He Takes Our Place and Sorrows
by Fr. Daniel Thomas
Matthew 2:1-12
1 Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We have seen his star as it arose, and we have come to worship him.”
3 Herod was deeply disturbed by their question, as was all of Jerusalem. 4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law. “Where did the prophets say the Messiah would be born?” he asked them.
5 “In Bethlehem,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 ‘O Bethlehem of Judah,
you are not just a lowly village in Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod sent a private message to the wise men, asking them to come see him. At this meeting he learned the exact time when they first saw the star. 8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”
9 After this interview the wise men went their way. Once again the star appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house where the child and his mother, Mary, were, and they fell down before him and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 But when it was time to leave, they went home another way, because God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.[1]
Galatians 4:1-7
1 Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves great wealth for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. 2 They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set.
3 And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were slaves to the spiritual powers of this world. 4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 6 And because you Gentiles have become his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, and now you can call God your dear Father. 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you.[2]
In Greek mythology, Prometheus sinned, wanting to reach God. He was condemned for this by Hephaestus and bound on Mt. Caucusus under a severe sentence. Every day a vulture would come and eat his liver causing him great pain. Each evening the vulture would leave and his liver would grow back. This was an endless cycle of suffering. One day, the virgin Io came to visit him and so did the god Hermes. Hermes spoke to him to comfort him saying, “O Prometheus, I understand your sufferings, but do not look for an easy solution for them. You will be nailed to the rocks until someone will not be a physical man, but god will have mercy on you and he will be the successor of your pain. He will assume all your burden, he will descend even into Hades, he will struggle, he will be victorious ad he will redeem you.”
In Galatians 4, the whole world suffers slavery to sin. Everyone and everything in all creation suffers because of the sin of humanity. All sin, and all are enslaved. Pain and suffering are the lot of humanity. Just think today, how people senselessly persecute others, burn their homes, do harm to their bodies. Just think of how viruses, once good for the earth, have been corrupted and now harm millions each year, because humanity fell from its original position over creation, and creation fell with it. Think of how many broken homes and unhappy marriages there are due to sin. Selfishness and pride rule in human hearts.
Humanity is in darkness. I saw a program on TV trying to explain Jesus being married. It shows that they either did not read the Bible, or did not understand it. Human minds are darkened and we appoint lawmakers and judges who cannot discern between right and wrong. Humanity is in a crisis.
However, St. Paul wrote, “in just the right time” God sent his Son Jesus. Those in darkness now have a great light to see by. God did not leave us in our retched state. He spoke to us by the prophet Isaiah (ch 9) 6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His ever expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David. The passionate commitment of the Lord Almighty will guarantee this! (NLT) Here is the one who is not a mere physical man, but is God. Here is the one who will take our pain and suffering. This prophecy was fulfilled in Bethlehem, in fulfillment of the prophecy of Micah, that the Hope of the World would be born in Bethlehem. Here is the one who the Wise Men worshipped. Here is the one of whom the Angels sang his glory. This is the one we proclaim on this day that he is born and hope is alive. Christ is our Saviour. Christ is our redeemer. Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
