after Christmas, and it is also
the eve of the Epiphany, so there are three choices for the Gospel
reading. The first was to read from the
second chapter of Matthew, but only verses 13-15 and 19-23. The second was found in Luke, the story that
tells how Jesus went to Jerusalem as a 12-year-old and stayed behind, worrying
his parents. The third choice is the
Gospel for Epiphany, which includes most of the rest of the second chapter of
Matthew.
I
decided that we needed to hear all of Matthew’s chapter two, because in one
chapter, we hear the story of the early years of Jesus. It includes, of course, the visit and the
gifts from what we call the Magi. But it
also tells the story of Joseph and Mary fleeing with Jesus to protect him, the
story of the Holy Family becoming refugees in Egypt, and their return to Nazareth. These last parts are what we sometimes skip
over.
In their
search for the child, they met Herod. Herod
claimed he, too, wanted to visit the child King to worship him. We also know they did not return to Herod
because they were warned in a dream that they should not reveal the location of
the boy to him.
And the
story of these first few years of Jesus’ life, maybe because of the hymn we
just sang, seems to end there. But it
doesn’t. What happens next is
important.
But
first, we need to know a little bit about King Herod. He did some very good things for his country,
things like building the infrastructure of roads, ports and aqueducts. Jerusalem had a strong economy. He was working to keep his country safe and
strong as the Roman Empire was emerging.
Because of all these good things, he had many followers and supporters.
Yet he
did something horrific. And he did it
because he, and “and all Jerusalem with him,” in other words, those who trusted
and believed in Herod as their (small ‘s’) savior, were afraid.
According to Matthew’s account, Herod, in his
fear, insecurity, and desperation commanded that all children two years old or
younger be killed. It’s known as the Slaughter
of the Innocents. It is much like the
story of Pharaoh killing the children of Israel just prior to the Exodus when
he feared Moses.
Because
of his fear, insecurity, self-preservation and tyrannical nature, Herod demanded
his followers to swoop in and murder children because one of them just might
become the king who will dethrone him.
Thankfully,
Joseph was visited by an angel in his dreams and was told to pack up Mary and
Jesus and get out of Bethlehem and go to Egypt immediately. They fled for their lives, entering an unknown
land as refugees.
After Herod
died, an angel came to Joseph in another dream, telling him that it was safe to
return to Israel, so the family packed up again, and returned, not to Judea,
which he learned was unsafe, but to Nazareth in Galilee.
It is
a harrowing story. No wonder we don’t
like to read it or talk about it. We don’t
want to think that the early years of Jesus life would be so dangerous. It’s far more comforting to think of this
Holy Child as the Savior of the world, not someone who had to become a refugee
to keep him safe!
But
telling the story is important. Jesus was
born in a frightening time of history, when dangerous king Herod was in control. Jesus was sent by God into a broken, hurting
world, to help turn the world around, to help Jews and non-Jews alike trust God
over human royalty and government officials.
Jesus
was born then, and Jesus is born in each of us every day. We are given the choice to make him King in
our lives—to follow his teaching, to pray to him, to experience his healing in
our lives.
It is
a choice we are given, to follow his commandments to Love God and to Love One Another. To live in the Light of Hope, to live as
Jesus did: honoring God by standing up for the marginalized; by protecting the
weak, the sick, the dying; by helping others find wholeness and health; by praying
for one another; by supporting one another.
Jesus
came as a fragile baby, dependent on his parents to keep him safe when the
powers within the government wanted him dead.
And Angels came to tell the story to shepherds. They came in dreams to mystics. They came in dreams to Joseph. They came to Mary. All these lives, directly touched by angels,
were sent to protect this babe so that he would become Savior to us all.
It’s
all about God. God’s love for this world
is so strong that God gave his only son to the world so that the world would
know God more deeply. So that we would
trust God more fully. So that we would
love God with our whole being.
Jesus
came into the world to save us from people like King Herod or Pharaoh, who are
more interested in their own power than in the Love of God.
That
is the Savior the world was waiting for.
Someone who would bring us to the light of hope. Hope that we will find peace and comfort in
our Creator. Someone who would teach us
to trust. Trust that God will be with us
through all our lives, strengthening us and supporting us, cheering us and
loving us.
Let us
pray. Jesus, you were given gold to
recognize you as king, frankincense, to acknowledge you as priest, and myrrh to
predict your suffering and death. In these
three gifts, we see the light of your life, for you are our King, our Priest,
and in your death, and rising again, our Savior. Help us to be your people, living lives that
follow your example: loving God and loving one another. In your holy name we pray. Amen.