Jeremiah 31:7–14; Psalm
84:1–8; Ephesians
1:3–6, 15–19a; Matthew
2:13–15, 19–23
A homily by Fr. Gene
Tucker, would have been given at Trinity Church,
Mt. Vernon, Illinois on Sunday, January 5, 2014.
“ANOTHER DIFFICULT SPOT”
(Homily text: Matthew 2:13–15, 19–23)
During
Advent and the Christmas season which have just gone before us, we heard a
passage from Matthew’s gospel account in which Joseph considered quietly
divorcing Mary when he discovered that she was pregnant during the time they
were engaged. At that time, the title of
the homily which was based on that passage was entitled “Between a Rock and a
Hard Place”. We noted, at that time,
that Joseph was faced with having to honor both the provisions of the Law of
Moses, and his love for Mary.
Now, in
today’s passage, we find ourselves on the other side of the events of
Christmas: Jesus has now been born, and
the wise men have found their way to Bethlehem, where they come and honor Jesus
as the “king of the Jews”, the way they described the new-born child to King
Herod.
But Herod
tells the wise men – you will recall – that when they have found the child, he
would like for them to return and tell him where he is, so that he can come and
worship this new king for himself.
Of course,
we know the story: Herod has no
intention whatsoever of worshipping anyone who would dare to challenge his
rule. Herod’s intention is to do away
with this child and the challenge he represents.
Which
brings us to today’s account.
The wise
men, who have been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, return to their
homes by another way, Matthew tells us.
Herod is
furious, and determines to destroy the child by destroying all the male
children who are two years of age and under in Bethlehem.
This event is known as the Slaughter of the Holy Innocents.[1]
But Joseph
now finds himself in another difficult spot, and in much the same way that he
was challenged before by having to choose between two difficult realities when
Mary’s pregnancy became known, so now he has to choose again: Whether to stay in Bethlehem and take the
chance that Herod’s armed men will find Jesus, or to care for the young child
by fleeing before they arrive.
Joseph
doesn’t have to make the choice, for God intervenes in the form of a dream,
telling Joseph just exactly what to do:
Joseph is faithful to God’s instructions (as he has been in every
instance in caring for Jesus), and he rushes Mary and Jesus away in the dark of
night to flee out of Herod’s grasp in Egypt.
Joseph’s
dilemma is framed by his fear of the evil King Herod, and his love for the
new-born king, Jesus.
Joseph’s
fear of Herod is justified. The first
century historian, Josephus, tells us much about Herod the Great, who reigned
over the Jewish people from the time when he was appointed to be a puppet
monarch by the Roman Senate in the year 40 BC, until his death in 4 BC.[2]
Notice that
I characterized Herod as being a “puppet king”.
In reality, the Romans were in charge, but they found it useful to
appoint a local person to carry a royal title.
But the deal came with strings attached:
The Romans would leave immediate control of the population to this phony
monarch, but would hold him accountable for any trouble that arose while he was
in his position.
The result
was that these puppet kings often dealt harshly with their people. Herod operated in just such a way. Moreover, Herod jealously guarded his
position and its prerogatives by eliminating any and all challenges to his rule
by cruel methods. History tells us that
he did so even with his own immediate family, if he suspected that they were
either undermining his authority, or were intent on claiming authority in his
stead.
We often
forget that the ancient world was a harsh place to live….many people were
abjectly poor, many became victims of violence, many were slaves. Regard for human life, even the life of
children, was in very short supply.
And so, in
faithful response to God’s direction, and in view of the knowledge of the way
Herod operated, Joseph takes Mary and the child Jesus away to Egypt. But when Joseph is told in another dream to
return to Israel, because
Herod has died, he is warned again that he should not return to the land of Judea, because Herod’s son, Archelaus,
is reigning in his father’s place.[3]
So the Holy
Family makes its way to Nazareth, in the Galilee region, where Jesus grows up.
I submit to
you that we, today, find ourselves in somewhat similar positions to the one
that Joseph was in those many years ago, for we are called to love the new-born
king, and to protect and care for the Good News that His arrival brings,
guarding this precious gift that has come from God, so that the fullness of
that Good News may be known to everyone.
Some Christians
around the world face the prospect of cruelty as a result of their love for
this new-born child, we would do well to remember. Recent calls have arisen to call attention to
the growing threat of persecution against Christians in many area of the world.
The choices
faced by these believers in foreign lands are just as harsh, in some ways, as
those that Joseph faced.
But though
we live in a wonderful country where convictions of faith are honored and
respected, we would do well to remember that a society that isn’t hostile to
the Good News, but is more likely to be merely indifferent, still will benefit
from our guardianship of that wonderful gift of love that Jesus makes known to
us.
May we, in
our time, place and circumstance, be willing to preserve and guard the Good
News of God in Jesus Christ, that the world may come to share in that great and
good gift which has come from God alone confident that the Lord will lead us by
His Holy Spirit in the ways that we should go.
AMEN.
[1] This event is remembered each year on
December 28th.
[2] Since Herod died in March/April of the year
4 BC, and since he had ordered the slaughter of the innocent children of Bethlehem who were two
years old and younger, some scholars have concluded that Jesus may have been
born as early as the year 7 BC.
[3] Archelaus studied his father’s methods
closely, and operated in the same cruel manner his father did. He reigned from the time of his father’s
death until the year 6 AD, when the Romans removed him from power. He was replaced by a series of Roman
governors, the most well-known of whom was Pontius Pilate, who governed from
the year 26 AD until 36 AD.
