Have You Seen the Light?

As the evening news is filled with more and more pictures of chaos and evil… as more and more places show people suffering from economic crises… war… famine… disease… and the self-aggrandizement of despots whose pre-election promises of salvation have turned to flagrant abuse and oppression against the very people who gave them power… who put their trust in them, I wonder whether the nations of this earth will ever see the light that God has given… whether our world will ever know peace in my time.  Yesterday’s news was not any better and our new administration faces a significant challenge as it works with other world leaders to bring economic and political stability to a world that seems intent on self-destruction. (Pause)

As we met in the Fellowship Hall yesterday to study some basic concepts of disaster response, we joked about the wise men keeping a bag packed to enable them to hit the road faster when they got word that it was time to go.  But it wasn’t news of a disaster that caused them to grab a few belongings and climb on the closest camel to head out on the highway.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  They saw a light in the sky that promised the arrival of the King of Kings… the Prince of Peace.  I wonder what was missing in their lives that compelled them to search for this child.  I wonder what they hoped to find when they got to Bethlehem.  (Pause)

Ann Weems’ is a gifted author and poet, who speaks to much of what is missing in the lives of people today.  In her book, Searching for Shalom, you can find the title poem on page 19.  Here is how she described that search:

I keep searching for shalom,

drawing my water from one well after another –

but still I thirst

for the shower of blessing

that is shalom.

I yearn

for life to be just and merciful and peaceful,

but the streets are filled with daily deaths

of spirit and of flesh

but no shalom.

I keep searching for shalom

away from crowds and commotion,

but peace and quiet

don’t blot the pain

of broken hearts and broken bodies.

I keep searching for shalom,

thinking perhaps I’ll find it

in a quiet field of flowers

Or in star or sea or snow

but still the innocent are trampled.

I keep searching for shalom,

standing in holy places,

sitting among saints.

Surely in the sanctuary

I will find shalom.

I keep searching for shalom,

but holy places

are not magic.

Good works and printed prayers

don’t guarantee shalom.

Beyond cathedral walls

and above ethereal music,

the blaring din of death persists.

Back in the streets,

the people walk in darkness.

I keep searching for shalom.

I have pursued

and sought it.

Have I looked in all

the wrong places?

What is this bonding,

this glue among us,

this cohesiveness

that holds us in the hope

of shalom?

The longing won’t die.

The hope keeps emerging

like a new sprout

that perseveres on the stump

of a felled tree.

Even in the daily barrage

of obscenities

some new star melts

Into my eyes

and the promise persists.

Here in the darkness

some new light

stirs within me.

Here in the streets

I find shalom.

Shalom lives

not in the sanctuary,

but in the streets…

In chaos

on a cross.

In the face of Jesus

is that peace

that passes all understanding

the everlasting Sabbath…

Shalom.

The cover story in the December 2008 issue of National Geographic is entitled, “The Real King Herod.”  It describes a man consumed with the desire to create lasting monuments to his own glory.  Called “The Architect of the Holy Land,” Herod built many cities, palaces, harbors, arenas, and other monuments that still stand 2,000 years later, despite the turbulent history of that region.  His greatest work was the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, which commenced in the year 20 BCE and was completed long after his death in 64 AD. It was destroyed by the Romans just six years later in 70 AD.  Herod also built the Temple Mount… the Herodium… Masada… the great port city of Caesarea… and his winter palace in Jericho, where he died in the year 4 BCE.

What we know of Herod, we know primarily from the gospels and a historian, Josephus, who did not like him. Herod was, by all accounts, insecure, paranoid, easily threatened, and ready to act violently if he thought someone might be in his way.  Appointed as king of the Jews by Rome, Herod created his own truth and dared others to dispute it. And he was ruthless: murdering his wife, three sons, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, uncle, and many others. It is no surprise he had no problem killing so many babies in Bethlehem after the wise men eluded him, though the National Geographic article disputes the veracity of Matthew’s testimony to this act.

The Magi, in contrast, were foreigners… men of science… well-educated… and wealthy. They were highly respected in their Gentile culture and were considered upper class citizens. We don’t know how many Magi there actually were in search of the king. We assume three because there were three gifts. They were not particularly prone to faith in the Jewish religion, but they were sincere seekers of truth. They were spiritual and visionary leaders. The Magi enter this story seeking a real king… the one whose sign they had seen.  They came seeking the meaning behind the star.  They came… not seeking personal recognition or monetary gain… but seeking the truth. (Pause)

This story of Jesus’ birth is not intended to be a historically accurate account of what happened that night.  If the wise men set out on their journey on the night Jesus was born, they could not have arrived at the stable that same night.  Instead, this story is intended to show the universality of the salvation that God intended for the world.  In this story, Herod is not just Herod. He is also stand-in for the powers of the world that keep others from access to truth they do not want to have accessed, and then try to control the outcome of the truth discovered. In the story of Jesus’ birth, the shepherds are not just shepherds. They represent the poor… the uneducated… and all those who struggle to survive in a cold and cruel world.  And, in this story, the wise men are not just foreign kings. They represent the crème de la crème of Gentile society. They represent all who are not Jews… those who, in the history of the Jewish people,  stood on the sidelines watching the events of Biblical story play out and wondering whether there is something there for them.  They represent all who have searched for the truth.

Here, in the first story of Jesus in the New Testament… in the story of his birth… here is the promise of a savior… not just an anointed Messiah for the Jews, but a savior for the uneducated poor… the educated wealthy… for Jews and Gentiles alike.  The shepherds saw the glorious sight in the night sky and went to find their savior.  The wise men saw an unusually bright star… and followed it to find their savior.  That leaves us today with two questions to ponder:  Have you seen the light in your night? (Pause)  Are you willing to leave all that you know behind to go to where your savior is waiting? (Pause)  Your God has come.  The savior of the world is here.  He waits for you… and for all who seek him.  Let us go and find him… together.  Amen.

Matthew 2:1-12