Sermon
by Rev. Caela Simmons Wood
First
Congregational UCC, Manhattan, KS
Jan.
3, 2016
Sermon Text: Matthew 2:1-12
A long time ago...in a galaxy not so
far away, a child was born whose birth had been foretold for generations. “The
Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall
come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn,” said the
prophets of old.
The baby was named Emmanuel, for
through him, all people were to realize that God was fully present with them.
His birth was so unsettling that even people from far away - people who did not
worship the God of Abraham and Sarah - took notice.
The Gospel of Luke tells us that
there were shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night. When the glory
of the angels shone ‘round, they dropped everything and went to see the babe.
The Gospel of Matthew tells us that there were magi in the East -
wisdom-seekers, sooth-sayers, dream-watchers. The magi, these wise ones,
practitioners of another faith, studied and saw his birth written in the stars.
And so they traveled to Jerusalem - to the capital - seeking the child. But he
was not to be found under the bright city lights.
Instead, he was in tiny, sleepy
Bethlehem - House of Bread - for he had come to fill the hungry with good
things. Upon hearing of the magi and their quest, the King of the Land, Herod,
intervened. He wished to use the magi as his spies. He felt threatened by this
star at its rising. Surely this child, just a baby, had not come to threaten
his power?
Herod sent the magi on their way,
commanding them to bring back information about the newborn baby. It became a
reconnaissance mission.
The magi continued to follow the star
and when they saw the place illuminated by its light, they were overwhelmed
with joy. They brought forth gifts for the child and his family from their
treasure chests - gifts fit for a king. And they fell down and worshiped him,
the One who prophets foretold.
And having been warned in a dream not
to return to Herod, that Other King, they left for their own country by another
road.
***********
This is an old, old story. And many
of us also remember what happens next. David Lose says that there are two ways
to tell this story. One is as a story for children - we focus on the gifts of
the magi; we sing songs about little drummer boys playing for the babe; we
kneel together at the manger. And all is well.
But then there’s the story for
adults. The one that continues in the rest of the second chapter. We didn’t
hear it today, but you may already know it. An angel appears and warns Joseph
that his child’s life is in danger. The family flees to Egypt - refugees.
Herod, enraged, feels even more threatened by the baby Jesus. He orders all
children aged two and under to be killed. “"A voice was heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to
be consoled, because they are no more."
That’s the story for grown ups. And
we live in a very grown up world, don’t we? For we have our own Herods, our own
fearful tyrants who are governed by and govern by fear. And we have our own
innocents who are sacrificed on the altar of fear.
A 12 year old child is gunned down by
those who are paid to serve and protect him. Killed less than two seconds after
the police arrive, for holding a toy gun in an open carry state. And the Powers
That Be have determined that no charges will be filed for a killing that
millions of eyes have now witnessed. The whole thing was caught on tape and it
makes not one iota of difference. Tamir Rice has joined the ranks of too many
black children who have died on the altar of fear. Killed because the Evil of
white supremacy feeds on fear, whispers words of fear. White people are taught
to fear and another child dies.
“"A voice was heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to
be consoled, because they are no more."
Similar fears keep our children who
live in poverty isolated, our schools segregated, children of color who are as
young as 3 or 4 years old regularly expelled from preschool as their parents
watch them herded into the cradle-to-prison pipeline. A hyper-capitalist
society with very few safety nets remaining feeds on fear. Fear is the grease
that keeps the cogs turning, the peasants scrambling, the parents trapped and
wailing.
Fear is also the fuel that keeps the
fires of xenophobia burning. Fear is the liar who whispers that we must be
afraid of the foreigner, especially if they have dark skin, or speak another
language, or worship in ways that are different than ours.
Fear is the fool who dares to suggest
there is only one way to be a boy or a girl, and demands that children fit into
those boxes precisely. Fear is the one that demands our children do violence to
themselves - their bodies, their spirits - all in the name of fitting into some
arbitrary mold.
Fear of course is the Enemy. And the
choice is really no different now than it was in Jesus’s time: We choose fear
or we can choose openness. I know which one I want to choose, and I am pretty
certain most of us here would rather live into openness rather than fear. But
to do so is a decidedly counter-cultural thing. As we seek to live with hearts
open, what lights our path?
There is no shortage of stars, of
course. The stars beckon to us from MSNBC, ESPN, and Twitter. It sometimes
seems as if there are so many stars….and the stars seems to be at war. They
lead us on different paths. They claim different truths. They clamor for our
attention and loyalty.
You know, I’m always amazed that the
magi went. I mean, if that star was so bright, surely everyone could see it,
right? But not everyone followed. Maybe there were too many stars competing for
their attention and loyalty. Maybe they had star wars of their own to deal
with.
AME pastor William Watley says, “It
isn’t the light that we see, but the light that we follow that makes us wise.”
Maybe all those other people saw the star, but didn’t take action. Only the
wise ones got up and turned towards hope.
My friend and colleague, the Rev.
Thea Leticia Racelis gave me this gem of wisdom last week and now I want to
give it to you. Thea said, “My prayer is not for God to speak, but for God to
give me the courage to listen with my whole life.”
Now that’s what living into openness
looks like, isn’t it? The courage to listen with our whole lives? In the midst
of stars that vie for our attention and a world gone mad with fear, it seems to
me that what we need to do is be still, and listen with our whole lives.
As we mark another trip around the
sun and a new year dawns, I want to invite you to listen with your whole life
in a new way this year. In just a few moments, I’m going to ask the ushers to
pass around the offering plates, but instead of putting something IN them this
time around, I want you to take something OUT. We’ll pass the plates a second
time in a few minutes for the offertory.
In the plate, you’ll find a Star
Gift. Each one is unique and has a word printed on it. Don’t look and go rummaging
around trying to figure out which one you want - instead, just reach in and let
a particular star find YOU.
The word on the star is yours for the
coming year. It’s meant to be guidance - among all the stars that are at war
trying to claim our attention - perhaps this one star can be the one that
whispers words of openness and hope to you in 2016.
Now the star gifts are only as
helpful as we let them be. If they get shoved to the bottom of a bag or left
forlorn on the floor of our car, they won’t do us much good. But perhaps if we
hang them where we can see them and remind themselves of them, they really can
guide our lives in the coming year.
So receive your gift now. And may
this star guide you on your way as we defiantly refuse to bow to fear and turn,
instead, towards hope. Amen.
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