January 3, 2010 at Saint Mark Church in Norman, OK
Epiphany of the Lord 1/3/2010
Isaiah 60: 1-6 + Psalm 72 + Ephesians 3:2, 3, 5, 6 + Matthew 2: 1-12
The chief characters of these verses from Matthew’s Gospel are obvious, and there have been enough Christmas pageants, plays, and rendition of their visit to the new-born to confuse and complicate our ability to grasp the message and the purpose of these twelve verses. We have given them names they do not have. We have decided that there were three when the Gospel never says so. We have sentimentalized the whole event to the point that asking what it’s all about makes one feel like the Grinch that stole Christmas or Mr. Scrooge.
The challenge of what is implied here, and the purpose that seems to motivate Matthew is enough to make us uncomfortable if we really want to listen to Matthew’s message and intent. He is always the Jewish writer tuned in to the prophets and the law and anxious to see the law and the prophets fulfilled. The vision proposed by the Third Isaiah which opened our liturgy today was a powerful influence upon Matthew. This image of a great throng of the saved returning home forgiven and freed by God’s providence inspires Matthew to share his conviction that the coming of Jesus in flesh and blood, in time and space, has precipitated the fulfillment of the ancient prophet’s vision. Matthew sees in these figures bearing their gifts all the non-Jews for whom the Christ has also come. It is a parade of nations who, like the Jews, have been invited to live in the light of God’s peace and salvation.
Matthew’s hope for universal unity poses a great challenge. Tribalism threatened the unification of the clans of Israel and Judah. Territorial disputes and conflicting loyalties to their leaders made for great conflict. The appearance of Jesus did not bring these to and end. Discrimination, power plays, and prejudice continued to thwart the vision; and it isn’t just a matter of history either. We live in that history.
We can point to the Sudan, Congo, Ireland, Sunnis and Shiites, and countless other examples of prejudice, racism, aggravated by fear and hatred; all continuing to thwart the vision. But pointing the finger around the world is simply a kind of denial of our own condition and a failure to look into our selves. Racism has never been more powerful and more destructive than it is right now. This nation is secretly and savagely weakened and threatened by racism. Racist jokes, bumper stickers, tee shirts, and posters are everywhere shaming us with the truth of how deeply divided, suspicious, and fearful we are.
The vision the Prophet and the Gospel put before us must push us to move beyond pride and ego and, rather than blame another, make the first step toward unity.
Exclusiveness is a natural human inclination. Life is easier with people who are like us, who think the way we think, and do things the way we do. Including strangers different from us and from unfamiliar cultures is a major challenge. When we get down to the basics of food, water, clothing, shelter, and jobs, the desire to take care of our own grows stronger. The notion that we all do better, when we all do better is very attractive on paper until there is not enough to go around. But there is no mistaking or watering down the message of the Epiphany’s story. God is inclusive, and God’s people will be so too, or they will not be God’s people.
Jew, Gentile, Christian, Muslim, Black People, Brown People, Yellow People, White People, Male,
Female, Gay, Straight: whoever, where ever are all invited, and if we can’t get along respect, care for, and love one another here on earth, what’s the point of thinking about heaven? What will be different there than here except we will have died.
In the background of these verses, a great evil lurks. Matthew calls him Herod. We would do well to pay attention to him – at least as much as we pay to those who come visiting. The figure of Herod in these verses points to the eventual rejection of Jesus not only by Herod but also by those who were disappointed at the manner in which he exercised his role as Messiah. Notice how indifferent those scholars of the law are as they confirm the information of the visitors. You would think they would pack up and go running along with these gift bearers: but not to Bethlehem. In their minds it’s a slum.
The contrast between Herod and the Magi raises the issue of an internal struggle between the part of us that accepts the Messiahship of Christ and the part of us that refuses to embrace His teaching. Those teachings include a call to be open and welcoming to others, regardless of their differences, their looks, their language or their customs. The challenge we have today is to look closely at the Herod in ourselves, and step into the light of Christ out of the shadows of fear and distrust and take our place in the great immigration procession that will lead us home. We are all immigrants when it comes to faith. Leaving behind the poverty of our ignorance and our slavery to sin, leaving the danger of hatred and fear, we move out of the darkness to walk in the light of Christ. We must raise our eyes and look about not to see how we are different from one another, but to affirm how we look in the Light that has come shining upon us all. Only in oneness will the glory of God be revealed.