The Empire Strikes Back

The 3 magi.....whether they were magicians or astrologers or even con artists doesn't matter....stroll into Jerusalem in search of the King of the Jews.  One has to wonder how these three men managed to travel the distance they did, over approximately 2 years, to arrive at Jerusalem without a lick of common sense.  Who is it that stops by the current King's palace to get directions to the birth place of the REAL King who was just born?  Who doesn't understand that this is a fool's errand and there will be consequences, if not for the 3 magi, then for the others around them?

Who is that dense?  The Empire. Always. Strikes. Back.  Always.  The Empire didn't get to be the Empire without amassing power, and it is in no mood to give that power away.  It doesn't matter if the Empire is Rome (a fairly impressive empire) or the State of NY (a more impressive bureaucracy) or the Local School District.  A good friend of mine once said, 'There is nothing more to be feared than a little man with a whistle and a clipboard'.  Power is heady stuff.

Furthermore, it doesn't matter what kind of man Herod was (ruthless even towards his own offspring) or which Empire is represented or even how small the threat might be.  It doesn't matter that Herod was a pretender to the throne with sketchy bona fides and limited Jewish connections and he was shunned as not really Jewish and hated because as King he oppressed the Jews.

Power wants power and does not give it up without a fight.  In more modern times we have a few examples of power being passed on without actual blood being let....but they are fewer than you think.

All of that by way of introduction to this thought:  we Christians seem to have lost sight of the clash of empires that is inaugurated by the birth of Jesus.

Jesus points us to a different way of living and to a different code of ethics.  With forgiveness as the base, Jesus opens up a new perspective that, although wonderful to contemplate, must first lead you to accept that there is something in you or your life that needs forgiveness.  We are all willing to be forgiven for the small stuff........but, for example, point out white America's complicity in a system that targets and benefits off of our neighbors of color and there will be an uproar.  We don't want to be forgiven for being part of a racist system.....and should you try, well.......

the Empire will strike back.  Our current system will gather all its resources to prove that you are wrong....that there is nothing which needs forgiveness...and even if (and that is rarely granted) the system is a bit racist, we have no culpability because we didn't own slaves in 1865....

and the discussion will get heated and often ugly language will erupt.

Jesus is in conflict with the way the world operates.  Jesus is one concept of power (love); the Empire has a very different one (might).  Stand with Jesus and you too will be caught in the crossfire.

I mention this just in case you were under the impression that loving Jesus simply meant going to church occasionally.  I quote Matthew  "and Herod was nervous, and all Jerusalem with him."

Which empire do you serve?