“In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’" These well-loved words mark the season of Epiphany, the revelation of Christ to the Gentiles. These wise men – priests, seers, astrologers - likely came from what is present-day Iran and Iraq. They look harmless enough when we see pictures of them on Hallmark greeting cards, or when children dress up in bathrobes to portray them in Christmas pageants, but Mary and Joseph probably reacted as we would react if someone newly arrived from Iran or Iraq landed on our doorstep – with surprise, puzzlement, perhaps (depending on our temperament) suspicion.
And, indeed, Mary and Joseph had lots to worry about, but not from the Wise Men. Rather, they had reason to fear King Herod, the Roman puppet ruler who had been in power for decades. The questions of the wise men about the coming of a new king were enough to set off the paranoid fury of this puppet king. When he couldn’t fool the wise men into leading him to Jesus, he responded with what is now called the massacre of the innocents, murdering all male infants 2 years of age or younger.
We still live in the time of King Herod. Theologian Walter Brueggemann has written that King Herod represents our world’s culture of domination and oppression, the “powers that be” – the economy of scarcity that leaves some in our society fantastically wealthy while others go hungry - leaves some in our society sleeping in mansions while others sleep on heating grates. The new, abundant life Jesus offers is profoundly counter-cultural. The kingdom of heaven threatens the powers that be, and those powers will respond by trying to control the message – and maybe kill the messenger. The powers that be will try to co-opt us, as Herod tried to co-opt the wise men, into proclaiming a safe, “pie in the sky by and by” gospel that supports the status quo. Like the wise men, we must resist being fooled by Herod, and return to our own country – the kingdom of Heaven – by another way.
And, indeed, Mary and Joseph had lots to worry about, but not from the Wise Men. Rather, they had reason to fear King Herod, the Roman puppet ruler who had been in power for decades. The questions of the wise men about the coming of a new king were enough to set off the paranoid fury of this puppet king. When he couldn’t fool the wise men into leading him to Jesus, he responded with what is now called the massacre of the innocents, murdering all male infants 2 years of age or younger.
We still live in the time of King Herod. Theologian Walter Brueggemann has written that King Herod represents our world’s culture of domination and oppression, the “powers that be” – the economy of scarcity that leaves some in our society fantastically wealthy while others go hungry - leaves some in our society sleeping in mansions while others sleep on heating grates. The new, abundant life Jesus offers is profoundly counter-cultural. The kingdom of heaven threatens the powers that be, and those powers will respond by trying to control the message – and maybe kill the messenger. The powers that be will try to co-opt us, as Herod tried to co-opt the wise men, into proclaiming a safe, “pie in the sky by and by” gospel that supports the status quo. Like the wise men, we must resist being fooled by Herod, and return to our own country – the kingdom of Heaven – by another way.
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