The Story of The Holy Innocents

Text:  Matthew 2:13-23

Theme:  "The Story of The Holy Innocents"

1st Sunday After Christmas

December 29, 2013

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Denton, Texas

Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

 

+In the Name of Jesus+

 

¹³ When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

¹⁴ So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, ¹⁵ where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”^[c]

¹⁶ When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. ¹⁷ Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

¹⁸ “A voice is heard in Ramah,
    weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
    and refusing to be comforted,
    because they are no more.”^[d]

¹⁹ After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt ²⁰ and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

²¹ So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, ²³ and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

Here we are on the fifth day of Christmas.  On the first day, as the famous song says, the "true love" gave a "partridge in pear tree."  Day two included "two turtle doves."  On day three the gift was "three French hens".  Day number four provided "four calling birds". 

 

If your true love had actually done this, you would now be in possession  of twenty birds.  You must an ornithologist or something.  With the dawn of day five, you can be forgiven for thinking that you hope the  gift will be a huge cage, a big bag of birdseed, and a whole lot of newspaper.  But that, unfortunately, is not the case.  On day five you get ten more birds and -- get ready for this! -- five golden rings.  Why the five golden rings?  That's OUT OF SYNC.  In the interest of consistency, wouldn't five parakeets or parrots or something like that be more apropos?  Anyway, with the price per ounce of gold these days, you could sell the five rings and use the proceeds to care for the birds -- at least for the foreseeable future.  We can only hope the rings are solid gold and not plated. 

 

Five golden rings.  That's out of sync.  You've got thirty birds already -- enough for your own Alfred Hitchcock movie!

 

It's not only the lyrics to an old, familiar, seasonal song that can get out of sync.  Life can get out of sync at times, and that can throw us for a loop and throw us into a bit of a tizzy.  How things go for you, when things are out of sync, when things aren't going according to your well thought out plan,  will depend, in no small part, in how well you can adjust and adapt to what is out of sync.

 

Today, quite frankly, the church year is out of sync.  We have before us the story of the Holy Innocents.  Traditionally, this Scripture was given a day all its own:  yesterday, December 28th, the Feast of the Holy Innocents.  But, historically and chronologically, this story should come after January 6th.  January 6th is the feast of the Epiphany where the main Scripture is the story of the arrival of the Magi who followed the star that guided them to the baby Jesus.  Today, obviously, is not January 6.  So we have a text, a story, that is out of sync.  I have a hunch there is a reason for this, but I can't quite figure it out.  (I'll let you know if and when I do.)

 

On to the text before us:  the first verse in today's Gospel from Matthew says:  "When they had gone... ."  The "they" is the magi -- or, as some call them, the "wise men."  They found the newborn King of the Jews, and they worshipped Him with their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  They're out of the picture now.  Gone, too, are the Christmas shepherds.  All we are left with, at the start of this text,  are Joseph, Mary, and the newborn Jesus. 

 

You may have a manger scene -- or "creche" -- at your home that is part of your Christmas decoration.  While the day of Christmas itself is over, you might want to still keep the manger scene on the display.  You could, however, put away the shepherds and the wise men until, Lord willing,  next year and just leave Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.  You could even move them and put them in your windowsill -- as if they were looking out over the world, a world that made them refugees for a time, a world that is so often out of sync and even violently cruel.

 

That said, allow me to switch gears a bit.  I'm  thinking of an historical figure and, specifically, a governmental leader.  Today's modern conservative would love him.  When times were tough, he didn't raise taxes.  In fact, he lowered them.  Today's modern liberal would have nice things to say, too.  During one time of crisis, he even sold his dinnerware to buy food for the population. 

 

What is more, the land he governed was groomed and beautified during his time of service. He erected palaces and fortresses and temples and aqueducts.  His crowning achievement was the great new temple in Jerusalem.  It was he who created the magnificent seaport of Caesarea, on the eastern seaboard of the Mediterranean, which stimulated trade and commerce.  In short, it was good for the economy.  Were he a president of the United States, he might qualify to be enshrined by Gutzon-Borglun at Mt. Rushmore. 

 

But not everything about the man was in sync.  He actually had little support in the kingdom of Israel which was but a client of mighty Rome.   By blood, he was only half-Jewish, and, worse, he acted and governed more like a Roman.    Later on, the tax burden dangerously increased, and this didn't help matters.  He came to be hated as a tyrant -- even by members of his own family.  He was dangerously paranoid and was tormented by fears of assassination.  He even asked the Roman emperor for permission to execute one or two of his sons for treason.  Even Caesar Augustus, his boss, would remark:  "I'd rather be a pig than one of his sons." 

