Matthew 2 Introduction

The first 2 chapters of Matthew set the scene as to the importance of who Jesus is. In chapter one there is the genealogy, which shows Jesus’ place in Jewish culture; he is from the tribe of Judah, born in David’s line. Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah in naming Jesus Emmanuel.

Matthew also quotes the prophet Micah; Bethlehem is the place the Messiah would be born.

Matthew is writing for a Jewish audience, so the people who first heard this would have connected the dots. Matthew includes lots of quotations from the prophets, lots of connections to the Old Testament.

So far we have that Jesus is from the tribe of Judah, and his birth fits the expectation that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

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.

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.

·    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 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.

Response to Incarnation

How did you feel when you heard about the birth of a child of a close friend, or a grandchild?

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 people who travelled from the east were excited, eagerly travelling for many days, weeks or even months to see who it was who born with such a star. Those in Jerusalem were not overjoyed, they were upset and frightened.  I find both responses amazing.

I can’t imagine following a star, just because it’s a special star. These people, probably astrologers, but maybe priests, didn’t know where the child was to be born. Didn’t realise that his birth was not into a royal family. They had no idea who they were looking for. They thought it was a baby born to be king, but for them that was born into a royal bloodline, in a palace. Not born in a stable. To these people, someone born with such a star to mark their birth was special, special enough for them to pack up and to travel, to pay their respects to such a special child.

I also find the response of Herod and Jerusalem amazing. This was a baby, how much of a threat could a baby be – Herod would be unlikely to still be in charge by the time the baby grew up. But such was the family way of handing on power that even a baby was considered a threat. Not someone to keep an eye on, and see what eventuates, but a threat to be wiped out just in case, and kill a lot of others to make sure the threat was done away with. And as we know from the end of the story, Jesus was a threat to Herod, but not in the way Herod had thought.

There were people who followed a star to see this child who had been marked by the heavens as special. Travelling far, bringing gifts with them. There were people willing to kill many children to do away with the perceived threat posed by this one child. Today around the world, we celebrate the birth of Jesus, by having Christmas, a holiday in many countries, special food and traditions, including giving gifts. But beyond the food and celebration, how do we respond to God’s gift to us, this gift of ultimate love, of God becoming human.

Are we excited like the ones who travelled, following a star?
Are we fearful, wondering in what ways our current life is threatened?

How to respond to God’s gift – that’s up to each one of us to decide. But if we look in the manger, be prepared to be changed.
If we hang around the stable be prepared to see the light.
If we open ourselves up to God, prepared to know we are loved,
maybe we will find ourselves loving people,
and accepting that God loves
even people we disagree with.

Christianity is revolutionary, not because we get together and sing songs and read Scripture, though many would consider this strange. Christianity is revolutionary because God loved and loves to the point of sacrifice. Christianity is revolutionary because we are offered love because God is the giver not because of anything we have done or will do in return. Christianity is revolutionary because God became human.  God is God’s gift to us.

God’s gift to us, wasn’t so that we would feel guilty, precisely the opposite. It wasn’t so that we would have to think up elaborate ways of repaying God. Like with some families where each gift must be bigger and better. God doesn’t expect that, and we could never do it anyway, how do you top a gift like God’s.

Our response to this gift, our response to this awesome love of God, that’s up to you. Regardless of what you decide God will continue to love you, that’s what Christmas is all about.

Remember the cow, the sheep and the hen from our story?
They each gave a gift to the baby, but not one that costs them too dearly. There will be more milk tomorrow, and another egg, and while the wool will take longer to grow back, it will.

Are we like this?

Giving a gift that fulfils our sense of duty,
looks suitably impressive
but doesn’t impinge on our life too much.
A gift that keeps others from visiting the stable,
because they don’t have anything we consider suitable to give.

Or are we like the mouse,
forgetting about taking a gift in our excitement to see the baby.
The gift which the mouse gave was giving of himself.
He hadn’t planned it to be a gift, he just wanted to see the baby.
Sometimes we are in the right place at the right time.
It is a case of recognising those prompts,
following the star that guides us.

As you journey from Christmas this year,
pack up the tree,
put away the wrapping paper,
finish the ham and turkey,
what do you keep with you from the Christmas story?

My prayer for you is:
that you will know and accept that God loves you;
that you will follow the star no matter how crazy it seems;
that you will be transformed by God’s gift of love;

What will you carry from Christmas this year?

How will you respond to the birth of Jesus?

