When we left last week, Luke had taken us from the Temple to Nazareth. Shortly thereafter he was going to take us back to the Temple again. Jesus is probably only a year old when He gets back to Nazareth, possibly even less than 6 months.

Luke gives us this nice, clean report, "Mary and Joseph did everything they were supposed to do, and then they went up to Nazareth." Isn't that sweet? Well, it wasn't quite so clean, so cut and dried. What happened in that month or two that followed what Lukes tells us?

Matthew fills that in. And I'm glad he did. A major part of the Christmas story is the wisemen, or the magi and all that happened because of them. Just think, without Matthew's account, our little nativity scenes would be smaller. The kids painting the Nativity pieces for VBS would have been done quicker, having less pieces to paint. We would have Mary and Joseph, baby Jesus (of course), shepherds, sheep and some other farm animals, but we would missing those important pieces. Right now, if you were to look at our nativity scene out in the narthex, you'll see that clump of figures that aren't quite there yet. Still to the east, they are on their way-yep, the wisemen, or the magi and their caravan still haven't quite arrived.

Perhaps if we could, we'd set up a little model of Jerusalem, because that's where they would have been before they find Jesus. We would have pieces of Herod and the priests, meeting with those wisemen. Could you imagine setting that up? What a hassle. More pieces to paint and set up and then put away after each Christmas.

But have you ever thought about what a bone-headed thing these wisemen do when they get to Jerusalem? They are in the capital city, the king's city and they are asking for the next king. No wonder all of Jerusalem was stirred. "Hey, has-been Herod. Where's the guy that is going to replace you?" Yeah, that sits well with a king. They may have been wise, but not in the ways of diplomacy.

Herod comes unglued, although he keeps his composure in front of these educated men, who are sincerely searching for the Messiah of the Jews. "Give me word when you find Him, so I can worship Him too."

The magi are warned in a dream not to go back to Herod and when Herod realizes they are not coming back, he decides that the Bethlehem High School was not going to have a football team 14-16 years from now. In other words, he decides he is going to kill all the boys 2 years and younger, hoping that in that number he gets the promised Messiah, the one who was to be the King of the Jews. Based on the size of Bethlehem, we can figure Herod had killed off about 10-12 boys, just about the number it would take to make a football team.

All the boys two years and younger were slaughtered, because Herod was paranoid and didn't want anyone taking either his or is son's throne from him.

Last Sunday was the day those boys were to be remembered. We call it "the Feast Day of the Holy Innocents." And after covering all this historical groundwork, provided for us by Matthew, we come to the point we need to hear. It's captured in the collect we would have prayed had we celebrated Holy Innocents. "Almighty God, the martyred innocents of Bethlehem showed forth your praise not by speaking, but by dying."

They showed forth God's praise by dying? God was praised because little boys were slaughtered? What kind of sicko would say that and even write a prayer saying that? And why would the church repeat this prayer, much less use it for centuries?

We know of little boys and little girls being slaughtered now, with the approval of our country and people fighting fiercely for the right of parents to keep doing this to their own children. This is not to God's glory. This is to His shame and to ours. Of course, you realize I'm talking about abortion.

There are parallels to this plague in our land and Herod's decision to kill the boys of Bethlehem. Both boil down to a matter of convenience; and at the root of that, selfishness.

Now, there are parents who have done this, who have been pressured into it, having been given the information that could only lead them to conclude this would be the best thing to do. They still sinned, but they have recognized it as sin, and have repented of it. Forgiveness has been given to them, not simply because they have repented but because Christ died to win that forgiveness. They recognized their need for forgiveness and it has been given to them. Not all, but many do, when they realize what they have done.

Based on Herod's reputation, though, especially toward the end of his life, he probably did not repent, nor see the need for it, and yet, his decision is said to have brought glory to God. How can this be?

That's the huge question. Answering this is where a lot of churches diverge from how God would answer it, because His answer just doesn't seem to make sense. This answer is not what you will hear most everywhere else, but God's answer is going to be a Gospel answer, and Gospel is always talking about what He does, not what we do. Therefore, where God is not given glory in abortion, He is, when He gives forgiveness for it.

