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.

Don't be afraid!

In the first two chapters of Luke's gospel, we hear from angels three times. The first is when an Angel appears to Zechariah while he is working in the temple. The second is when an angel appears to Mary. And the third appearance is in the section we heard today, where an Angel brings a message to the shepherds.

The initial response to the angel in each case is fear and confusion, and the response of the angel is “ do not be afraid” . Do not be afraid. I imagine if I was going about my regular activities, as Zechariah, Mary and the shepherds were, I might be just a bit stunned and somewhat terrified if suddenly an Angel appeared in the room with me.

 

Don’t be afraid, God has heard your prayers; Don’t be afraid! God is pleased with you; Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you.

 

Don’t be afraid - but I wonder if there was more to be afraid of than the appearance of an Angel.

Over the last few months we have been hearing from some of the prophets of the old testament. We have been thinking about the way the people of Israel were longing for a new way of living, a Messiah, the one who would come and change everything.

On and off for centuries the people of Israel had been under foreign rule, Babylonians, Persians, and now the Romans. Like many empires today the focus was on maintaining control.

 

 

At the time of the birth of Jesus, the people of Israel were under Roman occupation. While it was time of what is known as the Pax Romana, the peace of Rome, it was an enforced peace, ‘if you step across this line you get killed’ kind of peace. It wasn't peace in the way that we speak about in terms of Shalom, peace that means living in harmony with all of God's creation, peace that is about life not about the absence of war.

The people of Israel, had reason to be afraid, not just of angels, but of a whole host of people who were part of the bureaucracy had colluded with the Roman authorities; soldiers who could force you to carry their pack, tax collectors who added onto the Roman tax, religious leaders who didn't want to upset the Romans.

 

We have some of the same fears today. There are places in the world where you get killed for speaking against the government; there are places where it is dangerous to be a child in school, especially if you are a female child; there are places where you cannot choose whom you will marry; there are places where people are bought and sold as if they were a commodity.

And sometimes the fear is more local. Fear of unemployment, of becoming homeless, fear of being different, fear of being bullied.

 

At Christmas we celebrate the coming of light, light that comes into a world of brokenness and pain, a world where we seem to stumble in the dark. The news in the past few weeks has been mainly sad news, as it is for most of the year – war, violence, murder, kidnapping.

 

“Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy. ¹¹ This very day in King David’s hometown a Saviour was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. ¹² You will know who he is, because you will find him dressed in baby clothes and lying on a bed of hay.”

 

I wonder if it would be easier if an Angel did appear, saying to us, don't be afraid! We've read these words in looks gospel, and yes they were intended for an audience 2000 years ago, but I want you to hear them today, as if they are being spoken directly to you.

“Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy. ¹¹ This very day in King David’s hometown a Saviour was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. ¹² You will know who he is, because you will find him dressed in baby clothes and lying on a bed of hay.”

 

Every year we celebrate the birth of Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, saviour, Lord. Every year we celebrate with songs, food, friends, and gifts. And every year we wonder if it makes any difference.

 

That always seems to be something to fear, but I wonder what the Angel would say to us,? What is the good news for us today?

The good news for us today I think, is that a saviour has been born for each one of us.

The good news is that Jesus, Immanuel, which means God is with us has been born for each one of us.

The good news is we do not need to live with fear, because God lives with each one of us.

The good news is that God loves each one of us so much that he chose to come and share this human form with us, so we might know how much we are loved.

 

Don't be afraid! I have good news for you,. God loves you, and you will know this because God came in human form to show us how to live, to bring liberation and freedom from that which enslaves us, to bring peace, true peace,.

 

Don't be afraid!

 

 

 

 

 

 

who is Christmas for?

Reading: Matthew 1: 1, 16 - 25

 

Response

The Wisdom of God:

God’s word made new.

 

Proclamation of the Word 1

 

Poor Joseph. Here he is betrothed to Mary, which is more formal than our engagement, but before they actually moved in together. I imagine Joseph is looking forward to Mary moving in with him, you see Joseph would have been much older than Mary. Joseph gets to be an adult, and head of his own family.

And then, in the midst of the planning there is unexpected news, Mary is going to have a baby.

Poor Joseph. He is very fond of Mary. What should he do?

He could follow the letter of the law; and have her killed. He is fond of Mary, so he decides to dismiss her quietly. This does not guarantee Mary’s safety.

