|
First
Reading
|
Psalm |
Epistle |
Gospel |
| Isaiah 60:1–6 |
Psalm 72:1–7,10–14 |
Ephesians 3:1–12 |
Matthew 2:1–12 |
All those who wrote and compiled the Gospels were well versed in the psalms and writings of the prophets. These ancient writings had been the mainstay of their worship and personal prayers since their birth. When they began to write about Jesus, they drew on their rich heritage and reflected how passages of scripture seemed to illuminate the meaning of Jesus' life. Luke wished to emphasize that Jesus was a child of Israel and brought up according to tradition. That is why last week's Gospel, the story of Jesus being circumcised and blessed in the temple, was very important to him.
Matthew interpreted the Gospel from a different perspective. When he thought of the birth of Jesus into the world he thought of psalm 72, a song of hope for a future leader who would dispense justice, rescue the poor, and put an end to oppression. The psalm offers a vision of freedom for all people, not just for a favored few. There would be peace, peace with the ruler of Tarshish, the ruler of Arabia, and the ruler of Saba.
Mathew also remembered when the people of Israel were in a very bad spot, in exile and under "house arrest" in Babylon, with no home to call their own. Nonetheless, it is in exile that the word of God became clear to the prophet Isaiah. God promised a different future, and reconciliation and restoration to those who were scattered. Isaiah used the images of camels from Midian, Ephah, and Sheba offering frankincense and gold, becoming the sign that God's enlightenment would dispel the world's darkness.
While Luke had no kings or camels to mark Jesus's birth, it is no coincidence that when Jesus first announced his mission in the synagogue, Luke had Jesus quote the opening chapter of Isaiah immediately following the passage Matthew likely remembered. "The spirit of the Lord has been given me, for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, to give new sight to the blind, to set the downtrodden free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
The psalms and prophets contain a multitude of broad images and deep visions. Like all lasting Biblical visions, there is always need for interpretation and continual testing of what such visions mean. That is the primary question for all who take scripture seriously. What do the words mean? Matthew found profound meaning in the leading of a star, bringing representative leaders of all nations to acknowledge that in Jesus, a new era of light was being born on earth. Whether we call them magi, kings, or scholars, they symbolized the world's longing for a new earth, for deliverance from the old pernicious ways of humanity. Whoever the visitors to the newborn Jesus were, they knew that their most precious gifts, be it gold, frankincense, or myrrh, or anything else for that matter, would never match the gift of a genuine and universal peace a true redeemer would bring.
After this Sunday, the crèche and figures will be put away, the trees taken down and red bows stored. In Matthew's story, the magi leave to return to their homes, albeit along a different way. In the days to come we are left to ask about the meaning of their journey and the lessons they teach us. The visitors to the stable were not given a specific prediction of the future. They were not handed a dogma or rules to follow for all time. Again, God's visions are not like that. In the exchange of gifts before the Christ child, the magi were given God's gift of hope. Not a roadmap with easy routes of the future, but a promise that God would not abandon them, even when they found themselves without roadmaps, when they knew that they were totally lost or even forsaken.
I suggest that is the gift of the magi to us. Characteristic of all who came together for the first Christmas is that they all left Bethlehem. Bethlehem was a way station, not a final destination. The shepherds went back to their chores in the fields, the magi embarked on another long journey, and Mary, Joseph, and Jesus left to start a new life. God did not give any of them a clear roadmap or clear instructions, but God sent them on their various ways, filled with hope and the promise that the loving presence of the living God would be revealed living among them, wherever they were. One of the great lessons of the Bible, be it the Hebrew or Christian scriptures, is that God is not tied to a specific land, place, or time. Ancient Israel first learned this during the time of the exile and many times in the centuries that followed. Matthew's Gospel of Jesus Christ starts off right from the very beginning by affirming the same lesson within the meaning of the feast of Epiphany.
And I offer this to you in the name of the Living God, Amen.
