The First Sunday of Christmas Who Can Fear a Baby? Only Those Who Have Something to Lose Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen. In today’s Gospel, King Herod “searched for the Child, to destroy Him.” Dear Christian friends, “The time came for Mary to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son” (Luke 2:6-7). These Words from the Christmas Gospel announce that our God made His arrival among us in the smallest package possible. God became a baby so that we would not feel intimidated, overwhelmed, or even the least bit alarmed. After all, who can feel afraid of a baby? Herod can feel afraid, and perhaps we should, too. Perhaps we should learn from today’s Gospel that each of us has reason to fear this Child. With Herod, each of us should take stock of our situation and perhaps also tremble at the threat of Mary’s newborn Son. After all, King Herod may wear finer clothing than you and I, but we are all nevertheless cut from the same bolt of fabric. “Wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born king of the Jews?’” (Matthew 2:1-2) As you can imagine, King Herod was troubled by this news. Herod had gained the throne at some cost, he was quite content to be there, and now a child might upset the applecart. Who can feel afraid of a baby? Everyone who has something to lose can feel afraid of a baby. We have an ancient Epiphany hymn, in which we sing, The star proclaims the King is here; but Herod, why this senseless fear? For He who offers heav’nly birth seeks not the kingdoms of this earth (LSB 399) This is a good hymn, but perhaps it over-simplifies the situation. Yes, it is true Christ Jesus was not born of the Virgin in order to set up an earthly kingdom. But perhaps Herod’s fear is not as senseless as we sing it to be. After all, this newborn King most certainly wants to gain possession of everything that you and I and Herod might wish not to lose. Jesus most certainly comes to sit in your chair and take your place upon the pedestal. Jesus comes to claim rightful possession of everything you own (Psalm 24:1), everything you hold dear, everything you cannot live without. Jesus wants your honor, your office, your devotion, your intellect. He wants your arms, your legs, your back, your tongue. Jesus wants your aspirations, your hopes, your dreams, your daily to-do list and your long-range plans. He has come to take your family, your wallet, your past, you present, you future. Jesus wants even that last crumb you dare to hide between finger and thumb. Jesus wants to take everything, and you would be wise to allow it. If you have something in your inventory that you think you cannot afford to lose, then you ought to join Herod in feeling afraid. “Mary gave birth to her firstborn, a Son” (Luke 2:6-7). Perhaps you should also consider your options with regard to this Child “born king of the Jews’” (Matthew 2:2), just as Herod did. · Of course, there is no killing the Christ. Better men than you and I have tried their best and that, and failed. You heard in today’s Gospel how Herod “became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in that region who were two year old or under”—but as you know, Herod missed. Nails and spears later did their worse, piercing our Lord’s hands and feet and side, but that did not last very long, either. Because the Child born of Mary now holds the keys of death and hell (Revelation 1:18), and the threat of death is now laughable to Him. · I suppose you might try to ignore the Nazarene, as today’s Gospel calls our Lord. Many people do try to ignore Him—including many of our fellow Christians—but such voluntary ignorance can only last for so long. God has written concerning His Son Jesus, “He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him” (Revelation 1:7). And again, “all nations will be gathered before Him” (Matthew 25:32). And yet again, “every knee shall bow… and every tongue confess to God” (Romans 14:11). So ignoring Jesus is really only a short-term solution. Mere lip-service to Him will not fare any better in the long run, and neither will any attempt to withhold from Him anything He demands. · It is probably best to acquiesce and let Jesus be the King He has promised He will be. Loosen your grasp upon everything you hold dear allow your Lord to pull it all away from you. Your God gets what He wants and He does as He pleases, so you might as well relax and enjoy the ride. o What does God want? EVERYTHING o What pleases God? § It pleases God to give His nearest and dearest possession to you. Who is this Child, whom Herod so dearly fears? This is the Child of whom the angel said, “Son of the Most High” (Luke 2:32); the Man of whom St. John has written, “the only-begotten of the Father” (John 1:14) § It pleases God to lose everything. God willingly set aside all things and was born of Mary for this purpose: so that you will learn and never doubt that, while your King is claiming everything from you, you truly have nothing to lose and everything to gain. “All things have been given to Me,” says the Lord Jesus (Matthew 11:27). He wants you to answer and say, “My Lord, O King, I am Yours and all that I have” (1 Kings 20:4). § It pleases God to take from you everything that you grasp, so that He might give to you those things that cannot be grasped: forgiveness and faith, adoption, identity, life. What has Christ your King given to you? He has given you Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and innumerable angels in festal gathering, and the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and God, the judge of all, and the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (Hebrews 11:22-24). Things such as these—these things that cannot be grasped—these things likewise cannot be wrenched away from you. “Herod was furious” because Herod felt insecure about losing those things he dreaded to lose. But then Herod died, and all His efforts were for nothing. Simply allow your Lord Jesus to topple you from your throne (Luke 1:52) and trust that He knows what He is doing! Learn from today’s Gospel that, if you should remain secure in your insecurity, as Herod did, you also shall be destroyed—but Christ will remain undeterred. Thus it is written in today’s Gospel, “An angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, ‘Rise, take the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the Child’s life are now dead.’” _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list Sermons@cat41.org http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
