When Swords Pierce

 

Epiphany, January 6, 2025                            The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling

 

O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

 

In his article entitled “The Visited Planet”, Philip Yancey begins by commenting upon the change in Christmas cards he has received over the years. Like him, I too have noticed some things, like the shift from Biblical symbols to cultural images. The volume of cards has dropped. Pictures of family members and the “year in review” have accompanied the title “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas.” There are cheerful angels and smiling cherubs on today’s holiday cards and Biblical quotes are rare. I wonder. Are the changes due to waning beliefs or to avoid making offenses?

Yancey claims that the very first Christmas was different in tone and messaging from today. The various Christmas pageants in our churches and schools often usurp the Advent message of being prepared, expectant, patient, and hopeful for the Christ child to arrive. Rather “even those who accept the supernatural version of events concede that big trouble will follow: an old uncle prays for ‘salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us’; Simeon darkly warns the virgin that ‘a sword will pierce your own soul too’; and Mary’s hymn of thanksgiving mentions rulers overthrown and proud men scattered.” The first Christmas story in the Bible carries a different “vibe” than some of today’s holiday cheer.  (Yancey, Watch for the Light, p255)

Sometimes I look for good news in all the wrong places. On Christmas eve, I went to church. I heard not the good news of Jesus Christ, born in a manger, on His mission of redeeming our humanity, reconciling us to God once and for all, and forgiving our sins for eternity. Instead I heard a sermon intended to entertain the masses. He held up the image of a cultural icon who had nothing to do with the gospel, or God or Jesus. Even the cheerful acclamations of “Merry Christmas” rang as hollow as the political promises we hear on the eve of an election. Marketing missed the Message.

Turning to a Christian publication for some spiritual nurture was disappointing for me as well. I found partisan posturing. Yes, like Mary, my soul has been pierced by a sword many times, too often by colleagues and family, but not by who just won our presidential election. Like many people around the world I am praying that “Jesus is our King” and no one else. Instead, in this honorable publication, I read article after article about how to survive my post-election feelings of fear, rage, and disappointment. There were suggestions about endurance. Assumptions about my thoughts and feelings reigned supreme.

Meanwhile, across the pond, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, resigned over his handling of the youth abuse scandal. He wrote, “The last few days have renewed my long felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England.” Failures of such kind are everywhere. Moving east, wars are continuing in Syria, Ukraine, Israel and their surrounding countries. While thuribles may contribute holy smoke to our sanctuaries, bombs and wildfires pollute our airways. Smoking guns are common on our streets and in our schools. Airplanes crash and burst into flames; human bodies are set on fire or mowed down on the streets by a speeding vehicle. Smoke fills the air. Where to go for good news of any kind?

In the Episcopal Church our Christmas season ends after 12 days with the feast of the Epiphany when we celebrate the three kings, aka wise men or magi, who arrive from the east. They are bringing presents to the newborn king in Bethlehem. There is homage and joy. There is hope. Can you imagine that scene in Bethlehem today?! What gifts do foreign kings from the east bring to Bethlehem? To Gaza? To Palestine? Surely not gold and frankincense and myrrh?

“These resins were widely available when the three wise men visited the baby Jesus around 5 B.C.E. and would have been considered practical gifts with many uses. The expensive resins were symbolic as well. Frankincense, often burned, symbolized prayer rising to the heavens like smoke, while myrrh, often used in embalming, symbolized death. Scholars think that frankincense was presented to baby Jesus to represent his later role as a high priest for believers, while myrrh symbolized his eventual death and burial.”(Wikipedia) Surely practical gifts and prayers are needed today!

I like to watch movies that are based upon true stories or ones that reflect the holiday spirits of the season. In a recent conversation with colleagues we shared the kinds of movies we like to watch. I was accused of watching Hallmark movies when home alone. And when it came to watching movies with my grandchildren, the Grinch who stole Christmas was a favorite this year.

“Why was the Grinch a grinch?” my grandson asked me. “Because his heart was too small,” I replied. “But why?” he demanded. And so I told him that the Grinch had grown up in an orphanage and that he didn’t have a Mommy and Daddy like him. So his heart had been hurt and so it remained small. Isolated, he decided to hurt others. But then, after feeling the love of the “Who’s” in “Whoville” and being invited to sit at their holiday table, the Grinch’s heart grew many times over. It is a classic story of forgiveness and redemption and the power of love over anything material.

I confess that I’ve been “grinchy.” So this Christmas, I prayed that the Christ child, who was born in that manger long ago, and will come again some day in the future, would come again into my heart this new year. I prayed that as I receive the love of God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, I will be able to share that very same kind of love with others. My new year’s resolution? I want to be a “Who.”

“The writer of the gospel of Matthew sets up two diverging roads when contrasting the brutal Herod the Great with the Magi. Herod is fearful; the Magi are faithful. Herod deceives to cling to power; the Magi bow before the young Jesus. Herod cannot find Jesus, who is right under his nose; the Magi locate him from afar through a heavenly sign. Herod is Rome’s client king; the Magi seek the true king.” Epiphany, this author continues, “reminds us that God is available to all and is found along unexpected paths, including paths that we wouldn’t have taken or that make us uncomfortable. With God, all those roads lead to home.” Good news there! (Xian Century, Lisa A. Smith, p24, January)

Christ invites us to His table with grace. Such grace is undeserved and unmerited. Freely given, God’s love can be shared with those we hate. Even with those who pierce our souls.

 

Isaiah 60:1-3

“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; 

but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. 

Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

 

Psalm 72:1-7,10-14

Give the King your justice, O God, * and your righteousness to the King's Son;

That he may rule your people righteously *

and the poor with justice;

That the mountains may bring prosperity to the people, *

and the little hills bring righteousness.

He shall defend the needy among the people; *

he shall rescue the poor and crush the oppressor.

He shall live as long as the sun and moon endure, *

from one generation to another.

He shall come down like rain upon the mown field, *

like showers that water the earth.

In his time shall the righteous flourish; *

there shall be abundance of peace till the moon shall be no more.

The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall pay tribute, *

and the kings of Arabia and Saba offer gifts.

All kings shall bow down before him, *

and all the nations do him service.

For he shall deliver the poor who cries out in distress, *

and the oppressed who have no helper.

He shall have pity on the lowly and poor; *

he shall preserve the lives of the needy.

He shall redeem their lives from oppression and violence, and dear shall their blood be in his sight.

Matthew 2:1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 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." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

`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.'"

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 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." 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. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 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. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.