{"id":1009,"date":"2010-12-06T10:06:10","date_gmt":"2010-12-06T10:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/richardlittledale.wordpress.com\/?p=1009"},"modified":"2010-12-06T10:06:10","modified_gmt":"2010-12-06T10:06:10","slug":"inspiration-from-herod","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/176.32.230.12\/richardlittledale.co.uk\/2010\/12\/06\/inspiration-from-herod\/","title":{"rendered":"Inspiration from Herod?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tales of the unexpected<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Preaching through a series on ‘tales of the unexpected’ in the run up to Christmas, and last night it was the turn of Herod and those around him. \u00a0I decided on a narrative approach, and reproduce it here in case you find it helpful.<\/p>\n

_____________________<\/p>\n

The sound of the messenger boy\u2019s footsteps outside the door made the scholars jump.\u00a0 In fact, if truth were told, everything, everywhere made people in the city jump just now.\u00a0 Ever since a rumour had started of strangers asking about a new king in town \u2018his majesty\u2019 in the palace had been on edge.\u00a0 Every bang might be the fall of an axe on another unfortunate neck. Every squeaking door might be the sound of another man or woman whose face didn\u2019t fit \u2018disappearing\u2019 at the hands of the secret police.\u00a0 People had been hiding, here in the palace \u2013 even in plain view. No-one caught anyone else\u2019s eye. People scurried down stone corridors with their eyes firmly fixed on the floor.\u00a0 No opinions were voiced, no advice offered.\u00a0 The king\u2019s temper was a pile of brittle bracken, dried to perfection by the latest gossip, and no-one wanted to be the spark to set it alight.<\/em><\/p>\n

BANG, BANG, BANG<\/em><\/p>\n

A summons – this could not be good.\u00a0 Men like them \u2013 keepers of the ancient tradition and readers of the ancient scrolls were only window dressing here. <\/em>Herod only kept them about the place, like peacocks on a country estate \u2013 for show.\u00a0 They were part of the Jewish d\u00e9cor, local colour to make him fit in \u2013 as if he ever could.<\/em><\/p>\n

And now they stood before him \u2013 trying not to show that they trembled.\u00a0 The king\u2019s voice was remarkably calm, horribly calm in fact – like the dainty hiss of a sibilant serpent before delivering its venom.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u201d he asked\u2026\u201dwhere is your Christ to be born\u201d?<\/em><\/p>\n

They looked at each other \u2013 terrified to answer lest the question were a trick. Could it really be that simple?\u00a0 With all the tension emanating round the palace and all the rumours weaving through the streets like smoke from some noxious bonfire – could that really be all he needed to know?\u00a0 Why, that was easy. With one voice they chorused \u201cIn Bethlehem, of course\u201d.\u00a0 And then deferred to the eldest one with the greyest hairs as he quoted the prophet\u2019s words:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBut you, Bethlehem Ephratha are by no means least among the rulers of Judah\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

A dark cloud passed across the king\u2019s face as he dismissed them with a clap of his sweaty, meaty hands.\u00a0 As they retreated down the corridor with the messenger boy trailing behind them, one said to the other \u201cdoesn\u2019t everyone know that?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cIf you know it \u2013 why don\u2019t you do something about it?\u201d trilled the boy \u2013 and then ran away down a corridor before they could cuff his ear.<\/em><\/p>\n

_____________<\/em><\/p>\n

In the throne room, all alone, the light of the flickering torches on the walls played and danced across the king\u2019s scowling face.\u00a0 Unseen by anyone he balled and unfurled his fist time and time again.\u00a0 He turned his hand over \u2013 as if to read his fortune\u2026or his bloody history upon it.\u00a0 The blood of his wife, her brother, his own mother and two of his sons was already indelibly stained there.\u00a0 It had been the work of a moment to order their deaths – the godlike word of the king.\u00a0 But the stain had lingered far far longer.\u00a0 His throne was borrowed, from the Romans and the solid walls of his palace round about created only the illusion of power.\u00a0 He was vulnerable and he knew it.\u00a0 A king\u2026on his doorstep?\u00a0 Ancient mumbo-jumbo from the prophecies confirming the awful truth? <\/em>Magi \u2013 mystic men with their incantations and their star charts asking awkward questions on the streets of his city?\u00a0 His fist balled once again, involuntarily.\u00a0 This had to be stopped.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBOY\u201d! he yelled \u2013 and the messenger boy skittered into the room as if racing over hot coals.\u00a0 \u201cFetch those stargazers here within the hour or you\u2019ll find yourself burning in Gehenna by nightfall\u201d.\u00a0 With that, the terrified boy ran from his presence before another curse rained down.<\/em><\/p>\n

_____________<\/em>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Sure enough, within the hour the three swished, rather than walked into the throne room behind the white-faced and terrified boy.\u00a0 Their flowing robes and gorgeous colours seemed somehow out of place in this angular room with its drab stonework..\u00a0 The king stepped down from his throne like a deity stooping to earth and greeted each effusively in turn as if keen to impress.\u00a0 The warmth was short lived though\u2026as he turned his back on them and settled in his throne again.<\/em><\/p>\n

He had been briefed by someone in these dingy corridors and feigned some degree of comprehension as he asked about star tracks, heavenly movements and the planets.\u00a0 There was anger, too, when they tried to keep some of their mystique from him and he erupted with a\u00a0 string of questions:<\/em><\/p>\n

But WHEN did it come?<\/em><\/p>\n

And where?<\/em><\/p>\n

And how long before you find this King?<\/em><\/p>\n

The three began to shuffle awkwardly.\u00a0 This was clearly not the king for whom they searched.\u00a0 There was nothing regal about him.\u00a0 In fact, he reeked of spite mingled with the smell of fear.\u00a0 When at last he stopped his rant and told them to go and find the child king they were glad, so glad to leave.<\/em><\/p>\n

Outside the throne room the messenger boy lingered as they wrapped their robes tighter for the onward journey.\u00a0 He gazed at their creased and exotic faces, couldn\u2019t help but sniff at the rich scent coming from the parcels they carried.\u00a0 And smiled from ear to ear when one tousled his hair and pressed a golden coin into his hand as they left.<\/em><\/p>\n

_______________<\/em><\/p>\n

I went on to point out that the boy was pure invention – but that his open acceptance of what God was up to, as opposed to the inaction of some and the fears of others – is an attitude worth emulating.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Photo: tv-ark.org<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tales of the unexpected Preaching through a series on ‘tales of the unexpected’ in the run up to Christmas, and last night it was the turn of Herod and those around him. \u00a0I decided on a narrative approach, and reproduce … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6,21],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/176.32.230.12\/richardlittledale.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/176.32.230.12\/richardlittledale.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/176.32.230.12\/richardlittledale.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/176.32.230.12\/richardlittledale.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/176.32.230.12\/richardlittledale.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1009"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/176.32.230.12\/richardlittledale.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/176.32.230.12\/richardlittledale.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/176.32.230.12\/richardlittledale.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/176.32.230.12\/richardlittledale.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}