A Tale of Two Grinches


When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity that were two years old and under in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
Matthew 2: 16

 Every year the children in our family watch the Grinch. This year there was a new version that I saw in the theater with my sweet daughter-in-love and two of our precious grandchildren.  The draw of the Grinch story is redemption.  It is wonderful to see that love is the answer. The Grinch is evil! Or is he? It turns out that maybe he was just sad and lonely.  He didn’t feel love because his life was devoid of it. He is shocked when he sees that the Whoville citizens are still full of joy even though all of their celebratory finery is gone. The key is in the line that says they are happy as long as they have “hands to clasp.” In other words, all is well as long as they have each other. 

Hearing that loving sentiment, seeing it lived out before his very eyes, the Grinch is a changed man.  His heart grows by leaps and bounds. Look at that love!  He wants to be a part of the beauty he sees before him.

Then there’s Herod, the original Grinch.  He sees joy and happiness and perceives a threat. He sees love and immediately wants to annihilate it. When he can’t absolutely identify the threat to his sovereignty and power, he decides that the best course of action is to wipe out anything and anyone that could potentially be the source of his demise. Herod is evil. Unlike the Grinch he isn’t looking for love, he’s trying to kill it and he does. He orders the death of all boys two years old and younger. Then he sits back to wait for his path to stardom to be clear again.

While he waits he rots. Instead of looking toward the marvelous light in the night sky, he looks inward and inside of Herod things are decaying. Biblical scholars say that Herod’s body became gangrenous and that he rotted literally, from the inside out. Gross! But fitting. Evil makes us feel awful. Even a little anger can cause headache or stomach distress, not to mention heartache. There is huge truth in the saying, no Jesus, no peace.

We can learn from the tale of the two grinches. Choose joy, choose love and life, and look for the good in people and circumstances. I want the big heart, the one bursting with love. How about you?

 

 

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