Prop: put a skull and crossbones “ornament” on the sanctuary Christmas tree. Talk about how it doesn't fit with the image.
There's a story in the Bible that's part of the Christmas story that creates a similar disconnect. In fact, the disparity between it and the way we want the Christmas story to be is so great that you may not even know it's in there, since we tend to avoid it like the plague.
It's in Matthew 2:13-18.
There is it. Doesn't fit very well into the way we like to tell the Christmas story, does it? Too violent, too sad, too tragic, too bloody.
It's kind of like the skull and crossbones ornament on our Christmas tree – they just don't go together. Yet here it is in the Bible.
I want to talk this morning about why we're so quick to dismiss it and why it matters.
Why Does This Evil Occurrence Ruin The Christmas Story For Us? Because we want a warm and fuzzy religion.
- Matthew 2:16-18.
Most of us want a glossy-photo Christmas. We want a warm-light, soft-focus, fuzzy, sentimental event. And this story threatens that.
What's that kind of religion look like?
a. It shares general platitudes, but never gets specific about anything I need to change.
b. It's all-inclusive – nothing is ever called wrong.
c. It has a vague God, not a specific Jesus.
d. It's all about love and acceptance, not any challenge and change.
This story of the slaughter of children is very conspicuously avoided in our usual telling of the Christmas story.
Think of all the Christmas plays you've ever seen? Manger scene? Check. Shepherds? Check. Wise men? Check. But this scene is always avoided.
Why? Well, we'd quickly say that it doesn't fit with the Christmas story. Actually, though, it is the Christmas story. And if it doesn't fit with the Christmas story, maybe that's a sign the story we're telling is not the complete one.
Think about that for a second: we're saying what the Bible says about the birth of Jesus is ruining our Christmas story. Wow – something is off there!
What Does That Look Like?
1. We try to insulate ourselves from anything unpleasant.
Look at:
a. Our gated communities.
Or if we can't afford an actual gate, we at least want to live somewhere reasonably far from the really bad stuff that's going on. We're not really that troubled about evil until it happens in our neighborhood.
b. Our news.
The news brings up the sensational and interesting, but largely ignores the true, deep evils that have no easy solutions. Child sexual slavery in Asia. Poverty in Africa. It's all too depressing.
If something unpleasant is brought up, we prefer it to come with a way we can feel a little better about it (a small donation, a story of someone working on it) so that we can feel like something is happening. We don't like the problems that are huge and without obvious solutions.
c. Our lives.
Even just in everyday life, we'll avoid people we know are going through hardship and struggle.
2. We come to church to feel better, not to be better.
- 2 Timothy 4:3.
When we come to church, for many folks, they want a sermon that inspires, not challenges. They want music that uplifts, not convicts. They want to feel as though they're part of a church family without ever having to sacrifice anything. They want to feel as though they're close to God without having to make any changes.
The idea that I'm coming to church to be a better person is not really on the radar. The idea that I'm wanting to get rid of the sin in my life is not really a significant thought.
I just want to feel better.
What's This Evil Occurrence Tell Us About Jesus? Jesus did not come into the world to avoid evil, but to destroy it.
- 1 John 3:8.
Why didn't God save those babies?
That's a fair question. Not just for this episode, but for all the evil that’s in the world.
I think, though, that it points out what we're wanting: if there's going to be violence, let's make it PG-movie violence where there's the appearance of violence but no one actually gets hurt.
You know, when bullets always hit at people's feet and explosions stun people but don't kill them.
Jesus didn't come into a PG world. He came into the real world of unspeakable and persistent evil.
Ultimately this tragedy happens because Jesus is a threat to Herod's power.
We feel that way about Jesus sometimes too: He's claiming to have the right to judge us; to rule over us; to call our actions wrong. We're threatened by that and want to go back to fuzzy-picture God.
Jesus is not Mr. Rogers.
He spoke truth to power. He called the Pharisees snakes. He overturned tables. He didn't come to be nice and tell everyone they're ok. He came to honestly deal with our problems.
Do I hate evil?
Probably not. Especially the evil within me.
We excuse it. We justify it. But we rarely hate it and want it gone.
What's That Mean For Me?
1. You need to honestly confront the evil in your life.
- Romans 3:10-11, 23.
Show Norman Rockwell's Thanksgiving portrait.
We want to believe this about ourselves: a picture of wholeness.
Christmas provides opportunities for that: everyone well-dressed and well-behaved for the Christmas party. Compare that to the everyday realities of family life.
This is not a “feel good” thing, but a “be good” thing.
“If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”
― Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956
Part of our problem is that we want evil in the world to be confronted and destroyed, but the evil that's in our heart is another matter.
The good news (which is what the word “gospel” means) really only makes sense if you first grasp the bad news. The bad news is that you're a sinner in need of salvation. The good news is that Jesus came to offer that salvation.
When you don't preface the good news with the bad news, you get what we've got in many churches today: people who call themselves Christians but don't really think they have a sin problem.
2. In our uncertainty, there is hope in this: once, a long time ago, God took the worst thing ever and redeemed it.
- Matthew 27:27-31, 42-43, 45-46, 50.
Despite the fact that the slaughter of the innocents makes us uncomfortable because it flies in the face of the picture-perfect Christmas that we try to create, there is something good that comes out of embracing it.
Jesus came into a world of real sin not to avoid it, but to deal with it.
Real sin and real evil like this story.
If you've got real evil and real sin in your life, it's immensely good news that Jesus came to save real sinners.
He didn't come to pretend and have us all sit around a picture-perfect living room acting like we've all got our acts together. He came to confront and destroy sin.
This morning, let's lay aside the pretend stuff and get down to the real world: real sin and real salvation.
Jesus is offering it to you this morning, if you're interested.