 

Later on, with advancing age and sickness taking its toll, he worried that no one would mourn him when he died.  So he issued orders from his deathbed that leaders from all parts of Judea were to be locked inside the great hippodrome in Jericho.  When he died, archers were to massacre these individuals in cold blood, so that there indeed would be universal mourning associated with his death.  In the end, both of these plans failed.  The prisoners in the hippodrome were released, and the baby Jesus was well on his way to Egypt. 

 

By now, you know who I am thinking about:  the King Herod mentioned in today's text.  Historian Paul L. Maier asks and answers the question quite well:  "Would Herod have scrupled at the lives of a few babies in little Bethlehem?  Hardly!"  His reasoning was cold, calculated, shrewd, paranoid, and demented.  When he realized that the magi had outwitted him, he ordered the slaughter of all boys in Bethlehem at the age of two years or younger.  Today, we would call this state-sponsored terrorism. 

 

And Rachel wept for her children and refused any comfort, for they were no more. 

 

Just as an aside, some of you have reported to me about some very lavish Christmas pageants put on by large churches in the Dallas area.  There were flying angels and live animals and a newborn infant to play baby Jesus and a full choir and orchestra. Thousands of people attended and raved about the productions, so I'm told.  But there was nothing about the holy innocents that Herod slaughtered.  Perhaps that's just too dark a part of the story and too discordant  to modern evangelical ears to be included in the season of warmth and light.  Ironically, a Christmas pageant in the middle ages -- in the 1300s -- did include the story of the holy innocents. Perhaps they were more careful then to put forth the "whole counsel" of God.   As a result, a Christmas carol -- the "Coventry Carol", to be exact -- was presented.  A portion of the lyrics go like this:

 

Lully, lullay, thou little tiny child;

Bye bye, lully, lullay

Herod, the king, in his raging,

Charged he hath this day

His men of might, in his owne sight,

All young children to slay.

That woe is me, poor Child for Thee!

And ever mourn and sigh,

For thy parting neither say nor sing,

Bye, bye, lully, lullay.

 

One of the things that is unique to Matthew's Gospel is that it gives us the Joseph side of Christmas.  Joseph, you will recall, was the stepfather of our Lord.  In today's text alone, he experiences three dreams (which were actually more like nightmares). 

 

In dream number one, he learned that even in his stepson's infancy, the powers that be wanted to have him killed.   The angel (or messenger) in the dream told him to get up, get going, and to take the child and his mother to Egypt.  So off they went.  Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were refugees.  And all of this fulfilled an ancient prophecy:  "Out of Egypt have I called my son."

 

In dream or nightmare number two, the angel (or messenger) tells Joseph to return to Israel, for King Herod -- who wanted to kill Jesus -- was dead.

 

But then Joseph was afraid when he learned that one of Herod's son, Archelaus, had succeeded him.  In the midst of the fear came dream or nightmare number three.  As a result, Joseph, Mary, and our Lord Jesus went to live in Galilee in a town called Nazareth.  This, too, was to fulfill an ancient prophecy:  "He shall be called a Nazarene."

 

The refugee family had logged many a mile in a cruel, violent, terrorized, out of sync world.

 

There is no moral to the story of the Holy Innocents. I find that refreshing, actually.   It's not trying to get us to do something.  It's trying to tell us something.  That something, as best I can surmise, is this:  that God's purposes -- in a fallen, cruel, violent, terrorized, and out of sync world -- will be worked out.  In infancy, the life of baby Jesus was preserved so that the child could go on to do what we could not do for ourselves.  You see, the infant child would grow up to be our crucified and risen Lord. 

 

And at the very least, this means that in your life -- whether it's in sync or out of sync -- God's purposes will be worked out.  God rest ye merry, Gentlemen (and Gentlewomen); let nothing you dismay this day.  For all things work together for the good for those who are called according to God's purpose.

 

That's the Gospel for today -- the fifth day of Christmas, the day of the thirty birds and the five golden rings! This is the good news for every day.

