Sermon for Dec 30, 2007

It’s Christmas, a time when our thoughts typically turn to the youngest among us. We ponder the miraculous birth of an infant in Bethlehem, wonder at his growing in might and stature and give thanks for the wonder of our own children and our other many blessings.

As a congregation we are constantly cognizant of the children among us. We dutifully and faithfully teach our Spirit Builders classes, delighting in providing learning opportunities for our youngest members to teach them the stories of the Bible. We continue their education as we mentor and inspire our confirmands, teaching them the basis of the Lutheran faith in preparation for their lives of joyful response and service for what God has done for them.

Last week we really took some time to focus on our children to prepare them for the birth of the Savior. We first worked with them to decorate our beautiful Christmas tree, singing hymns and songs of praise and joining them for a blessing around the tree. Then Tuesday evening we gathered at 5 to hear the story of the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ as only can be told by shepherds in bathrobes, angels with droopy halos and kings under four feet tall.

Christmas in all of it’s awe and wonder, joy and generosity is a time for children. It’s a time when we as adults wish for them to know all of the extravagance poured on them by a God who would give his only begotten son as their redeemer, who would lay down his own life for their salvation. And so we do the best we can to imitate God’s generosity and love when we lavish the children in our lives with gifts wrapped in beautiful paper; bake sweets with the best of ingredients. It’s a poor substitute, I suppose, but in some way, in some small way, it’s our attempt to shower our children with the same extravagant love that God has showered upon us.

But our Christmas story does not allow us to remain in this utopia of joy to the world and the sweet baby scents for very long. Now, it is a pet peeve of mine that we confuse Matthew’s Gospel with Luke’s as we parade shepherds and magi in tandem down the aisle on Christmas Eve. But no matter, according to Matthew the good news of the angels and the worship of the shepherds and the wise men turns immediately to murderous intentions at the hands of the world’s powers.

Herod, learning of the birth of the future king of Israel, schemes and plots to remove the threat of the infant. When the holy family escapes to Egypt, for no reason other than rage, self centered, greedy, horrific rage; Herod orders the slaughter, the slaughter, of all children under the age of two in his kingdom. He isn’t searching to destroy the baby born in a stable. He isn’t eliminating any threat to his reign. He’s angry and he takes out his wrath on every family in or around Bethlehem.

Wouldn’t it be lovely if every child in the world knew the benevolence, the extravagant love of God? Wouldn’t it be incredible if every child knew the joy of waking to a peaceful home on Christmas morning, presents under the tree, the only struggle being the tussling that goes on between siblings as the last dinner roll is passed around the table? But they don’t. For the Herod’s of the world continue their reign as political wrath, evil, genocide, the annihilation of the innocent continues in the world.

In Somalia, inflation is so horrific that only the wealthiest of families can afford a Christmas tree, which can cost the equivalent of a month’s wages for the average working family. The land is so ravaged by drought that trees barely dot the landscape and are sold at a premium. The Herod’s of the world continue their reign.

Nations are so scarred by war that mothers in many countries like Iraq and Afghanistan struggle to find health care for their children caught in the cross fire of battle, or playing too close to an IED or injured playing in dangerous rubble that now replaces their neighborhood and playgrounds. In our own nation, innocent children suffer the loss of parents and the loss of innocence as mothers and fathers go off to fight, never to return home again. The Sudan barely gets a glance from news crews as children starve to death as tribal rulers hold up the delivery of much needed food to local villages as the jinjiweed continues to plunder, destroy and slaughter the innocents of Darfur. The Herod’s of the world continue to rage.

It is not enough dear friends to place blame on terrorists or differing ideologies among nations. This is a difficult text for those of us who reside in the first world. It was pure greed and selfish desires that drove Herod to order the death of the innocent of Bethlehem. When we look at the suffering children of the world, do we also see greed and selfish desires still destroying the health and wellbeing of all the children of the world?

Do we see greed when we hear of the demise of four children when they could not escape a fire because the building they lived in was not up to code and no one enforced the rule to keep a fire escape clear? The Herod’s of the world still rule by selfish gain.

Innocence is slaughtered when children are forced to work under conditions that cause harm to their bodies and their minds. Do we not do an injustice to the children of India and Malaysia who sacrifice education and childhood to sew sporting equipment so that we can indulge our love of sports? Likewise, could we be at all culpable for the rampant pollution in China? Is not the damage caused by such destruction of the environment yet another call to the killing of the innocent in a quest for more and more material goods? The Herod’s of the world do indeed continue their rage.

Does it really do justice to build fences instead of bridges? Do the children of our neighbors to the south not require the same level of education and nurture as the children gathered under the trees in our living rooms?

How can children thrive when natural disasters take away homes, schools and communities that are still not rebuilt two years after the event? Children of New Orleans and Mississippi share in the same plight and anxieties as the children of Indonesia who live constantly under the threat of flooding and disease that comes with living in unsafe conditions month after month after month. The Herod’s of the world continue the slaughter.

Each of these photos raises a controversial issue. Each of them gives us pause to consider the devastation that is still very much alive in the lives of the world’s children. Perhaps we’d prefer to think of Herod as a ruthless dictator, the likes of which the world has not seen in 2,000 years. Or perhaps we think of specific names of people who have perpetuated the fear and horrors of Herod; names like Hitler, Hussein, bin Laden, Kim Jong, Mugabe; and thus to consider that we are powerless to make any substantive change in the world.

I for one do not think we are powerless in the face of evil. One of our core values as members of Messiah Lutheran church is social justice. We are called as the people of God to respond to God’s extravagant love for us with lives that reflect justice for all children. We are called to do everything we can to empower families to care for their children, to call nations to accountability in caring for their smallest citizens. It’s a tough task. But it is our call. One action from each of us could save a life. One prayer lived out in our homes could save a village. One minor change in our lifestyle could challenge the Herod’s whose sole desire is the sacrifice the innocent.

For it is unto us, unto our children; the children of the Sudan, Somalia, India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Korea, Mexico, Mississippi, Indonesia and all the children of the world that God poured out his extravagant, self sacrificial love and a savior was born. Amen

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