The Gospel isn’t meant to be gulped down on Sunday morning, but gnawed on through the week so it really becomes a part of us. You’ve got to work at it, like a dog with a good bone! Here’s the Gospel for this coming Sunday — The Epiphany — with food for thought about the alternative power of the Realm of God. Gnaw away!

The Epiphany – Matthew 2:1-12

After Jesus’ birth – which happened in Bethlehem of Judea, during the reign of Herod – astrologers from the East arrived in Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the newborn ruler of the Jews? We observed his star at its rising and have come to pay homage.” At this news Herod became greatly disturbed, as did all of Jerusalem. Summoning all the chief priests and religious scholars of the people, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.

“In Bethlehem of Judea,” they informed him. “Here is what the prophet has written:

‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah,
Since from you will come a ruler
Who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”

Herod called the astrologers aside and found out from them the exact time of the star’s appearance. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, after having instructed them, “Go and get detailed information about the child. When you have found him, report back to me – so that I may go and offer homage, too.”

After their audience with the ruler, they set out. The star which they have observed at its rising went ahead of them until it came to a standstill over the place where the child lay. They were overjoyed at seeing the star and, upon entering the house, found the child with Mary, his mother. They prostrated themselves and paid homage. Then they opened their coffers and presented the child with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

They were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, so they went back to the their own country by another route.

The Backstory – What’s Going On Here?

There is no birth story in Matthew — only the story of Joseph’s response to his dream (Matthew 1:18-25) and the response of the world to Jesus’ birth in this story. Jesus’ birth does not happen under the radar … immediately it has seismic repercussions that reach to the top of the power structures of the day (the time itself is measured by Herod being in power) and beyond the boundaries of the nation. Jesus is immediately perceived as a threat. Even before he can speak there are people jockeying to get close to his power and to destroy him. Even though the Magi are wrong in looking for this king in Jerusalem (as Herod’s own “wise men” are able to tell him), Jesus’ eventual entry into Jerusalem is presaged with “the powers of the death doing their worst” in the slaughter of the innocents that follows this story, but the power of Christ being unstoppable. Matthew makes it clear… there is a new power to be reckoned with, not just in Nazareth or Israel, but in all the cosmos — heralded by a star. Nothing will ever be the same again.

A few things to chew on:

*Every Christmas we see stories of city councils debating whether nativity scenes should be set up in public squares — and the battle lines generally are drawn around traditional Constitutional church/state concerns. In the eyes of Matthew’s Gospel, these arguments must not only seem ridiculous but an indictment of what the church has become. Matthew tells of the incarnation of Christ that struck terror into the heart of Herod. And of Herod responding by trying to use his power to either seek out and destroy the power of Christ. Now whether or not the Nativity scene is allowed on the green, Christmas hardly strikes fear anymore … in fact just the opposite. There are recent examples of the Church striking fear in the heart of Herod — Archbishop Romero and Archbishop Tutu being two inspiring examples. Where is Jesus inviting us to follow him that would make Herod afraid today?

*Jesus did not pose an immediate threat to Herod. He was born in Bethlehem — far from the center of power in Jerusalem. But even when he came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Jesus’ threat to the powers was not direct engagement, it was bringing an alternative to those powers — the Realm of God. The Realm of God plays by different rules and does not recognize the powers of the world. The Realm of God invites us to participate in it by inviting the powers of the world to take even our lives from us as a way of showing that the world has no power over us. Our churches are supposed to be alternative communities. We are supposed to do things differently, to be different. Think of our All Saints community. In what ways when others look at us do they see something different that is the Kin-dom of God … and in what ways do they see the Kingdom of Herod arranged a little differently?

Try This:

The Magi were told to return to their own country by another road. How great the temptation must have been not to return at all, but to stay with this one they had come so far to worship. But they had to return and be in a land that had not seen Christ, that would not understand their experience, that would likely consider them crazy. As we move toward Epiphany this Sunday, think about what it must have been like for the wise men to return home. How are you invited to proclaim your experience of Christ in communities that probably won’t understand it — be that your home, school, work, friends. What small step can you take to proclaim Christ’s birth this week?

A Ruler Who Will Shepherd

In a representative democracy, we elect leaders to represent us in the halls of power. Leaders who are expected to do what we want them to do. And if they don’t do what we want, we will vote them out and find someone who will.

It is a system designed to prevent us from having leaders like Herod, who consolidate power and use it for their own ends.

But it also cultivates in us an attitude toward leadership — that our leaders are supposed to do what we want. And that creates a problem … good leadership isn’t doing what the people want, it’s doing what the people need. And often, those are two different things.

This attitude toward leadership spills over into our faith. Our attitude toward Christ can be “what have you done for me lately?” We look at the Church as another consumer commodity — good only as much as it benefits me.

But that’s not what the Gospel is saying here. The prophecy that Jesus fulfills says he will be “a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.”

A shepherd doesn’t respond to Gallup polls of the sheep. A shepherd does what is best for the sheep whether they like it or not (and the shepherd has a big stick because sometimes they’re not gonna like it). And the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Jesus did not come to do our bidding. We are to do Christ’s. Why? Because he is Emmanuel, God with us, possessing a wisdom and joy infinitely exceeding our own.

The magi knew this. They weren’t lobbyists come to curry Jesus’ favor. They were taking the best they had to offer and laying it at Jesus’ feet saying “do with this what you will.” They were subordinating their power to Jesus’ power. They are our model. That is what wisdom looks like.

What does that look like for you? What does that look like for us?

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Check out the rest of Sunday’s readings

The Lectionary Page has all of the readings for this Sunday and every
Sunday – click here for this Sunday’s readings.

Collect for Sunday

Pray this throughout the week as you gnaw on this Gospel.

O God who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the
dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who
humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and
reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and
ever. Amen.