the best of times, the worst of times: bethlehem and ramah

[5 minutes]

Happy New Year!

It is customary for many in our faith community to approach the new year with — in football lingo — a spiritual ‘fresh set of downs.’ So what’s one of the first plays we run? Right. We advance with a new Bible reading plan, right? My goal in 2025 is to tackle the New Testament along with the Psalms. Okay, enough with the football jargon.

So [opening my Bible], Matthew it is.

Matthew’s opening scenes are familiar for obvious reasons. My Advent meditations covered these passages and I quickly find myself here once again. I also spoke at a local church’s Christmas banquet using the same birth narrative as found in the first gospel. You may have read a version of it recently (“Keeping Jesus Out In Front“). I know this passage pretty well.

But, as is often the case for students of the Book, something can jump off the page that you’ve never seen before. You know what I’m talking about. That is what happened to me this morning.

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.
Matthew 2:16

Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
“A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”
Matthew 2:17-18

In the same carol as “glad tidings of comfort and joy” is this tragic verse of inconsolable grief and sorrow.

How do you reconcile “good news of great joy” with “weeping in Ramah” …in the same breath?

Not even ten verses earlier, Matthew goes out of his way to stack superlatives in describing the mood of the Magi when they found themselves on the right track to find Baby Jesus. The rejoiced exceedingly with great joy! The wise men were so deliriously happy they couldn’t contain themselves. High fives, back slaps, whoops and hollers commenced!

But things looked a whole lot different in Ramah and other surrounding towns.

Herod was furious. The Magi had agreed to bring him the baby king straightaway, but they changed the script on him and kept the child’s identity and location a state secret. Hotheaded Herod was beside himself.

Who is this baby???

He would show them. Herod ordered a genocide of all the baby boys in the region and suddenly Judea’s Silent Night, Holy Night turned into terror. Like Egypt during the plague of darkness and death, only wails and loud weeping were heard across the land.

Okay. I didn’t like where this was going, but the Holy Spirit made me look. Here’s what I wrote in my Bible journal:

God will permit the deaths of innocents as he carries the story of redemption forward. There is weeping in Ramah though there be good news elsewhere.

Guido Reni’s *Massacre of the Innocents*

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times indeed. You can’t visit Bethlehem without hearing the wails of Ramah. That’s just how it is in this sad, tragic, very broken world.

Yesterday, in New Orleans, thousands were gathered on Bourbon Street to ring in the new year and enjoy the atmosphere around college football playoff game. Then, frenzy. Moments before a white pickup truck tore through a crowd of people, the streets were teeming with festive joy and frivolity. Seconds later, the sound of screams and sirens filled the night. Fifteen dead, dozens injured.

So what do we do with that paragraph I wrote? God permits the deaths of innocents, etc. How do we frame those words to people who are in shock over such a senseless act of terror? People who are likely to cancel you straight up for trying to pull the God-is-still-sovereign card.

I confess I want to keep my mouth shut. Just bury my nose in a book and don’t address it. But can we? There is the matter of timing, of course. Maybe don’t bring up Jimmy Carter’s political blunders on the day he died? There’s also the matter of courtesy. Waiting to be invited into the discussion instead of barging in and pontificating.

For the purposes of this post, I am speaking of an event that happened 2000 years ago not something that happened yesterday. The truth still remains, however. God does permit evil to bare its fangs now and then, but only in keeping with two incontrovertible rules:

God must win in spite of how everything looks right now.
the devil and his kingdom must be destroyed because it has been declared so from the beginning, and God can’t lie.

This world is broken and mercilessly mean, yes, but remember: God is broken-hearted by it; and he is the ONLY one with the power to change things.

Ramah is real. Rachel weeping for her children is our lot in this life. Evil people will do evil things and, I believe, 2025 is going to be filled with more evil and more weeping than in years past. Ramah is hard. Ramah is real.

But so is Bethlehem. “Jesus Joy” is real also.

Herod was the devil in Ramah, to be sure. But let’s not miss the bigger Story: Jesus still got born, shepherds told the news, souls got saved, the Church was born, Christ is exalted, the devil and his demons will burn in the lake of fire forever, and our King from heaven will return to dwell with us. And so shall we forever be with the Lord…in the eternal best of times. Weeping may last through the night, but the Man of Joy gets the final say.

Selah, beloved.

are you the one?

[5 minutes]

I heard someone say the imprisoned John who wondered if he was trusting the right person to be the Messiah is a lot like us during Advent.

Can I trust you to fix what’s wrong with my world?

