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 … – Matthew 2:1-2 (GNT)
Happy Christmas, everyone!
Last century, when I was a kid, Christmas was my favourite time of the year. We got to have some time off school, plus Christmas presents, and catching up with grandparents and uncles and aunties and cousins, and those summer holiday adventures (I was in Australia….!) Those were the days.
As I got older, it seemed that I had less time to enjoy and celebrate Christmas than I had when I was younger. Tertiary studies, looking for full-time work, moving into my own home. There was so much more to plan, organise, coordinate, meet deadlines before, clear the calendar for, and stress out about.
Christmas can sometimes feel as if it is something that we just have to get through, or perhaps even get out of the way. And we can end up becoming a Grinch or a Scrooge. We can become mean-spirited and resentful and unwilling to celebrate. We can end up focusing on and complaining about the inconveniences and frustrations and costs instead of simply enjoying the celebration.
Matthew tells us that 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 recognise that there is something cosmically significant about the birth of Jesus. The astronomers recognise the special nature of something big going on and they want to be part of it. And so they start searching for Jesus so they can worship him.
The astronomers soon found Jesus and they worshipped him, giving him valuable gifts that recognised who Jesus was and why he was born. When we worship, we recognise and respond in reverence to something or someone of great worth. The prophecies explained that the Messiah’s worth would be his qualification and capacity to rescue us and set us free from the power and penalty of our sin and permanently restore our relationship with God.
Herod’s subjects, however, are afraid of Herod’s 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!’ Instead, what they hear is, ‘Oh no, Herod is going to kill us all!’.
Matthew tells us later on in the story that King Herod, on the other hand, wants to get rid of this potential threat to his throne. He starts searching for all the baby boys who were born in Bethlehem at around the same time as Jesus. But instead of coming to worship Jesus, Herod instead organises a massacre of all those baby boys in the region.
As we approach another busy Christmas season, will Jesus be an inconvenience and a frustration, or will we seek after Jesus and celebrate him? Will we attempt to remove Jesus, or will we worship him?
If you want to worship Jesus, why not make some time to join the Christmas celebrations at a church near you?
Rev Rowan
All Saints Anglican Church Jakarta
Main Church is at Jl. Arief Rachman Hakim 5 RT 001/RW 010, Kel. Kebon Sirih, Kec. Menteng Jakarta Pusat, 10340, Indonesia – but we also have services in Pondok Indah South Jakarta.
For more information, visit their website here.
