Jeremiah 31:15-17; Revelation 14:1-5; St Matthew 2:13-18
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
St John’s Christmas Gospel says, He came unto His own, and His own people did not receive Him (Jn 1:11). Its not just wicked Herod. All of Jerusalem rejects Him. For all of Jerusalem is deeply troubled at the coming of the wise men from the East.
The wise men want to know where the King of kings, the Prince of Peace is to be born. They are wise by the virtual of Daniel and his friends. They had prophesied in their country. They rose through the political ranks. And under Nebuchadnezzar the received a dispensation for their freedom of worship as Christians.
These magi are converts, still living in Babylon, now Persia. They, along with all the faithful, awaited the advent of the Messiah. They must have had some of the Torah. For they have Balaam’s promised sign of a star from Numbers 24: I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; a star shall rise out of Israel (Nu 24:17). They now see it fulfilled. In faith they traverse the great distance. With trust that the God of Moses has fulfilled His Word and provided a Savior, they risk life and limb, to gather to and worship the One announced.
But for the time being, the star has led them only to Jerusalem. They do not know where the Messiah is. So it seems that they did not have all the Old Testament. Or even all the things written by the time of Daniel. They don’t have Micah’s promise of Bethlehem, even though Micah predates Daniel.
But for those who had the Scriptures, it wasn’t a great mystery as to where the Messiah was to be born. The priests were well educated in the Scriptures. They knew about the thirty pieces of silver and the potter’s field. They were quick to respond to the wise men’s inquiry: Bethlehem. The Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem.
Yet none of these biblical scholars followed the wise men to Bethlehem. Instead, they were troubled with Herod, and all Jerusalem. They were not rejoicing. They were raging, plotting, scheming. They did not want to the Messiah and the necessary upset He would bring to their world. To their power.
Herod lashes out with Satanic hatred and violence. It seems outrageous to us, but it was not out of character for him. He was paranoid and fearful. Fear makes men do irrational and dangerous things. Perhaps worse is that Herod did what he did with the consent and approval of both Jerusalem and the theologians. The boys of Bethlehem and their mothers bore the brunt of that wicked rage. Children and the innocent are always the victims of religio-political violence at the hands of the corrupt and wicked.
So those little boys gave up their lives while the fullness of God hidden in Mary’s Babe slipped off in the night. “Sweet flow’rets of the martyr band, plucked by the tyrant’s ruthless hand upon the threshold of the morn, like rosebuds by a tempest torn” (TLH 273:1). What kind of a God is this who lets the babies die? What kind of a reward is this for King David’s city? Where is the peace pronounced by angels to shepherds in Bethlehem’s fields? Where is God’s good will toward men?
The answer is not very satisfying to our intellect: the ways of God are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. But it is satisfying to faith.
Why does God command Abraham to slaughter his promised son? Why does He offer up Job to Satan? Why does Christ allow Satan to sift Peter as wheat? Why does He give Paul his thorn in the flesh, his messenger of Satan? Why does He allow these baby boys to die, while His Son sneaks safely away? Why does He allow tragedy and illness, sorrow and pain, threat and even death to befall us?
If you think you know the answer, repentance is needed. Who are you to presume to know the mind of God? If we think we have plumbed those depths, that we understand Him, that His thoughts and ways makes sense, than we have committed idolatry. He is not fully comprehensible and we cannot judge Him. We have no right to make demands or to insist on what seems just to us.
Beloved, we submit in faith and in obedience to His Word, we wait for His goodness to be revealed.
We may not have answers to such questions, but we have what He has given unto us. We have His Word. It is His self-revelation to us. We can go nowhere else. In that Holy Book we are told that in this way, by horror of Herod’s slaughter in Bethlehem, the prophecy from Hosea is fulfilled: Out of Egypt I called My Son (Hos 11:1).
That was the purpose. And it is good. The boys died. Their mothers mourned and refused comfort. Jesus escaped in weakness. But He, the true Holy Innocent, shall be called out of Egypt. He shall willingly lay down His life at the hands of another Herod, according to His Father’s will. His Blood shall avenge their shed blood. His death gives their death, and your death, meaning.
And louder than the than the voice of the wailing mothers, is the voice like the sound of harpists, the symbolic 144,000 singing a new song before the throne.
He does not consider it a light or trivial thing that His children suffer so greatly, whether in Bethlehem or now. He has given you incredible promises: in the Old Testament sign of circumcision, which these boys received, and in the New Testament the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, which you have received. You are baptized into His martyrdom, washed in His shed blood, and given the song of the elect upon your lips and in your hearts, for you have the Name of the Father and of the Lamb written upon you.
