First Sunday of Christmas - Massacre of the Innocents!

This time of year when we have just had Christmas and we are now looking forward to the new year seems to be in a bit of a no mans land.  We are still waiting to celebrate the new year and we are not sure if Christmas is over or not. Except in the church’s year we are still very much within the Christmas season and waiting in anticipation for Epiphany which we will celebrate next Sunday.

I have to say I find this time of year a time of reflection. As we wait for the new year and we have celebrated the feast that is Christmas with family and friends I often think back on what has happened in the past and look forward in anticipation to what may come in the next year.  Christmas messages can be a bit like that can’t they.  And I have to say the Christmas letter often expresses these sorts of thoughts.

The Christmas letter – in our house we have a competition as to who is going to have sent the funniest letter.  They seem to be in two halves these letters – either we have every single detail of a person’s year and of their family, OR they seem to show the very best of their year – the amazing results of their children, the fabulous holidays they have been on- and there are occasions when I wonder what the reality really is.  I do occasionally send one from our family and one year I was banned from doing so by my family. I wrote the letter after what had been quite a difficult year in different ways- I didn’t think it was too bad but I was told by the girls and Andrew that it was far too depressing and so it wasn’t sent that year.

I start with this because today in the lectionary we are confronted with a reality within a very beautiful story. We have been singing and celebrating the birth of Jesus possibly sentimentalising the story. Although we see him born in the stable with muck and hay I am sure in equal measures the shepherds with their lambs and the angels make the story rather more palatable don’t’ they. And then in our lectionary reading from Matthew’s gospel we are confronted in the middle of this story by something really really shocking.  The reaction of a despot who to protect his own power and authority orders the slaying of innocent children- babies in Bethelehem.

How do we react to such a story. Most of us want to cut it out – it’s uncomfortable in it’s reading. We are left with the question of why it was allowed to happen by God – was it part of his plan – surely not.

But Matthew writing his gospel for a jewish audience puts this story in. And as he does he asks us to remember back to another story which was key to his early readers- key to their heritage and history. He asks them to remember the saving of another baby from the slaughter of innocents. The saving of the baby by being hidden in a wicker basket and put into a river. And in such a way the purposes of God and the exodus from slavery of the Israelites was assured in the little baby Moses  growing up in the royal palaces.

Moses destined to be the one who led the people of Isreal from Slavery out towards the promised land. Moses who led the people through the red sea and into the dessert where God protected and provided for them.

And I think Matthew wants us to remember this – to see the similarities. Because in this time too a power hungry individual showed gross inhumanity to protect his own throne and power. He had the babies slaughtered to stop the Israelites growing too strong and to protect his own power position as ruler.  And here too in Matthew we see Herod doing just the same. His inhumanity is overwhelming, we baulk at it, we are revolted by it. In the midst of our cosy view of the Christmas story it reminds us so starkly and powerfully of the type of world that Jesus himself was born in. A type of world where man shows gross inhumanity to man and man lusts for power at all costs.

Do we live in a world that is any different today I wonder? Just this year we have seen the slaughter of innocents again for purposes of power and to promote terror.  Stories in the summer from Iraq spoke of Christian children being beheaded in the streets by Islamic state. And then just a few days ago we saw those children again killed in Peshwara.  Evil and evil purposes are still at work in our world today and will continue until the time of Jesus’ return.

But and the big but in this story – is we can think only of the evil that is so apparent and abhorrent. OR we can think of the fact that God’s plans and purposes where not destroyed despite the evil. God is bigger and more powerful and has the victory over evil itself.

Despite the best efforts of Pharaoh and Herod God still triumphed.  In both cases the babies were protected so that they could grow up for acts of salvation – Moses for the Israelites for a time and place, Jesus for the whole world and for eternity.

And God was able to do this because of the faith of people just like you and me who were prepared to put their faith in God in action and take a step of faith. Joseph must have been pretty shocked to receive the dream he had to go to Egypt, but he took action on the dream and in doing so he protected the whole family and Jesus the son of God himself.

So I think this story can give us hope in a modern world where evil is still so evident. Because God’s purposes and not held back despite evil. And God still wants us to live out his kingdom in a world where we are in the middle of earthly kingdoms and expectations.

The reality is that all of our lives are touched by the stresses and strains of the world, by the evil of others and by the pain and suffering that results from living in a fallen world. But we can hold on the fact that despite this Christ entered our world to show us his Kingdom value and to usher in a new way of living. And it is this that we need to show to the world. And because of his power over sin and death, and because of his ascension into heaven we have the assurance that he is with us by the power of the Holy Spirit and will always be with us no matter what life throws at us.

So as we enter into the new year – are our lives going to be perfect ? This time next year I am sure we will all be thinking the same thing – some good things have happened and some not so good. And yet we can know like we did this year the reality of the presence of God with us through it all. And we can try to live out and show his kingdom this year so that we begin to make a difference in our corner of the world. 

At this time of year we have thought a lot about Jesus as the light of the world – a light that shines in the darkness and as John 1 says – a light that has not been put out by the darkness. And as we start the new year lets think about Jesus’ words on the sermon on the mount which are still as relevant today as when Jesus himself said them: You are the light of the world, a city built on the hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let you light shine before others, so that they may see your good world and give glory to your Father in heaven.  

Are you ready yet?

The countdown has begun- on Tuesday here I will lead our first carol service with the local scouts,  All around us at the moment is getting ready – the lights switched on, the shops urging us to get ready, and as a Mum as well as a vicar I have been getting ready for quite a considerable time already with my long list of presents to buy and the joy of online shopping!

