Week Two

Most great stories include a villain. This is certainly true of the Christmas story. At the time of Jesus’ birth, King Herod the Great ruled over Galilee (Mary and Joseph’s homeland) and Judea (Jospeh’s ancestral home and where Jesus was born). Herod considered himself king of the Jews, but his power came not from the Jewish people but from the Roman emperor. He had a reputation for cruelty and was more interested in his power and legacy than in Jewish faith and tradition.

Matthew’s Gospel tells us that Herod felt threatened when he heard people to Jesus – who was only a baby – as a savior and king. To eliminate this supposed threat, Herod ordered the massacre of all the young children in the Bethlehem area. While Jesus and his family were safe, hiding away in Egypt. Many other children were victims of this unspeakable evil.

It’s easy for us to condemn Herod. There’s no question that he was power-hungry and wicked. It’s much harder for us to come to terms with the fact that, in spite of everything Herod did, God’s love and grace is still available to him. We confess that we are also sinners. Like Herod, we are in need of redemption.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him…

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”…

 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,”…

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.
Matthew 2:1-3,7-8,13,16

THE SCANDAL OF LOVE – excerpt from study book

“Who deserves God’s love and, well, who does not? This is unlikely story of Advent is a story of a God that includes men and women like Zechariah and Elizabeth, who fear they have been placed on the shelf. God includes magi, who by birth are outside the circle of God’s people. God includes an unwed teenage mother, Mary, and he partner, a fearful and hesitant stepfather, Joseph.

And God included Herod, the villain who represented the possibilities for God’s plan of redemption. Before we think we have it all figured out, perhaps we should be reminded anew of the scandal of God’s love. God’s scandalous love embodied in Jesus. God’s scandalous love dined with tax collectors and sinners; was anointed by women of ill repute; was touched by leprous untouchables. And here in the Advent story, God’s scandalous love includes the likes of the political tyrant Herod…… 

The power of forgiveness is baked into the bread and cup and the story of life transformed by love.

There is a Herod within us all. And friends, that is the scandal of God’s love. God became flesh and blood. Immanuel: God is with us.

What does God’s scandalous love mean for someone like Herod?

What does God’s scandalous love mean for us and our attitudes and behaviors toward other people?

How do we acknowledge God’s scandalous love and grace without excusing or dismissing the hurt that people have caused?

Closing prayer: God, thank you for bringing us together for this time of study and discussion. We know that you love all of us, despite our shortcomings. Give us the strength and courage to show that same love and grace to all people, especially those who are difficult for us to love. Open our eyes to the ways that we fall short and hurt others so that we may learn and grow and become the people you call us to be. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.