“Epiphany: Five Lessons of Christmas”

Matthew 2:1-12

January 5, 2020

Sermon by Rev. Caela Simmons Wood

First Congregational UCC of Manhattan, KS

It was one of those weeks. Fires raging, bullets flying, hatred simmering, politicians posturing, bombs dropping. By the time I sat down to listen for a word from God, I was tired. And so I wrote it all down….one big giant list of all the pain in the world that was resting heavy on my heart. And I sat, with the ink on the page and a lots of emotions welling up in my heart, and I prayed one of those wordless prayers….you probably know the kind: 

breathing in worry, breathing out exhaustion, 

breathing in frustration, breathing out sorrow, 

breathing in uncertainty, breathing out fear….

And I just kept breathing and breathing and breathing until eventually I found my way to:

Breathing in worry, breathing out peace,

Breathing in frustration, breathing out love,

Breathing in uncertainty, breathing out hope….

And I closed my ears to the rumble and chaos of 2020 and tuned my spirit to ancient words. I sat with the Gospel of Matthew and read the Christmas story there. Today marks the end of the twelve days of Christmas, tomorrow being Epiphany. In the West, Epiphany is a time of remembering the story of the Magi who traveled to visit young Jesus in Bethlehem. Epiphany, the word, means a holy manifestation….the revelation of God to humanity. 

Matthew’s version of the Christmas narrative is short and tight….many of the details we think of like Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, the shepherds in the fields, the babe lying in a manger simply aren’t there. Instead, Matthew’s lean version of the story features the genealogy of Christ, the angel appearing to Joseph, and just a brief sentence saying the baby was born. Then we’re on to chapter two, which happened some time later...this is where the wise ones from the East make their trek to visit Jesus. King Herod manipulates behind the scenes, attempting to cut off his potential rival before he’s old enough to toddle or talk, and we quickly move from Christmas to the massacre of young babies...Jesus and his family are on the run as refugees to Egypt. 

It’s not a very sweet story, this version in Matthew. You can see why we usually feature the more PG version from Luke’s gospel on Christmas Eve. 

And, yet, there it is in all its gritty glory. Angels, humans, astrology, foreigners, a ruthless ruler, genocide, refugees. 

This, too, is Christmas. 

For all the domesticating we’d like to do of the Holy Spirit, God’s wild, unbounded love refuses to be revealed only in sweet songs sung by candlelight. Instead, God is made manifest even in the chaos, violence, corruption, messiness of our world. Biblical scholar Karoline Lewis says Epiphany comes at us each year and reminds us we don’t get to tarry long with Christmas. [1] We catch our breath for a moment, but the story keeps unfolding. Even young Jesus is soon on the run, fleeing violence and hoping for the best. 

And so….before we leave Christmas, it seems that we are invited to pause for just a moment and ponder what it is we might take with us as we hurtle into the new year. What new insights does Christmas offer us on the eve of Epiphany? What invitations does Love offer us at this time of year? 

I could go on a long time...but don’t worry, I won’t. I want to share just five lessons of Christmas before we leave this season and move into whatever 2020 holds for us. None of these are going to be epiphanies in this crowd, I don’t think...but all of them are important to remember. 

