OT reading: Isaiah 60: 1-9
NT reading: Matthew 2: 1-12
Last week
we heard the gospel of John (John 1:1-18, blog post) describe the light
of Christ shining in the darkness of the world. After I’d written most of this sermon,
I looked up the sermon I preached last year this time. It was my first sermon at First
Presbyterian Church and its title was “Every circumstance is an opportunity to
shine” (Day 28). That's always a very good idea to keep in mind on Epiphany
(revelation)
Sunday.
of Christ shining in the darkness of the world. After I’d written most of this sermon,
I looked up the sermon I preached last year this time. It was my first sermon at First
Presbyterian Church and its title was “Every circumstance is an opportunity to
shine” (Day 28). That's always a very good idea to keep in mind on Epiphany
(revelation)
Sunday.
Our passage today is a familiar one but its connection to Epiphany may be lost in
its familiarity. We often only recall the figurines of the three wise men (or “three
kings” as the hymn goes) bearing gifts in our Christmas manger scene. Their
confrontation with Herod isn’t the first thing we remember.
It is interesting the way the story has grown over time and differs from Luke’s
account that does not mention the Magi. Matthew does not tell us how many came
or tell us they are kings. He says the Magi entered the house not a barn/manger.
Luke says Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth and returned to Bethlehem for the
census and Jesus was born or stayed in a stall of a barn but Mathew says they
lived in Bethlehem where the Magi entered their house because later after they had
fled to Egypt to escape Herod Joseph feared to return home to Bethlehem and went
to live Nazareth in Galilee. The Magi probably traveled at least a couple weeks
from the eastern reach of Arabia, and Matthew. They are described as Magi from
the East, not wise men, literally Oriental scientists of the time, or probably sorcerers
and astrologers.
Matthew’s description of this visit by the Magi evokes the beginning of the Book of Exodus leading us to a parallel between Jesus and Moses:
The story in Ex. 1:8-22 tells us that although Joseph was welcomed by the Pharaoh and the Hebrews gave great benefit to Egyptian society, when the next Pharaoh came to power he only saw the Hebrews as a large internal threat that might side with the enemy if there was a war. Therefore, he decided to make their lives hard and oppress them ruthlessly into tasks of slavery.
This new Pharaoh told the Egyptian midwives to kill all
the new males as they were born but the midwives feared God and refused, so he
ordered all Egyptians to kill all the males born to the Hebrews.
This Pharaoh faced a decision. He could welcome the Hebrews as constructive members of Egyptian society and his predecessor did, or he could decide they were a threat and do something about it. You know the rest of that history, the baby Moses was spared and the Hebrews made it to the promised land.
In the same way, Herod faced a decision some time after the birth of baby Jesus
when these Magi from the East of Arabia arrived at his door looking for the Messiah.
They surprised him with their quest for the new king.
Herod as you know was a Judean and the local ruler of the Roman province of Palestine. As far as Rome was concerned, Jew and Judean were synonymous.
Judah and Jerusalem were the center of Palestinian society where the wealth, the Temple and society existed. The poor in the hinterlands such as Galilee were irrelevant to Rome. When the Gospel writers refer to “The Jews” they really are referring to the Judeans who were the religious and governmental elite. Ignoring
this subtle distinction between the Judeans and Jewish population at large caused centuries of anti-Semitism.
This meeting between Herod and the Magi does pose an interesting question.
When a Jewish leader hears the Jewish Messiah may have been born, should he rejoice, fear for his loss, or just be curious? An observant Jew thinks the Hebrew’s return from exile and rebuilding the Temple is the most powerful action and gift of
God to the Jewish people in Palestine. When Alexander the Great and later Rome subjugated Palestine a few years later, it ought to have made even the least
observant Judean long for the Messiah.
But Herod and his family had quite the success as the ruling representatives of
Rome in Palestine. They had elegant summer palaces and enjoyed the benefit of skimming the wealth taken from the people in taxes. These Magi posed a circumstance to Herod that required a decision. Herod had the choice to take this news of a new Messiah is an opportunity to shine, or as an opportunity to retreat
into dark grip of fear.
He chose fear and the verses following our reading show how far he sunk into darkness.
When the astrologers did not return and inform Herod where the child lived, he ordered the murder of all male children in Palestine who were under two years old.
I've also wondered what the astrologers were thinking when Herod questioned them about the time of the birth of this Messiah according to their reading of the stars and his desire to know where Jesus was located. The fact that Herod wanted to meet in secret should have give the Magi reason to be suspicious, even though Herod said
he only wanted to go and pay homage to the baby Jesus. The Magi were going back home, why would they think this Jesus meant something to them. Whatever they thought, their dream caused a realization and decision not to betray the location of Jesus by returning home using a different route that avoided Herod. The Magi
seized this opportunity to pay homage to the baby Jesus as an opportunity to shine
by protecting the child.
My point with Pharaoh, Herod and the astrologers is that they faced a dramatic and extreme decision about honoring God’s desire or not. Pharaoh and Herod made the choice to dishonor God but the Magi decided to honor God.