And then in a dream, he gets this message; don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife, this is a special baby. In the dream Joseph also finds out his role in the life of Jesus, he is to give the child a name, which was an act of adoption.[i]

Just like his namesake in the old testament, Joseph will continue to be guided by dreams and angels until his family is safely in Nazareth.[ii]

 

Sometimes it is hard for us to see a way forward, to choose between two competing options; when we allow ourselves to listen into God's dream we find a new way, a way we had never considered.

 

Matthews gospel begins with the genealogy, a listing of men, and a few women, leading to the birth of Jesus. It is unfortunate that modern Bibles put it in paragraph headings, because at times it appears to separate sections that belong together.

 

Matthew is more concerned with the birth of the Messiah, than the birth of a baby.[iii]

 

What does this story from Matthew have to say to us this year. This is a story of a person and family in crisis, Joseph has an almost impossible decision to make. How do we respond when we feel everyone looking at us, pointing their fingers at us behind our backs. This is what was happening to Joseph.

 

Over the next week there will be lots of family gatherings, some will be wonderful and warm and generous places; some will be tense; some will be violent. It is important that there is space for us to tell the truth about our life and our relationships.

In the midst of whatever pain or difficult situation you are in, the message of the gospel is that “God meets you where you are with the gift of redemption”.[iv]

Christmas is God meeting us where we are, not waiting for us to be good enough, or know enough, or live in the right way, or follow the law. Christmas is God meeting us where we are.

 

As we move toward Christmas I encourage you to reflect on Matthew's version of the birth, the birth of the Messiah, the birth  “Not … of a baby, but of our awareness of God with us” [v]

 

 

 

Reading: Luke 1: 46 – 55

 

Response

The Wisdom of God:

God’s word made new.

 

Proclamation of the Word 2

 

Mary song is a radical protest song. A song much like the Hebrew slaves in Egypt would have sung, or African-American slaves, or the protest songs of the 60 ’s.

Whenever God's people have been oppressed they have sung God's song of resistance, and Mary sings of the grace of God, the power of God, and how God will turn the established order upside down so that the hungry are fed and the lowly lifted high.

 

This is a song of faith in God, a song of faith that God will act, and will bring about change in society, so that the oppressed can go free.

At times it is God's people who are the oppressors, at times is God's people who have enslaved and persecuted other people, and those times the persecuted seeing God songs against us.

When we hear this song of Mary, where do we see ourselves?

When we hear this song of Mary, who springs to mind – who are the proud, who were the powerful brought down?

Who are the hungry and the lowly?

[Miriam Therese Winter sung Magnificat]

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[i] working preacher

[ii] working preacher

[iii] working preacher

[iv] working preacher podcast

[v] working preacher

Justice - how is it lived?

The passage we just heard is from the book of Isaiah. While it is one book, it is generally thought that it written in three different sections. First Isaiah finishes at the end of chapter 39, and deals mainly with God's judgement of the people of Israel, and warning the people of what is about to happen.

Second Isaiah, which starts with chapter 40, is a hope filled section, a time of coming back to Israel and to God. It speaks of a future for Israel that those in exile would find difficult to imagine.

The third section of Isaiah starts at chapter 56, at this point in time people were again living in a restored Jerusalem and here there are reminders for the people to be a community that is inclusive, just, caring for the socially marginalised – that is the homeless and poor.

 

So this reading today it's in this section where the people in exile are being told that there is a future back home,  that they can go back to Jerusalem and build a nation built on God's call.

 

This chapter is part of the so-called suffering servant readings from Isaiah, and as such we often read it in the context of the servant being Jesus. There are different opinions among scholars, it could be that the servant is in fact the people of Israel. It earlier parts of the Old Testament Israel is called to be different to the other nations, Israel has been blessed by God to be a blessing (Exodus 12) we are also told that Israel has been chosen to be a priestly nation (Deuteronomy 19). This kind of prophetic literature can easily have two or more ways of being read. The servant called in fact be the nation of Israel, and still point to Jesus.

 

God continually calls the nation of Israel to account, for not living up to their high calling as the people of God, a covenant nation. We too are called by God to give an account of how we live out gods call in our lives.

The word that is translated into English as justice, can also be translated as judgement or right order. Often when we think of justice we think of retribution, or revenge; the idea of getting even or giving back the harm that we believe has been done to us.

But that is not the image we see here in Isaiah. The message of Isaiah reminds the people that all of the world, and all of the people in the world, are part of God's good creation. The nation of Israel is to continue to be different, the nation of Israel is to continue to be a beacon of light, a beacon of hope, a place of justice and inclusion.