And today in the churches year the countdown starts proper with the first Sunday of Advent – when we talk a lot about getting ready.

Our reading which was the reading set for today talks about getting ready,  not getting ready for Christmas when we celebrate Jesus born as a baby in Bethlehem some 2000 years ago but getting ready for the next time Jesus will come again to earth – what we think of as the second coming at the end of time.

It’s not an easy thing to grasp but I think it does help us to think about what faith is all about and asks us to think for ourselves about what we believe.

Now whenever I go to the cinema I tend to go to see chic flicks but I am always amazed at how many disaster movies are advertised,

Time and time again you see portrayed the major disaster from the invasion by aliens to the virus that has no cure all of which point to the end of the world – the end of the world will be upon us unless we get the vaccine right or unless we have the ability to somehow destroy the incoming invasion.

The story of the end of the world or the potential end of the world makes great cinema and I guess for most of us the thought of it ends there.

But there are also those who like to think they can work it all out.

There are those who down the centuries have told us that the end of the world will end on this or that date.

Back in 1842 an American William Miller predicted that Christ would come again on 21^st March, he had to revise his date a few times as with each date nothing happened.

Finally he came up with 22^nd October 1844 and was widely publicised.

As news of this spread it had a disastrous effect on people -One account of this time notes that “Fields were left unharvested, shops were closed, people quit their jobs, paid their debts, and freely gave away their possessions with no thought of repayment.” 

Of course we know that as before this date came and went.

But people still are fascinated with this and we still have predictions made

There was a date recently worked out by some complicated mathematical formula- but it came and went.

But the message of this reading is as clear today as it was to the people of Jesus’ time – we don’t know when it will happen – so there is no point trying to predict it - but it will and we need to get ready for it.

But how exactly are we to get ready for it.

The disaster movies would have us fill our cupboards with food or even better have some sort of nuclear bunker but the message from this reading is something very different.

We are not to prepare physically for this event but we are to prepare spiritually.

To really understand the significance of Jesus coming again we need to understand the significance of Jesus coming in the first place.

And to understand that we need to think not in terms of the big disaster movie – but more in terms not of the chick flick but more in terms of the Great love story.

Because that is what is at the heart of the Christmas message.

It was God’s intention when he created mankind to have a relationship with him – but because of mankind’s free will they turned away from him so he had to somehow turn this round.

A little story to illustrate the point- just imagine we are in the time set in Merlin if you ever watch it.

The Prince of the kingdom falls in love as he rides through the town with a beautiful peasant girl.

What can he do – if he ordered her to marry him or even if he went up to her and tried to get her to love him as he was “the prince” how could he be sure she was marrying him for the right reasons.

So he decides to give up all his princely attire and leave the castle, and for a period to live as one of the peasants and in turn she got to  know and love him for herself.

He made himself like one of the people so that she could know him in an understandable way.

And it’s a bit like that with Jesus coming to human kind, God made himself understandable so that we could know and love him for ourselves and of course more than that he had a plan of salvation we which we see revealed at the first Easter.

But what difference does that make to each of us as individuals.

You see what Jesus says to us from this reading is that one day he is going to come again and we need to be ready for that.

And to do that we need to have thought through the implications of him coming in the first place and what difference that makes to our lives.

Because the reality of the Christmas story is such that it isn’t just a nice story – we make it appear cutesy on our Christmas cards and in Children’s nativity plays but it is far from that.

It asks us that question have we realised what God was doing when he came? God made himself knowable to us when Jesus came into the world – have we got to know him for ourselves?

This time of year – Advent urges us to see the miracle of God breaking into our world. –Jesus is going to come again – but have we thought about the significance of him coming in the first place?

Is it just something we may think we believe but it hasn’t made a difference to our lives.

In 2002 in America the Allstate insurance company surveyed Californians in earthquake- prone regions.  They found out that 64% of those who responded believed that a massive earthquake would hit within 3-5 years, but only 25% of them had earthquake insurance.

We can be a bit like that too with our belief- we may think we believe in the fact that Jesus came as God but actually it has made no obvious difference in our lives.

Advent and getting ready points us to change this.

To think about what difference it could make in our lives that Jesus came the first time and that he is coming back again.

We don’t know when it could be in may be in our lifetime if may not be for another 1,000 years but Jesus tells us here to get ready.

So how do we do this.

And this is where faith is all about.
To begin to discover for yourself what a difference a relationship with God can make.

Stepping out in faith is about putting your trust in God even if you don’t understand it all –because most of us throughout our lives don’t.

I remember in my early twenties spending many evenings with a friend discussing the reality or not of God.

Discussing the big philosophical questions into the early hours of the morning.

And in the end I said to him – we can discuss this til the cows come home but in the end you need to take it from a philosophical viewpoint to the reality of faith you need to find out for yourself whether or not faith is real to you.

Another friend of mine did just that – he didn’t know what he was doing but just one night knelt down and prayed and said God if you are there just reveal yourself to me- I don’t understand it all but I do want to know more.

And in answer to that prayer he had a huge sense of God’s presence with him – he discovered more as he went on what that was all about – but he just took the first step of faith and God honoured that.

Perhaps this Advent as we are called to Get ready – we need to think about that.

How am I open to what God is all about, how am I open to what a difference God can make in my life.

Then we will be ready when he comes again as our reading said: with great power and glory.

Amen