 

Am

Text:  Isaiah 9:2-7

Theme:  "Gifts Not Under the Tree"

THE FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD

December 24, 2013

First Presbyterian Church

Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

 

+In the Name of Jesus+

 

The people walking in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
    a light has dawned.
³ You have enlarged the nation
    and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
    as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
    when dividing the plunder.
⁴ For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
    you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
    the bar across their shoulders,
    the rod of their oppressor.
⁵ Every warrior’s boot used in battle
    and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
    will be fuel for the fire.
⁶ For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

 

If being a bit old-fashioned is a crime, then there is enough evidence to convict me.  Case in point:   I do love the great old songs of Christmas.  I learned many of those carols, odd as it may seem, from listening to the long-playing albums that companies like Firestone and Goodyear put out all those years ago. 

 

One of the joys of being a Christian is that you meet fellow believers that, were it not for the church, you likely would not meet.  One such friend of mine is named Doug Hill, now a retired commercial airline pilot.  We shared a love of those old Firestone and Goodyear albums, and we compared notes.  He took my old records and his.  Then he re-recorded them in digital format.  A few years back he gave me a gift-wrapped stack CDs of those old classics, and I've enjoyed them ever since.

 

My favorite this year is a Christmas song sung by Petula Clark called "Happiest Christmas":

 

The happiest Christmas is a homecoming Christmas

With the snow fluttering down til the world seems new.

Bright candles burning; old friends returning;

The wishes of children coming true.

 

And the happiest wishes are just old-fashioned wishes.

May your days be merry; your sorrows be small.

May the ones you love be near you.

That's the happiest Christmas of all.

Once again, we've heard the age-old story from Luke, chapter two:  "Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord."  That first Christmas may not have been the happiest Christmas -- ala' Petula Clark, but it was the greatest.  It's message of salvation and redemption in the Christ-child has held the world in its warm embrace for over two thousand years. 

 

Following that great gift of God's Son at Christmas, Christians and people of good will all through the world have followed in that tradition of giving gifts.  Tonight and tomorrow, all throughout this land, gifts under countless Christmas trees will be handed out, opened, and enjoyed.

 

As I reflected on our text, this great Christmas prophecy of Isaiah, it occurred to me that this ancient seer, so to speak, unpacked Christmas gifts that no one will find under the tree.  But you will find them in the pages of God's Word.  Let me identify these gifts and set them before you in our time together this evening.    

 

The first gift is LIGHT FOR YOUR DARKNESS.  "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light" is the first verbal salvo from Isaiah.  The difficulties and struggles we all face are like darkness.  We're stuck; we don't know where to turn.  But Christmas declares you have a light for your darkness.

 

The second gift is the JOY OF BELONGING.  Isaiah says that God has enlarged the nation and increased the joy.  By the grace baby Jesus came to bring, you are part of that nation, a citizen of that kingdom.  You belong.

 

While there may be something of a lull tonight and tomorrow, the day after Christmas we will likely be reminded that live in a world where there are wars and rumors of wars.  With this in mind, the third gift is the PROMISE THAT WAR SHALL CEASE.  Again, Isaiah:  "Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire."  And with God, a promise made is a promise kept.

 

The fourth gift is this: YOU WILL NEVER BE WITHOUT FAMILY. For unto you a child is born, and unto you a Son is given.

 

The fifth gift is this:  GOD IS IN CHARGE.  The "government is on His shoulders," says Isaiah.

 

The sixth gift is this:  YOU HAVE SOMEONE YOU CAN ALWAYS TURN TO, for you have a "Wonderful Counselor."  His great counsel is in His Word, and that can be at your fingertip any day or any night.

 

The seventh gift is this:  YOU HAVE POWER.  Isaiah says that this child, this Son that was born unto you is the mighty God.  He's not a statue or an icon.  He is the One who spelled the end of everything that sin, death, and hell could do to you.  But His power is made perfect in weakness.  Who would have thought that this helpless baby shivering in a manger was the mighty Creator of the ends of the earth?  You get the arms of your heart and mind around that, and you are on your way!  It changes everything! 

 

The eighth gift is this:  YOU ARE NOT AN ORPHAN. You never have been; you never will be.  You may not have earthly parents.  But you have an "everlasting Father," says Isaiah,  a heavenly parent.

 

The ninth gift is PEACE AT THE CENTER.  St. Paul, inspired by God, once declared:  "Nevertheless,  it is not I who live but Christ who lives in me."  When Christ lives in you, you nod your head at Isaiah's word that the babe of Bethlehem is the prince of peace.  As the Scriptures declare, "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.  For He Himself is our peace... ."

