The first reading is Isaiah 60:1-6.
The second reading is Ephesians 3:1-12.
The holy gospel according to Matthew (2:1-12)
In
the time of King Herod,
after
Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
wise men from the East came to
Jerusalem, 2asking,
“Where
is the child who has been born king of the Jews?
For
we observed his star at its rising,
and
have come to pay him homage.”
3When
King Herod heard this,
he was frightened,
and
all Jerusalem with him;
4and
calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people,
he
inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
5They
told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea;
for
so it has been written by the prophet:
6‘And
you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are
by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for
from you shall come a ruler
who
is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
7Then
Herod secretly called for the wise men
and
learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared.
8Then
he sent them to Bethlehem, saying,
“Go and search diligently for the child;
and
when you have found him,
bring
me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”
9When
they had heard the king,
they
set out;
and
there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising,
until
it stopped over the place where the child was.
10When
they saw that the star had stopped,
they were overwhelmed with joy.
11On
entering the house,
they
saw the child with Mary his mother;
and
they knelt down and paid him homage.
Then,
opening their treasure chests,
they
offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12And
having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
they left for their own country by another
road.
The gospel of the lord.
-----
Epiphany is the season when we celebrate God’s glory being
made manifest. Rev. William EdwardFlippin, Jr. points out that the Greek epiphaneia
translates as “manifest, show forth, or make clear.” As we hear in today’s reading from Ephesians, Paul’s work
and his call as an apostle is to make God in Christ known to the Gentiles—who
were, at the time, the ones outside the faith. They were not Jews like Paul and most of Jesus’ followers
and yet they are among the first to recognize Jesus for who he is: the King of
the Jews.
The wise ones from the East see the star at Jesus’ birth,
gather their things, and set off on a journey that will take them up to 2 years
to complete, not to mention the risk to their lives inherent in travel at that
time. All this for “the child who
has been born king of the Jews.”
It is not their religion, but even so,
they know God is doing something big
in Bethlehem. And in this way God
is already coming to these Gentiles, even before Paul takes up the cause—maybe
even before he’s born!
These wise ones are not only recipients and witnesses to
God’s glory, made manifest in Christ Jesus, but they also become the epiphany.
God works through them to manifest the glory of Christ. They witness to Herod about this “child
who has been born king of the Jews.”
And, as God frequently does to those in positions of oppressive power,
this child king frightens Herod.
Just as in Harry
Potter when Voldemort—the epitome of evil—is threatened by the prophecy of
a baby, who turns out to be Harry Potter, Herod is afraid of this child king. Voldemort chooses to hunt down Harry and
with him his whole family, while he is still a baby and, after the wise ones
leave “by another road,” Herod orders the slaughter of all male children 2 and
under.
Those who hold oppressive power seem ready to do anything,
even what we consider unthinkable, in order to hold onto that power. Last Monday was the Feast of the Holy
Innocents, a day in the church year commemorating the innocent children killed
in Herod’s frightened and frightening attempt to keep power. It is the story that follows today’s in
the gospel of Matthew.
That’s the thing about children and babies. Even as they are quite powerless,
dependant on others for life, the powerful will often target them when they are
afraid. The Feast of the Holy Innocents not only commemorates those killed
millennia ago, but also the children killed still today around the world and in
our own country. Just as Hitler went after children and adults during World War II, just as Voldemort targets the young
Harry Potter, and Herod goes after any child in the area close to Jesus’ age,
children are many times the easiest targets.
Children are killed as victims of war, of poverty, of racism,
and of xenophobia, or fear of others.
They are killed because they were in the wrong place at the wrong
time. There are many reasons given
for why children are killed, and yet is any reason ever good enough to take the
life of a child? Jesus was
targeted his whole life because of who he was. No child deserves to die.
And yet despite the attempts of King Herod to destroy and
oppress, God’s glory is made manifest.
As the wise ones’ presence and gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh demonstrate,
God’s glory can stir up opportunity and
trouble. Gold and frankincense are
kingly gifts, signs of hope and opportunity, but myrrh is used at burial and
foreshadows Jesus’ death and the trouble he will face.
But as with Voldemort’s attempt to kill Harry, Herod causes
horrifying trouble, and yet, that is not the final word. Harry lives and so does Jesus. The wise ones stir up hope and
affirmation for the Holy Family and for those who have been awaiting news of a
Messiah—a king to lift them up out of their oppression.
These outsiders, these wise ones, begin the mission of the
church—reaching out and glimpsing God in those outside the church, because God
is, indeed, already at work out there.
The gifts of bread and wine that we receive today, like the gift of a visit
from the wise ones, sends us into the world, to seek out those who are not like
us, to learn from them, to find God with them, and to be transformed by them.
During this season of Epiphany, that’s what we as a faith
community, will be up to.
Each week we will have a different, though similar task. This
week: head out to a street corner in Rushford, and one in the town in or near
where you live (if you live in Rushford, pick two different street
corners). Take five minutes to, as Isaiah says, “Lift up your eyes and look around.” Pray. Pray, "God, show me how you are at work." Pray,
"God, show me how you are calling me." and "God, show me how you
are calling us."
You don’t need to have high expectations or low ones. Like the wise ones, we may not know
what to expect in this search and THAT
IS OK. The goal is to open
ourselves up, take some intentional time to ask God to make manifest the glory
of Christ in our community. So pray,
and then jot down a few notes.
What stands out?
Did anything happen? (it’s
ok if the answer is no) What do you notice? Is there anything new you haven’t noticed before? Did you catch any glimpses of where God
is and where God’s leading you or us?
Do this during the week—it can be right after worship today or on your
way between a here and a there, or whenever it fits into your schedule two
times this week for about five minutes each.
If you want to email or call me and let me know what, if
anything, happened, please do!
Otherwise, bring your notes next Sunday and we’ll take some time to
wonder at God’s glory in the community.
Just as the wise ones prepared for their long journey and
came from afar, following a star to the child king, may this bread we receive
today, the body of Christ, nourish us for the journey this week, and may we too
glimpse God’s glory made manifest.
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