This Gospel text teaches us that where Christ is revealed, there comes Cross and suffering. The Christian faith is not safe. Not only the tyrants of this world, but the devil himself, rage and fight against Christ and His Body the Church. You have the prayer of Psalm 54. Your have the promise of Jeremiah 31: Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for there is reward for your work, declares the LORD. There is hope for your future.
What is seen with the martyred innocent of Bethlehem is seen in perfect hindsight, with the eyes of faith. It is not so easy for you or your loved ones, while you are yet living. Thus do you confess the Cross and Passion, death and resurrection of Christ, even while you see, but do not always understand it, in your own bodies. Or in the burdens and sorrows of those you love.
C.F.W. Walther preached mightily on this text. His words are so rich, I quote them verbatim:
“There is a very rich comfort to be derived from the murder of the children of Bethlehem. We can, indeed, be comforted when God allows our dear children to suffer much, for this shows us that God wants to glorify Himself by their sufferings. They, too, become martyrs of Christ, bearing the cross for their Savior. By their suffering, they, too, will enter into glory. When you look upon the sickbed of your dear little one and your weak heart wants to break because of his suffering, do not murmur against your God! He, the all-loving heavenly Father, loves your children as much as you do, and precisely for that reason, He often lets them suffer greatly and bitterly here on earth. They now sow with many tears, but they will one day harvest with much joy. They may now experience great misery, but one day they will be very glorious. You cry over them now, but you will rejoice with them in eternity. Therefore you should say: “Lord, as You will. Your will be done!”
"When we suffer much and are troubled by the thought that God is angry with us, we should remember this comfort from the suffering of the Bethlehem children. God often lays great suffering upon the unbelieving world in wrath for the punishment of its sins, but He also allows His dear children to suffer out of love that He may be glorified in them. The bloody end of the Bethlehem children was not a punishment but a glorious deliverance and the greatest grace God could show them. Therefore, we who believe in Christ cannot doubt God’s fatherly love, even when He lays upon us much suffering in this life. God punishes and disciplines those whom He loves, knowing that one day He will make them glorious. He may let them struggle here, but He will one day bring them to a celebration of eternal victory. Those who mourn now will find eternal comfort” (God Grant It; p97-98).
Thus does St Paul proclaim, I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Rm 8:18). We wait with eager longing with all of creation for the redemption of our bodies and the revealing of the sons of God.
Death is not the end, dear children. The enemy loses. He does not get Rachel’s children. He does not get us. You belong to Christ. God be praised. He does all things well. For those who love Him, all things work together for good.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
St John’s Christmas Gospel says, He came unto His own, and His own people did not receive Him (Jn 1:11). Its not just wicked Herod. All of Jerusalem rejects Him. For all of Jerusalem is deeply troubled at the coming of the wise men from the East.
The wise men want to know where the King of kings, the Prince of Peace is to be born. They are wise by the virtual of Daniel and his friends. They had prophesied in their country. They rose through the political ranks. And under Nebuchadnezzar the received a dispensation for their freedom of worship as Christians.
These magi are converts, still living in Babylon, now Persia. They, along with all the faithful, awaited the advent of the Messiah. They must have had some of the Torah. For they have Balaam’s promised sign of a star from Numbers 24: I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; a star shall rise out of Israel (Nu 24:17). They now see it fulfilled. In faith they traverse the great distance. With trust that the God of Moses has fulfilled His Word and provided a Savior, they risk life and limb, to gather to and worship the One announced.
But for the time being, the star has led them only to Jerusalem. They do not know where the Messiah is. So it seems that they did not have all the Old Testament. Or even all the things written by the time of Daniel. They don’t have Micah’s promise of Bethlehem, even though Micah predates Daniel.
But for those who had the Scriptures, it wasn’t a great mystery as to where the Messiah was to be born. The priests were well educated in the Scriptures. They knew about the thirty pieces of silver and the potter’s field. They were quick to respond to the wise men’s inquiry: Bethlehem. The Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem.
Yet none of these biblical scholars followed the wise men to Bethlehem. Instead, they were troubled with Herod, and all Jerusalem. They were not rejoicing. They were raging, plotting, scheming. They did not want to the Messiah and the necessary upset He would bring to their world. To their power.
Herod lashes out with Satanic hatred and violence. It seems outrageous to us, but it was not out of character for him. He was paranoid and fearful. Fear makes men do irrational and dangerous things. Perhaps worse is that Herod did what he did with the consent and approval of both Jerusalem and the theologians. The boys of Bethlehem and their mothers bore the brunt of that wicked rage. Children and the innocent are always the victims of religio-political violence at the hands of the corrupt and wicked.