Few of us think that we very often face dramatic circumstances where our decision affect the course of life for many people, are circumstances where we have the opportunity to honor God or abuse his grace…Yet I have to wonder, is that really
true?
If we look over the past year here in First Presbyterian Church on this Epiphany Sunday, and ask what did we decide to do, what would we find out?
I think we find out we have made a difference through decisions.
I can’t speak for the year before, but last year we had two very good children's programs that brought into our midst both family and strangers, children and adults. We had a great Christmas music service, and a well-attended Christmas Eve
service with a lot of new faces. We have had a great combined garage/rummage sale/music program. I know it was not as big we have had in the past but we did it
and it was good. We have had a very good year of Sunday school program. We
have also seen an increasing participation of young people both, new and old, in
our Wednesday evening program. Our Presbyterian women are searching for opportunities for us to make a difference in the community.
I noticed more parents and families of our junior high aged children who only come Wednesday evening at our Christmas program. We have in this group of kids some late middle-school aged children that are hungry for positive role models.
It looks to me like there's really been quite a bit of the spirit of Christ’s light shining from First Presbyterian Church over the past year. We all can take comfort in being
a part of it.
We also make many decisions that are known only between God and ourselves that have great spiritual impact. For example, we may make decisions that reflect the extent of our love for our own children. Sometimes those decisions are made
painfully when we see our children make poor decisions that cause a lot of grief. Some parents could get angry and just write off the child, but others find a way to
hang onto that love and be sure that children know it.
That kind of decision is perhaps the most important one we can make. It can have a profound and large impact on the world. Who knows when a child will hear and respond to a parent’s love and years hence make a positive life-changing decision
that impacts us all. Perhaps it is something like encouraging them to finish high
school, go to college, pursue a dream vocation, or pick up the pieces after a costly personal mistake and live a better life rather than stepping into a spiral of disaster, depression and failure.
We may decide to help with a youth Sunday school class or work with the youth in
a particular age group on Wednesday evening even though we are not sure how to
do it and we know it will take time away from other activities we might want to do.
Such decisions have far-reaching consequences because the message it delivers
is, “I care about you and Christ cares about you.”
In reality, we face many more opportunities for decisions that can have far-reaching positive consequences than we appreciate. Our challenge… often is recognizing the circumstance as the opportunity to shine.
For example, when someone decides to write a note to a visitor or invite a friend to worship with us, it can have far-reaching consequences that enhance and improve
our circumstances. That invited person may become part of an empowered group
who starts a cascade by inviting their friends to worship with us. Some times the
child we love and teach ends up bringing parents along to worship weeks or months later.
Opportunities abound.
We fret that the dark forces around us are debilitating or harming our religious
practice and expression, or at least it appears that way to us. But as the message
from John told us last week, if we possess the Light of Christ we cannot be extinguished. We really have no choice other than to walk in John’s world that is
ruled by darkness.
There are many people among us here in Soddy Daisy, in Hixson, in Chattanooga who have an unmet yearning for comfort, solace, peace and fellowship - people who are hungry for the light that leads them from darkness to the light of Christ. Most of the time our challenge is to be certain we present to those people the opportunity for them to find us. We can fight the darkness by struggling against the forces of it and changing laws. At times that is the thing to do. But… the best investment we can make is to be sure we have our lights turned on so those people can find us.
How can we do this? It takes decisions and risking failure. We have an elementary school next door and every day from August until May we have parents and students coming and going. You know as well as I that sadness, joy, frustration, anger and rebellion lurk in those cars and busses, be it children, parents or teachers. Is there a way for us to become involved in the school’s educational activities? Is there a way to attract attention of the parents to us, not by standing on the corner preaching and waving Bibles but perhaps by offering a cup of coffee to a frazzled mother on her way home after that race to get the kids dressed, fed and out the door. That is a friendly, non-threatening way to say hello and get to know each other.
We receive calls on the office phone on a regular basis from people in the community who are having difficulty with rent or utilities or school supplies. I am sure from my own experience working with the unemployed and homeless that some people are in that circumstance because of poor choices and bad judgment. Giving them money may only hurt them more but so does doing nothing. Some are there due to circumstances beyond their immediate control, they may have never learned how to avoid always being one step removed from catastrophe. With good role models and motivation they can learn how. The only way to find them is to get to involved and know them. They may be the opportunity sent by God (angels) to teach us to make a difference by inviting them to explore a path to a productive Christian vocation that can empower them to take control of their life.
It appears to me that our decision is not to find the opportunities that we should tackle. The decision is to overcome the barrier posed by our comfortable personal lives, and I speak for all of us, showing we have the light of Christ within and look outward around us with eager hearts and ears for the circumstances in our community that are an opportunity to shine with Christ’s light. The world is a dark place for many people who are searching for God, but not for us, we have the light of Christ. The real lesson we learn from Herod and Pharaoh is to decide to glorify God with that light within us.
* As usual Scripture is taken from NRSV, via Oremus Bible Browser unless otherwise noted.
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