These Manger Reimagined Family Advent Devotional posts and Advent Discussion Questions are written by the Down the Hobbit Hole Blog team in November & December 2020. This Advent week threepost with Advent discussion questions contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Find week 1 of our Advent series here, and week 2 here. The theme of Advent week three is JOY! There are so many joy-filled characters and moments in the nativity story, but we aren’t talking about any of them today. Today, we’re going to talk about Herod and the hope amidst horror that parents like Joseph and Mary must have felt. Herod is not always the person we read about in Matthew, but at this point in life he was paranoid and brutal. When the Magi arrived in Jerusalem in was not a joyous moment for him.
Why Reimagine the Manger?:
When we read the story of Mary and Joseph in the Bible, we typically read it through our shiny Christmas lens with our pretty nativity sets in mind. But after doing some historical and cultural reading, we can see that our interpretation of what happened at the manger is just a shiny reflection of some pieces of the event.
So during these four weeks, we’re going to dive into each of the characters and their settings a little more. For week three, we will focus on Heron and his atrocities. Specifically how we could possibly find joy when such sorrow is all around.
Advent Week Three: Reflection on Herod’s Journey
Herod Receives the News
We’ve studied about Antony and Cleopatra in history, and we hear about Caesar every year when we talk about the Christmas story. But we don’t often talk about Herod. He happened to be super loyal to Antony before Caesar beat him (and then he switched teams), but he never gained the popularity or ruled as much as they did. “Being racially Arab, religiously Jewish, culturally Greek, and politically Roman, Herod was a complex man.” (Dr. Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes) And ruling during a period of intense unrest with a lot of conflict and change, you can start to see why he was so paranoid. But as is typical with highly paranoid leaders, the only way he stayed in power was through fear mongering.
And he wanted to stay in power badly enough to assassinate his favorite older sons and one of his wives who might have been able to succeed to the throne or align with a political enemy. It’s likely that the citizens under his rule weren’t terribly surprised by his call for infantcide (killing all young male children and babies in the kingdom) once he received the news that there was going to be a new Jewish king. He even used religion as a cornerstone in his murderous campaign.
Reimagining the Manger and Herod’s Role In It
Far from the warm and fuzzy scene we usually think of when the Magi came to see Jesus. There was joy! Joy from the Wise Men (as recorded in Matthew) and I imagine a lot of joy from Mary and Joseph (How wonderful is it to get encouragement?!). But probably also fear and horror as the Magi and Joseph are warned of the impending danger for Jesus and themselves.
Do we cling to our faith in times of pain or do we abandon it? “How do people retain their faith under such circumstances [pain, horror, war]? One answer is that they remember both the Christmas story and the cross… At the beginning of the Gospel and at its conclusion, Matthew presents pictures of the depth of evil that Jesus came to redeem… If the Gospel can flourish in a world that produces the slaughter of the innocents and the cross, the Gospel can flourish anywhere. From this awareness, the readers of the Gospel in any age [and time] can take heart.” Later he summarizes it this way, “Unspeakable brutality characterizes the beginning and the end of Jesus’ life. His ministry was within and to a violent world.” (Dr. Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes)
This poignant part of the nativity story offers us a lot of joy, but not without horror. How amazing and wonderful that these wise (probably pagan) astrologers would travel to seek out Jesus when the religious leaders, not only wouldn’t travel to Bethlehem, but organized a campaign for his death. How simultaneously joy-filled and fearful must Mary and Joseph have been when they realized that they had a chance to escape. We read that they stayed in Egypt as immigrants for about 2 years and then settled in Nazareth to avoid Herod & his son. How beautiful that Jesus once was an immigrant and treats women and people of other nationalities with such respect and kindness throughout the Gospel story. Again, this story emphasizes His love for all, especially those in the margin. The nativity story isn’t a complete picture without remembering that as a 2 year old, Jesus fled as a refugee and immigrant from a violent, and religiously Jewish, leader and his murderous campaign.
What It Means To Us Today & Where Joy Comes In
How can we talk about joy in a post also talking about the horrific murder of innocent children? In the nativity story we find something that western Christianity is not very connected with- lament. Joy in lament and lament in joy, they do co-exist. Biblically, lament is passionate grief or intense sorrow. Whereas joy is a deep, passionate, source of hope and light. We are in the midst of a pandemic that, here in the US, is getting close to daily claiming the same number of lives lost during the terror attack on the World Trade Center. So many families are grieving the loss of loved ones and everyone is grieving over loss in one form or another around the world.
For many the holidays don’t seem filled with joy this year. 2020 just seems brutal. The slaughter of the innocents reminds us that Jesus was born into a world that was frequently brutal. The pandemic has helped those of us who might not have considered lament as a spiritual discipline before see that in joy there is lament and in lament there is joy. Lamenting is a spiritual practice. Jesus brought joy, He still brings joy. It’s there to be found, even and maybe most especially during seasons of grief.
Bible Passages to Read Together for Advent Week Three:
-Matthew 2
-Luke 1:67-80
-Listen to “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” and read a little more about it on The Joyous Living.
Keep reading for our Advent Discussion questions for week 3
Advent Discussion Questions for Week 3:
*Note for families: for younger children this lesson can be centered around “a king wanted to hurt baby Jesus so his family had to go to a different county when he was a little kid.”
1) Jesus’ life was full of lament and joy. Where are other places we see this in the Gospel story?
2) How do you think the many Christians who live in countries with persecution experience joy and lament at Christmas?
3) What are things we can do to help bring joy to someone this week? Could you make a calendar for the whole week?
4) What does lament as a spiritual practice mean? What are some other spiritual practices that you do regularly? What’s one you want to improve?
5) How does the massacre of innocents impact our view of the nativity story?
Prayer for Advent Week 3:
Dear God,
Our hearts are so heavy in this season.
As I imagine the grief of the mothers in Bethlehem
I don’t understand why, Lord.
Just like I don’t understand the depths of loss
all around me, and cry out again, why?
While I grieve, I have never been more
thankful for the manger.
I trust in your plan.
For Jesus and the hope and joy that
He brought us all.
I pray that this week, I would be able to
show that joy to others.
That we would sew joy and kindness this week.
Thank you for Your presence, Your comfort, and
for this season of preparation and joy.
Advent Resources:
Resources we used for this Post:
–Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: By Kenneth Bailey
-Sarah Bessey’s blog on the Joy of Being Wrong at Christmas
– Jesus the Refugee and the Danger Epiphany Reveals on Christianity Today.
**For more of this series: Week 1, Week 2, Week 4, Week 5**
Advent Resources:
-Our post from last year with music and movie resources for week 2!
– Unwrapping the Greatest Gift or the Calendar version by Ann Voskamp.
– Watch for the Light: A collection of Advent readings.
– Keeping Christmas: 25 Advent Reflections on A Christmas Carol.
– A Better Than Anything Christmas: Includes journaling space and short entries for younger kids.
You Might Be Interested in These Other Posts:
–Hope is Coming! Our movie and music Advent devotionals from last year.
–25+ Christmas Movies to Stream & Where to Stream Them
-Our Family Christmas Quiz & Game Bundle for $1.50.
-Our Favorite New Christmas Books and Read Alouds-10 Socially Distant Family, Holiday, Activities!
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