To Read: Matthew 2:16-18
Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”
This passage would be the epitome of what we call the “grittiness” of Christmas. This is not the story that you are going to find on the cover of Christmas cards – and that’s ok, because those angels did come with an announcement of peace and joy. We are to experience real joy at Christmas, not because life is all fun and games, but because the maker of heaven and earth came to fix things like this. But you know that kind of joy – it’s not a “I just won a prize at a carnival” kind of joy – it’s deep, lasting joy, like “my parents will always love me; and I feel safe here” kind of joy – it’s a more mundane but lasting joy, and that’s the good stuff – that’s what makes life worth living. I don’t love my wife because she buys me tickets to great sporting event or a concert occasionally; I love her because she looks at me and just with her eyes says “there is nowhere else I’d rather be.” And I would do anything for her – that’s deep, lasting joy.
Jesus loves us with a permanent love, not a flippant one. And he came to deal justly with our sin, including bringing wrath upon terrible tyrants like Herod. What Herod did was absolutely awful, and is one of the hardest things to read about in the Bible. But it’s a real thing – this happened around the time of Jesus’ birth, because he wanted to erase the newborn king. Because of the family’s escape to Egypt, he failed in taking the life of Jesus. Bethlehem was not a big community, so at this time, it would have been anywhere from 10 to 30 boys who were killed. He chose to kill those two years and under because he wasn’t quite sure when Jesus was born, and he wanted to take no chances, but wipe them all out.
I want you to notice that as Matthew quotes the prophet Jeremiah here, it specifies “she refused to be comforted.” Your heartache and hardship are real, and there are pains that won’t be fixed on this side of Heaven. God is not asking Rachel or the mothers of those lost children to just “grin and bear it” because Jesus came. Jesus came to weep too. He hates death and violence and tyranny. He will deal justly with Herod. The context for this prophecy in Jeremiah is when the Israelites were carried to Babylon in exile; their departure point was Ramah; figuratively, Jeremiah is imagining Rachel, from the book of Genesis, weeping at the loss of God’s people into Babylon, their loss of land, the loss of life, and identity as God’s people. It’s a fitting reference, because Jesus came into that mess and said, I will bring them back. I will hold onto those who trust in the Lord. I will be their God and they will be my people, forever.
Song to Sing: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Prayer: God, comfort those who mourn. Bless them, those who need your comfort right now. Be with those who suffered great loss this Christmas. Let us be the church for them, the hands and feet of Jesus. But by your Spirit, bring peace to their hearts – this long, lasting peace that says I will cling to Jesus even in my hardest of days. Help us to see your plan, not the details or answers to all of those hard questions, but help us to see in a big picture way that your promises never go away, and are always fulfilled. We will be with your forever without pain, or sin, or torment, but we will know everlasting peace. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Echoes of Eden: Crying. It’s something that will go away in Heaven – we know that, it’s not for Eden. And yet, Jesus wept. He came into our realness – into our pain. I confess, I’ve never cried more at any movie than the Barbie movie – laugh at me all you will; but this movie uses crying well, and it shows us better than most movies, what it is to be human.