A homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois, on Sunday January 6, 2013
OLD KINGS VS. THE NEW KING
(Homily text: Matthew 2: 1 – 12)
A group of
passengers disembark from an airliner at Heathrow
Airport outside of London , England England
As the group leaves, the agent picks up the phone and calls
Perhaps the
news of the visit of the mysterious wise men from the east, who came, asking,
“Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” spread just about as fast as
our mythical scenario of the passengers who were passing through Heathrow.
After all,
King Herod the Great jealously guarded his puppet throne, even to the extent of
killing his own immediate family members if he thought they posed any sort of a
threat at all to his power and position.[1]
As a result
of his willingness to eliminate any and all potential challengers to his
throne, Herod the Great reigned for a long time, 33 years in total, from 37 – 4
BC. Even today, Herod’s architectural
legacy can be seen all over the Holy Land…Herod was determined to make a name
for himself, leaving behind all sorts of major building projects…the Temple
Mount in Jerusalem is, of course, the largest and most visible, but Herod’s
list of building projects also includes the mountain fortress of Masada and one
of his retreat homes, the Herodian, which is located southwest of Bethlehem.
The Jews
themselves seem to have had a love-hate relationship with Herod. He was, after all, only half-Jewish. To devout Jews of his day, this was a mark
against him. Furthermore, he was a
puppet king, for he collaborated with the Roman occupiers, another strike
against him….he owed his throne to the permissive policies of the Romans. But, on the positive side, he was building
that great and glorious Temple in Jerusalem
Having
traced some of Herod’s background and the manner in which he operated, we ought
to return now to the text before us.
Matthew
tells us that, having heard the news about the inquiry of the Wise Men, Herod
himself gathers the religious authorities to ask where such a new king might be
born. They cite a passage from Micah 5:
2, telling him that the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem
Then,
feigning interest in this newborn king, he tells the Wise Men to go, find this
new king, and then return and tell him, so that he can worship as well.
The account
of what happens next is familiar to you:
The Wise Men leave, and being guided by the star that had led them to
the Holy Land in the first place, they make their way to Bethlehem, where they
find the child Jesus. Upon finding Him,
they worship and offer gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Then, the
events which follow today’s gospel passage are also familiar: Matthew tells us that the Wise Men have been
warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, so they leave, going home by
another way. Discovering that he has
been tricked by the Wise Men, Herod decides to eliminate this potential rival
to his throne by ordering the slaughter of all the baby boys in Bethlehem Bethlehem Egypt
Sometimes,
I think that people in the Bible tend to lose their humanity…they become
somewhat two-dimensional as we read about them and about God’s working in their
lives. But the people in the Bible were
real human beings, who had similar hopes, dreams, concerns and challenges to
ours.
In order to
bring a fresh perspective into the accounts before us today, let’s return to
our opening scenario, that of the passengers who come through Heathrow Airport ,
asking the customs agent where the new king of England
As we think
about these incoming passengers and their question to the customs agent, out
first assessment of their question is to think that it is an extremely naïve
question. After all, nearly everyone in England
No one
would/could imagine that there would be another pretender to the throne. Our Heathrow passengers would cause quite a
stir if they asked where the new king of England
The same
might be true of the Wise Men as they asked where the newborn king of the Jews
could be found. Their question seems to
fall into two possible categories:
HEROD, a king who:
- They are extremely naïve, or are unaware of the line of succession which follows Herod the Great;
- They are sounding a warning to King Herod (and to his way of being a king).
Consider
the role of the star which guided the Wise Men from their homes in the east
(perhaps they had come from Persia
It is God
who delivers His Son from the rage of Herod.
It is God who tells Joseph to flee from Herod’s wrath by going into
exile in Egypt
God is
guiding the Wise Men, first to ask about the whereabouts of the newborn king, then
into Herod’s presence, then into Jesus’ presence, and from there, home by
another way.
The chief
priests and the scribes affirm the reality of this new king: He is to be born in Bethlehem ,
and He will be a ruler who shall govern my people Israel
Herod took the
message seriously enough to act…Although he couldn’t see it at the time, the
reality is that this new king would surpass and then abolish his sort of
kingship.
We can see
the coming of this new kingdom and its new king as we contrast Herod’s ways
with Jesus’ ways:HEROD, a king who:
- Rules by force
- Uses fear and intimidation to rule
- Is power-hungry
- Rules by the rule of love
- Uses love and issues an open invitation to become a citizen of His kingdom
- Lays aside his power (seen most clearly in the cross)
In time,
all kings, all rulers, all authorities will become subject to this new king,
Jesus. In time, everyone will
acknowledge Him as King of kings and Lord of lords. In time, His kingdom will be complete and
everyone will see this new king for the kind, gentle and loving savior and lord
that He is.
In the
meantime, we can be sure that this newborn king is bringing in His new kingdom.
We see some evidence of its inbreaking already, even as we wait for it to come
in all its fullness.
Our task is
to model what it means to be a citizen of this new way of being. We do this by the way we talk, the way we
act, and especially by the way we love the Lord, and by the way we love one
another and by the way we love those around us.
Step by step then, the king brings in His new kingdom, one person, one
soul, one heart at a time.
AMEN.
