Once, when I was pastor of a local church, I was meeting with a class of elementary-aged boys. We were talking about how we could do a Christmas play, acting out the characters described in this week's focal text (Matthew 2:1-12). After we studied these verses, I asked for volunteers for the various roles.
"I want to be a wise man and bring the gold," one fellow said. Another one teased and said, "Since I am so wise, I should be a wise man." The others groaned, but smiled agreement. "Can I be Joseph?" Eddie asked. Then, one lad put on his best squeaky voice and said, "I'll even be Mary." "And if you can tell me what myrrh is, I'll be the third wise man." Then, there was silence. I waited. Silence. "We still have one more character. Who will play Herod?" Silence. Silence. Even with all of their joyful bravado and their good-natured planning, not a single boy was willing to be Herod.
What is it about Herod that stirs such resistance even in a classroom of young boys? There are other evil people mentioned in the Bible, but Herod is enough like us to scare us. Herod took something evil and made it sound like good: " ... Bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." Pay him homage? He wants to kill him! (Look at Matthew 2: 13.) There are things that we consider wrong, but if we call them "good," we think they are okay.
Would you hire someone to kill somebody you did not like, kill somebody whom you did not trust? Of course, you wouldn't! But, if we call it capital punishment, we say, "Oh, it's okay."
Would you teach your children that success comes without hard work and will come to you regardless of your effort? No; you would not. But ifwe call it a state-sponsored lottery, we call it a good thing.
Herod shows us a side of ourselves that we had rather not see. No wonder those boys did not want to take on his name, even in a play.
What Someone Else Has Said:
In Me and We (Abingdon), Leonard Sweet completes a story this way: "And her epiphany was this: In order for the wise men to see the stars that led them to Jesus, it had to be dark. Darkness helps us see the stars that ultimately lead to Jesus. The light is found only in the darkness, just as peace is found only through suffering."
Prayer: As you prepare this lesson, let your prayer begin: "Shine Your light, Lord ... "
