Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Give Us This Day

Home
Evangelical
A Fairy Tale of 2 Kings

A Fairy Tale of 2 Kings

Last updated on: September 5, 2017 at 8:40 pm by Fr. Charles Erlandson

A Fairy Tale of 2 Kings 2017-09-05T20:40:50-05:00 Fr. Charles Erlandson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Acts 12:1-24

There are many ways to re-tell the story of Acts 12, but I’d like to tell it as a kind of a fairy tale, even though it is a true one.

Once upon a time, there was an Evil King who tried to usurp the throne of the True King. This Evil King had once been a loyal subject of the True King, but one day he had decided that he should really be the one who was the king. He started a revolt and recruited some of the True King’s inner council, about a third of them. The revolt spread among the True King’s subjects, as the Evil King went among the people and started spreading lies and doubts about the True King.

One day, one of the Evil King’s lords, Herod, decided that he would try his hand at oppressing some of the True King’s servants. He ordered that one of the True King’s most trusted servants, one who had been in his inner circle, a man James Bar-Zebedee, be killed by the sword. When he saw that this pleased some of the people who had not yet taken sides in the Great Battle, he ordered that one of the True King’s two most important servants, a man named Peter, be arrested and put into prison, where he placed 4 squads of guards to watch over him.

The evil lord Herod knew that this was the anniversary of two of the greatest victories of True King, on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, while the True King’s subjects would be celebrating. He had also heard before that one of the battles that the Evil King was certain he had won was soon turned into a rout for him, all because some guards couldn’t seem to do their job of keeping watch over a dead man.

But the evil lord Herod did not know about the power of the True King. Herod had heard about such things but knew they couldn’t be true because he couldn’t see it himself. He did not know that all of the True King’s servants were joined together in a mysterious and invisible way, and he couldn’t believe in their special speech that enabled them to speak to the True King from great distances away. He came from a long line of evil lords who were spiritually blind and cruel men.

And so when Peter was in prison, the servants of the True King gathered together to speak to the True King and ask him that he would protect his servant Peter. The True King heard the common speech of his subjects, even though he was not physically with them, and he sent one of his invisible messengers to release Peter.

When Peter was released, he came to the house of the servants of the True King. The servants were amazed because even though they believed in the special speech, the True King, in his wisdom, did not always answer the way the people thought he should. Peter then told these things to the True King’s head servant in Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, when the evil lord Herod heard that Peter had escaped, he cruelly had the guards put to death.

A short time later this same evil lord Herod had a conflict with some of his subjects in the cities of Tyre and Sidon. They begged Herod for peace because the evil lord Herod was the one who supplied them with the food. He accepted their invitation, and attended the festival in his honor. On the second day of the festival, he put on a garment made wholly of silver, and of a truly wonderful texture, and came into the theater early in the morning. When the sun’s ray’s shone on the silver of his garment they were illuminated by the reflection of the sun’s rays in such a surprising and resplendent manner that a horror came over those that looked intently upon him.

He gave what was really a very ordinary speech, full of flowery language and self-aggrandizement. But the people, knowing that they needed the king’s favor and food, and dazzled by his robe, began to shout, “The voice of a god and not of a man! The voice of a god and not of a man! Be merciful to us; for although before we reverenced you only as a man, yet from now on shall we reverence you as superior to mortal nature!”

Herod was very pleased and began to be even more proud in his heart. But because he tried to take all of the glory for himself, the True King, who was far more worthy and noble than either the Evil King or the evil lord, sent one of his invisible messengers to slay Herod. This he did, causing Herod to die a terrible death over a period of five days, as his body was eaten from inside by worms.

Like all fairy tales, the reason we enjoy them is because they speak about our own real fears and hopes. They are simple stories, in which good and evil are clearly defined, and in which the good usually prevails. But they speak to us and remind us (more than teaching us) the things we believe to be true.

What is it about this true fairy tale that captures our imagination? It’s that we know that there really are evil lords who serve an Evil King; that there really are faithful servants of the True King; and that these 2 are locked in mortal combat. We also know that, in the end, the good guys will win.

But in this life the good guys don’t always win every time. We apparently lose some of the battles. Christians are persecuted, tortured, and put to death, even in the “civil” 21st century. And even those of us who aren’t directly persecuted know that we are in a spiritual battle that we often appear to be losing.

Yet this story reminds us of who is in charge. We may not appear to be winning. We may feel defeat, and we will still die. But we know who is in charge, and we know who has already won the victory.

We also know the meaning of the Body of Christ and the ways in which we are to live together for Him. And we believe in the power of prayer, especially as God’s people gather together as His Body.

Unlike other literature which we may use as escapist literature, to simply distract us from the hardships of life for a while, the Bible, and the stories of how God works in the lives of His saints, is reality literature (infinitely better than UnReality TV!) From it, we are to be reminded of the True and Great King and His power in our lives today.

Prayer: King of glory, King of peace,

I will love thee;

and that love may never cease,

I will move thee.

Thou hast granted my request,

thou hast heard me;

thou didst note my working breast,

thou hast spared me.

Wherefore with my utmost art

I will sing thee,

and the cream of all my heart

I will bring thee.

Though my sins against me cried,

thou didst clear me;

and alone, when they replied,

thou didst hear me.

Seven whole days, not one in seven,

I will praise thee;

in my heart, though not in heaven,

I can raise thee.

Small it is, in this poor sort

to enroll thee:

e’en eternity’s too short

to extol thee. (George Herbert)

Point for Meditation:

What story might you tell about your life today? It might be won with apparent defeats, but it should be told with the victory of the True King in mind.
In what ways do you need to be encouraged that the King is on His throne and ruling and that He hears the prayers of His people?

Resolution: I resolve today to see my life as being lived under the power of the True and Great King, knowing that He has already won the victory.

Martyrdom of St. James – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Previous Post

May 24, 2016

The True Temple and Its Architecture

Next Post

June 8, 2016 What Happens When the Church Fasts and Prays?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Book Reviews Featured Give Us This Day Give Us This Day Devotional love me love my wife Love My Wife Reformed Catholicism Blog Spirit-Reality Take This Cup Uncategorized

Select a Month February 2022 November 2021 October 2021 August 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 September 2018 July 2018 March 2018 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which two apostles went up to the temple at the "hour of prayer" and healed a lame man in Acts 3?

Select your answer to see how you score.

James and Jude Paul and Barnabas Peter and John Philip and Stephen