Israel never managed to live up to its high calling, I can't imagine any nation ever will, as I said this was spoken to the people of Israel and refers to the nation of Israel as a servant of God; it also refers to Jesus in whose life we see these values of justice and inclusion and compassion.

 

The gods of empires in the days of Isaiah were aligned with the powerful and the mighty [i]. The God of Israel was not a God for the powerful and mighty, but God of all people and God for the outcast and the marginalised. I wonder how we would hear these words of Isaiah if we were living in a homeless shelter;

if we were struggling to feed our family;

if we were living in an aboriginal homeland;

I wonder how we would hear these words of Isaiah if we were a small Pacific nation;

or a person trafficked into slavery;

a family fleeing from war.

I wonder what these words would mean to us?

 

I wonder what it means for us to read of the one who will not bruise the crushed reed or blow out the dimly burning wick.

who are the fragile, the desperate in our nation and the world?

do we trample over them, or do we treat them gently?

 

One of the articles I read this week is called ‘You don't want to be a prophet, but be one anyway‘ [ii]. Prophets are people of vision, people who can imagine a different world to the one we currently live in, who sees signs of the kingdom of God amidst everyday life. This article commented that our society is capable of implementing almost anything, but not visioning. There is a reason that totalitarian regimes are scared of artists, musicians, playwrights, people who deal in imagination, because imagination, visioning, is uncontrollable by state or royalty. ‘It is the vocation of the prophet to keep alive the ministry of imagination, to keep on conjuring and proposing futures alternative to the single one the king wants to urge as the only thinkable one.’

The reason you don't want to be a Prophet, is because it is an uncomfortable place to be, you can get arrested, imprisoned, killed.

 

These words of Isaiah were written about 2 1/2 thousand years ago to a community coming out of exile, reminding them that God has called them to be different :

“ I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations,  to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.” [Isaiah 42:6 – 7]

 

We believe that God has also called us to live in righteousness,

that God takes us by the hand and leads us,

we are called to live in covenant relationship with God and all of God's creation,

to be a light to the nations,

to open the eyes that are blind,

and offer freedom for those who live in darkness.

 

This is the third Sunday in advent, a time where we usually think of joy, yet today we hear of justice and transformation – and I wonder if transformation and justice lived out might bring joy to ourselves, to the community around us, and to God.

 

As we move towards  the coming of the Christ child, to celebrate yet again the birth of God made flesh, are we prepared to walk with God into the dark places of our world who need the light, the hope, and the joy that comes when we live as God's transformed people, when we live out the justice of God, Justice that is inclusive and compassionate and all-encompassing.

 

other resources: working preacher webpage and podcast

http://otl.unitingchurch.org.au/index.php?page=isaiah-42-1-9

Spill the Beans

 

 

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[i] A Story of Loss and Hope by Walter Brueggemann, Sojourners Nov Dec 1998

[ii] Rethink Church, email 12.12.2014

waiting or collarborating?

Introduction to the reading:

The story of Easter is one that you may not be familiar with. The people of Israel were in exile. About 587 years before Christ was the destruction of Jerusalem and in the 10 years following that the Jewish elite were deported to Babylon, around the same time many Jewish people left the land and move to a variety of places. the about 539 BC Cyrus the Persian king conquered Babylon, some of the Jews went back home, but some did not.

 

The book of Esther begins with King Ahasuerus throwing a banquet, he calls his wife to come and show  the people at the banquet how beautiful she is, but Vashti refuses. Vashti is no longer a allowed to be in the presence of the King, and a decree goes out that all the beautiful young virgins to come to the King's harem, and one would be chosen to be the new Queen.

Esther was chosen to be the new Queen.

Esther's uncle Mordecai overheard a plot to kill the King, he told Esther who warned the King and his life was saved.

The King's main adviser is a man named Haman, he does not like the Jews. Haman tells the King that there are certain people who do not keep the King's Laws and the King should proclaim a decree for them all to be destroyed. The King accepts Haman’s word, and the decree is sent throughout the land.

 

We then pick up the story:

Reading: Esther chapter 4

The book of Esther is one of the disputed books in the canon by both Jewish and Christian experts. There is no mention of God,  the temple, the exodus, or the salvation history of the Jewish people. It has been said that it's actually a very Jewish story – they tried to kill us, they failed, let’s eat. The story of Esther is read as part of the feast Purim. (working preacher podcast)

 

but I believe there is more we can take from this story than another example of how God has saved the Jewish people.