So those little boys gave up their lives while the fullness of God hidden in Mary’s Babe slipped off in the night. “Sweet flow’rets of the martyr band, plucked by the tyrant’s ruthless hand upon the threshold of the morn, like rosebuds by a tempest torn” (TLH 273:1). What kind of a God is this who lets the babies die? What kind of a reward is this for King David’s city? Where is the peace pronounced by angels to shepherds in Bethlehem’s fields? Where is God’s good will toward men?
The answer is not very satisfying to our intellect: the ways of God are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. But it is satisfying to faith.
Why does God command Abraham to slaughter his promised son? Why does He offer up Job to Satan? Why does Christ allow Satan to sift Peter as wheat? Why does He give Paul his thorn in the flesh, his messenger of Satan? Why does He allow these baby boys to die, while His Son sneaks safely away? Why does He allow tragedy and illness, sorrow and pain, threat and even death to befall us?
If you think you know the answer, repentance is needed. Who are you to presume to know the mind of God? If we think we have plumbed those depths, that we understand Him, that His thoughts and ways makes sense, than we have committed idolatry. He is not fully comprehensible and we cannot judge Him. We have no right to make demands or to insist on what seems just to us.
Beloved, we submit in faith and in obedience to His Word, we wait for His goodness to be revealed.
We may not have answers to such questions, but we have what He has given unto us. We have His Word. It is His self-revelation to us. We can go nowhere else. In that Holy Book we are told that in this way, by horror of Herod’s slaughter in Bethlehem, the prophecy from Hosea is fulfilled: Out of Egypt I called My Son (Hos 11:1).
That was the purpose. And it is good. The boys died. Their mothers mourned and refused comfort. Jesus escaped in weakness. But He, the true Holy Innocent, shall be called out of Egypt. He shall willingly lay down His life at the hands of another Herod, according to His Father’s will. His Blood shall avenge their shed blood. His death gives their death, and your death, meaning.
And louder than the than the voice of the wailing mothers, is the voice like the sound of harpists, the symbolic 144,000 singing a new song before the throne.
He does not consider it a light or trivial thing that His children suffer so greatly, whether in Bethlehem or now. He has given you incredible promises: in the Old Testament sign of circumcision, which these boys received, and in the New Testament the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, which you have received. You are baptized into His martyrdom, washed in His shed blood, and given the song of the elect upon your lips and in your hearts, for you have the Name of the Father and of the Lamb written upon you.
This Gospel text teaches us that where Christ is revealed, there comes Cross and suffering. The Christian faith is not safe. Not only the tyrants of this world, but the devil himself, rage and fight against Christ and His Body the Church. You have the prayer of Psalm 54. Your have the promise of Jeremiah 31: Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for there is reward for your work, declares the LORD. There is hope for your future.
What is seen with the martyred innocent of Bethlehem is seen in perfect hindsight, with the eyes of faith. It is not so easy for you or your loved ones, while you are yet living. Thus do you confess the Cross and Passion, death and resurrection of Christ, even while you see, but do not always understand it, in your own bodies. Or in the burdens and sorrows of those you love.
C.F.W. Walther preached mightily on this text. His words are so rich, I quote them verbatim:
“There is a very rich comfort to be derived from the murder of the children of Bethlehem. We can, indeed, be comforted when God allows our dear children to suffer much, for this shows us that God wants to glorify Himself by their sufferings. They, too, become martyrs of Christ, bearing the cross for their Savior. By their suffering, they, too, will enter into glory. When you look upon the sickbed of your dear little one and your weak heart wants to break because of his suffering, do not murmur against your God! He, the all-loving heavenly Father, loves your children as much as you do, and precisely for that reason, He often lets them suffer greatly and bitterly here on earth. They now sow with many tears, but they will one day harvest with much joy. They may now experience great misery, but one day they will be very glorious. You cry over them now, but you will rejoice with them in eternity. Therefore you should say: “Lord, as You will. Your will be done!”
"When we suffer much and are troubled by the thought that God is angry with us, we should remember this comfort from the suffering of the Bethlehem children. God often lays great suffering upon the unbelieving world in wrath for the punishment of its sins, but He also allows His dear children to suffer out of love that He may be glorified in them. The bloody end of the Bethlehem children was not a punishment but a glorious deliverance and the greatest grace God could show them. Therefore, we who believe in Christ cannot doubt God’s fatherly love, even when He lays upon us much suffering in this life. God punishes and disciplines those whom He loves, knowing that one day He will make them glorious. He may let them struggle here, but He will one day bring them to a celebration of eternal victory. Those who mourn now will find eternal comfort” (God Grant It; p97-98).
Thus does St Paul proclaim, I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Rm 8:18). We wait with eager longing with all of creation for the redemption of our bodies and the revealing of the sons of God.
Death is not the end, dear children. The enemy loses. He does not get Rachel’s children. He does not get us. You belong to Christ. God be praised. He does all things well. For those who love Him, all things work together for good.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
RSS Feed