Week 11: Saving Our Sons

Scripture: Matthew 2:11-16 
On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.” When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. 
Saving Our Sons 
 As a Black person in this country, I have found it very difficult to fully embrace all of the accoutrements of being an American. The American Dream is only a dream for me because of all of the pain and agony we (African Americans) have experienced. There have been many Black parents who have awoken found themselves grieving the loss of that very same child. Dating back to Slavery even unto the modern-day, our sons have been stripped from our very hands brought to a place where we may never be reunited with them on this side of the Jordan. 
  • This is what Mamie Till experienced when she buried her son, Emmitt Till 
  • This is what Sybrina Fulton experienced when hearing the news about Trayvon Martin 
  • This is what Lucy McBath experienced when she heard about her son Jordan Davis 
  • This is what Valerie Castile experienced when she heard a no-guilty verdict for her son Philando Castile’s murder 
  • This is what Samaria Rice experienced when her son Tamir Rice was murdered 

And all while we have been grieving, there have been a people untouched by our grief. It wasn’t their son who was taken, so all was well. It wasn’t their son who had been slain so for some, the situation found in today's text was a celebratory occasion but for others, it was a painful reminder of our reality. Epiphany is where people from all over come to meet the Baby Jesus. While there is a gathering of people celebrating, there is some jealousy brewing in the palace, because it ‘was very likely that this young child will grow to be the next king. King Herod allows for the Wise Men to find this King, and bring back some information for him. He tells them that he wants to know where Jesus is so he may come and “Worship Him”. Herod, who are you fooling? Herod has absolutely no desire to worship Jesus but rather to kill him. God informs the Magi of Herod’s intention and they ignore the request of the King, which causes the Massacre of Innocent.  
Herod wanted Jesus dead because of the reality that he was an unqualified president, I meant King, who had acquired his seat office by an electoral college, known as the Roman Senate, and not by those who he would govern over. Herod was a descendant of an immigrant and was raised as a Jew on Jewish soil but didn’t have a royal bloodline, making him ill-equipped to govern over this nation but up until that point, there was supposedly no candidate more qualified for the position. As Jesus is now on the scene, there is the potential of a king rising up in the midst of these people. So, in an effort to retain his power and status, he decided to kill Jesus; but there is one problem; he doesn’t know who Jesus is or where to find him. The only thing he knows about Jesus is the age-range that he would fall into. As a result, he calls for the death of every male child that is in the age-range of Jesus, and as these children near their death, Joseph gets a tweet from heaven. Instead of allowing Jesus to be murdered in this witch-hunt, God sends word to Joseph about getting Jesus and Mary out of the city. This massacre is likened to the burning of a crop prior to being able to reap its yield. These young men were being killed due to the possibility of them being Jesus, but who are these massacred boys? God has a proven track-record for being both a savior and deliverer, but when the King Herods of our time rise up, we know of God’s ability to save us but aren't sure about the method that God will take to do it. Some of us, just like Jesus, have to rely on others to hide us, because we are not even capable of adequately hiding ourselves. But honestly, how could I hide? 
  • I mean how could I hide my skin color 
  • I mean how could I hide my gender 
  • I mean how could I hide my sexual orientation 
  • I mean how could I hide my religious beliefs 
  • I mean how could I hide my nationality 
  • I mean how could I hide my convictions 
I genuinely can’t hide it, but does that mean that I’m not worth your salvation? Because of things that were out of my control, I won’t be afforded the opportunity of salvation? Couldn’t you have saved all the children? And the internal question that all of us have to ask is, would you have saved me? What did our Sons do to be mistreated? Was it the grand entrance that made it possible for you not to notice that they were there? Could it be the way that the stars align to expose to shine light on them while they are doing good but it seems that no one sees their cries out for help until they commit a crime? Why should our young kings be slaughtered like animals in the streets? Is it because when people see us, they become afraid and consider that "mutiny begins at the bottom"? What did we do? Our sons were born with a target on our back and have to spend their entire lives proving that they are not as harmful as people consider them to be.  
But as I have read this text in preparation for this sermon, there is one thing that has stood out to me. That in the midst of all of this, I have to thank God for Joseph! Joseph, who considered Jesus as a son but had no blood relation to him, had the opportunity to save this son and he did just that. When God wanted to find a place to leave Jesus to be groomed and cared for, God looked upon Joseph and Mary. God knew that although Joseph wasn’t the biological father, Joseph with care for Jesus as if Jesus was his own. Because Joseph didn’t need a relation to have relationship with Jesus! All of our sons need a Joseph, a person who is not related to them but has a responsibility to saving them. A responsibility to ensuring that there is a better life for the next generation than there was for him. All the while, in the preparation for Jesus’s arrival, it was joseph who God was preparing. He was being prepared to guard and keep one of our precious treasures, our sons, and influence a nation. And seemingly it has worked. You might ask how, and the answer is that: 
  • Because of a Joseph, there could be an Absalom Jones 
  • Because of a Joseph, there could be a Barack Obama 
  • Because of a Joseph, there could be a Charles Drew 
  • Because of a Joseph, there could be a Desmond Tutu 
  • Because of a Joseph, there could be an Eldridge Cleaver 
  • Because of a Joseph, there could be a Frederick Douglass  
  • Because of a Joseph, there could be a George Washington Carver  
  • Because of a Joseph, there could be a Howard Thurman 
  • Because of a Joseph, there could be a James Baldwin 
  • Because of a Joseph, there could be a Kwame Nkrumah 
  • Because of a Joseph, there could be a Langston Hughes 
  • Because of a Joseph, there could be a Medger Evans 
  • Because of a Joseph, there could be a Nelson Mandela 
  • Because of a Joseph, there could be an Oscar Charleston 
  • Because of a Joseph, there could be a Paul Roberson  
  • Because of a Joseph, there could be a Quincy Jones 
  • Because of a Joseph, there could be a Richard Allen 
  • Because of a Joseph, there could be a Samuel DeWitt Proctor 
  • Because of a Joseph, there could be a Thurgood Marshall 
  • Because of a Joseph, there could be a W. E. B. DuBois  
While Jesus was saved from this situation, there are multiple forms of persecution coming that Jesus couldn’t avoid or hide from. But it was Joseph who God used to ensure that we how to figure who would go on and sacrifice his life for our sins. Proving to me today, that the only way to save our sons is to have relationship Beyond blood! 

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