Matthew 2:13-23
Herod…who is a ruler on a throne of power…
- And Joseph…who is a peasant in an unconventional marriage.
- One man is powerful…
- And one man is not.
- And yet the text only describes one of these men as being afraid.
- And it was not the peasant.
Matthew’s Gospel tells us that King Herod made the Magi tell him where this baby was…because he was frightened.
- Yes…Frightened of a baby.
- Threatened by a horoscope and a newborn.
And this fear that Herod’s position in life is so tenuous…
- That it must be fortified by sacrificing whoever it takes…
- Is not a theoretical one by the way…
- This Herod guy literally killed two of his own sons because he felt threatened by them.
- Yes…his own sons.
Fear that what he had could be taken away.
- Or fear of not getting what he wanted…
- Turned him into a monster.
- So much so that when he cannot quite locate the right baby…
- The one that is so threatening to him…
- He just sends for all the children two and under in and around Bethlehem to be killed.
- Let us take that in…for a moment.
This is what fear does.
- Fear disguises itself in so many ways:
- As greed…hate…isolation…addiction…
- The list is endless.
- But in the end fear is at the root of all of it.
- And while we might not be murderous tyrants…
- None of us are free from the effects of fear in our lives.
- It keeps us isolated and small and it steals away joy and possibility.
But in Joseph we see a different kind of man than Herod.
- Joseph was not afraid.
- An angel came from God and spoke love…was love…embodied love…
- Sought to protect love…like a divine can of compressed air…
- And this cast out Joseph’s fear so that he could function the way he was supposed to.
- And here’s one clue…one way we can know that Joseph was not afraid…
- He did not bat an eye when the angel said that his baby and wife were not safe…
- So…he should take his family to Egypt.
- Yes…Egypt.
The place his ancestors were enslaved.
- The place that God rescued his people from slavery.
- With fear cast out…Joseph was able to believe it possible that God’s redemptive work can happen anywhere…even Egypt.
- With fear cast out…Joseph no longer saw everything through the lens of what it was in the past.
- With fear cast out…he was able to beat a king…
- Protect his wife and child…
- And preserve that which is good in the face of tyranny.
Herod’s fear caused death.
- And Joseph’s fearlessness protected life.
- Of course…the irony is that Herod feared this baby for all the wrong reasons.
- The Christ child did not knock Herod off his pathetic little throne.
- History took care of that.
No…Jesus of Nazareth did not overthrow Rome…
- He laughed at Rome.
- He saw Rome for what it was:
- Fleeting. Harsh and demanding and tyrannical…yes…but temporary.
And this child…protected by the songs of angels…
- And the heart of his mother and the fearlessness of his father…
- Came to free the people.
- Free us from the shackles of sin and fear.
- Gospel people are free people and free people are dangerous people.
- Free people are not ruled by fear.
- Free people see Rome for what it is.
And you know what?
- There are angels hovering round us too…good people of God.
- There are messengers of love all around.
- And again…and forever…they say:
- Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid.
- For in the heart of God there is enough love to cast out fear.
- Herods…of the world…take note.
A postscript:Top of FormBottom of FormTop of FormBottom of Form
- Wise women also came.
- Long before they saw
the flaming star in the sky. - They walked in shadows trusting the path would open under the light of the moon.
Wise women also came…seeking no directions…no permission from any king.
- They came by their own desire…their own longing.
- They came in quiet…spreading no rumors…sparking no fears to lead
to innocents’ slaughter.
Wise women also came and they brought gifts:
- Water for labor’s washing.
- Fire for warm illumination.
- A blanket for swaddling.
Wise women also came.
- At least three of them.
- Holding Mary in the labor.
- Crying out with her in the birth pangs.
- Breathing ancient blessings
into her ear.
Wise women also came.
- And they went…
- As wise women always do…
- Home a different way.