The Christmas Massacre
in Giggles on December 12, 2021
Behold! The neighborhood’s Christmas Massacre of 2021. Feast your eyes upon the vast array of defeated and deflated holiday accoutrements, resting where they fell. A very sad sight to gaze upon during the day.
Perhaps you have your very own seasonal graveyard in your neighborhood…maybe in your own front yard!
As odd as this may seem (and sound), this display of melancholy holiday icons brings me great comfort and great JOY. No, I haven’t completely lost my senses, and No: I’m not turning into this century’s Scrooge. The sight that greets me every day as I drive by this house, reminds me of the hope, joy, and wonder of this Christmas season.
It also reminds me of another Christmas Massacre, but this one is not rooted in quite such a jolly sub-theme.
If y’all read my last post (and I know you ALL did), you’ll remember that we are in the season of Advent. The weeks leading up to Christmas…a time where we look forward to the birth of Jesus—King Jesus.
Many of us are familiar with the biblical account of the birth of Jesus. An angel came to Mary, who was pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, she conceived BEFORE they were married by the power of the Holy Spirit, thus making Jesus, God Almighty’s own Son. Jesus, born of a virgin. That is Luke 2, in a nutshell.
However, what Luke leaves out in his account of the time following Jesus’s birth, is that when news spread far and wide about a “New King” being born…the current king got a little nervous—and, if I’m being honest, a little blood-thirsty. King Herod was not a nice man. He was not warm-hearted or open-minded about a new King coming on the scene…infant or otherwise. When Jesus was born, God, being the Proud Papa that He was, sent a literal legion of angels as a birth announcement, and set a star so bright over the place where His Son lay, that Wise Men from the East came to see the child. As a diplomatic courtesy, upon their arrival in Bethlehem, they stopped into the palace of King Herod.
Well, you can imagine the inner turmoil their visit set off within Herod. What was he supposed to do about this news of an infant usurper? Was he supposed to stand idly by, and let this new King rise up and remove him, and his line from power? Of course not! But…without the valuable intel from these eastern visitors, Herod didn’t even know where to begin looking for the Child. So, he did what any decent (crooked) politician would do…
He lied.
He told his eastern guests, that he too, would like to pay his respects to the new King. When they found Him, and before they headed home, he urged them to please come back to his palace, and disclose the location of the baby.
Spoiler Alert: Herod had no intention of worshipping the Baby Jesus; he did however, have EVERY intention of killing Him.
The Wise Men did find the Baby, they offered Him expensive gifts of gold, frankinsense and myrrh. Upon their departure, an angel appeared to them, warning them of Herod’s plan. They returned home via another route (see Matthew 2 for further detail).
As you can imagine, Herod was incensed at being duped…so much so, that he ordered the REAL Christmas Massacre. He was so threatened by the rumors of a new King being born, that he had ALL THE BABY BOYS IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY SLAUGHTERED (Matthew 2:16-18, NIV).
Mary, Joseph, and the Baby fled to Egypt, and did not return until AFTER Herod’s death.
Now, I told you all of that to tell you this: This week we celebrate JOY. After a story like that, how can I possibly think of JOY? Well, through our darkest and most terrible times, God is still with us. God protected the Magi from the east with a vision from an angel. God protected His Son, again through a vision from an angel. God was with the babies and parents who suffered Herod’s wrath. God is with you, too.
Now is the time when we look forward to the coming of Christ…BOTH comings…the first, as baby in a manger; the second when He comes in all of His resurrected glory to take us to be with Him. So what does all of this have to do with my neighbors and their holiday graveyard?
At times during the day, their yard is sad, deflated, and defeated looking…but just when things seem darkest…the lights turn on, and everyone perks up with a renewed sense of hope, love and JOY….
I know this time of year is hard for a lot of people. But, might I offer you a little encouragement? One word: Emmanuel. It means God with us. He’s always there…even when we can’t see Him…even when, at times, we can’t feel Him. Even in the times when we feel deflated. Emmanuel. Go out this week, and find your JOY!
Merry Christmas!