For most people Christmas 2014 is now
history. I am sure that many have taken their Christmas trees down, or will so
shortly. This morning, I thought to myself how many Christmas cards did we see
that showed the wise men at the manger scene in Bethlehem? While it makes a
great Christmas card, it is historically very inaccurate.
In our modern celebration of our Savior's Nativity, we lose
sight of some very important events that occurred at Jesus birth, events that
should be important to each and every one of us. Biblical scholars figure the
wise men traveled for a lengthy period of time, after seeing the appearance of
the star that guided them to where Jesus was. Historians assume that Jesus,
Mary, and Joseph stayed in Bethlehem for a period of up to two years. When the
wise men arrive in the area Jesus is living, they go first and see king Herod.
They tell the king that they have deduced the star indicates the birth of a
great king, and give him the timeline of when that star first appeared. The
king, who is an evil man at heart, request that when the wise men find this
"great king," they let him know where he can be found, so he too can
worship Him.
The wise men ultimately find Jesus, and bring their very
prophetic gifts to him. As the wise men leave, God speaks to their hearts not
to visit King Herod, and the Bible indicates they went home another way. God
warns Joseph in a dream to leave Bethlehem immediately. He, Jesus and Mary flee
to Egypt. When King Herod realizes the wise men are not returning, he orders
the death of all male children in the region under the age of 2, in an effort to
kill this great king.
The church remembers this day as Holy Innocents, though many
that celebrated this Christmas have no idea of how important it is. Think for a
moment how selfish King Herod was, ordering the death of children to protect
his own personal interest. How often do we do things, for our own personal
interest, that run contrary to what God has called us to do? How many times do
we willingly violate God's commandments, and try to justify our selves?
St Paul reminds us that the wages of sin is death. Our only
chance for life, is found in Jesus Christ. That requires more than just lip
service, it requires true repentance, which means turning away from our sin.
Repentance truly means a change. If you were a thief before you found Christ,
you no longer desire to be a thief. You stop stealing, and even the thought of
doing so is repugnant. That is evidence of the change that can be found in
Jesus Christ. Look at any of the other Ten Commandments, if you truly love God,
and you have repented, you will desire to keep each and everyone of His
commandments. Without true repentance, and truly giving yourself to your Lord,
there is no health, there is no life. We, as the Bible says, deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.
Remembering those children, that were killed for King Herod's
self interest, should remind us of the damage we do ourselves with our own self
interest, and the damage we often do to others. Sin never has a happy ending.
As
we prepare to enter the year of 2015, let us fully seek the repentance of God,
and strive to follow His commandments.
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