Sermon - Christmas II 2020 - Matthew 2:13-23

Merry Christmas!

Today is the last day of Christmas and tomorrow is the feast of the Epiphany. On Epiphany we celebrate the arrival of the Magi from the East to worship the small child who is Christ the King. That arrival of the Magi is the context for our scripture lesson today. 

After Jesus was born, the Magi entered into Jerusalem and asked King Herod “saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” The Magi apparently knew the scriptures well enough to know that a Jewish child would be born of the kingly lineage of David and that a star would guide them to Him, but they obviously didn’t know the passage from Micah which says: “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

But little did they know that when they stopped in Jerusalem to ask Herod where the child was to be born, he was unaware of the whole thing himself! “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” Herod was a very power hungry and paranoid man. He wanted power over Jerusalem, so in order to make himself more likeable to the Jews he married one. But over time he became worried that his wife and other members of his family would take the throne from him, so what did he do? He had them executed just in case. 

This paranoid Herod did the same thing when he heard that Jesus had been born. He tried to trick the Magi into revealing exactly where this Jesus was, by saying to them: “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” But the Lord prevented this from happening, for the time had not yet come when Jesus would be put to death, and so the Magi were warned in a dream not to return to Herod but to go home by another route.

Likewise Joseph was commanded to take his new little family out of Bethlehem, all of a sudden, since the angel said to him: “flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” So what great irony that the same country which the Israelites once dwelt in for rescue and later fled from, the holy family now flees back to in order to fulfill the prophecy: “Out of Egypt I called my Son.”

But when Herod, in his seething paranoid rage, realized that the Magi weren’t coming back, he decided to take the shotgun approach. He “became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.” 

Why would a madman do this? What kind of soldiers would obey this order? How could God let this tragedy occur? It’s senseless violence and bloodshed of the grossest kind! It reminds us of all the tragedies today and leaves us asking why? What does it mean? All of the violence, bloodshed, and death in this world means nothing, except in Christ whose shed blood gives everything its meaning.

The ancient Latin poet Aurelius Prudentius wrote a long Christmas hymn in which he penned a few stanzas about this sad and gory scene. Permit me now the chance to read these sorry lines:

Distraught, the tyrant base doth hear

That now the King of Kings draws near

To reign in David's seat of state

And Israel's empire dominate.

"Betrayed are we," he maddened cries,

"Our throne's usurper doth arise:

Go, soldiers, go with sword in hand

And slay all babes within my land.

"Spare no male child: each nurse's robe

Your scrutinizing steel must probe:

Spare not the suckling infant, though

O'er mother's breast its life-blood flow.

"On Bethlehem our suspicion falls,

On every hearth within its walls:

Lest mothers with love's tender zeal

Some manly scion may conceal."

With daggers drawn the infuriate crew

Upon their murderous errand flew:

Each latest offspring of the womb

To bloody death they foully doom

Ye flowers of martyrdom, all hail!

Of rising morn pure blossoms frail!

By Jesu's foe were ye downcast,

Like budding roses by the blast.

Lambs of the flock too early slain,

Ye first fruits of Christ's bitter pain!

Close to His very altar, gay

With palms and crowns, ye now do play.

Of what avail is deed so vile?

Doth Herod gain by murderous guile?

Of all to death so foully done

Escapes triumphant Christ alone.

Amidst that tide of infant gore

Alone He wins the sheltering shore:

The virgin's Child survives the stroke,

When every mother's heart was broke.

What is the sense and meaning of all of the bloodshed in this world? What is gained by all the lives lost in wars? What does it mean when murderous men kill others in cold blood? What did Herod ever gain in murdering so many children? What do mothers and fathers really win when they abort their babies? Why must fathers and mothers mourn a child who never even made it past birth or to adulthood? Why all the sickness and death, the sobbing and heartbreak? Why is there: “A voice heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.” Why all of the bloodshed, violence, and death?

As a pastor it kills me to say it, but I don’t know. All of the death in this life is senseless and without meaning. I know we yearn for some greater purpose for all of the sacrifices and deaths we’ve experienced, but the reality is they’re all senseless and mindless. They might have some reason behind them, like Herod not wanting to lose his kingdom, but ultimately no death is worth something as vain as earthly riches. 

If you’re looking for an earthly meaning behind it all, I’m afraid you won’t ever find it. All death and sickness, all bloodshed and violence, it’s the fruit of Satan’s works, it’s the fruit of our sinful flesh! Like Satan, our bloodthirsty cries for violence and death mean nothing.

But there is one life and one death which does have meaning and purpose, and gives all of our deaths their meaning and purpose as well. The holy innocents, the boys of Bethelehm, they died that day that Christ might escape and return to die for them. Jesus exchanged His life for theirs. Though they seemed to die, they actually lived! Herod didn’t strip them of their joys, but he delivered them to heaven, peace, and joy! Herod took them away from a life of dying and delivered them to a life of praise! The infant martyrs praise God not by speaking and singing, but by dying. They’re lives were emptied of all earthly vanities and filled with Christ! 

Every death in this life is like a flower torn out too early in spring before it blooms. But in Christ, every flower is replanted in the garden of heaven in which we might bloom eternally! Every flower that decorates a grave, a casket, and a garden is for us Christians a beautiful symbol of the resurrection, reminding us that though we’ve faded on earth, we shall bloom in the resurrection! You who mourn with the mothers of Bethlehem, your tears and wailing will be turned to joy and singing, for your sweet flower torn from you too soon shall blossom and grow, dancing at the foot of the altar in heaven. 

The life Christ lived He lived for us. The death He died He died for us. And the resurrection to which He rose, He rose for us. When we’re broken in this life, Christ rebuilds us and fills us. He puts us to death so that He might raise us again to life! He makes us like martyred children, weak and helpless, because then we find only in Him that we are strong forever.

Neither the boys, nor their mothers, in Bethlehem were forgotten or abandoned by God. Neither are we. Just as those mothers would one day find comfort in the wounds of Jesus who died for them, so are those mothers and boys reunited in heaven. They’ll never be separated again. They suffered for 50-60 years on earth, but now they’ve already enjoyed 2000 years of perfect joy in heaven, and there’s an eternity where that comes from!

So for you too. The tears of this present age, the senseless violence which fills our lives, will one day be complete. Remember what St. Paul writes: “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” All of your sorrow and sadness in this present age finds its meaning in Christ, who suffered the pains of us all, in order to cleanse us in His blood from our blood.

At the end of Christmas, this is our Epiphany! Not just that some random guys from the East gave Jesus presents, but that Jesus is revealed as the One who comforts and consoles the brokenhearted. Jesus is revealed as the One who overcomes death and the grave by His death and resurrection. Jesus is revealed as the One who gives meaning to our vain lives. Our lives and deaths matter, because Jesus’ life and death matter.

Merry Christmas!