dreaming in a time of Herod

from my message on Dec. 29, 2013, from Matthew 2:13-23

Now here is a hard passage.  Here are some verses we would just as soon leave out of the Bible.  I was trying to get a handle on how to talk about this passage, so I was reading other preachers' sermons on-line.  One was from a former Anglican priest.  She entitled her message, "Putting Herod Back Into Christmas."  Her point was that we have sanitized the Christmas story.  We have power washed the manger and perfumed the stall.  We don't like to address the Slaughter of the Innocents, as this story has come to be called.

I was all prepared to shake us up, make us face the death, danger, and destruction of our world, till yesterday.  Yesterday, it came to me that we know plenty about Herod.  We see Herod every day on the news.  Herod is actually not news;  Herod is old, old hat, commonplace. What we need, the reason we have come to worship today is not to hear more about Herod, but to keep the dream alive.

There is no outside source that mentions this event happening.  However, the ways of Herod ring true.  Rulers still operate out of paranoia.  They are threatened and threatening.  The dictator in N. Korea had an uncle who was supposed to be his mentor.  Oops, he has now been killed by his young protege'.  The leader of Thailand disbands the parliament.  In South Sudan the President and Vice-President are at odds and choosing up sides.  In Egypt, the Military ousted the elected leader and has disbanded the Muslim Brotherhood.  These are just a few examples of the Herod effect going on today.

Lest we just look at others, we need to own that there is a little bit of Herod in each one of us.  We find Herod in our business relationships, universities, even the church.  Oh, we preachers can get defensive and protective of our churches and positions.  We can suffer from "pulpit envy."  We don't have to look any further than the door of our hearts to find Herod.

And children....it seems to be the children who always get hurt.  The most vulnerable among us get caught in the crossfire of Herod.  One of the sermons I read on-line had all 20 children of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting interspersed with the words.  It was too much for me.  Their pictures next to the sermon.  The children get the worse side of the Herod effect.  In Texas, it is hard for children to get healthcare.  Other places, the children don't have access to clean water or adequate nutrition.  The slaughter of the innocents is sometimes slow and understated.

You know all too much about Herod.  You are here today because you need to hear good news, that God's dream for us is still alive.  Note this about the scripture today.  One,  God does not ordain suffering.  Herod orders it.  Two, the God who supplies the dream is always on the side of healing and hope.  God is the one giving warnings, offering protection and direction.  Three, God of the dream is always joining with the most vulnerable.  When Jesus is born, he is almost immediately a political/religious refugee, homeless, outcast, and hunted.

We have plenty of Herod everyday.  We need God's dreams.  We see God's dreams come to reality in persons like Nelson Mandela and Pope Francis, those who stand with the prisoners, the poor, the dispossessed, the persecuted.  Not just big names either, but fellow Christians around us, who live the dream.

Do you get Christmas cards?  I got one yesterday from my friend, Suselle, in Scotland.  She has spent her entire life in a wheel chair.  She has never seen herself as a victim, always as a victor.  Her whole life has been spent trying to help people like her.  She has become an advocate for others with debilitating conditions.  She goes before government committees pleading for money and services and respect. She is faithful in worship.  She has every reason to give up, yet she doesn't.  She inspires me.  She lives the dream in a time of Herod.

We need to keep dreaming in a time of Herod.