 

The tenth gift is A DIVINE GUARANTEE.  All the previous gifts are good to go; they cannot wear out; they will never cease; they shall always be yours to enjoy and share.  These are the gifts that came into the world on that first and greatest Christmas!  They will always continue to be given out  as the Spirit of the Christ-child, the Holy Spirit,  does so through the Word of God and the blessed sacraments.  And what makes this so?  What makes it happen?  Isaiah answers:  "The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this."

 

A quick review of the gifts not under the tree:

LIGHT FOR YOUR DARKNESS

THE JOY OF BELONGING

THE PROMISE THAT WAR SHALL CEASE

YOU WILL NEVER BE WITHOUT A FAMILY

YOU HAVE SOMEONE YOU CAN ALWAYS TURN TO

YOU HAVE POWER

YOU ARE NOT AN ORPHAN

YOU HAVE PEACE AT THE CENTER

All of the above come with a DIVINE GUARANTEE

 

 

So we can revisit that old song by Petula Clark with fresh perspective.  The happiest Christmas IS a homecoming Christmas.  For, at that first and greatest Christmas, God left His home to come to ours, so that we, one day, could go home to His. 

 

And the happiest wishes are just old-fashioned wishes:

may your days be merry; your sorrows be small.

May the ones you love be near you.

That's the happiest Christmas of all.

 

Amen.

"Beyond the 'Icepocalypse'!"

Text:  Isaiah 35:1-10

Theme:  "Beyond the 'Icepocalypse'"

Third Sunday of Advent

December 15, 2013

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Denton, Texas

Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

 

+In the Name of Jesus+

 

The desert and the parched land will be glad;
    the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, ² it will burst into bloom;
    it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
    the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
    the splendor of our God.

³ Strengthen the feeble hands,
    steady the knees that give way;
⁴ say to those with fearful hearts,
    “Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
    he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
    he will come to save you.”

⁵ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
    and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
⁶ Then will the lame leap like a deer,
    and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
    and streams in the desert.
⁷ The burning sand will become a pool,
    the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
    grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

⁸ And a highway will be there;
    it will be called the Way of Holiness;
    it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
    wicked fools will not go about on it.
⁹ No lion will be there,
    nor any ravenous beast;
    they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
¹⁰     and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
    everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

The timing was nearly perfectly in traveling back to Denton. There were only about ten to fifteen minutes or so of dangerous driving conditions.  Nevertheless, we made it, and Diana and I nestled ourselves in for the night as the Icepocalypse got underway on Thursday, December 5, in the week of Advent I.

 

Icepocalypse.  For you linguistic purists, it's a made-up, compound word.   Ice?  That's frozen H2O. Pocalypse?  That's short for apocalypse--which means an uncovering, a revealing, a revelation. There is a form of literature in the Bible that is called apocalyptic. Certain passages in the Old Testament book of Daniel and the New Testament book of Revelation offer examples.  But nowadays, in popular parlance, apocalypse suggests some sort of cataclysmic event -- even the end of the world.  Hollywood has even gotten into the act with all things apocalyptic and even post-apocalyptic.  The motion picture The Book of Eli comes to mind.

 

At any rate, whoever it was called the recent blast of winter weather the Icepocalypse down here in these parts. Do put a hashtag in front of it.  Back where I come from, it's just another December day!  No need for a cute hashtag.

 

Meanwhile,  Pete Delkus, the weather guy, had it just about right -- making up for a previous forecast of  bad winter weather, roughly a week or so earlier, that was much ado about nothing.  This time, he tweeted that our metroplex would be "entombed" in ice.  He pretty much nailed it.  The 18-wheelers were stranded on I-35.  Thus, regular deliveries to the supermarkets were postponed.  After the run on milk, eggs, bread, and other staples, the cupboards at Kroger and Albertsons were bare.  Some folks on social media, with a flair for the dramatic, intimated that it was the "end of civilization."  Church was canceled last Sunday. It reminds me of words from an old Beatles song:

 

Father MacKenzie writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear;

no one comes near.

All the lonely people:  where do they all come from?

 

But, lonely or not, we've "come near" today,  post-icepocalyptically, to, once more, hear the Word of God both read and proclaimed.  And today is unique in that it is the Third Sunday of Advent which has traditionally been called Gaudete Sunday. (I like traditional things.  On close examination, they are so very "contemporary"!)  Gaudete translates from the Latin as "joy" or "to rejoice", and it is linked to that magnificent passage of Holy Scripture from Philippians 4:  "Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near."  So, yes:  light that pink candle for joy in the midst of three purple ones.  The purple ones suggest repentance -- which is what the season of Advent is all about, mostly -- except for this snippet of joy in the third week.

