Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-6; Matthew 2:1-12; Psalm 72
January 2, 2022
Larry Campbell
Rise Up! Your Light Has Come
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be pleasing to You, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.
Ἐπιφάνεια Epiphany means, “the revealing of a divine reality”. The festival of “Epiphany” is observed on January 6th, the 12th day of Christmas. January 6th is usually the day the Eastern Orthodox church celebrates the baptism of Christ. The Church in the West remembers the story of the Wise Men from the East traveling to Judah to pay homage to the One whom they seemed to believe was the new King of the Jews. Today, we’re going to consider what was the message of the Magi story.
But first I want to say something about why the writer of Matthew has this story as part of his presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Have you ever wondered why there were 4 gospels? Sometimes they tell the same stories. Sometimes those stories have different, even conflicting, details. Sometimes they tell some stories that the others miss out completely. Mark’s gospel was written probably about 35 or 40 years after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Mark’s style was sometimes curt and unrefined. He wanted to get his story out in a hurry. This was around the time of the 1st Jewish revolt, and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans. This context influenced what he wrote, and what he didn’t write, in his Gospel.
Luke and Matthew wrote about 15 or 20 years after Mark. They both used Mark as a source.
Matthew was writing to Jewish followers of Jesus. There was much tension around the failed revolts. The writer of Matthew wanted the people to know that the long-awaited Messiah, the Hope of Israel, had come. This influenced the choice of the stories being told. The particular details were meant to be understood by Jewish readers.
Luke on the other hand, was himself a Gentile. The purpose of his writing was twofold. He wanted to have a well researched account of the life of Christ, and he wanted to provide information that would be compelling for a Gentile audience. The stories he told, and his literary style flowed out of that purpose.
John’s gospel is on a different plain altogether. Written near the end of his life, probably 70 years after Christ, John was at the end of his long life. He had come to understand some things about Jesus that went way beyond Jew and Gentile. John had recognized the cosmic implications of the incarnation, the things Jesus did and said, and his crucifixion and resurrection. His presentation comes from a different place, and is quite distinct from the other three writers.
But today we have the writer of Matthew telling the story about the Magi; these strangers, these non-Jews, coming to Bethlehem to see Jesus. With Luke writing his gospel mainly to people outside the Jewish community, this sounds more like something Luke might have written. He could have told the story of these Gentiles worshiping this little King to show the inclusive nature of the incarnation. But he didn’t. He didn’t even mention anything about the Magi. And Matthew was focused mostly on the Jews. So why did this story appear in Matthew?
Matthew knew that his readers would acquainted with the Hebrew Scriptures. Although the passage we read from Isaiah is not mentioned in the gospel, the people who put our lectionary together insightfully included Isaiah 60 with the story of the Magi. I think this is what Matthew was pointing to. He wrote about people representing other nations of the world, attracted and guided by the light of the star, to come and see this Light that has come to Israel.
Isaiah wrote,
“Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising”
(Isaiah 6-:3).
While Luke could have written about these foreign Gentiles who were welcomed into the community of God, Matthew was making his point to the Jews, that the Light that will attract nations has come upon Israel. Isaiah was writing in a time when
“darkness covered the earth, and deep darkness the peoples”
(Isaiah 60: 2),
not unlike the people in Jesus’ time. They were oppressed by an occupying force, with a local ruler who was known for his cruelty and treachery. And like Isaiah before him, Matthew’s story was calling the people of Israel to,
“Arise, Shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”
(Isaiah 60:1)
How is it, do you suppose, that this Light would be attractive to the nations of the world? How is to be understood by us? We learn more about this as we follow Jesus’ stories.
- In a world of failed coups, and enemy soldiers at every major intersection, Jesus said there is another way, not of violence, but of love for our enemy.
- As the religious elite brokered a strained relationship with their tyrannical overlords, beneficial to both of them, they became oppressors of their own people.
- Rather than caring for the poor and marginal of their population, they weighed them down with judgment that did nothing but burden them and wear them out.
When Herod called for the scribes and scholars to explain why the Magi were at his front door, what they found suggested a different kind of leader, a different way to use power. Herod was told what the Hebrew poet, Micah, said…
“From you, Bethlehem, will come a ruler who will shepherd My people...”
(Micah 5:2, 4)
The kind of leader that God would give to the world was one with the heart of a shepherd;
- one who would feed the flock,
- one who would keep them safe from predators,
- one who would find them when they got lost,
- and wrap wrap their wounds when they stumbled.
But what Jesus said according to Matthew was,
“Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle, and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls”
(Matthew 11:27-29).
Herod did not want to hear that! Nor would anyone who felt entitled to wield power over others.
-
CEOs of multi-national corporations could have their people treated with fairness and dignity. Instead the workers are threatened with lost wages or dismissal if they take a bathroom break, or stay home with a sick child.
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Senators would rather keep a steady flow of donations coming from the coal lobby rather than give the poor in their district the support they need to live.
- The kind of leader that God would raise up, would make sure that everyone has
- clean water to drink,
- a warm place to live,
- and enough food to eat.
What was Matthew telling us about with these stories associated with the Christmas season? I think his point was, that the Light that has come, has come upon us. It has been revealed to us that we are a city on a hill that cannot be hidden (for good or ill).
He wrote that should we choose to let our light shine,
“the light on our lampstand gives light to all who are in the house”;
“our light must shine before people so that they can see the good that is there, and glorify Creator”.
(Matthew 5:14-16)
This light shines on a society of Justice, Peace, and Goodness. It’s a different kind of Good News attraction, but not what the experiences some of us have had might suggest. This is not coercive or manipulative. That’s what tyrants do. That’s what governments and corporations do. That’s what bullies do. But there is a Light that has come to the world in this winter’s dark, into this time of uncertainty and confusion. This is your light, Israel! This is your light, Community-of-Jesus!
“The glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”
(Isaiah 60:1)
What has been said is not meant to make us feel inadequate or guilty, although that has happened. It’s easy to be caught up in the darkness that surrounds us. But this light has come to us. We know what Justice is. We know what Goodness is. We know it has to do with Love. We just need to do that. Whatever you imagine is just or good. Do that. And if we wrap ourselves in that Light, while in this darkness, maybe we won’t be afraid. Maybe we’ll understand Peace in a deep way. And again The Christ will be revealed to us.