Father Gary’s Sermon

Inspired by Matthew 2:1-12

Proclaimed on January 4, 2004

There is a story about Thomas Edison about whose truth I am unsure. As is well known, the great inventor worked tirelessly to make a working electric light. In his work he was attempting to discover the right filament, the right container, and the right gas, the right combinations that would render light. Finally, after long months of arduous labor it happened at last! At three o’clock in the morning he produced a bulb that sustained a glow. The story goes that he ran to his wife who was sound asleep in the bedroom, excitedly yelling, “Darling, look!” To which his wife, rolling over, simply pleaded, “Will you shut that light off and come to bed?!”

This is the same story that is in our Gospel lesson for today. There were some who wanted light, and there were others who didn’t. The Magi wanted light! These ancient gentile priests studied the stars trying to discern divine messages. They believed that by discerning the dark heavens they could properly guide the people in the daylight. What they possibly came across in their observations was the unusual conjunction of the planets Saturn and Jupiter in the constellation of Pisces that occurred around 7 B.C. In this great and unusual cosmic event the planet Jupiter represented “the ruler of the universe,” Saturn was the sign for “Palestine,” and the constellation of Pisces represented “the last days.” What this meant to them was that the ruler of the last days was now in Palestine. They went to see for themselves!

On the other hand, there were others living at that time who did not want to see the Light! One such person was the present ruler over Palestine, the half Jewish King Herod the Great. Here was a man who had a murderous reign, who by the age of 25 had killed off thousands of people. Among these victims were three of his sons. As stated by Augustus, Emperor of Rome, “It is better to be Herod’s pig than one of his sons!” Herod had recently been demoted by Augustus and reacted to this event with great paranoia.

Then these strange Magi arrived from the East, thinking a new king had been born in the palace. The last thing Herod wanted to hear was that there might be another contender to his throne. This was one light he did not want to see. The Magi eventually found the Christ. Perhaps through witnessing the Dog Star, a star that sporadically burns brightly at sunrise, a star that was the sign of the birth of a prince. They presented him with gifts of great wealth. These gifts would keep the Christ alive when the holy family had to flee to Egypt in order to avoid Herod’s sword. Their gifts supported the Light of the World when that light--like the mysterious signs in the heavens--had to temporarily recede into the darkness.

Today, that Light of Christ now belongs to the Gentiles. And it is our gifts that continue to keep this Christ alive in the darkness of the world. Today we wait for the day of his return as surely as the day he returned to Palestine from Egypt. But Christ belonging to the Gentiles today is just as strange today as it was 2000 years ago. As gentiles--like the ancient Magi in our Gospel story--we are still very much led by nature. In our explorations there remain those who want to receive Light and those would prefer the darkness. Sometimes, however, it is difficult to know who prefers what. For in our explorations of nature we have brought forth the Age of Enlightenment--the Age of Science. With these developments has come a certain skepticism regarding the Scriptures and those who take them seriously. This skepticism led to the “Death of God” beliefs that were popularized during the 60’s. Since then our culture has entered the “Post-Christian Era,” a time when Christianity no longer defines our values, a time when the Church is no longer taken seriously. Indeed, it is popularly believed that religious people are now the people of the darkness. They are the one’s who refuse to be enlightened.

Even as this skepticism goes on the Jews are digging up Israel, and as stated by the late Professor Malcolm Shelton of Southern Nazarene University, “With each shovel of dirt dug up in Israel 2000 pounds of German enlightenment literature regarding the skepticism of the Scriptures is toppled.” Today, the findings of modern archaeology reveal a Bible that is highly historically reliable. So reliable that a Jew by the name of Phineas Lapid now writes of his belief in a literal resurrection of Jesus. Though he is not a Christian, one who believes that Jesus was the Messiah, he does believe Jesus to be a great prophet--a prophet of hope for the coming Kingdom of God. Through this resurrected Jesus the Gentiles have taken the Light of Judaism into the rest of the world. As he states, “the vocation of Judaism is to remain separate, while Christianity is to go forward conquering the world, always running the risk of being absorbed into its worldly setting.” He goes on to clarify that the role of the Jews is to keep the Christian gentiles from becoming fully absorbed to the point of no return. This can be evidenced by a question that the enlightened German monarch, Frederick the Great once asked his pastor regarding a proof for Christianity. The pastor answered, “The proof, your Majesty, the proof is in the continued existence of the Jews!”

Today, we Gentiles continue carrying Nature to the extreme. This is not to be overly feared for it is nature that led the Magi to Jerusalem and eventually to Christ. God the Creator has left enough signs of God’s Self in creation to continue to lead us back to God again. There will always be those who, like Thomas Edison, continue to look for the light, and others who, allegedly like Edison’s wife, will want that light hushed.

And the Jews? The Jews remain our constant reminder of the importance of history, specifically in the reality of God relating to a people throughout history. They will continue to pull us back; before we become dangerously absorbed in Nature, they pull us back with the Scriptures. As stated by Martin Luther, “The Bible is the manger in which the Christ Child is laid!”

Just think about it, for us it began with a simple light in nature and some Gentile priests who dared to follow it! How does this light affect us? Do we search for it into the darkness like Thomas Edison? Or is it an annoyance that disturbs our ignorant sleep? Regardless, it is our light! And through Christ and the Jews, it continues to shine!