2:1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men
from the East came to Jerusalem,
2:2 asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we
observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."
2:3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him;
2:4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired
of them where the Messiah was to be born.
2:5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the
prophet:
2:6 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers
of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people
Israel.'"
2:7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time
when the star had appeared.
2:8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the
child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him
homage."
2:9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star
that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child
was.
2:10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.
2:11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt
down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of
gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
2:12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own
country by another road.
Rick in Canada, eh?
Sorry, I can't read this story, this year, without reading the rest of the story in verses 13-18.
And I'm not in the habit of naming my sermons, but this one has to be called, When Children are Expendable.
Rachel continues to weep. And our response is to blame Rachel.
Revhen
Another case of fear of strange immigrants causinggreat feeling of threat culminating in death. January 1, 2019
Clancy but they weren't immigrants; and yes since they were not roman citizens they were immigrants.
Interesting how this works
Rick in Canada, eh?
Hi all, and Hi Clancy.
For argument's sake, let's say we accept that the family doesn't meet the legal definition of immigrant. (Personally, I don't think that is relevant to gospel proclamation, but since that's where the discussion *is* these days, I can go there for the sake of clarity.)
The question I have is, so what?
I'm not trying to be flip here; I'm asking why it matters so much to us.
It seems to me that we have bought into the nation-state's obsession with defining who's in and who's out, who matters and who doesn't, who is legitimate and who is not.
And I think, as the church of this Jesus character, we need to let him set the agenda; or, in this case, let his story set the agenda. Not the nation, not the politicians, not the talking heads on the networks.
For me, this story demands that we take serious the image of God which is to be found in all people. All. Not just citizens, not just people who look like us (or worse, who look like me), not just people who believe like us (or worse, believe like me), not just people who vote the way I do, and certainly not just people who live on my side of whatever walls we have built.
These days, it seems to me that the church needs to be affirming the dignity of the stranger, the image of God which is to be found in each of them, regardless of what label the governing authorities place on them (for their own ulterior motives).
Legal definitions need to be irrelevant, as far as our response to people is concerned. And that IS
relevant to gospel proclamation, because the love of God being given, AND SHOWN, to all IS gospel
proclamation.
Here endeth
the rant.
Rabbi in IL
Yes, absolutely, we need to include 13-18! While Herod the Great may have been overly-paranoid, killing off servants, wives and sons who he feared would take his throne from him, this baby "King of the Jews" IS a threat! His reign will outlast the Herods, and even the far-reaching Roman empire. But, most-importantly, this baby king's rule is a threat to the kingdom of darkness, which had been trying to prevent his arrival since promises were made to David. Let's not overlook the cosmic angle of this whole story--our story, too, ostensibly--in the heat of
political bantering.
steve souther
Rabbi in Il: "the cosmic angle of this whole story-"
This brought to mind a statement from seminary: "God has not been left without a witness in all Creation."
The birth of the King of the Jews is the ultimate event! It caused a stir in Jerusalem, the heavens, Rome and the East. I think this may represent the entire cosmos of that day.
The promise: "By you (Abraham), all the families of the earth shall bless themselves." Genesis 12:3c
Thank you for bringing this to mind. Our thinking (and faith) is constantly in need of
being stretched.
steve souther
Friends, I'm not sure if this has anything to do with anything, but the Chinese have just landed on the
dark side of the moon so they can get a better look at the universe. January 3, 2019
Rev in Carolina I've been reading a good commentary on Matthew, this week, Craig Keener's work. I can tell everyone else is way ahead of me in getting on with a message for Epiphany. But the subheading he has for Matthew 2:1-10 is "Pagans Worship Jesus." It's a really inciteful study where Keener points out that "the pagan astrologers (the Magi) worship Jesus." It strikes me that over the years (I can't tell you how many times) I have quoted Matthew 28:16-20 in a Thespian way, "Go therefore...." But this passage at the very beginning of the same Gospel is saying, "Look there are those who are foreigners who are coming to see the God
infant!" This is a great passage.
Throck in Oz
Happy Christmas, all!
I wonder what you think of this idea? I recently read an interesting article by Julia Baird. Here's the link:
https://www.smh.com.au/national/if-women-wrote-the-christmas-story-three-wise-females-and-a-not-so-s
ilent-night-20191223-p53mk9.html
What if the Magi were women?
psalm 45:12, and 1 Kings 10:10 tell of Queens coming to visit King Solomon.
Isaiah 60:6 "All those from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and incence, and they shall proclaim
the praises of the Lord."
I think it sounds quite likely that amongst those who came were some women. We are never told their
number. it seems probable that some very important people coming from far away with gifts would
include some women.
I think we have to stop sweeping away the female voice from Jesus' birth - after all - birth has
always been women's domain. It is most unlikely that Mary gave birth unattended by a midwife.
Human birth is not neat and wholesome.
I think I will be preaching a very feminine story
this Sunday.
