Matthew 2:11-16New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
The Escape to Egypt
13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 Then Joseph[a] got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”
The Massacre of the Infants
16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men,[b] he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men.
INTRODUCTION.
At the heart of the Christmas story is a child, a divine
child. Does that mean the story is only about that one child in Bethlehem or
does this point us to a realization that there is a child in us always seeking
to be born , to be recognized?... to give us a much needed attitude
toward life, love and other humans and even toward nature? The symbol of the birth of a child is full of
meaning and potential. We know a literal child can change our world and perhaps
the child in us is meant to change our world even more. Wouldn't to live out
the child in us be to live the meaning of
Christmas all the time?
 |
| Mary as she realizes the baby is in grave danger. |
Most ancient people whose legend has risen to the status of saint, god or resulted in the beginning of a new religion have had stories evolved of their special and miraculous birth. Some mythological stories include the infant barely escaping early death. Babies Moses and Jesus are only two examples. Some best scholars believe the story of Jesus' escape from death was included by Jewish Christians decades after Jesus' death to show him as even pgreater than Moses was for the Hebrews.
Of course the author of Matthew, the only place the story is told, makes no claim to have been present at Jesus' birth. Most likely much of the story came from the early church's attempt to explain the unexplainable impact of Jesus' adult life on his friends and followers. Jesus no doubt was a person who was fully connected to the Spirit of God. As such the explanations of him had to be explained in Spiritual language, language of the heart, empowering symbols like a virgin birth and the baby being pursued by a murderous king.
This does not make the story one of any deceit but one that truly comes from the source of all spiritual revelations,
from the hearts and creative imaginations of sincere believers so from God. It must speak of discoveries we can make about our most inner selves. If taken that
way, we can use the rich symbols to see the truths spoken of are just as
true now as then. Otherwise the interesting story is left with us as a claim of literal history and can fail to engage our hearts but only our heads. Such things as the divine child being born in the human heart
never change. The Christmas story appeals to
the active child-likeness that is already in us all, though it easily gets lost and pushed aside.
Let's
notice a few of the dynamics that might help us respect our own inner child as we
enter a new year.
DISCUSSION
I. There are dangers in the world that the child part of us
knows nothing about. So a child does not
fear or hate or negatively discriminate. But also hopefully the child has adults around it that will keep
the child safe as the child explores fearlessly and wondrously the magnificent
world around it.
Baby Jesus could have no concept
that the most powerful person around wanted to kill him. Ones childishness
cannot conceive of being rejected , much less being resented for being itself
or of anyone wishing to harm her.
After my mother died My dad moved my bunk bed into his room, perhaps for
his own comfort as much as mine. I was glad to be there but he snored terribly.
I asked for a set of earplugs rather than to not sleep there close to him. A
child naturally is receptive and expects their presence to be adored and
appreciated. They at first 'know' their value. Sadly such a spiritual way
of being usually gets pushed out of people as they grow up.
The culture and religion that Jesus was born into was one of harsh
condemnation toward ones considered as impure. This included the poor, ones of
the wrong religious faith, the sick and lame, women, girl babies and especially any child born out of wedlock.
Such a world of discrimination and rejection of certain ones makes no sense to the heart of any child
including our own inner child's heart. That is why this inner child is always considered the savior of the world.
We would do well to get back in
touch with our own divine child and help resurrect this innocent accepting way of viewing ourselves and others. From
within us must be the only way where any
real `peace on earth' comes from whether
in family, community, nation or the world. So as adults we ought to assure our
own inner divine child that we will always cherish and love them and protect
them from outside forces that would seek to diminish or harm them.
II. A child easily accepts that the nature of life is to take
many detours. Our adult mind wants to `cut to the chase' in life. We want the
quickest way to everywhere. We want no real surprises that we don't plan
ourselves. The word Detour is a very unwelcome road sign to most people. Jesus'
family is pictured as having to take a very long detour, perhaps of months or
years as they flee to Egypt. That took them to unexpected places and ventures.
To an adult detours are an interference of life but to the child in us, it is
part of the journey, the excitement, the learning. Without detours, including very unwelcomed ones, we would
miss some of the most important parts of our lives. Our adult drive for security at all costs
drives this child right out of our conscious and practical lives. A child lives
with few exact expectations of themselves or of others. It is open to life and is present to help
us to be also.
When traveling to AL from TN recently I purposely took the old highways- a longer
trip but far more interesting than the quickest way. To a child life is all
about the trip, not the destination. Interruptions turn out to be the most
important and most spiritual parts of our life. The child in us is forever drawn to the
`road less traveled' rather than the
ways of convention and predictability. The child intuitively knows that this is
the way of the spirit guided life.. The
Christmas Story seeks to point us to our own child, not merely to an
event two thousand years ago. This story is timeless and when heard correctly is always true.
The child believes and expects the world to receive them gladly
as it should. Of course we adults know
that life `cures ` us of such ideas in the most cruel ways. But the child in us does not give into that
negative experience if it is given permission to stay true to itself. It keeps on believing and
hoping, trusting. To lose that is to lose our child and to lose our spiritual
life. What a tragedy. The adult Jesus weeps as he says that "those who
seek to save their lives(that is deny or repress the inner child) will lose it , and those who lose their lives for this `good news' will find it."
Billy Joel's song `Second wind' is advice written to a young adult who has already gotten out of touch with their inner child.
Hope is natural to a child but easily slips from an adult... Recall as you read these words that in the Gospel of John `wind and spirit' are use
interchangeably in Jesus' conversation.
"Just like a boxer in a title fight. You got to walk in
that ring all alone. You're not the only one who's made mistakes But they're
the only thing that you can truly call your own. Don't forget your second wind. Wait in that
corner until that breeze blows in..
But I survived all those long lonely days When it seemed I
did not have a friend. Cause all I needed was a little faith So I could catch
my breath and face the world again. Don't forget your second wind. Sooner or
later you'll feel that momentum kick in."
These are spiritual words from an unexpected place."
CONCLUSION:
These thoughts may seem a long way from the Christmas story
but in the world of the Spirit the most unusual connections are made. In fact
through the lens of the Spirit all things of nature and certainly
all people are connected from deep within. A cynical
voice in us will say to these things, `This child within us stuff is just not how reality is. Get over it and back to reality'. But that is not
the voice of the inner child who always
sees many possibilities, not just one way to go that the adult focuses on. It is the creative impulse within us. The child will speak to
us from the world of the Spirit and
from the world of the Christmas Story. ... Not just 'once a year Christmas' but every day.
The Christmas story comes to us from the ancient past and its purpose is
to reawaken the divine child in us all and urge us to take that child seriously. May that child sleeping within each of us be `born in us' today. If it is even a little bit more, Christmas will
have accomplished its real purpose.
BENEDICTION: May the joy and wonder of Christmas be in you as you travel the days
ahead. May you know your truer purpose
and better appreciate the crooks in the road. And may you occasionally
touch the pure white calm from which every baby is born. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment