I have imagined the reactions and thought processes of those people involved in the Christmas narrative.
I hope that it will assist your meditations on these events with fresh thoughts.
I was really hacked off – I
was not my jolly self! It almost tipped me over the edge so that I would go and
execute a few more people. The prime candidates were these so-called ‘wise men’
that stood in front of me.
They had had the audacity to
merrily stroll the fortifications that I had set up to stop people like them,
following a light that had apparently appeared to them.
They thought that they were
visiting a king, but had neglected the courtesy of sending a messenger to check
if it was alright to come and see me.
They had not come to see the
marvellous building projects that I had been constructing or the new currency
that I had introduced.
No, they had the discourtesy
of asking me where the new king of Israel was to be found. As far as I was
concerned, I had beheaded a number of the ruling class in addition to a few of
my own sons, and the surviving ones would know better than to claim the title
for themselves.
I couldn’t believe my ears
when these visitors from a foreign land referred to this other person as ‘king
of the Jews,’ because as far as I was aware there was only one king of the Jews
– and that was me! It became even more incredulous when they stated that they
had come to worship him.
As they were so persistent, I
called the chief priests and teachers of the law to come from the temple. I
asked them about the preposterous idea that there should be an anointed one
coming to save Israel.
They blushed, mumbled
something in their beards before I ordered them to speak out loud. ‘Well, your
majesty,’ they stuttered, ‘one of our prophets called Micah stated that the
anointed one would be born in Bethlehem.’
At that moment, I thought of a
cunning ploy. I sent them and their entourage to Bethlehem because the words of
the Jewish prophecy indicated that this new king would be there, so that I could worship him.
Of course, I had no intention
of doing such a thing. My plan was that, once they had located this child, I
would send my army to the town and exterminate him – there is only room for one
king in Israel and that would be me.
It has been a number of days
since they have left the royal palace and it doesn’t seem as though they are
coming back. It appears that by some means they have tumbled my ruse and so
have double-crossed me.
It doesn’t matter because I
shall send my army to Bethlehem any how and kill all boys under the age of two
just to make sure.
I am the only king and I
deserve all the worship, but I have a nagging feeling that this is only the
start of something new.
Points to ponder:
·
How is the kingship challenging you and what
you hold dear?
·
How are your actions showing who is the king of
your life?
·
What defensive walls are you putting up that
might stop Jesus acting in your life?
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