But forgiving those who have had an abortion is just a sample. Lets look at what God Himself says verbatim about how He is given glory. Speaking through St. Peter, He tells us in our second lesson. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed. If anyone suffers as a Christian, let him glorify God in that name.

To suffer as a Christian is to point to Christ's suffering on our behalf. That's the answer. Here is how God is glorified. Our suffering points to Christ's suffering. Christ suffered to bring us back to His Father, to reconcile us, to make peace between us and God. See. Gospel. It's what God does for us. If we suffer because we are Christians, because we carry Christ's name, then our suffering is pointing to what He has done.

Call it a living Gospel message. It's evangelism, without wracking our brains trying to think of what we might need to say when we have that evangelism moment. Most of us would think the other way of doing evangelism, where we tell people about Jesus might be easier after all, but suffering is more effective because it is not easily faked and people know it.

How do we suffer as Christians? We are clearly not like the countries where Muslim governments regularly persecute and kill Christians simply for worshiping as Christians and Hindu governments do the same thing in other places. Christians are suffering for the sake of Christ all over the world. Another way of saying it, all over the world, evangelism, the proclamation of Christ's suffering to bring the world eternal life, is happening.

In our country, it's different. We aren't under the threat of death for simply worshiping as a Christian. But suffering for the sake of Christ's name still happens. What would happen to the kid who wasn't socially skilled, if he bowed his head to pray in the school lunch room? It's his right, you know, but how would he be treated? What would happen to you if you were to stick up for a co-worker when everyone else was taking shots at her? Would people admire you for your courage or would they resent you for being holier than thou? Have you served your neighbor, your spouse or your children, simply doing what you have been called to do, but you are rarely shown any appreciation? Have you ever stood firm on a clear Biblical teaching when everyone else, even a bunch of Christians, is saying, "That's your interpretation?" It's not fun, is it?

Don't tell me Christians don't suffer for being Christian. When you suffer in this way, you are doing evangelism. People may resent you doing this, but they are taking note. Some of those taking note may even be other Christians. God is bringing Himself glory because He is pointing through you to the suffering of His Son for you and for them.

You don't need me to contrast this with what the world would think or what a lot of other churches would teach, because you can see it yourself. What I'm saying probably doesn't make sense. Most of us would think we glorify God by what we do. We tend to think God is given glory when we do something. But that's all backwards from God's ways. He is glorified when He does something for us or when He points to what He does. Gospel. It's that simple.

Now, look at the death of these boys. They were killed because the devil hated Jesus and moved Herod to try to kill Him. The devil wanted to stop Jesus before He could do anything. He was going to kill Jesus the first chance he got. In the process he killed several innocent little boys. Their death points to Jesus' death.

Something like this happened in the Old Testament, which also pointed to the death of Jesus. The devil had tried to do the same with the one who modeled Jesus in the Old Testament, Moses. The king of Egypt had wanted all the boys to be killed as soon as they were born. Moses was to be one of them, but he was spared. The command to kill all these boys in Moses' time also pointed to Jesus' death, and therefore brought glory to God.

Not merely pointing to His death, Jesus actual act of dying brings glory to God, because it is the very act which assures you of life. This is His greatest glory because this is His greatest grace, His greatest act of love. And He is about to be bring glory to Himself in yet another way as we gather at His table and eat the flesh and drink the blood of the incarnate Christ. He is given glory here, because at this table we will be given forgiveness. God's great work of mercy will be done again soon.

Alright. In these last 10 minutes, you have been undergoing a huge shift. The first couple minutes were just to get us oriented with what Matthew was saying, but the last several have probably been pretty challenging. Your way of thinking is being changed right out from under you, and if you have stayed with me, your head might even hurt. I'm sorry for this, but as Christians we want to think Gospel, gospel, gospel. What God does, namely earning forgiveness for us and then delivering it to us.

Now, I will close with a reference to the antiphon in our Introit, which is also the title of the sermon. From the mouths of babes and infants. How do they establish strength? How do they bring glory to God? Not by what they do. They are only babies, they can't really do anything, but rather by what God does. He snatches them from the devil. He brings them life, eternal life just as He has done for you. And He does it, through the water which applies the death of His Son, the death to which the babes and infants of Bethlehem by their death had pointed.

AMEN