SERMON : SECOND SUNDAY OF CHRISTMAS (MATT 2:13-23) 1ST JAN 2023

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MAY the words of my mouth and the meditations in our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. <Amen>

 

One of the great traditions of Christmas is the giving and receiving of Christmas cards (more and more emails these days!) from our parish family be they near or far. Even people I haven’t heard from since last Christmas somehow track me down and send Kim and I Christmas joy.

 

What I noticed this year more than any other is how the people have changed. Some families have grown larger, with weddings and births. Others – because of death or divorce – are smaller. Some people have gray hair … or less hair … or no hair; AND people look older; somehow they got old and I didn’t!

 

However, this year, I especially noticed the children who have grown up. Babies that I baptised are now at school. Couples that I married bring their children for baptism. My grand-daughter, Summer, has qualified as a doctor and is working in a hospital outside of London.

 

They grow up so fast, don’t they? I know it’s a cliché, but one day children and grand-children are toddlers, walking around in cute pyjamas and throwing tantrums and then - seemingly the next day - they’re off to uni. It all happened so fast, we don’t know where the years went.

 

To you who are parents and grand-parents of little ones: the cliché is true. So, share the journey with your kids. Read them books, bring them to church, take them to ballet classes, coach their rugby teams, drive them to their friend's house. Because before you know it, they’ll be grown up. Every parent knows it true; EVERY parent. Even Mary and Joseph.

 

Seven days ago, we gathered in churches to celebrate our Saviour’s birth. Wasn’t the Baby Jesus precious as he slept in that manger? Didn’t our hearts rejoice when we sang “The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes, but little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.”

 

One week later, everything is different. We’re still celebrating Christmas; we’re still singing carols and basking in the glow of the Saviour’s birth, but Mary and Joseph are fleeing Bethlehem to protect their young son.

 

We’re still in awe of this baby king, but the powers of their world are threatened by Him, and want to destroy Him … and it only took seven days!

 

Allow me to explain how things changed so quickly for the Christ-child, and how some things have not really changed for us in more 2000 years.

 

When Wise Men from the east noticed signs in the heavens that the Saviour had been born, they made their way to Bethlehem, by way of Jerusalem. When they tell King Herod about the Saviour’s birth, Herod pretends to worship Jesus, too. “Hey, on your way back home, let me know the exact location so I can send a gift or something” were Herod’s last words to the three wise man.

 

This is where today’s gospel picks up. The wise men never do come back. In a dream, they find out that the Christ-child’s life was at risk, and they take a different route home. So Herod does a terrible thing: he has all the male infants, under two years old,  living in and around Bethlehem ... killed! “The massacre of The Innocents”. <PAUSE>

 

So today, as we continue singing “Joy to the World” we read about children dying senselessly, and mothers weeping uncontrollably. These verses, along with other verses in the bible that are almost too painful to read, have been named “texts of terror” by feminist Christian scholar, Phyllis Trible.

 

You see, terrorism didn’t get invented in our lifetimes. Evil people have been perfecting that dreadful thing since human frailty got them tossed out of the Garden of Eden. Whenever there is an opportunity to stand in the way of peace, or work against love, or insult human dignity, evil people have found a way to do just that. Herod figured if he could eliminate a heavenly king at birth, the earthly kingdom would be his.

 

As we read on through the gospel narratives, we see that evil people would dog Jesus all the days of His life. <PAUSE>

 

The dream that the wise men had was also given to Joseph, so he and Mary took their young son off to Nazareth via Egypt, and Nazareth is where Jesus grew up … but that happened all to quickly, as well. One day, Jesus is laughing and playing a backyard game with his friends, and seemingly the next day, he was arguing with the Pharisees in the synagogue. One day he was learning the carpentry trade with Joseph, and not long after that, he was crucified. From wooden cradle to wooden cross in 33 short years. The time went by so quickly. <PAUSE>

 

All you parents and grand-parents are probably just like me … we love sharing stories of the kids. (I know it embarrasses them when they are present but isn’t that half the fun?) I tell the stories because I love them and I’m proud of them and blessed to have them in my life. <PAUSE>

 

Now - remember Jesus, born in a manger, belittled by the religious purists, hated by his adversaries, and abandoned by his friends; this Jesus came to prove that ultimately, love wins over evil! There was no other way to show this, except by the life He lived, and the life He gave. <PAUSE>

 

This message will come to a close in a moment and you’ll get up and go on with your earthly journey BUT BE ENCOURAGED BY THE PURPOSE OF CHRISTMAS.” <PAUSE>.

 

Who will tell the story that there is hope? Who will tell the story that darkness will eventually give way to light? Who will tell the story that the birth of a baby in Bethlehem was not the end of the story … it was just the beginning? Only those who know the good news can tell the good news … and that is YOU AND ME.

 

So go, tell the stories, tell the news, the Saviour is born, and all will be well. Thanks be to God!

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In the name of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit <AMEN>