December 8, 2022
Good afternoon
,” King Herod… The Magi… Messiah.. escape to Egypt…” from Matthew 2
“Caesar Augustus… Quirinius, governor of Syria… Messiah… from the line of David”… from Luke 2
God chose to work out the salvation of the world through regular people. Of course, in the story there are the powerful. King Herod is ruler of Jerusalem for Caesar. In Caesar’ mind he was God. He had ultimate power over the Holy Lands. After the baby was born, Herod ordered the killing of all babies under the age two. Horrors of violence. We do not hear anymore about Quirinius, but he was a politician as well. So, the writers put the birth of the baby in the context of the historical politics and geography of the day.
The baby was born to unknown parents from Nazareth. Zechariah and Elizabeth were a priestly couple from a local synagogue. The shepherds were most likely poor and not highly thought of as persons. The baby was born in a small town of Bethlehem. The Wise Men seem out of place because they are both powerful ( we think ) but unknown people of another faith.
What does the child’s birth mean for your life ? Does it invite you into humility and generosity ? I hope it does not lead us into an aura of superiority, and that we are somehow greater than all others. The Wise Men were not looking for more status. Herod thought he was God, and acted like everyone in this world should bow down to him. Do we have any Herod in us ?
Prayer
Great God of Jerusalem and Bethlehem,
Lord over all politics and violence,
Keep our eyes and ears upon your kingdom,
Help us visit the manger once again.
To be inspired,
To be forgiven,
To be repentant. AMEN
Fred
Chaos in the winds
Scattering my troubled thoughts
to land on soft clouds
Monika Pieper Landoni 2022