CHAPLAIN
WILL WE SEARCH HIM OUT ?
REV DAVID ASSENDER SCHOOL CHAPLAIN
WILL JESUS BE A DISRUPTION TO OUR BUSY CHRISTMAS ?
Matthew 2:1-2 ( GNT ) Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea , during the time when Herod was king . Soon afterwards , some men who studied the stars came from the East to Jerusalem and asked , ‘ Where is the baby born to be the king of the Jews ? We saw his star when it came up in the east , and we have come to worship him .’ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed …
Merry Christmas , everyone ! When I was a kid , Christmas was my favourite time of the year . Time off school , Santa , presents , catching up with cousins , long summer evenings , holiday adventures . What ’ s not to like , right ?
In time , the pressures of adulthood seem to dial down the joyfulness of it all , especially because of how busy we get around Christmas . There is so much more to plan , organise , coordinate , meet deadlines before , clear the calendar for , and stress us out about . Christmas feels increasingly like something that we just have to get through , get it over with or perhaps even get out of the way . Hence the many Grinch or Scrooge-type Disney movies , reminding us how not to become ‘ that guy ’. In the Bible , King Herod was the original ‘ that guy ’.
As the story goes , the sense of hope and anticipation that the astronomers from the East have is contrasted with Herod ’ s desire to eradicate baby Jesus . The astronomers ’ search for Jesus represents something cosmically significant about his arrival . They recognise the special nature of something big going on and they want to be part of it .
Later on in the story we read that Herod , on the other hand , wants to get rid of this potential usurper . Herod ’ s subjects are afraid of his paranoid genocidal tendencies every time there is a threat to his throne . So when someone arrives out of the blue and says , ‘ Where is the baby born to be the king of the Jews ?’ they don ’ t hear , ‘ The Messiah has come !’ They hear , ‘ Oh no , Herod is going to kill us all !’ The astronomers , nonetheless , were on a mission . They wanted to see ‘ The One ’. Their hearts were filled with eager expectation , and they were not disappointed .
They soon found Jesus and they worshipped him . To worship is to recognise and respond in reverence to something or someone of great worth . The prophesies explained that the Messiah ’ s worth would be his qualification and capacity to save us from our sin , permanently restoring our relationship with God . Perhaps this is the key difference between Herod and the wise men : Herod didn ’ t want a saviour . As such , he is entirely blindsided to the cosmic significance of the event on his doorstep .
I must admit : Christmas gets pretty busy for me . In the lead-up , I find myself wishing it was all over so I can just enjoy my holiday . I have to repress my inner- Scrooge from time to time . Like the astronomers , I think the key to turning it around is to remind ourselves of the immeasurable worth of Jesus .
As we approach another busy Christmas season , will Jesus be a disruption and frustration , or will we seek after and celebrate him ? Will we attempt to remove him , or will we worship him ?
6 Great Scot Issue 167 – December 2022