 

Just as an aside,  most of us have probably already heard about the annual skirmishes in what has been called "The War on Christmas."  Well, as Dr. Seuss reminds us, even the Grinch couldn't keep Christmas from coming!  Actually, from all that I have observed, it seems to be a war on Advent. Advent, for Christians, is more than four weeks of shopping time before Christmas; there's more to it than twenty plus days of decking the halls and decking the malls!   It is season where we, under the light of Holy Scripture, take a good, long, honest look at who we are --and who we are not -- before almighty God.  We take the time, precious time, to heed the call of Advent's great preacher, John the Baptist, to "repent, for kingdom of God is at hand."  Such repentance (or change of mind and heart) requires a certain leveling of pride, it calls forth a willingness to stop picking the immoral speck out of our neighbor's eye while ignoring the log in our own.  Advent calls us, as the saying goes, to "clean up our side of the street."  But our culture, sadly, is powerfully resistant to this.  Hence, we have a war on Advent.

 

But this morning, in the warm confines of First Presbyterian, there is no war on Advent.  Today, beyond the Icepocalypse, there is joy in our reading, proclaiming, and hearing of God's Word.  We take our cue, in the text, from the prophet Isaiah:  "The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.  Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy." There's nothing there about being entombed in ice!  With this joyful and metaphorical language, Isaiah is trying to tell us that the "glory" and "splendor" of God will be seen.  Count on it.

 

This good news prompts action."Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those fearful hearts, 'Be strong, do not fear; your God will come to save you."

 

In Jesus Christ, that helpless infant lying in Bethlehem's manger and now the risen King of kings and Lord of lords, God has done just that.  "You shall give him the name Jesus," the angel said, "for he will save his people from their sins."

 

Isaiah says that the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will leap like a deer.  Sounds like Jesus to me.  Does it sound like Jesus to you? He fulfills the prophecy!  Burning sand becomes a pool.  Thirsty ground becomes a fountain.  It sound to me that the injustices and the inequities brought on by human sin in this world, brought on by all that hellish and self-centered turning away from God, will one day be rectified.  You have that confidence on the highest authority; you have it from God.

 

Then, in the ultimate joy, we hear of a highway -- a heavenly interstate, if you will.  Isaiah says:  "A highway will be there; it will be called the way of holiness.  Traffic will be light and the sailing will be safe because the unclean will not be upon it. You will find no wicked fools on that highway --and no lions and/or ferocious beasts to cross your path.  No road rage here!

 

"Only the redeemed will walk there," says the prophet.  If you are redeemed, then you have a Redeemer.  In Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the grave, you have just that:  a Redeemer. 

 

"And the ransomed of the Lord will return," cries the prophet.  If you are ransomed, then you have a ransomer.  In Jesus Christ, whose birth we are about to celebrate, you have just that. 

 

One day, you will enter God's heaven with singing.  Everlasting joy will crown your head.  Gladness will overtake you.  Sorrow and sighing will flee away.  Almighty God promises that to YOU!

 

Don't miss it for the world.  Beyond the icepocalypse, the highway is still there. The eyes of faith see it clearly.  The on-ramp has no black ice, for our sins have been paid for -- salted over! -- by Jesus Christ. 

 

Just Friday, in the darkness of a pre-dawn hour, I drove through the farmlands of Nebraska . The darkness was deep, but stars twinkled in the sky and Christmas lights adorned many a farm house.  It was bone-chillingly cold -- thirteen degrees above zero, to be exact, but the coffee was fresh,  the car warm, and the highway clear. The day began to dawn on fields of snow, with the sun stretching through a thin layer of cloud.  There was a white, twinkling admixture of fog and snow hovering over the land like a thin blanket.  It was breathtakingly beautiful.  I had long since turned off the incessant chatter of the radio and pumped Christmas music through the stereo -- and I heard it:  "And the glory of Lord shall be revealed -- and all mankind shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."  In time, I made it home.

 

In the end, ultimately, by the grace of God, we all will make it home-- beyond the Icepocalypse, toZion, to the home that the child of Christmas has gone to prepare for us.   And that's the good news for Advent III, Gaudete Sunday!

 

Amen.