Heroes & Villains of Christmas
Phil Miglioratti
I confess, I’m a huge Beach Boys fan. Love their surf, sand, and streets songs.
But alongside Little Deuce Coupe,
Little Saint Nick has become a
Christmastime favorite.
Too often our experience of Christmas is engulfed by the commercialization
of our Lord’s birth into holiday festivals void of spiritual truth and gift
giving that maxes out our credit cards. And possibly even more concerning, many
Christ followers have not grown beyond a sentimental understanding of a sweet-smelling,
no-crying, halo-glowing baby in the arms of loving mother who gives no evidence
of a grueling donkey ride and a dark, damp cave for a delivery room.
Christmas, glorious in all that it brings to us (the ultimate
revelation of God, the declaration of his transforming love and so much more),
was on Satan’s mind since he was tossed from heaven (Revelation 12:7-9). That
set in motion a cosmic conspiracy to steal, kill, and destroy our salvation. So,
as the song says, heroes and villains, look, see what you’ve done . . .
Villains
The Evil One (Satan, also referred to as Lucifer, the Devil) – the one who is God’s adversary and
our accuser. As the serpent in the garden, he deceived the woman as his first attempt
to steal the truth from Adam and Eve, kill their trust in the Lord, and destroy
God’s plan to bring a savior to the world. Some scholars would claim Satan was
involved in the wickedness that caused God to flood the earth (Genesis 6:1-8:
for example: “The Nephilim
were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to
the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old,
men of renown.”). Is it possible that the serpent was once again striving to pollute
the line of descendants from which the savior would be born? Certainly this one
who now “leads the whole world astray” had fallen from his privileged place of
what may have been leading worship in the very throne room of heaven (Isaiah
14:11-15). Villain for sure.
Herod,
in Matthew 2, proves himself another Christmas villain. When he learns of the
Magi’s arrival and their quest to see the baby born to be king, he is
terrified, not realizing that the kingship of Jesus is the Kingdom of God, not
a political position to be used to control and exploit. So threatened was Herod,
he ordered the vicious murder of babies in the region, ending their lives and
bringing untold pain to the mothers and father who were forced to witness such
an horrific act, probably in their own home. Like Lucifer who was most
certainly possessing and deceiving him, Herod succumbed to the threat he
perceived in the Christmas birth of Jesus. Villain for sure.
Heroes
Joseph,
the most unappreciated, underrated character in this celestial play. We don’t
even know what to identify him as; father (yes, but not birth-father); step-dad
doesn’t work. Like Mary, he is an amazing human being assigned a one-of-a-kind
role in the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God. A doubter, you say,
ready to abandon the young woman who claimed the impossible for her
increasingly embarrassing pregnancy, who needed a special angelic visit in
order to not divorce her … or, a man of integrity who eventually exercised a
measure of faith that only a few men and women of renown before him had
exhibited. How many birth-fathers would have risked all (home, career, safety)
by taking leave at 3am with not much more than a backpack to journey uncertain roads
through desolate wilderness to escape with the peace child to Egypt. His first
child was born homeless then Joseph made him a refugee to save his life.
Nothing less than Hero!
Mary.
Thirteen, or so, they say. The older (and maybe somewhat wiser) I get, the more
I am convinced the Lord selected a qualified young woman but, I also wonder how
many other older women (teenagers and beyond) he had to pass by because they
lacked her simple faith, sincere heart and capacity to believe the unbelievable.
Her greatest act of obedience was to do nothing. Noting but surrender to a
monumental mystery that would radically alert her life forever. Sounds like a disciple
of Jesus. A+ hero.
Shepherds.
No names. Their Facebook profile would have that standard gray matted photo
outline. Their job, low on the pay and respect scales. But their wondrous
curiosity earned them the privilege of being the first humans to proclaim the
arrival of the mighty God who would become suffering savior. Everyone is
invited to become part of the family of Christ regardless of status. And in
that family, nobody (even lowly shepherds) is a nobody. Blue collar heroes.
Magi.
Just the opposite. Educated. Intelligent. Men of means. Yet humble worshippers.
Adventurous. Generous. The first gentiles to worship Jesus. The first
missionaries to the nations. The line in heaven to hear their eyewitness
account of their marathon trip and then their life-threatening encounter with
Herod will stretch long on one of those gold laden streets. I wonder what the
Pharisees and Sadducees were doing while these wise men were studying and
searching for the child of God? Outsiders who trumped the religious
establishment. Slam dunk. Heroes.
Simeon
and Anna. Senior saints who may have worn out their welcome in their home
church or maybe were ignored as relics of the past, no longer on the cutting
edge of the emerging temple movement. Or, is it possible they were considered
bothersome, not unlike the flaky intercessors or self-appointed prophets we’ve
all run into? If the latter, haven’t we seen how well the Church functions without
a wholly dedicated woman of prayer or a never-give-up-on-God’s-promises old
man? Sadly, we have. Oh for these kinds of heroes.
I’d be interested in knowing the lessons you think of from these men
and women (and broken angel). For me, it is being reminded to continue a
relentless pursuit of the character traits displayed in these
God-made-extraordinary heroes. And warned that the spiritual disease that
demonized Herod and felled Satan is present in me. I thank God that he has
saved this villain-potential person has been grace-gifted with hero capacity by
that incarnated infant who became THE hero who won freedom for every villain
who ever lived.
Heroes and villains, look see what HE’s done!
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