Roanoke, Virginia January 6, 2019 Arise! Shine! Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2:1-12 Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link Isaiah 60:1-6 Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 2 For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. 3 Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4 Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses arms. 5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. 6 A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD. 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, 2 asking, 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. 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They 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 1 Page
shepherd my people Israel. 7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then 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. 9 When 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. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On 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. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. They had spent their lives in pursuit of understanding. Each night, they stared into the darkness and looked for the light, for a sign that salvation was near. Each day, they mulled over what had entered their unconscious, trying to divine a foggy memory from their night s dreams. All of these things were signs, and they mattered. They studied with such precision and attention to detail. They toiled away day after day, hour after hour, looking for signs. They were not technically kings nor wise men, but priests. Some of the most learned men of their age. They were skilled at interpreting dreams and understanding astrology. They were known for telling fortunes and preparing daily horoscopes. They were the great scholars of their day, and they enjoyed access to the Persian emperor. They were Magi, Zoroastrian priests. Like the Jews, Zoroastrians were anticipating the birth of the true Savior. Matthew tells us that they followed a star in the east, and these Gentile Magi recognized Jesus divinity and kingship from the start. The journey from modern day Iran to Bethlehem is easily over a thousand miles. According to tradition, it took years for them to reach the place where the star rested. It was not an infant in a manger they found, but a toddler or preschooler, most likely at play. They had traveled over field and fountain, moor and mountain bearing gifts for the Savior. The Magi gave Jesus three gifts. Gold, a sign of kingship, long associated with the gods, frankincense, which represented wisdom, and myrrh, a sign of long health and healing. And we wonder, could they have imagined what they would find; who they would bring the gifts to meet? Matthew tells us that first they landed at Herod s door. Though they were close, the one for whom they searched was not there. And when we think about a journey spanning that many months and miles, Herod s death dealing ways surely must not have been the only danger they encountered. We can imagine that the road they traveled was full of dangers, and we wonder if they did not travel together, would one or the other have preferred to turn back? But they were not alone, and they were called, and so they followed. The trouble with journeys like that is that you can never know at the beginning where the light will lead. As ill-equipped as we might feel for whatever beckons us, we are not without 2 Page
resources. The Magi weren t either. They knew something about stars, and while they may not have understood, they trusted that they were to follow. The reasons why we are called are not always clear. Many of you may remember the scene from J.R.R. Tolkien s tale that the wise Gandalf must assure the hobbit Frodo that he is indeed the one to carry the ring. No one could have guessed it. Hobbits are small and rather simple, countrified folk, and Frodo in particular, was innocent and afraid. But there was something about him that made him the right one the only one who could complete the journey. The ring came to you for a reason, Frodo, Gandalf tells his friend, there is comfort in that. But Frodo responds, I wish the ring had never come to me, I wish this had never happened. So do all who live in such times, Gandalf says, But we cannot choose the times we live in, we can choose how to respond to the time we are given. Then perhaps with the bravest words spoken by hobbit or human, Frodo replies, I will take the ring, but I do not know the way. It is often like that. The Magi were called to follow a star, not knowing where it would lead. Frodo chose to carry the ring though he didn t know where to take it. In ways large and small, we are called to things we cannot fully comprehend. Arise! Shine! Isaiah commands. He is speaking to the people of God during the time of the return from exile in Babylon. Instead of a time of great joy and grand restoration, the return from exile was challenging and disappointing to the Jews making their way home. Their plans to rebuild the Temple fell short, difficulty with drought and governmental leadership, and enmity between those who had stayed in Judah and the exiles who returned all compounded their trials. But Isaiah is telling the people that the way things are now is not the end. He speaks to remind the people of the nature of the God of Israel, he instills in them hope, and encourages the nation. In Matthew, we learn that the light Isaiah speaks of is not for Israel alone. That light and that hope is for Gentiles, too, for a group of Zoroastrian priests men of a different country, a different language, and a different religion who worshiped the Messiah. So there s hope for Jew and Gentile in his kingdom. When we speak of hope in the Christian faith, we do not mean a kind of