"The Grinch"

Matthew 2 Selected

December 19, 2010 + Fourth Sunday in Advent

Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ

400 Glenwood Drive

Chattanooga, Tennessee 37404

Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) was an American original. His stories have delighted at least three generations of children. I am confident they will continue to be read for many generations to come.

His Christmas story, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” has become a Christmas tradition through animation and the marvelous reading by Boris Karloff, a gifted actor who deserves to be remembered for more than all those horror movies! You know how the story goes: in a mythical land an angry, bitter creature called the Grinch can’t stand the fact that others are celebrating Christmas and he isn’t. He wants everyone to be unhappy just like himself, so he steals down into the village of “Whoville” late on Christmas Eve, steals all the villagers’ presents, decorations and food and takes it all back to his lair on the mountain. But on Christmas morning he discovers to his amazement that the villagers are still celebrating Christmas. Christmas doesn’t depend upon what they have, but the love they feel for God and one another. Even the Grinch’s cold heart is warmed by this discovery and he joins with the other “Whos” in celebrating Christmas.

That’s a lovely, poetical, mythical story, but did you know? There really was a Grinch who tried to destroy Christmas. His name was Herod and he was king of Judea at the time Jesus was born. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Herod became so upset that the baby Jesus might usurp his throne that he attempted to destroy that possibility by killing all the children under two years of age who lived in and around Bethlehem. While I must tell you that there is no solid historical evidence for such a “Massacre of the Innocents” (as it is called traditionally), such a reaction by Herod is quite consistent with what we know about him.

Herod was born with both Jewish and Idumean blood in his veins. As a young adult, he assisted the Romans with their war in Palestine. As a reward, he was appointed governor of the region, eventually taking the title of King. In some matters Herod could be generous, even sensitive, to his people’s needs. As King, he lowered taxes. (Yes, politicians have been doing that for years to enhance their popularity!) During an extreme time of drought and famine, Herod even gave from his own wealth to feed the hungry. Moreover, he built cities and monuments of great beauty that lasted for hundreds of years. But Herod also possessed a serious character flaw. He was extremely insecure, which led him to be suspicious and jealous of anyone who even looked like a threat to his power.

So, despite his good traits, Herod soon became known as that “murderous old man.” He even executed members of his own family to prevent them from succeeding him on the throne. History tells us that he executed Alexandria, one of his mothers-in-law, (he had nine wives), her daughter Mariamne, and their two sons, Alexander and Aristobulus, as well as his oldest son Antipater. At one time or another, all of these family members had posed a threat to his reign. Even at death’s door Herod persisted in his wickedness. He ordered the arrests of many prominent community leaders, with the explicit order that they all be executed immediately after he himself died. This final act was to ensure upon his death that there would be great mourning throughout the land. Herod’s suspicion and jealousy did not just get the better of him; it turned him into a monster.

The story of Herod the Great helps us to see that not everyone welcomes God’s unconditional love at Christmas time. Some of us may attempt to suppress it or destroy it, if we can. We may come to believe that Christian love isn’t practical. Simply because loving someone does not always guarantee that others will respond in kind, we argue: “Why love someone when love might not be reciprocated?”After all, love can put us in a vulnerable position. Someone might take advantage of us. Love might be all right for some people, but with others, we had best stand fast and demand that certain conditions first be met. Throughout the ages people have had trouble understanding that God loves without preconditions. Just as Herod felt threatened, some of us, too, may become threatened with the challenge of unconditional love. Then, like the Grinch, we may try to destroy such love or push it out of our lives. In a word, we try to destroy Christmas.

Sometimes, Christmas and the love it represents, can seem so fragile, just like one of those beautiful glass ornaments we hang on our Christmas trees. But the older I grow the more I realize that however fragile it may appear – as vulnerable as a baby – Christmas also is incredibly powerful. To try to deny or destroy Christmas is to deny or destroy ourselves. Like the Grinch or Herod we can try to push Christmas out of our lives but God’s love is too powerful to be destroyed by human hatred or violence. In your life and mine, in the life of the world, God will have the last word and that last word will be love.

There is a powerful Christmas carol that we don’t sing much anymore. It was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow during the American Civil War. That was a very dark time and Longfellow was in a mood of despair. But hearing the bells of Christmas lifted his spirits and he wrote a wonderful carol. I share it with you as our final thought for this morning.

I heard the bells on Christmas Day. Their old, familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet the words repeat Of Peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come, the belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along the unbroken song Of Peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head; “there is no Peace on earth,” I said,

“For hate is strong, and mocks the song Of Peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: “God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, With peace on earth, good will to men”.