Rector's Sermon - Sunday, January 5, 2003

First Reading	Psalm	Epistle	Gospel
Jeremiah 31:7-14	84:1-8	Ephesians 1:3-6,15-19a	Matthew 2:13-15,19-23

     The writer of the Gospel of Matthew constantly connects Jesus with the larger history of Israel. Jesus is seen as the new Moses. Jesus' sermon on the mount gave people a renewed interpretation of what God originally intended when Moses was given the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. Just as God called Moses out of Egypt to deliver Israel, Jesus is called out of Egypt. Just as the pharaoh threatened the whole future and promise of Israel by the killing of Israel's first born sons throughout Egypt, the whole future and promise of the Gospel was threatened by Herod's slaughter of every first born son in his kingdom of Judea. Both Moses and Jesus escape the evil intentions of selfish worldly tyrants, for God ultimately will not be thwarted by evil intentions.

     Of course, Matthew is a poet and offers us poetry rather than history. Sometimes Matthew tries for such a tight fit of Jesus fulfilling God's plan, that the meaning of some of Matthew's analogies have been lost. For example no individual prophet spoke of a future savior as being a Nazorean. Perhaps Matthew is giving us a play on words, but it is unclear what the play is. There is a word, nazorite, referring to a person either a man or woman who for a specific period of time was ritually consecrated to God. Samson with the long uncut hair and great strength is probably the best known nazorite in the Bible, but hardly a role model for Jesus. There is also a word, nazir, meaning shoot or branch. Presumably Matthew could have been telling us again that Jesus is a shoot from the Davidic line, but there are certainly less obscure ways of expressing this. Hence, it is probably best to say this is one of the Gospel references that we just don't understand.

     Nonetheless, on another and more important level Matthew is trying to tell us that the birth of Jesus was part of God's plan. God intended for the Gospel to enlighten and help the world. From the very beginning, God has wished humanity well. Christmas is not a one time only sudden change of God's heart. God's heart has been with humanity all the time. Rather the birth of Jesus is a divine symbol of all the many new beginnings God offers. Thus this bit of poetry from the Gospel telling of the Holy families flight from Bethlehem, sojourn in Egypt, and finally finding a haven in Nazareth, which at first appears rather jarring in the Gospel story, is entirely appropriate as we begin the secular new year.
On Christmas we traveled once more to the stable. In days following, as we read the newspaper headlines, thought of all that has happened in the past year, Christmas even now seems so far away and the remaining decorations a mite stale and tired. Yet Christmas and God's promise of new birth has not come and gone. Christ has come to stay among us! A redefining of heaven and earth is in the making.

The gifts of Christmas are not simply band aids and crutches to permit us to carry on as we have before. God helps us to see truly and look beyond mere surface and often false appearances. God gives us courage to get up and walk when we have stumbled or fallen flat on our face. God unstops our ears to hear the cries of others and small still voices of wisdom. God forgives and lets us begin again, calling us off the paths where we have been, onto another road. Happy New Year, for fresh and wonderful disclosures await us ahead.

     There is an old Hasidic story about a sick patient and a doctor. "Hmmm," said the doctor as he rubbed his chin. "You are seriously ill, but if you and I join sides and fight the sickness, it will be the two of us against the one devil of sickness and we will prevail, but if you do not join me, then it will be me alone against the two of you and the fight will be very difficult."

     Christmas is telling us that in the joining of earth to heaven and heaven to earth, God wants us to join together to fight all the ills that afflict humanity. God wants to be on our side. That is why through poetry, Matthew is conveying new years' greetings, filled with grace, from Bethlehem back to Nazareth and to all points beyond.

     And I offer this to you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.