So, we’ve now moved firmly into the
afterglow of Christmas Day. All of the
presents have been unwrapped; most of the Christmas dinners and parties are
over; we’ve been back to the malls and stores for those after-Christmas
sales. We are now making preparations to
celebrate New Year’s Eve and Day—sort of one last hoorah before we must begin
returning to our everyday routines.
Perhaps you’re different than
me. However, I find this in-between time
to be something of a let-down after Christmas.
For the past month, I’ve been busily preparing myself and my church for
the celebration of the Messiah’s birth and the confirmation that God loves us
and keeps promises made to us. With such
a huge buildup, it is inevitable that there will be a corresponding let down
afterwards.
Of course, life goes on. Pretty soon, New Year’s will be over and we
will have to resume our daily routines.
If you’re like me, then you’ll have to shake yourself out of the post-Christmas
doldrums and get back into the swing of things.
The scriptural story of Jesus goes
on after his birth on Christmas Day, as well.
After the shepherds and Wise Men have left the stable, Mary and Joseph
face an uncertain future. In my message
this Sunday, December 30th, we will reflect on Matthew’s account of what
happened after the first Christmas Day.
In a dream, God instructs Joseph to flee with his family to Egypt
because King Herod, who rules Bethlehem, will try to kill the baby Jesus. Although he is King, Herod is a very insecure
man and the prophecy of a mighty future king born in his territory terrifies
Herod. After Joseph, Mary, and the baby
Jesus leave for Egypt, Herod has all of the children, who are two years or
younger, massacred in the Bethlehem area.
As a result, this passage from Matthew has been traditionally called the
story of the massacre of the innocents.
Although there is no independent historical account of Herod’s action,
it is certainly consistent with what we know about King Herod and how viciously
he exercised his powers as king.
Most Biblical scholars agree that from Matthew’s perspective this story
shows how God was involved, watching over the newborn Messiah, instructing his
parents, and insuring that he was kept safe as an infant and young child. However, historically, many other Christians
have looked at this story from a different perspective—the problem of
theodicy. Theodicy is the problem concerning
how Christians reconcile our belief in an all-powerful, loving God with the
evil which persists in the world. In
other words, how could an all-powerful, loving God allow all of those innocent
children to be massacred by King Herod?
If God warned Joseph and helped Jesus escape from Herod’s wrath, why
couldn’t God also have warned and helped all of the other families with small
children in Bethlehem?
In my message this weekend, I will struggle with this problem of
theodicy as it emerges in Matthew’s story of the massacre of the
innocents. As Christians, when we
struggle with problems of theodicy, there are never any easy or straightforward
answers. However, I think that it is
important to struggle with problems of theodicy because I firmly believe that
we can grow and deepen our faith by engaging these challenges. Hopefully, our struggle with theodicy this
Sunday will prepare us as we celebrate a new year and resume our normal
routines after the Christmas-New Year holiday season.
If you live in the Lincoln, Nebraska area and do not have a
place of worship, then I invite you to come and join us at Christ United
Methodist Church this Sunday, December 30th, as we reflect on the massacre of the innocents and the
problem of “theodicy.” Christ UMC is located at 4530 “A” Street
in Lincoln, Nebraska. Our two
traditional Worship Services are at 8:30 and 11:00 on Sunday morning.
Come, join us. Everyone is welcome and accepted because God
loves us all.
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