optimism. This is not glass half full, Pollyanna way of thinking. This kind of hope has a defiance to it. This hope Isaiah promises and Matthew points toward is saying there is something deeper, something more powerful than what the world has to offer. Hope is the basic confession of the Christian church. Our faith can be boiled down to the belief, the confession that there is a light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot, shall not, will never overcome it. Everything else might be conspiring against us to make us believe otherwise, but we have to remind each other, point it out, point to that light when we see it. Luther Seminary professor Craig Koester explains that the reason why it can feel like the forces of darkness and evil are so powerful is because they are raging and they are raging because they know they have already lost. Isaiah is here to tell us, Matthew is here to tell us, that though the Babylons and the culture wars of this world, the Herods and the power struggles of this world, are vying for control they are not in control. There is a hope, there is a light that shines brighter than any other. And we have to look for it, point it out for each other, and help one another on the road. 3 Page
A midrash is a story about stories. Over the millennia, rabbis have studied Hebrew Scriptures and wondered about the parts of the biblical story that appear to be left out. One midrash that many rabbis like to tell is a version of the burning bush in Exodus, in which Moses sees a bush on fire, but the bush is not consumed. These rabbis point out that the important thing about this story is not that the bush is burning, but that Moses notices because perhaps every bush is burning, perhaps every bush is on fire with divine presence. Or perhaps the bush has been burning for days, as shepherd after shepherd passed by. Moses, the only one who noticed, stopped and paid attention. Wonderings like this invite us to open our eyes, to pay attention, and to see the light where it shines. Where do you see the light? Where, for you, is the life-giving power of God? I see the light in a classroom full of boys and girls, trying on their handmaid hats for the first time, reveling in the idea that each stitch was made just for them. I see the light in 4th and 5th graders who race up and down the pews between worship services to freshen the pencils we use, and who sing jolly Christmas carols in lobbies and alongside hospital beds. I see the light in women who decorate a bland Fellowship Hall to turn it into a space for a Christmas feast, despite the snow storm that shifted our plans. I see it in the men who shaped wood into a cross in Kirk Hall, or a plinko game for dozens of children to enjoy, or shapes that made wooden angels to decorate homes for Advent for years to come. And I see it in casseroles that fill the bellies of Family Promise guests and church members who are ill or grieving or who ve had a new baby. But today it s easy for me to see the light. In a church building filled with people I love and the smell of bacon, it s not hard to sense God s presence. But there are other times, oh there are other times, when it is hard for me to see the light. There are moments, even days, when grief, despair, violence and anger in the world can be so loud that it can impair my vision. There have been times on my faith journey, and I am certain there will be more, when it is hard for me to profess our confession of hope. And that s why I need you. That s why we need one another. For Christians, the power of community is especially important. It s in community that we are called to live and pray and study and worship and serve. It s in community that we are called to embark on journeys of ambiguous meaning, to follow the light of Christ. Jesus was quite clear that we were not to go this way alone. There is safety in numbers; the Magi knew this, Frodo knew this, and the disciples knew this even Moses knew this. In this life, on this journey, we need one another. The foundation of our life together is indeed the person of Christ. He is the head, not the associate pastor, not the senior pastor, not the Session but Christ. And we are called to point to him, follow him, the light of the world. John 14 (verses 1-6a) is a passage we read often at memorial services. Jesus said, Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And you know the way to the place where I am going. 5 Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way? 6 Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. 4 Page
The Episcopal Bishop Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde writes, [Jesus tells us] I am your way. I am your path and your destination. I am in your stars, in your scriptures, in the people that surround you, and in your dreams. I will show you where you need to go, if you but trust in me. And so we are called to follow the light, even though we do not know the way. We are left to wonder what happened to the Magi after they went home by a different way. Certainly, their actions protected the holy family, and I imagine they knew that. I also imagine that they never regretted the risk they took, crossing the boundaries of their homeland, following a star. Poet Mary Oliver speaks of such a moment: Then I go back to my own house, my own life, which has now become brighter and simpler, somewhere I have never been before. I imagine the Magi in returning to their home saw everything more brightly. The light they found in a distant land was indeed the light at the heart of their own land. Now they noticed it as if for the first time. May we too search for that light, find it this community and beyond, and may we point others toward it, following Isaiah s imperative, Arise! Shine! May we always be ready to follow, even though we do not know the way. 5 Page