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| The Rising Sun"By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." - Luke 1:78-79 Dear Friends: The Christmas story has a very sobering side to it. Yes, the angels are magnificent. Mary and Joseph are inspiringly obedient to God. The shepherds are remarkably faithful. The baby is glorious. And then, there is King Herod. King Herod lied to the wise men (Matthew 2:8). He gave free reign to his fear (Matthew 2:3) and his rage (Matthew 2:16). He ordered the murder of all the innocent babies in Bethlehem. Because of Herod, the holy family lived for years as refugees (Matthew 2:13 and 22). Herod was personally responsible for a lot of dark shadows and death. King Herod is deeply disturbing not only for what he did then, when Christ was being born into the world, but also for the ways he continues to be made manifest in the world. Today, Bethlehem is surrounded by a wall, and those who live there are virtual prisoners. Around the globe, children are allowed to live in poverty and die of preventable causes. In our own country, lawmakers are giving serious consideration to a bill (HR 4437) which would, among other things, make it a crime for an individual, social service agency, or church to give a meal or a blanket to an undocumented worker or refugee, even if they did so unknowingly. Some days, King Herod seems to be everywhere. The people who participated in the Christmas miracle were fully aware of the sorry things human beings are capable of doing to one another. Zechariah, quoted above, spoke of needing to be rescued from the hands of enemies and longed for a time when it would be possible to serve God without fear. Mary knew that only the action of God could scatter the thoughts of the proud, bring down the powerful, lift up the lowly, and fill the hungry with good things (Luke 1:52-53). The wise men realized that their lives, and the life of the baby Jesus, were in danger. They slipped away from Herod quickly, secretly, and quietly and they recommended that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus do the same. Those chosen by God to first receive the gift of the Christ child knew from first-hand experience how bad the world could be. And yet, they had hope. The foundation of their hope was a deep and abiding faith in God, God's goodness, God's power, and God's sense of justice. So we see that our hope cannot be shallow or superficial. It cannot crumble under an onslaught of bad news. Our hope, also, must be rooted in God. Two months ago, the grandson of a member of our congregation filled out a prayer request card which I am still carrying around with me. It says, "Please pray for people to always keep their dreams and never give up on them." This child has already experienced enough of the world to know that sometimes present reality can be a powerful deterrent to the dreaming of dreams. But if we remember the goodness, the life-giving power, the justice, and the mercy of God, perhaps we can be like Mary, Joseph, Zechariah, Elizabeth, the shepherds, and the wise pilgrims; perhaps we can summon enough hope to do what needs to be done. The season after Christmas is meant to be understood as a time when the “sun” (representing Christ) continues to rise, shining ever more brightly, its warmth penetrating more deeply, over all the earth. We have seen the dawn. Now may our hope grow. Grace and peace to all, Pastor April |
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