Excuse Me Sir:
Where do we deliver our gifts?
By Rev Steven R
Mitchell
Mountain View
United, Aurora, CO 01/05/2014
Based on Matthew
2:1-12
For
many the decorating of a fir tree symbolizes the beginning of Christmas. Most churches have a hanging of the greens on
the first Sunday of Advent. As such, the
un-decorating of the Christmas tree indicates the end of Christmas. As a child, our Christmas tree tended to stay
up until New Year’s Day. I think it was
more for the spirit of celebration and had less to do with the idea of
Christmas Tide being over. As an adult, I
leave our Christmas tree up until the actual end of Christmas, which from the
view of the Church calendar is tomorrow, which is known as Epiphany.
Epiphany
sets the stage for Lent and Easter. It
is during the season of Epiphany that the birth of the new Messiah is shared
with the non-Jewish community, and this comes in the story of the visit of the
Magi of the East. Last week we saw how
the fear of losing privilege and power caused great pain and suffering for the
innocent, as King Herod learned about a new King of the Jews birth. Herod was not only a cruel king, but a puppet
ruler for Rome, as well. If any major
civil unrest were to occur under Herod’s administration, he knew that Caesar
would remove him from his power. If we look at the visit of the Magi only as
a story about some “wise” men traveling across the desert to see the new born
king and bring him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, following a star
that they had seen in the East, then we are very much missing the meaning to
this story. Dr John Pilch, former
Theology Professor at Georgetown University states: These magi of the East represent a long-standing resistance to Western
(at that point, Roman) imperialism, by traveling a long way to pay homage to
the new king of the Judeans. In doing
so, they‘re poking their finger in the eye of Rome itself, and all its puppets,
which include Herod himself. (The
reason why Pilch and other theologians talk about the threat of Jesus being
seen as “the son of God” is from the fact that Caesar was also seen as “the son
of god”, so there is a natural political rivalry between Caesar who was seen by
the Roman state as the prince of peace and Jesus as the new Messiah,(the Jewish
bringer of peace.) Pilch says that the wise men were men of
stature and importance back home, advisors to the rulers of ancient empires in
the East. The East also invokes
images of former conquers of Israel, like Assyria, Babylon, and Persia; it is
no wonder that Herod was feeling very uneasy about their visit. I can just hear him thinking, “Why are these
men really here? What do they know that
I don’t? Are they spies trying to scope
out our defenses so their kings can once again attack us?”
Quoting
from Kathryn Huey on her reflections of this text: This text at the beginning
of the New Year gives us pause, to ponder
the meaning of visitors from the very places we seem to fear most in the world
right now. Perhaps we would get a better
sense of the reaction of Matthew’s earliest audience to this text about Magi
from the East if we imagined a visit to our local church by religious or
political leaders from religious faiths or countries that we fear. UCC Sermon Seed, 1/5/2014 How comfortable
would we feel if we had a visit from Russia’s President Putin, North Korea’s
President Kim Young-nam, and Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas? These three men
represent the philosophies of Communism and Islam. Would we be open armed and totally embracing,
or would we view their visit with at least a small amount of suspicion? This is
what Matthew’s hearers had to deal with in this story of the Magi.
Another aspect of this story talks about
a contrast between two ancient and holy places, Jerusalem the seat of power and
prestige, and Bethlehem a humble little town, literally just 9 miles down the
road. One represents the idea of where
God dwells, while the other represents the hope of a new messiah, a new king
whose reign will be of justice and peace.
The magi go to the logical place, Jerusalem, the city where the Temple
that houses the Holy of Holy’s is, to seek this new born king, but find
Jerusalem lacking. I wonder about the
“holy temple” that Paul speaks that is our body, which would include our heart
and mind, and if at times we find it lacking?
And if it is lacking, why? Have
we filled ourselves with the hope that is found through what Jerusalem say’s it
has to offer and not putting our hope and trust in what Bethlehem represents;
vulnerability, meekness, forgiveness?
So we have these wise men that recognize
the new, but do not know where to find it.
They have missed their mark by only 9 miles. Even though they were able to utilize the
signs that were familiar to them, they still lacked information that would lead
them to the new born king – information that could only be found within the
Hebrew Scriptures. Matthew is telling
us, that with all of our human wisdom available to us, we still need the
guidance of the word of God to help us fully understand. With the help of the Hebrew religious leaders
the Magi were able to learn that Bethlehem was the town they would find the
child.
Lastly, and possibly the most important message
from this story about the visiting Magi, again isn’t found in the gifts that
they bare, but rather in their actions.
Matthew three times states “to pay him homage.” The Magi inquire at the palace of the new
king, “so that they may pay him homage”; Herod tells the Magi to
return with the location so he too may, “pay him homage”; and then upon their
entering into the house where the baby Jesus lives, they with great joy, fall
to their knees and “paid homage to him”, and then presented the gifts of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.
It is within this story that the
sequence of how a person in search of something to fill the void within them
follows. They first recognize that there
is something more than what they presently experience. Next they go on a journey seeking what they
hope is to be the answer. Then when they
find that truth for them, they are filled with joy and give thanks or pay
homage. For Matthew that truth is found
in the person of Jesus; the person who embodies God and brings peace to those
who are in turmoil.
The magi represent the non-Jewish world,
we gentiles. This story represents a
group of outsiders who saw the signs of change and wanted to be a part of that
change. Through the star in the sky that
appeared at the birth of Jesus they set out on a long journey seeking this new
king of the Jews. They find themselves
in Jerusalem, which is the capitol city of the Judeans. I think that they were just as surprised to
not find the newborn king not at the palace, as was Herod to hear about Jesus’
birth.
The religious leaders had the answers at their finger tips
but failed to see the signs. I wonder
why after discovering that the prophecy of the new messiah had been fulfilled,
why neither the chief priests or Herod accompanied the Magi to Bethlehem in
order to find the child? One would think
from Herod’s perspective, it to be prudent to go and see where Jesus actually
was, so he could dispose of him in a more timely and efficient manner. Maybe the reason was that the religious
priests no longer took their scriptures seriously? Had they lost the “hope” that scripture
promises?
More directly, do we miss the miracles of God because we
are not searching for them? Is it
possible that we do not feel the “Joy” that Christmas speaks to because we do
not have the “hope” that the scriptures speak of? Are we guilty of putting our security in the
temporal things of life? Have we bought
into an imperial gospel that is promised by Wall Street?
The magi came bearing gifts, but before they presented
them, they bowed down and paid homage, with joy in their hearts. On this second Sunday of Christmas, don’t we
want to find ourselves in this story, too; to hear what happened so long ago,
and to connect our own lives with it? I
believe that we travelers from a distant time want to kneel with the Magi from
the East, in awe and joy for the gift before us. And we want to know how God is still at work
in this world we live in now. So let us be
the Magi asking, “where do we deliver our gifts?” Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment