Sermon for the Feast of Holy Innocents,
On the First Sunday After Christmas
To A World Such as This
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord
Jesus Christ! AMEN. In today's Gospel from St. Matthew chapter 2, Herod gave
orders to kill "all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region
who were two years old and under, according to the time he had ascertained
from the wise men."
Dear Christian friends,
Luther speculated that Noah's Flood might have taken place in
springtime, "at the time when the year is most beautiful and the world
becomes green again" (AE 2, 92). Luther did not have a Bible passage to
support this idea. He just thought it was a good theory. He found it
appealing to think that the Flood came in springtime because the people
refused to believe God's warnings and His calls to repentance. It does not
seem like bad things should happen at such a nice time as spring. In
springtime, the terror of God's judgment would have been much greater,
"since [the] death and destruction of all things closed in [at a time] when
the beginning of joy and of new life for all things was being expected"
(Ibid.).
It is my opinion, therefore, that the Flood set in at springtime, when the
hearts of all men were full of the expectation of a new year. when they have
said: "Peace and security," then they perish (Ibid., 93).
"When the hearts of men were full of expectation": that sounds a
lot like Christmas. This is a season to which we each bring certain
expectations. We all have a mental picture of the way Christmas should be,
and that is a not a bad thing. However, lots of times things do not turn out
as well for us as we might have hoped. Our disappointments amount to more
than the snow that melts a few days before Christmas; more than the gifts we
requested from Santa but did not receive. Our holiday disappointments
include shoppers who hospitalize each other in their quest for the perfect
gift and they include killers who dress up in Santa suits and burn people to
death. Christmas disappointments come in the form of loved ones who succumb
to their diseases and die on Christmas Eve (as did a woman whom my mother
knows back in New York) and the disappointments come in the form of
Christmas Day hospital visits that frightened parents make for their ailing
children.
Just as does not seem that bad things should happen at such a nice
time as spring, it also does not seem like any of this should happen during
"The Most Wonderful Time of the Year." But maybe that is just the
advertising talking. Maybe this time of year is the very best time for
heartache and tragedy, if there is ever a good time for such things.
Luther believed the Flood took place in springtime because that is when
everyone in the world expected the opposite.
· For unbelievers, the surge of the Flood at such a happy time
increased their fear at the wrath of God. "Surely the terror was all the
greater, since [the] death and destruction of all things closed in [at a
time] when the beginning of joy and of new life for all things was being
expected" (Ibid., 92).
· By comparison, what effect did the Flood have on Noah and his
family, who trusted in God and believed His promises? The roar and foam of
the Flood caused Noah and his family to look more intently at the Ark God
had provided for their salvation. The rising waters focused Noah's attention
more clearly on the promise of life God had attached to this vessel. Stated
another way, the water, the tragedy, and the suffering all chased Noah and
his family to Jesus.
Maybe Luther is right about the terror of the Flood falling upon the earth
at the greenest time and freshest time of the year. Even if he isn't, his
little theory is helpful for us to comprehend our Christmas disappointments.
You and I have fairly clear mental pictures about the way things are
supposed to be at Christmas, and our mental pictures do not include
tragedies. Bad things are not supposed to happen at this time of year, but
again, maybe that makes this time the best time for bad things to happen.
Lights burn the most brightly during the darkest hours of the night. Hulking
wooden arks seem more appealing to you when your feet are getting wet. A
Child in a manger looks all the more important when the other children in
that town and region are dead in their mother's arms.
Today's Gospel makes it clear that the wise men visited Jesus a couple of
years after His birth, nowhere near that time when Mary "wrapped Him in
swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger" (Luke 2:7). However, there is a
good reason why St. Matthew reports the slaughter of the Holy Innocents so
soon after He tells you that Mary "had given birth to a son" (Matthew 1:25).
There is also a reason why the Church has, for century upon century,
celebrated the Feast of the Holy Innocents just three short days after she
celebrated the birth of her Lord. The death of these children must be
closely associated with the life and birth of this one Child. Just as the
Flood seemed out of place in springtime; just as hardship and tragedy seem
out of place in our Christmas celebrations; this slaughter in today's Gospel
shakes up the snow globe of what we want to think about our Lord's birth on
a Silent Night with glory streaming from heaven afar.
Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became
furious and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all
that region who were two years old and under, according to the time he had
ascertained from the wise men.
The dead children of Bethlehem do us great service:
· By shattering our Currier and Ives images of Christmas, these children
force upon us a graphic picture of the world into which our dear Lord Jesus
was born-the very same world for which He shed His atoning blood and the
world in which you live.
· The Holy Innocents require us to look all the more intently at Jesus,
just as the rising Flood waters turned Noah's eyes more attentively and more
keenly upon the promised Ark.
· These dead sons in Rachel's arms forbid us to misunderstand the angel's
proclamation of "peace on earth" (Luke 2:14). This peace is not the
cessation of war; it is not the camaraderie of man; it is not health and
wealth and happiness. The peace proclaimed by the angels is the forgiveness
of sins that the Christ Child gives to you, even in the midst of heartache
and grief. Through this peace, Jesus promises that you will survive a world
such as this, in the same way that Noah and his family survived the Flood by
God's promised Ark. "In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved" (1
Peter 3:20, NIV). In Christ, ALL of you are saved, and countless other
fellow believers with you.
Herod. sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that
region who were two years old and under, according to the time he had
ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the
prophet Jeremiah: "A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they
are no more.
Every year we hear of misfortune and tragedy at Christmas. Maybe
next year it will be your turn or mine. Do not allow yourself to think that
house fires or ambulance rides or the death of a loved one will ruin
Christmas, simply because these things seem so out of place, like deadly
floods in the springtime season of new life. The Holy Innocents teach us
that it is not really "a turkey and some mistletoe [that] help to make the
season bright." The Holy Innocents make this season bright because they show
us the darkness. Our tragedies and misfortunes make this season bright
because they trace the shadows. God your heavenly Father graciously and
lovingly uses these things for us and for our salvation, so that our true
Light which is Christ may appear more brightly in our eyes.
St. Matthew wants you to keep the Holy Innocents close to the
Christ Child. St. John stated the same case, but in a different way:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and
without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the
life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness has not overcome it.
Merry Christmas, Christians! The peace of God which passes all understanding
guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.
___________________________________________________________________________
'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise
noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such
gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_
_attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author, as well as
for quoting or use in a congregational setting
_with_or_without_attribution_.
Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list.
Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster.
Subscribe? Send ANY note to: sermons...@cat41.org
Unsubscribe? Send ANY note to: sermons-...@cat41.org
Archive? <http://www.mail-archive.com/sermons@cat41.org/>
For more information on this or other lists offered by Confess And Teach
For Unity, you can contact the CAT 41 list administrator at:
Rev. Fr. Eric J. Stefanski <m...@cat41.org>