You’re a baby. You seem powerless. I envisioned a king and a kingdom, not a child in a manger. Are you big enough to take on the enemy and put everything right?

Now the Baby is all grown up, but Herod’s House is still up to its old shenanigans. Rome’s flags are still planted in sacred soil. All Jerusalem isn’t going out to see John anymore; he’s a has-been. Yesterday’s news. So last year.

Are you the One?

Charles Wesley intoned the groaning plea of the soul-heavy burden of advential waiting in the lyrics of his resurgent Christmas hymn:

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.

Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne.

▫️Charles Wesley▫️

Keith Getty remarked,

In the third and fourth lines of this first verse, the words fear and rest are juxtaposed reminding us that Christmas is often a time when our fears are amplified…There is often an unspoken pressure that Christmas must be perfect and harmonious, a time when we can stop and rest and have a break from all the usual stresses of life. And yet the reality is that the Christmas holidays don’t always give us the reprieve that we long for — many of us continue to carry huge burdens and difficulties.

A middle school teacher prayed these words in the aftermath of a deadly shooting at her Christian school this week: “In the depths of our spirits we know you are good, but our hearts are so confused. Our hearts waffle between being angry and afraid and being filled with memories and trauma. God, we don’t know how to manage all of that. We’re just coming to you and saying we need you.”

Since Jesus came, the storylines of human history include crucifixion, persecution, attrition, sedition, addiction, affliction, and a host of other maladies and catastrophes. We longed for a new world, but we’ve been given a world of woe.

There’s no way around the fact that incarnation means coming to a filthy and fetid world…Jesus came into a world where some babies are beloved and nurtured, while some babies are left on street corners or next to dumpsters…He came into a world where young girls and boys are sold into prostitution and refugees spend their lives waiting in squalid camps. It’s a world where white picket fences hold together falling-apart marriages.
It’s a world with disease and mental illness. A fallen creation groans with earthquakes, floods, and fires. We’ve made a mess of our lives and our families and this world. And we live with the fallout of other people’s messes too. Drugs. Death. Destruction. Sorrow, unending sorrow. Flies and vultures buzz over little ones with swollen bellies. Sludge freezes solid and becomes a playground for barefoot children. It is all too dirty, and yet he came near.
– Carrie McKean, Filthy Night, Fetid Night, CT Magazine, December 19, 2023

Are you the One?

Let’s hear Jesus in His own words: “Go tell John…”

Tell John what?

Tell him there are things happening he can’t see right now. There are miracles he’s not aware of. Right under your nose, John, all around you, my Kingdom is advancing, and droves of weary, heavy-laden folks are pressing into it.

Remind John that he leapt in his momma’s womb because of days like this.

Thank you, Heavenly Father, that the little children get it. The bent reeds get it. The smoldering wicks get it. Thank you that the least of these will not be left out.

Thank you for a world of woe that makes us heartsick and homesick for Another World. Thank you for the Incarnate Son of God who knew our grief when he wept at his friend’s tomb. Who expended necessary energy for a humiliated woman who couldn’t stop bleeding. Who tore down a blockade of bazaar kiosks to make space for weary pilgrims to pray. Who noticed a widow drop her last coins in the coffer because her God was bigger than her need. Who cast aside protocol and touched lepers.

You can hardly blame John. One doesn’t get a lot of good news down in Herod’s dungeons. Perspective is challenged when your days are numbered. It’s hard to see anything good when all you know is bad. Does Jesus even know about me down here?

I love that Jesus not only has pity for John, but praise. He’s still my guy. Nobody can hold a candle to John . He did everything that was asked of him and he finished well.

Next time you feel forsaken, consider the man down in Herod’s dungeon. Greater things were happening above ground because he played his part. Even though John’s part landed him in prison, facing execution, he would be gloriously resurrected at the Second Advent.

You are playing your part also, beloved. God’s favor rests on you because you have the Son’s Life in you. Sometimes we play a flute, sometimes we sing a dirge but we do it all because the Baby who came is the Sun of Righteousness who will return with healing in his wings. And we will go out of here leaping like calves released from the stall!

Yes, John, he is the One.

Selah, beloved.

keeping jesus out in front

[6 minutes]

Crazy times, huh?

We know all about mourning in lonely exile down here, don’t we? It’s pretty hard to feel at home in a place that feels so strange nowadays.

The Magi found themselves 1000 miles from home, guided by a shining phenomenon in the sky. Step by step, mile after mile, they kept Jesus out in front for the long haul, following yonder Star.

