Thursday, January 3

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Matthew 2:16-18

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and it’s vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Columbine.

Aurora.

Virginia Tech.

Fort Hood.

Sandy Hook.

The very names of these places or schools remind us of unspeakable pain and horrific evil.

By one count, there were 16 “mass shootings” in our country in 2012 alone; and there have been 61 such shootings in America since 1982.

Even when these events take place in communities far from us, and don’t touch us directly, we are shaken to the core. We are tempted to ask, as many have, “Why do such things happen?” We might even wonder, as many do, “Why would a loving and powerful God allow such evil to exist?” And we can think, “Where is God in all this?”

In the story we read today, the Bible tells us that God is right in the middle of it all.

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and it’s vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

This story is traditionally referred to as “The slaughter of the innocents,” as Herod lashed out in jealous fury to kill all the innocent little boys in the surrounding region in an attempt to eliminate the child born to be king. What we must see is that this is actually part of what we call the “Christmas story.” We don’t talk or preach much on this part of the story. It is dark and evil and heartbreaking…but it is there.

Why would God inspire Matthew to include this in his gospel? Why not just focus entirely on the “good news” of the birth of Christ? 

Well, because the world is a broken place, and has been since the Garden of Eden. Because if God didn’t address the brokenness and pain we all experience, we wouldn’t trust what he has to say about “good news.” 

When people sometimes ask me why these awful things happen, I usually say, “Because God loves us.” Then I try to explain a Biblical “theology of evil” the best I can.

The Bible is clear about two things: First, God loves us as human beings; and, second, God created us with free will. These two truths make the reality of evil possible. 

Think of it this way. I have four sons and I love each of them more than I can express in words. I also want to protect them from everything bad that could happen to them. So, I could chain them in their bedrooms so that I can have complete control over them and whatever happens to them. They would be safe there, of course, but that would not be love. Because I love my sons, I must grant them freedom eventually. So instead of chaining them in their rooms, I teach them the best I can about what is right and wrong, about how to live their lives in a safe and productive manner. Then I let them go. So, in other words, if I love them I will grant them the freedom to love me back; to obey my teaching; or to rebel against my love and live however they please.

This is the love of God. He created Adam and Eve in freedom. He gave them everything they needed to enjoy life and to enjoy him. He established limits for their behavior and warned them about the consequences of violating those limits. But he granted them the freedom to obey him or rebel against him. Sin and evil is the result of their rebellion.

Fast forward to the tragedy at Sandy Hook: the violence and devastation wrought by one deranged man is the end result of human rebellion against God. 

So the question is not so much, “Why is there evil?” but rather, “What is God doing about that evil.” 

Here, too, the Bible is clear:

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait patiently for it. Romans 8:22-25

Paul tells us God is in the process of redeeming all things; including Sandy Hook. In Christ, God entered the brokenness of this world; in Christ, God subjected himself to the sin and death of this world; and through the death and resurrection of Jesus God has already defeated the power of sin and death. 

This is the good news of the gospel that enables us to see through the darkness and pain of Sandy Hook to the glory of and joy of heaven.

We do not fully see and experience that victory yet. As Paul says, we wait for it in faith. But we wait with hope, because the victory belongs to Jesus.

As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

“Where, O death , is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)

Pastor Brian Coffey