King Herod and Us

As we fast approach the celebration of Christmas we are reminded again of the powerful stories of Jesus' birth. In Matthew, we find the compelling story of Joseph and how he was able to hear God's call and be faithful. Joseph is an often overlooked but key part of the nativity story because he links Jesus to the giants of the Jewish faith (see Matthew 1:1-17 for the genealogy of Jesus). It is also in Matthew where we find the story of the wisemen, where they too demonstrate their faithfulness to God by following a star through an arduous journey over a great distance. Each of these aspects of Matthew's birth narrative are unique, powerful, and connect to our lives today. But it is the story of Herod which is more troubling and much more human, if not subhuman.

When the wisemen arrive in Jerusalem they triumphantly proclaim the birth of the messiah and ask where the Christ child can be found. (2:2) What they expected was an excited people who had finally received the long awaited promised messiah and king. Instead, no one knew what they were talking about and they were met with disbelief and fear. Fear of the end times, fear of judgment, fear of the unknown were probably all at work with the people. But for Herod it was much more personal. Herod feared a loss of power. He was threatened by a king who make all earthly rulers and kings illegitimate. He was threatened by a messiah who bring forth the Kingdom of God. He was threatened by a child whose birth signified the end of his power.

So Herod did as any king or ruler would, sought to eliminate the competition. First he tried to enlist the help of the wisemen to act as reporting agents. Under the guise of "paying homage" (2:8) Herod tells the wisemen to follow the star to Bethlehem, and when they found the child to report back to him. When the wisemen did not return Herod was furious and in a fit of rage and desperation ordered the slaughter of "all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under." (2:16) Can you imagine how insane Herod must have been to order such a massarce on his own people? What was it inside Herod that caused him to be so threatened and so fragile that he would act this way?

Was Herod a monster, inhuman, and psychotic? Or can we see in ourselves and in our society the same tendencies? It doesn't take a psychoanalyst to see that Herod has issues, but are his issues so far removed from ours? Herod's behavior is extremely self-destructive and irrational. His actions, even if successful, undermined his legitimacy as Jewish king and would have made him a target for a rebellion and forceful removal from power. Do you have self-destructive tendencies? Do you protect your power and privilege at all costs? Would you commit acts of violence to protect your own interests? Would you compromise your values to get ahead in life? Would you betray a friend for a promotion?

Certainly there is a great difference between the slaughter or innocent children and deceitfulness, but is it a difference in kind or degree? Are we so different from Herod? How do we keep ourselves from losing connection to the values we hope to live by? How can we achieve the balance of striving for "success" in life and maintain our integrity?