In Matthew, chapter 1, we have the story of Jesus’ birth. The main characters in chapter one are Mary, Joseph, an angel, and then—in the very last verse—Jesus is born.
Then chapter two introduces some new characters to the story. And the first is King Herod… Chapter two begins: “In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea…”
King Herod was a ruler who was described as cruel and stern and brutish … a man with a tremendous ego, who built the temple in Jerusalem not to honor God, but to demonstrate his own importance.
Historical records indicate that Herod called himself a Jew, but that he didn’t really follow Jewish practices.
Herod portrayed himself a Jew as a way to fortify his power among the Jewish people.
He wanted people to think he was faithful, that he worshiped the same God they did, because then it would be easier for him to control and manipulate them.
He would use Jewish scriptures to claim authority for himself; but, he neglected the teachings of the law and prophets, and even did the exact opposite.
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He flaunted his wealth and ignored the poor. He built elaborate palaces of white marble and gold, with enormous banquet halls for entertaining and impressing, all while the people struggled just to survive.
All this masked his deep insecurity and fear of losing power. He was quick to strike back at those who challenged him, and even executed several members of his own family, including his wife, when he felt threatened by them.
Nevertheless, among the elite classes, men jockeyed to be near Herod, to ingratiate themselves to him, in the hopes that they could share in at least a little bit of the power and glory he had.
Even in the temple, the high priests—those at the top of the hierarchy of religious leaders—neglected scripture’s call to pursue justice and care for the poor, and instead focused their attention and their praise upon Herod.
It was corruption at the highest levels of government and religion.
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So it was no surprise when Herod began a search for Jesus, the one who many said was a new king of the Jews. Herod felt threatened by this talk of a new king. Scripture even says that Herod was “frightened.”
So Herod began a search for this new king, this child born to Mary and Joseph. He was obsessed with ending this child’s life before he had a chance to grow up and challenge him and his power.
First, Herod called some of those chief priests to him, to consult with them.
He wanted to find Jesus and kill Jesus… and he wanted their help.
And those chief priests, along with their scribes, did help Herod, because they didn’t want to risk upsetting him. They ignored their own teachings, to help this corrupt, evil man.
Yet Herod still couldn’t find Jesus. He couldn’t find him, because he was tricked by those magi who we’ll hear about next week. Those magi are the faithful heroes of this story, even though they were foreigners from another land, and worshipers of a different religion. They are the ones who stood for justice, the ones who did what they could to protect the innocent baby Jesus.
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So Herod expanded his wrath. He ordered that every baby boy in and around Bethlehem be killed.
It was a terrible order. It was evil.
Yet, because he was Herod, he could get away with it. He could get away with committing evil atrocities, because he had all the power.
We may not like that Herod is a part of the Christmas story. We may want to turn our attention away from the massacre of all those innocent baby boys. We may want to deny that those top-level religious leaders were ever complicit with Herod and the evil he committed.
But the Bible does not hide these things from view. Not even in the story of Jesus’ birth.
The hope, peace, joy, and love of Christmas take place in the midst of a world of oppression and corruption and violence, a world where human rights are trampled upon, a world where the poor are denied justice and mercy.
That is a part of the Christmas story. And we need to hear that part of the Christmas story, and we need to tell that part of the Christmas story… because we also live in a world of oppression and corruption and violence, a world where human rights are trampled upon, and where the poor are denied justice and mercy.
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As we heard in today’s scripture reading, an angel appeared to Joseph, instructing him to flee, along with Mary and Jesus, to save Jesus’ life by taking him beyond the reach of Herod.
So Joseph and Mary and Jesus became refugees, fleeing the danger of their homeland.
Like many refugees and immigrants, they took only what they could carry.
Scripture doesn’t say what life was like for them in Egypt. Could they speak the language? Was Joseph able to find employment? Was Mary included in the conversations women had at the marketplace, or at the well where they fetched water for drinking and cleaning? Was she offered advice and support to help her with the challenges of childrearing?