Light, Travellers, Fear or Joy

Epiphany is the season of the Church year when we focus on Jesus coming as light to the world. In a place like Australia, celebrating the coming of light in early January may seem a little odd, as we have so much sunshine. But I want us to think a little about light, and the place of light.

If I shine this torch into the room, it doesn't make a lot of difference, however if I shine it into a dark corner, or under the table, it makes a lot of difference.

Light can uncover things we try and hide, light also shows us things we don’t want to see.

A few weeks ago I read you a story called: Everything I ever needed to know I learned in Kindergarten. Here is a further reflection by the author.

Part 2 from ‘It was on Fire when I lay down on it’, P 108

…

A friend doesn't like the essay “All I really needed to know I learned in Kindergarten.”  Says it’s nice as far as it goes, but it doesn't go far enough. Things should go beyond ‘nice’.

He’s right. There are things I learned – and needed to learn – that were not taught in primary school. Teachers and adults would never tell you these things. Oh, they knew them all right, but they would never tell you they knew. You had to find them out for yourself or from your friends.

            [Sex, crime, power, skills and death]

Here’s the tough part of what I know now: that the lessons of kindergarten are hard to practice if they don’t apply to you. It’s hard to share everything and play fair if you don’t have anything to share and life is itself unjust. I think of the children of this earth who see the world through barbed wire, who live in a filthy rubbled mess not of their own making and that they can never clean up.

They do not wash their hands before they eat. There is no water. Or soap. And some do not have hands to wash. They do not know about warm cookies and cold milk, only stale scraps and hunger. They have no blankie to wrap themselves in, and do not take naps because it is too dangerous to close their eyes.

Theirs is not the kindergarten of finger paint and nursery rhymes, but an X-rated school of harsh dailyness. Their teachers are not sweet women who care, but the indifferent instructors called Pain, Fear, and Misery. Like all children everywhere, they tell stories of monsters. Theirs are for real — what they have seen with their own eyes. In broad daylight. We do not want to know what they have learned.

But we know.

And it ain't kindergarten stuff.

The line between good and evil, hope and despair, does not divide the world between “us” and “them”. It runs down the middle of each one of us.

…….

I wonder, what are the things you don’t want to see?

What are the things in your own life that you don’t want to see, or that you don’t want others to see?

Pride?

Shame?

Guilt?

Greed?

???

What are the things in the world around you that you don’t want to see, that you wish you could unsee?

A lonely neighbour?

Domestic violence?

Oppression?

Racism?

???

……

When friends or family are expecting a baby. We wait anxiously for news of the birth, and are eager for photos and news. Most babies are born into a family and community that loves them and are excited about their birth.

I find it interesting to see how people respond to the birth of a child.

Generally I think people respond with excitement.

But sometimes there is caution:

• Is the baby healthy?
• Will I cope with this tiny creature?
• And sometimes siblings will be less than keen on this noisy imposter who takes the attention away from them.

In the birth stories, Matthew tells us that the Magi travelled for many months, so eager were they to see the new arrival

Luke tells us about Shepherds leaving their flocks – a very dangerous thing to do.

Herod was very upset.

 The Greek word: ταράσσω [tarasow] translates as trouble, disturb, upset or terrify [p 179The Greek New Testament Aland et al, United Bible Societies]

Why would anyone be terrified at the birth of a child?

Why would anyone be disturbed by the birth of a child?

The birth stories in Matthew and Luke tell us that this baby is special, this isn’t just another child.

This child is special,

·         visited by shepherds – some of the lowliest in the land

·         visited by Magi – wealthy, but not Jewish!

·         A threat to the powerful

·         A saviour for the oppressed

I wonder if we would read this passage differently if we lived in a place where fear haunts our daily living.

If we were being bombed in Syria,

If we lived in  Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR),  where one person has arranged for the kidnapping of over 600 children in 3 years to be used as soldiers and sex slaves.  http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jun/07/joseph-kony-united-nations-report

Now, as in the time when Jesus was born, life is fragile.

The Magi returned by a different road.

My experience is that relationship with God through Jesus

• invites transformation,
• challenges our values,
• and encourages us to live differently.

As we look into the manger

As we look at the cross

As we share in bread and juice together

Are we changed?

How will you respond to Jesus?

Does the idea of Jesus bringing light into your life fill you with joy or terror?

Questions and no answers

Matthew 2: 1-12 : the questing, seeking ones

 

Matthew’s story of the birth of Jesus has him being born at home in Bethlehem, no mention of a stable, or a census, or a journey, or shepherds. In Matthew’s version the magi are the first people to worship the Christ child.