In time, they arrived at the crossroads of two kingdoms: one in Jerusalem, and the other in Bethlehem. Just so, we awaken each morning and look out on a virtual world that is unyielding and doesn’t keep its promises. Then, as quickly as flipping a switch, we breathe a prayer and find ourselves in the true world of God, a world that is full of Promise, where the Light shines.

A traveling evangelist, John Jacob Niles, happened upon a small North Carolina town years ago when he heard the haunting melody of a song from a “tousled, unwashed blonde, and very lovely” girl. Niles could only understand three lines of verse in her Appalachian dialect:

I wonder as I wander out under the sky,
How Jesus the Savior did come for to die.
For poor on’ry people like you and like I…

He was struck with an idea to expand the lyrics with his own and create a hymn for Advent. The rest is history.

“It’s an unusual song, compelling in its simplicity and musicality. Unlike many carols that ring with joviality, it is set an a minor key, and its final note rings out, unresolved – a fitting tone for lyrics that speak of wandering and wondering, rather than firm answers and clear resolution. In its own unique way, this mournful song captures something beautiful about the Christian life.”
– Kelly B Trujillo

This is a hard, minor key world.

It’s shadowy dark.

Scary at times.

Unpredictable most times.

Walter Brueggemann, in his Devotions For Advent, describes this venue as —

…a world of advertising, of ideology, of euphemism offer[ing] us endless phoniness that coerces and manipulates and invites into a virtual world that has no staying power. You cannot count on such a world, as it will turn on you and cost you dearly.”

We “wonder as we wander” how to best navigate these evil times and avoid such a painful cost.

Here is where the Magi might be of some help.

1. they saw something bigger than themselves and sacrificed everything to pursue it. (v2)

These Magi hailed from the faraway kingdom of Persia. Centuries earlier, Daniel was called a “chief of the Magi” (Dan 5:11) Such men were the embodiment of wisdom, the intelligentsia of the kingdom. To think they would travel so long (likely months) and so far (1000 miles) to visit a newborn is telling.

No doubt these Magi had studied the prophecies of Daniel. It seems likely they were well-versed in those parts that told of a Great King in Israel who would arrive under the SIGN OF A STAR.

…a star shall come out of Jacob,
and a scepter shall rise out of Israel
— Numbers 24:17

The treasures they brought — gold, frankincense, and myrrh — spoke of the unique character and quality of the King. He was a King, but not just any King. Jesus was a divine King, sent from the world of God, whose mission was to rob and plunder satan’s counterfeit kingdom and lead its captives through the doorway into a heavenly realm.

Melchior, Balthasar, and Caspar (if we are to trust tradition) were chasing the BIG STORY of God, keeping the Messiah out in front of their mission. Not even the religious and political power center of Jerusalem could deter them.

So long as they kept Jesus out in front, their steps were ordered, and the glory of God pinpointed where they needed to be.

Which brings me to a second guiding principle to aid us in navigating this tumultuous sod:

2. they stayed their course, guided by the Star, ignoring other competing voices. (v7-12)

Herod was an intimidating character. Extremely paranoid and jealous, he killed anyone whom he deemed a threat to his sovereignty. His veiled interest in a new king raised red flags for these God-seekers.

There are Herods even today who feel their kingdoms are threatened by this other King. They govern us, they have influence over us, they make policy for us, they threaten, force-feed, deceive, pretend, divide, oppress, and “trouble” us a million different ways.

Like the Magi, we must keep King Jesus in front of us. When cultural players and pretenders try to fill the screen of our vision, we must avert our attention and focus on the Light. We have to keep after him. Jesus is our telos.

This is an important truth: if the Lord knows you are on his side, he will guide you, teach you, draw you close, and reveal himself to you intimately. If your heart is bent in his direction, the Lord won’t let you miss him… Even if you get off course now and then.

Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
—John 14:21

The wise men traveled nearly 1000 miles, over the course of months, guided by a supernatural object in the sky. But the Star disappeared when they arrived Jerusalem. The Magi must have asked, “Where is the star? Where did it go? How do we finish the journey?”

Once they re-oriented their bearings to Jesus — the Star reappeared. Oh how they must have rejoiced!

Dear struggling saint, mourning in lowly exile here, trying so hard to follow yonder star, look up. Keep going. Stay the course.

If the supernatural has left your sky, know it’s not a fixed condition. Perhaps it wasn’t intentional, but nevertheless you have found yourself on a different path. The journey isn’t over. There’s a road out of where you are and Jesus is the Way.

And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts
—2 Peter 1:19

This Advent season — and beyond — let’s keep our bearings on Jesus. May he always be our blessed destination.

Selah, beloved. A Happy Advent to You and yours!