Unsentimental Christmas – Matthew 2:1-18
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah[c] was to be born.5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was.10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
The Escape to Egypt
13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”14 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”
The Massacre of the Infants
16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”
What the passage says
V. 1-8 Wise men ask where the Messiah was born and arrive to pay him homage.
V. 9-12 When they saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with joy. Then through their dream, they were warned to leave in another route, instead of reporting back to Herod.
V. 13-15 Joseph is warned to escape from the town, and Joseph’s family flees to Egypt.
V. 16-18 A massacre of infants, two-year and younger, around Bethlehem starts.
What does the passage say to me/us?
The upper room author, for today’s devotion, says, “If I could omit a story from the Bible, this passage will be it.”
Who would like to talk about a massacre happening to hundreds of babies on Christmas? No one wants their Christmas to be ruined like that.
When I was sitting at St. Lucia concert, yesterday at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church. I was troubled by the conflicting story of St. Lucia and the beautiful concert.
(The music and the sanctuary were truly beautiful. Special thanks to our Choir and Handbell, led by our awesome Music Director Debra. Thanks to many other musicians who presented music, which was a true pleasure to my ear. Thank you!)
However, the story of St. Lucia is about a young woman who was martyred because of her faith. She visited the Christians, who were under persecution in Sweden. She wanted to bring as much food as possible, so she uses a candle-lit wreath on her head. She brought the light to the people who were in fear and oppression. That was exactly like our Lord, who came to this dark world for people who were under the darkness. Like our Lord, who needed to flee from Herod, and eventually died on the cross, St. Lucia died because of carrying out the light of Jesus in this world.
The reason why I was troubled, was because the reason for our gathering was to follow her sacred obedience, to our Lord. However, it felt like the beauty of the music could cloud us to see the true meaning of the night. That does lead me to keep on reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas.
Not only that we should pray for peace upon people, who are going through the darkness in the world(my heart and prayers are going out to the people in Aleppo, Syria), but also, we, as followers, should find a way to bring the light to people around us. Lord, lead us to see where we need to bring that light.
Prayer
Lord, help us to see the true meaning of Christmas. Help us to know what it means to be the light into this dark world. Shine the light of yours, through us today.
In Christ name, AMEN.
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