What was the attitude of the Egyptian people and the Egyptian authorities towards immigrants and refugees? Did they even practice the same level of hospitality that Jews were instructed to practice in regards to immigrants and refugees?
I imagine that Egyptian religion did also teach the importance of showing hospitality, as most religions did then and still do today… but as we know, what the religions teach, and how the people act, aren’t always the same.
Nevertheless, it was a safer place for Joseph, Mary, and Jesus than their homeland, and that is what matters most of all.
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There are so many ways to connect this 2,000 year old Bible story to experiences and situations today.
The one that most clearly comes to mind is the treatment of immigrants and refugees. The Bible repeatedly calls upon us to show hospitality, to welcome them, to treat them as if they were citizens.
In the Bible, we see good examples of that, like the way Boaz showed kindness to Ruth; but we also see bad, even horrific examples of those who treated foreigners poorly… as in the city of Sodom.
And we would do well to remember that even Jesus and his family were, for a while, refugees.
It’s a shame that the issue of immigration, like so many other issues, has become a weapon in the hands of political parties. As a result, our policies are neither fair in how they are written, nor fair in how they are implemented.
What we lack is compassion, and love for one’s neighbor. Just like in ancient times, it’s about power and control.
Meanwhile, the Josephs, Marys, and Jesuses of our time face incredible hardships and challenges as they seek a safe and secure place to live.
Even after Jesus’s family returned and settled in Nazareth, they faced many of the same struggles that immigrants today face. Jesus and his family were Jews, but they were also Galileans. Galilean Jews were not fully accepted by the Jews living in Jerusalem. They were considered lesser Jews, or not REAL Jews. There was a little too much Roman or Greek influence on the way they practiced their Jewish faith.
But they also weren’t fully Roman, or Greek; and because they were Jews, they weren’t fully accepted into Roman or Greek culture.
Neither here nor there did they find a welcome.
Which is the experience of many today.
California, where I’m from, used to be part of Mexico, along with a number of other southwest states. Some Mexican-American families there go back many generations. They are not immigrants, yet they are often treated as if they were. I’ve heard some of them defend their right to live here by saying that they never crossed the border to come into the United States; the border crossed them.
Yet because of their culture and ethnicity, they aren’t always fully accepted into American society; sometimes they are even told to “go back home…” even though there is no “home” for them to go back to. Their home has always been here.
And just like Jesus the Galilean Jew, they aren’t fully accepted anywhere. Neither here, nor there. Even though they aren’t, technically, immigrants at all.
Many who are immigrants, in California, or here in Illinois, and elsewhere, have recently come to the U.S. But the Bible does not allow us to use that as an excuse to withhold hospitality. Jesus himself said that “whoever welcomes the stranger, the foreigner, welcomes me; and whoever does not welcome the stranger, the foreigner, does not welcome me.”
At the very least, immigrants should be granted safety, compassion, and immigration policies that are fair and fairly enforced; and all who follow Jesus are called to practice these things. For the good news of Christ, and the good news of Christmas, is especially meant to be good news for them and for people like them: all those who are vulnerable, or poor, or oppressed, and in need of mercy.
There is no doubt that God’s attention, God’s mercy and compassion, are especially focused on those who are the most vulnerable in society. Vulnerable, just like Jesus was when his family took him into hiding in Egypt, to escape Herod’s wrath.
The love we practice must do the same. We must act mercifully and compassionately to all those who are vulnerable in our world today; all those who are frightened; all those who are fleeing their homeland seeking safety, security, or wholeness.
Because in our world today, Herod is alive and well. Oppression and corruption are alive and well. Hatred of one’s neighbor is alive and well.
Yet the gospel has the power to overcome all that, with the limitless love of God, the love that God offers to all through Jesus.
He is the Prince of Peace, the King born in a manger, whose reign of love has long outlasted the reign of Herod, and which will outlast the reign of every evil, oppressive ruler, for his reign is forever.
And the whole world will be redeemed and restored to wholeness, filled with the hope, peace, joy, and love of Christ.
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