Ascend Advent 2022 Day 23: Why Tragedies Happen
The Christmas story isn’t all joy and good news; it contains tragedy and sorrow in the form of genocide. Jesus and His family escaped to Egypt, but all the other boys two and younger in and around Bethlehem were murdered.
It’s an uncomfortable part of the story, and it raises hard questions, some of which we'll cover in this episode.
Today's Scripture
"When Herod realised that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 'A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.'" Matthew 2:16-18
Key takeaway for the day:
"When Herod realised that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 'A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.'" Matthew 2:16-18
Key takeaway for the day:
The light of Jesus shines all the brighter against the darkest parts of the Advent story.
Credits
Today's narrator is Mark Baldwin-Smith.
Thanks to Mike Harvey for writing our daily devotions.
A shout out to Jamie Davidson for being the "voice of scripture".
Credits
Today's narrator is Mark Baldwin-Smith.
Thanks to Mike Harvey for writing our daily devotions.
A shout out to Jamie Davidson for being the "voice of scripture".