We read the story of Moses and the burning bush;

and we hear of the Angel Gabriel bringing news to Mary;

the time of God speaking to Joseph in a dream, not once but twice; I wonder how many of us here have had that kind of experience.

 

So often God's action in our life, God's activity in the world around us, is hidden from us; not because God is trying to hide, but because so much happens in what looks like our ordinary life.

Most of us will never entertain an Angel, most of us will not be able to tap a rock and have freshwater flow from it, most of us will not lead a group of people out of slavery. We still believe that God is present, that God acts, and that God calls us to be part of that action. We are called to be part of what is known as the Missio Deo, the mission of God.  in the church when we talk about mission, it isn’t our mission, it is about us being active with God in the world, being active in God's mission, in the coming of the kingdom of God.

 

Chapter four, which we heard read this morning, focuses on a time of crisis for the Jews still living in Persia; it is also a crisis for Esther, she has to choose whether she will reveal her Jewish identity to the King, she has to choose if she will act for the good of the Jewish people, and in doing so she has to choose whether she will break the King's law.

 

These would not have been easy choices for Esther.  Even though Esther was Queen, she was not allowed to enter our into the presence of the king unless she was invited. But she could not risk waiting for an invitation, because by then the Jews would be killed. Esther, as with all women of that time, was at the mercy and whim of her husband, or her guardian. In chapter 1 we hear what happens to Queen Vashti when she disobeys the King's command. Esther takes the risk, in seeking an audience with the King.

But notice what she asks Mordecai, go and hold a fast for three-days, for Jewish people prayer and fasting go together. Esther knows that she needs the support of the entire community, and of God, if she is to take this risk, for she is risking her life.

 

Poem

Esther – a woman of action;

 a role-model for the ordinary

 to be extra-ordinary;

 a role-model who took direct action.

 The rabbis have considered her a prophet,

 who neither spoke a word with God

 nor from God,

 but who risked her life

 to save her people.

 

Jeremiah

 Amos

 Jesus

 Caroline Chisholm

 William Wilberforce

 Oscar Romero

 Mother Theresa…

spoke out

 against the wrongs in their societies;

 took action

 to redress those wrongs;

 to offer the world a glimpse

 of the realm of God:

 a community

 of mutual relationship;

 a community in which

 trust, obligation, morality, common good, tradition, goodwill,

 co-operation, religious values, neighbourliness

 and more

 are valued as basic to the good health,

 the wholeness,

 of that community.

 

This alternative vision

 is the realm we are called to live:

 to stand with those whose lives are hurt by the prevailing systems,

 to identify

 not with the powerful

 but the vulnerable.

 This is our risky journey

 of discipleship.

(Adapted from a sermon from some years ago, which may have drawn on material from other, long-forgotten, sources.)

         © Jeff Shrowder, 2012.

 

 

 

Advent is a time of waiting, of preparation for the kingdom of God to  come in completion. But what if instead of just waiting for God to waive some magic wand, what if we are being called on to collaborate with God?

What if instead of waiting for God to act, God is waiting for us to act?

 

The kingdom of God is near,

the kingdom of God is near when we live it.

The kingdom of God is near when the hungry are fed.

The kingdom of God is near when we act in solidarity with indigenous people

the kingdom of God is near when we speak on behalf of people in detention centres, on Nauru, Christmas island, and on the mainland.

The kingdom of God is near when we advocate for the homeless

the kingdom of God is near when we demand an end to violence

the kingdom of God is near when we open our hearts to the transforming power of the holy spirit

the kingdom of God is near when we recognise the face of Jesus

 

advent is a time of waiting,

waiting for the completion of the kingdom of God,

the kingdom of hope,

      peace,

      joy,

      love;

the Kingdom of grace and forgiveness;

the Kingdom of liberation and freedom.

 

But when all we do is wait for God to act, we deny the presence of the kingdom, we become a barrier to love and grace.

 

For just as Esther took a risk in coming to the King uninvited,

just as Jesus chose to live with the risk of loving,

we are called to take risks.

Just like Esther, we may see ourselves as having no power, of having no position or place from which to transform our community. But just like Esther we can act with courage.

Just like Jesus we can choose to love,

      to offer grace,

      to stand when others walk away.

 

We can wait for God to overcome hunger and poverty and injustice; or we can live as the people of God…