Reading
for Christmas II/A:
Matthew 2:13-23
January 2, 2005
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
Today's collect summarizes the purpose of the religious journey: "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." [BCP 214] In other words, the purpose of the religious journey is to be transformed into the likeness of Christ.
The Holy Scriptures describe different people at different stages of this journey. Some people already think, act, and live in a manner that reflects the divine nature. Others are still in the process of restoration, while still others have fallen by the wayside, filled with fear and hateful ways. Some of us cycle through each of these stages over time, moving from a place of fear to a place of love, and then falling back to a place of alienation. Unfortunately, some folks never rise above the pit of darkness.
In today's reading from the gospel according to Matthew, we read about one such character who was so filled with fear, that he committed numerous atrocities during his tenure as King of Israel. This included the murder of one of his 10 wives and their two sons. Between the years 37 to 4 BCE, Herod the Great ruled as king of the Jews. His reign was marked by total loyalty to Rome, grandiose building programs, family strife, and harsh repression of any opposition.
Herod's philosophy in life was that there was room for only one king. And so when he heard that another king had been born within his kingdom, he became enraged. Although there is no official record of the slaughter of the innocent male children under the age of two in Bethlehem, this kind of massacre was typical of Herod's response to conflict and competition.
The gospel of Matthew spends only a few chapters on Jesus' early life. In Matthew's gospel, the setting of Jesus' birth includes royalty, chief priests, wealthy foreigners, gold, frankincense, myrrh, and no manger. But Jesus' "15 minutes of fame" are over in a flash. There is an unexpected turn (from grandeur to humility) in the career of Jesus the Messiah. Jesus and his family are forced to flee the country in order to avoid persecution and become refugees in the land of Egypt. Having had to leave behind their home, livelihood, family ties, and friends, Jesus and his family provide a powerful symbol for all refugees and oppressed people of the earth. One of the terrible realities of life is that many people in many parts of the world are at the mercy of political tyrants or unpredictable forces of nature that determine where, when, how, and if they will live. The current tsunami disaster in the Far East is one such example.
What surprises me most about today's gospel story, is not that Herod slaughtered the innocent children in Bethlehem. Fearful people have always justified killing others when their security or dignity is threatened. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon. We continue to see this posture of fear in the world today, including the position of our own country, which is willing to give up liberty for the sake of safety. But what surprises me most about today's gospel story, is Joseph's willingness to listen to and to act upon three dreams.
The Bible interprets these dreams as being "visited by an angel of the Lord." The word angel means messenger. Many people have profound dreams during their lives, receiving messages that prove to be life giving or life saving. [I know that I have received such dreams and they have changed the course of my life.] While most people receive dreams, only some actually act upon these dreams. Joseph acted on all three of the dreams that were mentioned today. One dream saved his child's life while another encouraged him to move his family back home. A third dream guided him to make his home in Nazareth. Nazareth was such an unlikely place to make a home since it was an insignificant agricultural village, with a population of about 500 people, widely populated by foreigners who were despised by the Jews. I am sure that Joseph struggled to act upon that dream!
If you had such dreams, do you think you would have the courage to take a risk and leave everything behind in order to have life? Most people wouldn't, especially if they had to move to a place like Nazareth. In fact, safety, security, and familiarity are often more important to people than abundant life. As a result, people do not often act on their dreams, especially if it involves sacrifice, hardship, or a lower standard of living. We are worse off because of this and the dignity of our human nature suffers.
God often speaks to us through dreams, intuition, thoughts, and our senses. Depending on our personality and makeup, God particularly communicates with us through at least one of these avenues. But oftentimes, we fail hear that "small still voice" inside or if we do hear it, we ignore it. We are afraid of taking risks and experiencing something totally new. This is because, we want what we want, or we think we already know what is best for us. One of the great tragedies in life is that we suppress the small still voice inside of us. We ignore our dreams and forgo abundant life. Fortunately, (at least most of the time), our children are not slaughtered, as a result of our ignoring that "small, still, inner voice." The consequences are usually more subtle- like becoming stale, depressed, unhappy, or cynical. Over time, the image of God, in which we were created, becomes dusty, and the joy of being human, fades away. Sharing in the divine life becomes a distant wish rather than an impending reality. And so day by day, we inch towards or away from the Kingdom of God, wondering about the meaning of life and why it is so hard.
Being transformed into the likeness of Christ begins and ends with an orientation of our heart, mind, body, and soul towards God. This is called faith. When we have faith, not only can we hear the word of God, but we are also given the courage to act upon our dreams. May God give us the grace to hear the divine voice and the courage to act upon it so that our human dignity may be restored.
| Updated 12/31/04 |
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