Anno Domini

 This week's verses are Matthew 2:1-12:

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:

‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For from you will come forth a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”

Then Herod secretly called for the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” After hearing the king, they went on their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on ahead of them until it came to a stop over the place where the Child was to be found. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And after they came into the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary; and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And after being warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

Happy New Year, everyone! It is now the year 2024 AD. AD stands for Anno Domini, meaning the year of the Lord, which is probably why unbelievers have been trying to suppress its usage in favor of CE. CE stands for Common Era, which has a kind of communist ring to it. In the olden days, people used to measure time based on who was king, so 2024 AD is a way of saying that Christ has been the supreme commander of mankind for over 2000 years. But if you recognize no lord, you need another way of measuring time, something more human-centered. 

These verses show both the human-centric and God-centric ways of looking at the world, and also give us a glimpse into the first Year of Our Lord.

Herod was the "king" of Judea. I put "king" in quotes, because he was a puppet dictator supported by Rome to keep the conquered Jews in line so they could control the spice trade. Herod was only part Jewish, so he made huge investments to prove his Jewishness so that the people would accept him. Because he was not fully Jewish, and also a turncoat who supported the occupying Gentile oppressors, he had to always be on his guard.

Put yourself in Herod's shoes. You are at the top of your career, the CEO of a huge company that pays tons of money. Office politics are brutal, and there are constantly people trying to take your hard-won position. You aren't as credentialed as some of the pretenders, so you have to really work hard to stay on top. Suddenly, one day, one of your vendors tells you, "Hey, I just had a chat with the new CEO you guys are hiring. He's going to be awesome! Congratulations!" What??

If you want to keep your job, you've got to go full Machiavelli and eliminate the competition. And quick! Who is this guy? Where is he from? Who is supporting him? How do I get rid of him and anyone connected to him? And why am I only finding out about this now?

That's the situation Herod was in, when the magi came to him. He was 100% human-centered. There can be only one king, and the king Herod chose was himself.

The magi, on the other hand, had their eyes on heaven. Literally. So, when God was about to do the most amazing thing in history, they were instantly tuned in. The heavens revealed to them that a great king was going to be born in Judea. They weren't even Judeans, but they traveled a great distance to submit to him and worship him. And even though it would have been easier to go back the way they came, and even though Herod might have retaliated against them for not reporting back to them, they followed what God told them to do and chose a different path.

The Advent season builds up to the celebration of the birth of Jesus, but these verses are what happens afterwards. How do we react to this new king? Are we willing to proclaim the Year of the Lord, if that Lord is not us? Are we willing to go out of our way to see him, and to change course when he asks us? Or are we like Herod, doing everything we can, even unspeakable things, to preserve the status quo?

The majority choose Herod's path. The verses say that all of Jerusalem was troubled. Jerusalem was the center of Herod's power. They had a lot to lose if Herod and all of his money were to disappear. They were comfortable and wanted to stay comfortable as long as they could. Most of us are comfortable and like things the way they are.

But if we choose Jesus as our Lord, we have to see things differently. We have to be more like the magi, whose wisdom made clear what was of the highest priority. Their actions and how they allocated their resources all proved what was important to them. They didn't choose the easy path.

So, it is the new year of our Lord. Who do you want to be king? And what are you willing to do about it?