Matthew 2
We
are people of story, not for the sake of the story, or for entertainment, but
because our story is bound up in God’s story.
We
have been reading about the birth of Jesus, from Matthews perspective.
What
do we hear from the story today?
We
often only hear about the first half of this story, the magi, coming from the
east, bringing gifts, paying homage.
How did you feel when you heard about
the birth of a child, a grandchild or child of a close friend?
How did you feel when you first heard
about the birth of Jesus?
For many of us, we have heard the
story so often, we don’t remember the first time we heard it, and we have lost
the sense of excitement or shock or emotion of first hearing about the birth of
Jesus.
The wise
men, or Magi or astronomers, come from the East. The East is where typically
the enemies of Israel had come from: Assyria, Babylon and Persia.
And then, the
Magi return by another way, and Herod was very angry.
The
Greek word: ταράσσω [tarasow] translates as trouble, disturb, upset or terrify.[i]
Why
would anyone be terrified at the birth of a child?
Why
would anyone be disturbed by the birth of a child?
But
Herod is disturbed and terrified, of this potential rival, even though he is
only a young child.
And when
Herod gets angry, he wreaks havoc on the local population, ordering the death
of all the boys under 2 years of age.
Joseph is
warned in a dream,
escapes to Egypt and saves his family.
But not everyone is so fortunate.
escapes to Egypt and saves his family.
But not everyone is so fortunate.
Notice the Old
testament references here, from Hosea (11:1) and Jeremiah (31:15) [refers to an image
There are
some other connections that the first hearers of this gospel would have made.
· The
political leader, Herod, orders the death of all the children under two, which
sounds like; Pharaoh ordering the male Hebrew babies to be killed. And who
survives; Jesus and Moses.
· Egypt was a
place of slavery, but this was not the first time we have heard of someone
going to Egypt to stay alive. Joseph was taken to Egypt, after his brothers
decided not to kill him; then years later Joseph brings all the family to Egypt
during a time of famine.
Now another Joseph, with Mary and Jesus travel to Egypt looking for safety.
Now another Joseph, with Mary and Jesus travel to Egypt looking for safety.
· Moses led
the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, and that is thought to be the
birth of the nation; what might this coming out of Egypt bring to birth?
· Joseph is
spoken to in dreams, we have heard of another Joseph who was considered a
dreamer.
Matthew is saying: look out, something
amazing is about to take place. This baby is something special, even more special
than Moses. God is doing something new, be prepared to be challenged, to be
surprised.
I
wonder if we would read this passage differently if we lived in a place where
fear haunts our daily living, places like Syria and Afghanistan and the Middle
east. I wonder how someone like Bana Alabed would respond to this story.
Bana
was a 7-year-old when she started tweeting, with her mother’s help. She lived
in Aleppo in Syria, her best friend was killed by a bomb, and she wondered if people
knew what was happening to her and her family and village.
You
can now read her story in this book: Dear World A Syrian Girl’s story of war
and plea for justice.
At
the end she writes of trying to choose one wish as she blew out the birthday candles
on her eight birthday:
“I
want to never have to see or hear a bomb again.
I
want to be able to go home to Aleppo one day
I
want a baby sister.
I
want to go to school and to university.
But
most of all, I want people to stop fighting with bombs and guns in Syria and
all over the world.
I
want there to please be peace.
I
am now eight years old, and this is my wish.”[ii]
Now,
as in the time when Jesus was born, life is fragile.
Unfortunately, there are still Herods in our world; people who
live by fear, people who use their power to oppress, people who do not value
the life of every person.
What can we do? It is such a huge issue, and there are no easy
answers.
What can we do?
We can listen to the stories of people
like Bana
And we can tell the stories of people
like Bana, and the that are not pleasant, of violence and oppression.
We can join with people in the
Thursdays in Black Campaign
A
campaign was inspired by:
The
Mothers of the Disappeared in Buenos Aires, Argentina who on Thursdays
protested at the Plaza de Mayo, against the disappearance of their children
during the violent dictatorship.
The
Women in Black in Israel and Palestine, who up to now protest against war and
violence.
Women
in Rwanda and Bosnia who were protesting against the use of rape as a weapon of
war during the genocide.[iii]
We may not be able to change their
lives, but we can do something to make sure their story is heard, that they are
not forgotten.
And we can refuse to participate in
the oppression of others.
The
story we heard this morning is about
people searching, and finding, the
Christ child.
travellers following a star,
the giving of gifts
the wickedness of jealousy
the trauma of tyranny
the hope of obedience
this
story tells me, that Jesus was born into a world like ours, a world where life
is a mix of happiness and heartache, hope and hurt.
[i]
p 179The Greek New Testament Aland et al, United Bible Societies
[ii]
Alabed, Bana; Dear World a Syrian Girl’s story of war and plea for peace, p205
[iii]
https://www.oikoumene.org/en/get-involved/thursdays-in-black
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