"Now the Work Begins" January 7, 2018

Isaiah 60 Matthew 2: 1-12 The Great Wonder of the Bible, the Glory of Epiphany, the Beauty of Faith, Love, Life is that we can experience each as written; and yet also, over and over through life we can use Scripture to interpret Scripture, experience to give greater depth of meaning to life, beyond simply observing what is expected. In December we elected Officers, we gathered to sing Silent Night Christmas Eve, we received the Sacrament of The Lord’s Supper, and have now Answered the Questions and Installed Leaders. EVERYTHING IS READY, NOW THE WORK BEGINS… It could and would, were we only a Charitable Non-Profit, 501c3, doing the Busyness of Business, Administering Ministry. But in the same way that the Officiant instructs “You may now kiss the Bride” grants you legal right to consummate and to inherit; whereas, over a lifetime, we grow in love and commitment. The Ordained placing their hand in Water thrice and touching the forehead confers Baptism; but faith and compassion, belief, confirmation, love… mature night after night, year upon year. The Wisemen followed Isaiah’s text, and as Astronomers followed the nightly course of the stars, which took them to King Herod at the Palace and Temple in Jerusalem. Following the Instructions, All of the Wisemen missed the Birth of the Savior! The Incarnation of the Son of God, by 9 or 10 Miles! It could have easily been 9-10,000. Catholic Theologian Ray Brown was one of my favorite New Testament professors at Union Seminary, and Father Brown used to say that the Evangelist of Matthew gave the Early Church the outline pencil drawings of the Infancy, for the Church to color-in. Over Centuries, the Orthodox Church attempted to stay within the lines, filling in… that as there were gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh, that there were 3 and only 3 Magi who brought gifts to Bethlehem. Filling in one advanced in age, assigning to him cultural and racial identity as East Asian, giving him the name Caspar. A Second was Middle aged, from Africa, whose name was Balthasar. The 3rd was a youth, representative of the young Empires of Europe, named Melchior. When consulted, King Herod’s Scholars responded to Herod and the Wisemen that there was a missing piece to their Treasure Map! Just as none of us can believe in isolation, none can celebrate the Sacrament of Communion Alone, they needed Scripture to interpret Scripture. The passage from Isaiah brought them to Jerusalem, to the People. Faith and Land of Ancient Israel, but they also needed Micah 5: 2-4. The distinction being, that Isaiah brought them to Jerusalem, brought believers to the Kingdom of David, to the Temple and Royal bloodline of Messiahs; but Micah’s “But You, O Bethlehem Ephratha, Bethlehem of Judea, from you shall come forth for Me, one who is to rule in Israel, whose Origin is of old”. This is a voice different from Jerusalem’s urban civilization, A voice of hope, for a future not impressed with high minarets, and palace towers, or Roman Arenas. The prophet Micah envisioned a leader without political ambition, concerned with the plight of righteousness for the land and justice for the poor. Matthew was not the first to dream of wisemen coming from the East to Jerusalem. Matthew’s storyline and characters for the Infancy narrative, come directly from Isaiah 60, a poem recited by Jews in the City of David, 500–700 years prior to Jesus. Assyria, Modern-day Afghanistan, had bombed Jerusalem, breaching her concentric stone walls, followed by centuries of looting by the Egyptians, then the Babylonians, contemporary Iran and Iraq, until her towers, Palace and Temple, were rubble. All the people lived in despair. Who wants to live in a devastated war-zone, where there is no economy, where all the educated, the leaders and craftsmen have been taken away in a brain-drain? A people who have watched their governmental leaders fight over power and wealth, as the world passed by. To this depressed and angry people, a Poet of Faith spoke a Vision of Hope, expecting there would yet come a time where everything would change... “Rise, Shine, for your light has come! Nations shall come to your light, and Kings to the brightness of your dawn! Lift up your eyes to a higher vision, your sons shall come from afar, your daughters carried on the arm. A multitude of camels shall come, camels of Asia, Europe and Africa, bringing Gold, Frankincense and perfume.” But more than offering a new and different hope, Isaiah 60 describes what would happen in a future where there are two populations, coming to live together. Those who stayed, were left behind, poor, aged, survivors, who have always lived here; and those coming from distant lands with power, affluence, with different culture and different education, different ideals. Do those in power, with ability, give up their dreams and beliefs in order to fit into this place? OR Do those who have fought to survive, who have become the Old Guard give up ethics and moral beliefs that they fought for, died defending, because others have come to power? How can two live as one? Instead of one dominating, oppressing the other, instead of a fight for which is fake and which is real, according to Isaiah 60, both would seek Glory’s Light illumination. Glory here, does not come from a Star in the heavens, but an aura from God, glory shows all around us. We come to recognize we have been living in Dark Ages, in a world composed of many times 50 shades of grey. We did not know, none recognized how depressed we were, how much we had been made to compromise, to endure, until our hearts are thrilled and we believe in hope. Any of us can go through the motions of responsibilities, even of elected leadership, but for the Work of Ministry and Faith and Love to Begin, we need to recognize our need to kneel down, to listen, to pray and consider… before speaking, because what we thought was right might, be off by nine miles.