Sermon 1/5/2020


Lessons for the Second Sunday of Christmas and Epiphany Eve:  Jeremiah 31:7-14Psalm 84 or 84:1-8Ephesians 1:3-6,15-19aMatthew 2:13-15,19-23 or Luke 2:41-52 or Matthew 2:1-12  (as you will read, I chose to read all of Matthew 2.)



          Today is the Second Sunday after Christmas, and it is also the eve of the Epiphany, so there are three choices for the Gospel reading.  The first was to read from the second chapter of Matthew, but only verses 13-15 and 19-23.  The second was found in Luke, the story that tells how Jesus went to Jerusalem as a 12-year-old and stayed behind, worrying his parents.  The third choice is the Gospel for Epiphany, which includes most of the rest of the second chapter of Matthew.
I decided that we needed to hear all of Matthew’s chapter two, because in one chapter, we hear the story of the early years of Jesus.  It includes, of course, the visit and the gifts from what we call the Magi.  But it also tells the story of Joseph and Mary fleeing with Jesus to protect him, the story of the Holy Family becoming refugees in Egypt, and their return to Nazareth.  These last parts are what we sometimes skip over.
It’s much more pleasant to learn about the caravan of people who came from the East, likely from Persia, to bring valuable gifts to Jesus, the King of the Jews.  We picture them following a star aboard camels, in search of this Holy Child, even though they were not Jewish.  Rather, they were people who looked to the stars for omens and signs, following a belief system that was a precursor to Islam, called Zoroastrian-ism.  This educated group of men and women came in a caravan, even though they likely did not know about the prophecies or the great desire of this nation for their Savior.  They brought Jesus “gold for a great king, frankincense for a great priest, and myrrh for one who will suffer and die.”[1]
In their search for the child, they met Herod.  Herod claimed he, too, wanted to visit the child King to worship him.  We also know they did not return to Herod because they were warned in a dream that they should not reveal the location of the boy to him.
And the story of these first few years of Jesus’ life, maybe because of the hymn we just sang, seems to end there.  But it doesn’t.  What happens next is important. 
But first, we need to know a little bit about King Herod.  He did some very good things for his country, things like building the infrastructure of roads, ports and aqueducts.  Jerusalem had a strong economy.  He was working to keep his country safe and strong as the Roman Empire was emerging.  Because of all these good things, he had many followers and supporters. 
Yet he did something horrific.  And he did it because he, and “and all Jerusalem with him,” in other words, those who trusted and believed in Herod as their (small ‘s’) savior, were afraid.
 According to Matthew’s account, Herod, in his fear, insecurity, and desperation commanded that all children two years old or younger be killed.  It’s known as the Slaughter of the Innocents.  It is much like the story of Pharaoh killing the children of Israel just prior to the Exodus when he feared Moses.
Because of his fear, insecurity, self-preservation and tyrannical nature, Herod demanded his followers to swoop in and murder children because one of them just might become the king who will dethrone him.

Thankfully, Joseph was visited by an angel in his dreams and was told to pack up Mary and Jesus and get out of Bethlehem and go to Egypt immediately.  They fled for their lives, entering an unknown land as refugees.
After Herod died, an angel came to Joseph in another dream, telling him that it was safe to return to Israel, so the family packed up again, and returned, not to Judea, which he learned was unsafe, but to Nazareth in Galilee.
It is a harrowing story.  No wonder we don’t like to read it or talk about it.  We don’t want to think that the early years of Jesus life would be so dangerous.  It’s far more comforting to think of this Holy Child as the Savior of the world, not someone who had to become a refugee to keep him safe!
But telling the story is important.  Jesus was born in a frightening time of history, when dangerous king Herod was in control.  Jesus was sent by God into a broken, hurting world, to help turn the world around, to help Jews and non-Jews alike trust God over human royalty and government officials.
Jesus was born then, and Jesus is born in each of us every day.  We are given the choice to make him King in our lives—to follow his teaching, to pray to him, to experience his healing in our lives.
It is a choice we are given, to follow his commandments to Love God and to Love One Another.  To live in the Light of Hope, to live as Jesus did: honoring God by standing up for the marginalized; by protecting the weak, the sick, the dying; by helping others find wholeness and health; by praying for one another; by supporting one another.

Jesus came as a fragile baby, dependent on his parents to keep him safe when the powers within the government wanted him dead.  And Angels came to tell the story to shepherds.  They came in dreams to mystics.  They came in dreams to Joseph.  They came to Mary.  All these lives, directly touched by angels, were sent to protect this babe so that he would become Savior to us all.
It’s all about God.  God’s love for this world is so strong that God gave his only son to the world so that the world would know God more deeply.  So that we would trust God more fully.  So that we would love God with our whole being.
Jesus came into the world to save us from people like King Herod or Pharaoh, who are more interested in their own power than in the Love of God.
That is the Savior the world was waiting for.  Someone who would bring us to the light of hope.  Hope that we will find peace and comfort in our Creator.  Someone who would teach us to trust.  Trust that God will be with us through all our lives, strengthening us and supporting us, cheering us and loving us.

Let us pray.  Jesus, you were given gold to recognize you as king, frankincense, to acknowledge you as priest, and myrrh to predict your suffering and death.  In these three gifts, we see the light of your life, for you are our King, our Priest, and in your death, and rising again, our Savior.  Help us to be your people, living lives that follow your example: loving God and loving one another.  In your holy name we pray.  Amen.