1. God exists beyond borders and labels. Have you ever stopped to notice how interesting it is that the first people to come and honor the infant Christ in Matthew’s gospel are foreigners? The word in Greek means foreigner, sorcerer, wise one, interpreter of dreams, astrologer, teacher, soothsayer, auger. In short: not familiar, faithful Jews. Not by a long stretch. We aren’t told many details about these magi from the East but one thing that is 100% certain: they are outsiders. Their arrival frightens Herod because it is perhaps at this moment he realizes: this Jesus situation cannot be contained. Not for long, at least. Jesus, still a very young child, has gone viral, global. These outsiders come to honor him. And honor him they do...they kneel before him and offer gifts. There is something so powerful in this scene...people from different parts of the world, with different worldviews, different religions coming together to honor the power of Love. Labels don’t matter. Borders don’t matter. These are just humans pausing to honor that Spirit that moves beyond names, beyond our understanding. God is not confined by religion or creed. God is not found only in some parts of creation. God transcends. 
2. Speaking of God beyond the boundaries of religion….I know we already all know this, but it bears repeating again and again and again. Especially right now. Jesus was a Jew. He was born to Jewish parents, out of a long lineage of faithful Jews (just check out Chapter 1 of Matthew). He was known, from the outset, as a potential leader of the Jewish people. He was a faithful Jew throughout his entire life. The one we Christians call Emmanuel, God-with-us, was Jewish. Any Christian who speaks ill of Jews is misguided, misinformed, flat out wrong. Anti-semitism has no place among followers of Jesus and it is our job as Christians to stand in solidarity with our Jewish kindred. 
3. Next up: Jesus was also a refugee. It’s right there in black and white in our holy texts. Herod launched a genocidal attack against all Jewish children under the age of two and Jesus’s parents did what all parents would do in that situation, as long as they are able….they left. They ran. They got out of there to protect their child. They sought refuge in another land until it was safe for them to return home. The one we Christians call Emmanuel, God-with-us, was a refugee. Any Christian who demeans refugees is misguided, misinformed, flat out wrong. Christians are commanded to welcome refugees and stand in solidarity with those who are fleeing violence. 
4. A fourth lesson flows from the third: Empire will be Empire...are our God calls us beyond the confines of Empire. Herod is the quintessential despot here. Scared of a baby, he lashes out in violence against the most vulnerable in society. He plays from a rule book as old as Empire itself….dehumanize, desensitize, decimate the enemy at all costs. As long as there are humans, it seems there will always be cowardly rulers like Herod. Rulers who are short-sighted and quick to turn to violence. And as long as there are humans, there will always be an alternative for us to turn to. For our God is not like the rulers of Empire. Our God is the one who comes earth-side as a helpless infant. Our God is the one who always stands on the side of Love...even when it comes at great cost. A small geographical detail in today’s passage says it all: the Magi, having heard of the infant king’s birth, make haste to go see him….so they head straight for Jerusalem, because that’s where rulers are expected to be born. But Jesus is not there...instead, he is in Bethlehem, a small town, far away from the hubbub of the capital. An unexpected, fly-over place. The One who comes to rule our hearts and spirits is like that….found in the most unexpected of places, not in the grandeur of elite rulers..but in quiet places, in forgotten places, in everyday places. Our ruler is not like the others. 
5. Fifth and final lesson of Christmas that I’d like to share today: God is still speaking. In Matthew’s version of the Christmas story, God’s voice comes through loud and clear. The voice of Love echoes down through the centuries, connecting generation to generation as we hear about Jesus’s ancestry. God comes to Joseph and speaks to him in a dream, helping him understand his role and convincing him to do the right thing. God speaks to the magi - the outsiders, the ones who aren’t Jewish - and helps keep them safe. And God’s ancient words of prophecy and lamentation are woven throughout the Christmas story - Matthew’s gospel relies heavily on the words of ancient scripture to tell the story of the new thing God is doing in our midst. God speaks in moments of joy, peace, love, calm, celebration...and  God does not shy away from the places of violence, fear, anxiety, terror. 

Breathing in, God is still speaking. Breathing out, we are still listening. 

Breathing in, God is with us. Breathing out, God is with us. 

Breathing in, we open ourselves to Christmas. Breathing out, we take the lessons of Christmas with us. 

Thanks be to God for these gifts. 

NOTES: 

[1] Working Preacher podcast for Jan. 5, 2020

BENEDICTION:

We leave this season of Christmas now, committed to walking in its ways throughout the year ahead. I have five charges to share with you today, one for each lesson. Feel free to take notes if you’d like, or just let them sink in. I’ll also post them on social media later today so you can catch them there. 

1. First lesson: God exists beyond borders. First invitation: before the first month of 2020 is over, find a way to connect with someone who is very different than you.
2. Second lesson: Jesus was a Jew. Second invitation: learn something new about Judaism this year. Honor someone who is Jewish. 
3. Third lesson: Jesus was a refugee. Third invitation: advocate for refugees. Take the time to understand their plight and speak up on their behalf. 
4. Fourth lesson: God is not like the rulers of Empire. Fourth invitation: do not allow yourself to get so caught up in the whims of today’s empires that you forget who you are. We are God’s, first and foremost. In God we live and move and have our being. 
5. Fifth lesson: God is still speaking. Fifth invitation: make time and space each day to listen for God’s voice. 

I’ll be at the door after worship with some frankincense oil. If you’d like a blessing, with or without oil, come find me. Go, now into this world of Christmas and Epiphany. Hold tight to the truth of Love. Be well. Amen.