First Sunday of Christmas

Just a few days before Pakistan was going to make an attempt at restoring democracy the potential winner, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated last week by a suicide bomber. The atrocity threatens the stability of an already tense nation that constantly walks a tight rope between supporting the US war on terror and keeping internal peace. Benazir Bhutto knew that by continuing with her election campaign she was putting herself at considerable risk after she survived an earlier assassination attempt in October, which resulted in the death of 130 people. But despite the threat of violence she believed passionately that the country should move from military dictatorship to democracy if the extremists were to be overcome. Shortly before she died on Thursday she said "I put my life in danger and came here because I feel this country is in danger. People are worried. We will bring the country out of this crisis." It is a cruel irony that the sources of danger she vowed to challenge killed her before she even got to the polls.

The rapid shift from a focus for hope and new beginnings to a situation fraught with danger takes place in our scriptures with the ongoing story of Jesus nativity. At the beginning of this week we celebrated Jesus birth. The story was wrapped in sweetness as little children paraded around our church for the crib service. This was followed by the wonderful mystery of midnight mass, for which I always feel John Betjeman’s words in his poem Christmas are so apt. He asks the question of the birth of Christ “And is it true?” and responds “for if it is …”.

No love that in a family dwells,
No carolling in frosty air,
Nor all the steeple shaking bells
Can with this single truth compare –
That God was Man in Palestine
And lives today in Bread and Wine.

But in our readings the warm glow of Christmas suddenly turns to a deeply threatening reality. The birth of the Christ child was a challenge to the absolute rule of Herod. And in act as atrocious as any modern day terrorist bombing or political assassination he orders the killing of all children under two in Bethlehem in an attempt to wipe our the infant king.

And in incredibly vivid words we feel the consequences of this slaughter in the grief of one mother:

A voice was heard in Ramah
wailing and loud lamentation.
Rachel weeping for her children:
she refused to be consoled,
because they are no more.

After all the build up and excitement of Christmas we are plunged in to the reality of what Jesus’ birth really meant for his people and what it means for us today.

Why did Herod feel so threatened by the birth of a child in poverty, to an unknown couple? It is a familiar story that we still see in the world today. Herod seeks absolute power and security and no price is too great to maintain this state. Benazir Bhutto’ assassination is the terrorists’ answer to democracy. In Zimbabwe President Mugabe ignores the pleas and outrage of the rest of the world as he has allowed the collapse of his country’s economy and infrastructure, and the deaths of thousands of innocent people, simply to cling to power in absolute self-belief.

The responses of Herod, and of modern day extremists and dictators are not those that we can relate to in our lives. We simply would not and do not behave like that. But there are messages for us in this account. Because God’s way of the world is immediately being revealed for us right at the beginning of Matthew’s gospel. Most of us are anxious about our security. Security that comes in all sorts of forms to give us peaceful happy lives – our finances, our health, our environment. But one of the consequences of this constant search we have for greater and greater security is that often we choose it regardless of the cost to others.

This is not God’s way. God simply gives himself to us. As we grow in faith he comes closer and closer. He does not seek security. He does not act to protect his rule of love. In Christ he showed us that he is vulnerable. Ultimately his way for Jesus led to crucifixion. But in the resurrection we know that ultimately the path chosen by Herod, by the assassins of Benazir Bhutto and by the Robert Mugabes of the world will not prevail. Seeking security regardless of the cost to others separates us from God.

We have been given the incredible gift of faith. As our bible readings begin once more to unfold the story of Jesus’ life we come to the time for resolutions and new beginnings. Maybe we should ensure that our new year’s resolutions are not shaped to make our lives more secure in 2008. Instead we could explore where we might free ourselves from self-concern so that others may be made richer by our generosity. In doing this we would mirror God’s generosity to us, which has infinitely enriched our lives. We could give of our wealth and gifts; such as they may be, and of our time, so precious but ultimately God given. And, laying aside the temptation to live according to that anthem to self-interest ‘I did it my way’, we could say for once, ‘let’s do it your way’. Which might in the end see us doing things God’s way.

© Robert Jenkins 2007