Luke includes the story of the shepherds – who were a lower status group in the society, as the first to visit and worship the baby Jesus. Matthew has non-Jews as the first to come and worship. The gospel of Matthew starts with the genealogy and finishes with the Great Commission :  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age [Matthew 28: 19 -20]

Towards the end of chapter 1 Matthew quotes from Isaiah, saying the name of the child will be Immanuel which means God is with us (Matthew 1:23). ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,     and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us.’

While Matthew is the most Jewish of the gospels, and written for a Jewish audience, it also starts and finishes with a core of inclusivity of all people. Also from the beginning to the end there is this awareness of a God who is always present, always with us. it is like a bookend of God being present and the good news being for all people.

While Matthew quotes extensively from Scripture, which in this case is the old testament, God continues to be involved with the least, with those excluded from society. While it was to be expected that a new King for the Jews would be born in Jerusalem the capital, amongst the rich and the powerful; God's reign shows up and it is the non-Jews who recognise it.

 

The ones from the east came seeking, looking for something new. Most of us don't have the resources to commit to following a quest like the magi did. When we look at the sky at night we might feel insignificant, we might feel a sense of amazement, for some it will be a time of feeling connected to a larger universe; but rarely will it lead us on a great journey.

 

Even though we may not go on this physical quest, many of us will have been on a spiritual quest. A time of seeking something beyond ourselves, a time of being intentional in our desire to be closer to God, or to hear God's call on our life. And at times when we go seeking something, it is the reassurance of the known rather than the new, the unfamiliar that we are looking for.

 

The people who were seeking the new child, the one born to be the King of the Jews, were not Jews. We are told only that they come from the East, the East is where the powerful nations that have conquered Israel and Judah have come from. The ones coming from the east come and ask a question. Now we can think about what a silly question that was - why ask the current king where the new king has been born. These non-Jews came seeking and asking.

While Herod knew nothing of the birth of a new King, his advisers knew the answer to where this child was to be born. Having the answer is not part of the search. The search, the seeking, the quest requires us to ask a question.

 

what is it that motivates us to grow, to search for something different?

 

What might that question be for us today?

 

What role does Jesus play in my life each day?

What is God calling me to do?

Who is God calling me to love?

Where do we see God active in the community and the world around us?

Where is God guiding me to be more involved?

 

You may have a different question that you're being called to consider, knowing the answer is not what challenges us to grow in our faith.

We grow in faith when we ask and embrace the questions of life.

Matthew 2: 13-23  the light has come into the world..

For many people this seems like a strange reading to have as part of the Christmas season. During the Christmas season we like to think of hope, peace, joy and love. We like to think of fun times with family and friends, parties, presents, and lazy summer days [in Australia]. During the four weeks of advent we have looked forward to the birth of Jesus, and looking for signs of his kingdom coming to fruition in our world.

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.

Jesus is the light of the world, something that we remember at the beginning of each worship service when we light the Christ candle. In a few days it will be the feast of Epiphany, the end of the 12 days of Christmas, the day when we celebrate the life of Christ as a light for the world. Yet here in the midst of the hope of Christmas, the hope and potential of new life, we see that evil still persists.

 

The killing of the children is a reminder of the children who are killed in our world today. Physically killed by violence and poverty, spiritually and emotionally killed by degradation, slavery, and cruelty.

We expect to be safe in our homes, but for many people home is not a safe place. For people in parts of Africa home is not safe because poor sanitation leads to illness and death. In parts of  the middle east and parts of Africa home is not safe because of warfare. In parts of Asia home is not safe because of child trafficking. And in Australia home is not safe because of domestic violence.

 What can we do?

What can we do? It is such a huge issue, and there are no easy answers.

 

It's easy to think that cruelty and oppression are caused by bad people, and that we are good.

“If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956

the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being

The light has come into the world, and the darkness has not put it out.

We live in the time between Christ's coming in the fulfilment, the completion of the kingdom of God.

Why was Jesus saved as a child, when so many others were killed.

It's the question that mothers and fathers ask when a child is diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Why is life so unfair?

There are no easy at this is to these questions.

What can we do?

What can we do about oppression, cruelty, child trafficking, slavery?

Maybe we start by recognising when our words and actions oppress others.

Maybe we start by recognising the inherent dignity of each person that we meet.

Maybe we start by sitting with those who grieve, with those who are in pain, not to answer their questions, but to share God's presence with them.