Epiphany, Year A
January 5, 2014, University Lutheran Church- Stanford, CA
(Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:1-12, Matthew 2:1-12)
Growing
up, I had a very distinct vision of how the story of the magi went. My imagined story had a lot to do with
popular culture and the song “We Three Kings.” In my mind, I would always picture three powerful looking
dudes. They were dressed really
classy and even wore crowns because, of course, they were kings. And not only were these three dudes
powerful kings, but they were also smart and wise--- Like Dumbledore! And so,
for a long time, when I would read their story in the Bible, I would
immediately imagine three Dumbledore Kings on steroids. If only my childhood vision would be
true. Because the story would be a
whole lot less confusing if those who discovered Jesus were powerful leader-kings,
and not strange, outsiders.
See,
when the first readers of Matthew’s gospel were hearing this story, they
weren’t thinking of three powerful, clean-cut kings. In the original language, the word that gets attributed
to these people is that of wise men, in Greek, magi, but the text doesn’t really give any indication that these
people are wise or even men. Their
behavior seems to hint that they may actually be a bit unwise. After all, even though they are
following a bright star that leads them straight to Bethlehem, they still get
lost and have to make a pit stop in Jerusalem to ask for directions, and then
they spill the beans to Herod! And
the gifts that they bring to Bethlehem are not very practical and, frankly, are
a little creepy. Really, who
brings myrrh, something used for embalming, to a baby shower? (They should have
just gotten a Target gift card!) And these people, they’ve come to worship
Jesus, a baby, whom they call “King of the Jews.” And they’re not even Jewish—why do they even care?!
Those who
were reading or hearing this story in Matthew for the first time, most likely
early Jewish followers of Jesus, probably would have not have thought this
group of wise-people to be very wise.
They may have even been offended; if anything, confused. Most people hearing this story when it
was first written probably wouldn’t have used the adjective “wise” but instead,
might have thought “weird.” This
story isn’t about three powerful, wise kings, but instead, about a strange
gaggle of weirdos. Why would God choose them to reveal the birth of Jesus? Why them? Why weirdos?
We don’t
have to read too far into the gospels to be reminded that the Bible is full of
weirdos. This Jesus character
associates with a lot of strange people.
John the Baptist—wears camel hair clothing and eats bugs; the
disciples—not very good at their jobs and smell like fish, all of the people
whom Jesus heals—lepers, unclean women, dead people; Weirdos. What was God thinking?
In Jesus,
God did something new. The story
of Christmas is that God did a new thing in coming to earth as a vulnerable
human baby—gods shouldn’t really do that. The story of Epiphany and the magi continues the theme. God comes to earth as a baby and then
the first people to recognize the importance of this God-child, the first group
to name this child as he is, is a group of non-Jewish, transient
outsiders.
That
certainly wasn’t expected, because if God did what was expected in this
situation than the weird magi would
have actually been Jewish, Dumbledore-like, wise and power kings. But that wouldn’t be new—That’s a story
we already know. No, God is doing
something new and this is clear already, in just the second chapter of the
story. These magi, they aren’t perfect, devout followers of Judaism—far from it,
they practice magic and astrology—yet, God chooses to bring them into the
story. Suddenly, the birth of
Christ becomes made known for everyone, not just the most acceptable of
followers. Everyone. Suddenly, Christ is not just for the
expected but also for even the most unexpected. Everyone. In
Christ, God is doing something new.
In Christ, God is made accessible to all people, especially the
weirdos.
But
why them? Why all the
weirdos?
Our world is full of stories about
powerful kings. Our folklore is
full of wise Dumbledores. The
stories of success in our world are so often about working hard, denying
whatever you can in the process, knowing the right people, and earning what you
deserve. The stories of our world
have to do with good people getting good things and bad people getting what
they deserve. Our world’s stories
are rich in narratives about a shallow happiness that comes from self-justification
and how weirdos are weird for a reason.
But, if Christianity is only for the
non-weirdos, the perfect, happy people who have earned their best lives than
God coming to earth as a human did nothing new. If Christianity is only about how God favors the righteous,
pious, most “right” religious people then Jesus’ stories blend right into the
stories of our world. It’s nothing
new. If Christianity is only for
people who deserve it, or have earned it, then God might as well not have come
to earth. God coming to earth is
not “business as usual.” It’s
about something else, something new.
The
fact that God chooses to come to earth as a vulnerable child, and that God
chooses to speak to weirdos says to us that we can never expect something
“safe” or ordinary from God again.
The fact that God speaks to the dysfunctional and the broken and the
hurting is proof enough that we can expect God to do the extraordinary. In Jesus God did something so radically
new that the world was set in a new direction. How can we live into this new thing that God is doing?
God
isn’t done doing new things. God
continues to be present in ways unexpected. God continues to reach forgotten corners, heals what is
beyond repair, and brings life and light into darkness. It’s still happening, do you perceive
it?
Let us maintain high expectations for
God to work in our world in ways beyond our comprehension. Let us claim the extraordinary as a
part of our shared story. Let us
allow ourselves to be absolutely blown away by God’s consistent and unexpected
presence in our lives.
How
might things change if we expected what was thought to be impossible? What might we dare to hope for? Through this child that the
Magi visit, the lame walk, the blind see, justice is brought for the oppressed
and people who were thought to be left out of the story are brought in. Extraordinary, awesome things have
happened and are still happening.
Let’s be a part of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment