Sermons for the Month
Bethlehem Hope
DATE: January 6th, 2008
SERVICE: The Epiphany of Our Lord
TEXT: Isaiah 60:1-6; Matthew 2:1-12“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
Perhaps some of you remember the song, "Looking for love in all the wrong places." Actually, that phrase is about all I remember about it, but those words and the tune came to mind this week as I thought about those travelers from the east looking for Jesus. The magi - who we also call wise men or kings - were looking for love - or we could say hope - in the wrong place, at least initially. But, they found it, or rather him. So, when I go home today I'll move the ceramic wise men who have spent the Christmas season six feet from the nativity scene close to the infant Jesus because they have arrived and can stop looking. That's one of my beginning-of-the year rituals, it's a reminder that as we start another year, hope has been found. That's good news because, like the magi, we have a tendency to look for it in the all the wrong places. So, perhaps we can learn something from the magi, even though they are a mystery to us. What do we know about them, really? Well, we think they were from Persia and were advisers to the King, skilled in astrology and the interpretation of dreams. We know, of course, that they were not Jews. We typically think that there were three of them, but that's only because the Bible says they brought three gifts. And, we know they arrived some time after Jesus was born, since the scripture says the location of their visit was a house, not the barn, and only Mary is mentioned as being present. They evidently saw a new star, a sign that royalty had been born, and knew the Jews were looking forward to the arrival of a special king they called Messiah. So, they set their sights on Jerusalem. Now, I would guess that for most of us there is nothing new in all that I just shared. But, surprisingly, as I studied I discovered something that I do not remember reading before this week. It was the theory that the reason the magi headed for Jerusalem is not just that it was the Holy City and the location of the King's palace, but it was because they were familiar with the words we read from Isaiah 60 which are written about Jerusalem. "…all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord." That's why Jerusalem was their destination, and why they brought those particular gifts. I'm not sure I believe that, but I do think it's interesting to contemplate how words written nearly 600 years before Jesus was born continued to apply to the people of Israel in Jesus' time. It's one of those, "the more things change, the more they stay the same," situations. When the prophet first proclaimed these words of encouragement the Jews were hopeless, overwhelmed by despair. They had been in exile for several generations, and had finally returned to Jerusalem, only to find a city in ruin. So, the Prophet invites them to look up, to hope and to expect everything to change. Jerusalem will become a place of power and prosperity, a center of international trade to which people will flock. Hope is the word of the day. The irony is that when the magi arrived all those centuries later, even though the rebuilding of Jerusalem has taken place, the Jews are still crushed by foreign domination and the tone of their lives is still despair rather than hope. It does not seem that the promised glory of the Lord has arisen upon them. But, then these "wise guys" from Persia show up asking about a new king. Perhaps there is hope after all! No wonder they sit up and pay attention; it seems as if the Prophet's words have been fulfilled, the wealth of the nations has arrived, riding on camels. With a new king - the Messiah - in view can the restoration of their homeland, along with power, prosperity and prestige be far behind? There is a problem, though. Where is the new king? It seems that the magi are looking for hope in all the wrong places, or at least one wrong place. It's significant that he's not in Jerusalem, the subject of Isaiah 60, but in Bethlehem, a mere nine miles away. But, that nine miles makes all the difference. When another prophet, Micah, spoke of the leader that would be born in Bethlehem he anticipated one who would bring hope, not by political strength, but by attentiveness to the lowly. In other words, this hope is not based in power, prestige or prosperity. Herod need not have worried because the King found in Bethlehem creates hope through serving, humility and generosity. Thankfully, after looking in the wrong place, the magi found that hope. So, where are we looking for hope? If it's in "Jerusalem", if it's based in achievement, in success, in gaining control, then we are looking for it in all the wrong places. But if we look for hope in Bethlehem, if it's based in sacrificial love, then we have found it - or rather, him. Besides moving the wise men closer to Jesus on January 6, another of my traditions for the new year is beginning a daily devotion book on January 1. The one that I opened on Tuesday morning began with a simple spiritual exercise from St. Ignatius. There were two questions to answer. The first was, "What is your greatest hope for this year?" There are many ways a person could answer that question. For example, "My greatest hope is that OSU wins tomorrow night." Or, one might hope for a different job, or new friendships, or success in a project. I don't suppose it really matters what we hope for, the question really is this: will it create true hope in your life and in the world? Will that which is hoped for lead to generosity, serving, inner peace? If so, it's Bethlehem hope; Jesus is its source, and it has the power to transform. If, on the other hand, that which is hoped for is simply a quest for prosperity, power, prestige, then it is Jerusalem hope; self-serving is its source, and it has the power to briefly satisfy, but also to destroy. The same hope can have different impact, depending on its source and its purpose. That brings us then to the second question, "What is your greatest fear for this year?" Two people might have the very same fear, but how they deal with it is quite different depending on the source of their hope. Perhaps the greatest fear is of an illness, or of the choices a child will make. Those who have Bethlehem hope will have an inner source of strength, a gift on which to draw and the option of letting go, while those with Jerusalem hope can rely only on themselves and their ability to manage that which is beyond their control. After answering these two questions, the devotional suggested writing a prayer that incorporates the greatest hope and greatest fear. For example, "Jesus, may my hope rest in you alone. In 2008 I hope for new friendships that will be a source of encouragement in my life, so that I may be a light in the darkness for others. When I am afraid to reach out, help me to take good risks. Amen." Then pray it daily as a reminder not to look for hope in all the wrong places. I'm thinking about those magi, and how they found hope in Bethlehem, in a house of humility, rather than in Jerusalem's palace of power. Perhaps I should not put them away tomorrow when I take down the tree, but move them around the house in 2008, so that when I see them I'm reminded to look for hope in the right places.
AMEN