Dec 24 - Where is He?

Where is He?

Sunday, December 24, 2023

by: Bambi Wheeler

Scripture:  Matthew 2:1-12

Key Verse: 

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

Matthew 2:1-3

Have you ever heard a song that’s lyrics chilled you to your very core? A song so disturbing that you couldn’t really even speak right after you heard it because it left you so unsettled? That is a really unusual way to begin an Advent devotion, but stick with me for just a second. 

My mom and I were traveling to Branson a couple of weeks ago to watch Esther at the Sight and Sound Theater (sidebar: if you haven’t seen that yet, RUN, don’t walk, to that theater and see it!). On the way over, we had Christmas music on full blast because genetically, I am 90% elf and Christmas everything is my favorite, but especially Christmas music because it’s typically joyful, hopeful, peaceful, even, and it leaves me feeling warm and happy. We were shuffling through some Pentatonix Christmas songs and landed on one I had never heard before. The tune was dark and ominous, very unlike all of the songs that preceded it. It took me a minute, but when I tuned into the words they were actually singing, my heart sort of broke; the song was Coventry Carol, and I’m not really sure how I’ve missed hearing it my entire life, but it is a devastating song about King Herod’s response to the birth of Christ (I won’t elaborate any further, but check out Matthew 2:16 if you need more details).  This song didn’t leave me feeling full of hope, joy, or peace; instead, I just felt sad, and my mom and I sat there in silence for a little bit after the song ended.

That’s not the typical feeling associated with anything Christmas, and you’re probably wondering why this is the story I would choose to share on Christmas Eve, of all days! And if I’m being honest, I’ve been wondering that myself.  However, that song left a huge impression on me, and the lyrics have haunted me since I heard them. And then…THEN…a few days after hearing it, I signed up to write an Advent Devotion. There were only two spots left unclaimed when I signed up, and I chose Christmas Eve. I flipped open my Bible to the Scripture associated with my devotion, and would you believe it was from Matthew 2, the VERY CHAPTER in which Herod’s awful story is found?! 

 

I started out just reading familiar words about the Magi seeking the King of the Jews because they had a desire to worship him. I was anxiously wading into the story, excited to get to the good stuff: these wise men following a star to the house where Mary and Jesus were, being overjoyed when they found Him and bowing and worshipping, offering up their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. It’s a wonderfully perplexing story because these men weren’t even Jews, but yet they understood Who Jesus was even better than some of the Jews did and they weren’t going to let anything stop them from finding Him.

The Massacre of the Innocents - Rubens

But in the middle of that beautiful story, you have verse 3, which says, “When King Herod heard this he was disturbed…” And as anxious as I was to get to the good stuff, I had to pause my reading for a minute. Because yes, the wise men were going to find Who they were seeking. And yes, they were going to worship Him. And yes, they were going to offer up their oddly specific gifts. But immediately after that, they were going to incite the wrath of King Herod, and some pretty awful things were going to happen to innocent people. And for just a minute, I had that overwhelming sense of sadness again, just like I felt after listening to Coventry Carol. Why, in the middle of anything good, does there seem to always have to be a verse 3? Why does sickness exist? Why do people have to die? How can humans be cruel to one another? Why can’t we just love one another? Why does doing the right thing have to feel so hard? As much as I’d like to relish in the fact that we live in a beautiful creation, we are fearfully and wonderfully made, we have a God that loves us so much that He was willing to send His own Son to this earth to die for us so that we can spend eternity with Him, as much as I would LIKE to relish in that, life is just full of verse threes that seem to hit me in the face and leave me sad. 

So, I paused. And I asked God what He was trying to teach me through this. And He left me with this Scripture: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” This life is gonna be full of verse threes, but you can’t let that rob you of the good stuff. Because of that baby born in Bethlehem, we have the promise of eternity with Him, where there is no more death and there are no more tears. HE has overcome the world, so we don’t have to. We just have to trust Him. I pray you are blessed this Christmas, and that you truly know and accept the love of our savior Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas. 

 

Holy God, you gather the whole universe

into your radiant presence

and continually reveal your Son as our Savior.

Bring healing to all wounds,

make whole all that is broken,

speak truth to all illusion,

and shed light in every darkness,

that all creation will see your glory and know your Christ. 

Amen.

The Revised Common Lectionary