Good News for the Oppressed (Matthew 2:13-15)

 In Matthew, chapter 1, we have the story of Jesus’ birth. The main characters in chapter one are Mary, Joseph, an angel, and then—in the very last verse—Jesus is born.

Then chapter two introduces some new characters to the story. And the first is King Herod… Chapter two begins: “In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea…”

King Herod was a ruler who was described as cruel and stern and brutish … a man with a tremendous ego, who built the temple in Jerusalem not to honor God, but to demonstrate his own importance.

Historical records indicate that Herod called himself a Jew, but that he didn’t really follow Jewish practices. 

Herod portrayed himself a Jew as a way to fortify his power among the Jewish people. 

He wanted people to think he was faithful, that he worshiped the same God they did, because then it would be easier for him to control and manipulate them. 

He would use Jewish scriptures to claim authority for himself; but, he neglected the teachings of the law and prophets, and even did the exact opposite. 

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He flaunted his wealth and ignored the poor. He built elaborate palaces of white marble and gold, with enormous banquet halls for entertaining and impressing, all while the people struggled just to survive. 

All this masked his deep insecurity and fear of losing power. He was quick to strike back at those who challenged him, and even executed several members of his own family, including his wife, when he felt threatened by them. 

Nevertheless, among the elite classes, men jockeyed to be near Herod, to ingratiate themselves to him, in the hopes that they could share in at least a little bit of the power and glory he had. 

Even in the temple, the high priests—those at the top of the hierarchy of religious leaders—neglected scripture’s call to pursue justice and care for the poor, and instead focused their attention and their praise upon Herod.

It was corruption at the highest levels of government and religion.

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So it was no surprise when Herod began a search for Jesus, the one who many said was a new king of the Jews. Herod felt threatened by this talk of a new king. Scripture even says that Herod was “frightened.”

So Herod began a search for this new king, this child born to Mary and Joseph. He was obsessed with ending this child’s life before he had a chance to grow up and challenge him and his power.

First, Herod called some of those chief priests to him, to consult with them.

He wanted to find Jesus and kill Jesus… and he wanted their help. 

And those chief priests, along with their scribes, did help Herod, because they didn’t want to risk upsetting him. They ignored their own teachings, to help this corrupt, evil man.

Yet Herod still couldn’t find Jesus. He couldn’t find him, because he was tricked by those magi who we’ll hear about next week. Those magi are the faithful heroes of this story, even though they were foreigners from another land, and worshipers of a different religion. They are the ones who stood for justice, the ones who did what they could to protect the innocent baby Jesus.

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So Herod expanded his wrath. He ordered that every baby boy in and around Bethlehem be killed.

It was a terrible order. It was evil. 

Yet, because he was Herod, he could get away with it. He could get away with committing evil atrocities, because he had all the power.

We may not like that Herod is a part of the Christmas story. We may want to turn our attention away from the massacre of all those innocent baby boys. We may want to deny that those top-level religious leaders were ever complicit with Herod and the evil he committed.

But the Bible does not hide these things from view. Not even in the story of Jesus’ birth.

 

The hope, peace, joy, and love of Christmas take place in the midst of a world of oppression and corruption and violence, a world where human rights are trampled upon, a world where the poor are denied justice and mercy.

That is a part of the Christmas story. And we need to hear that part of the Christmas story, and we need to tell that part of the Christmas story… because we also live in a world of oppression and corruption and violence, a world where human rights are trampled upon, and where the poor are denied justice and mercy.

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As we heard in today’s scripture reading, an angel appeared to Joseph, instructing him to flee, along with Mary and Jesus, to save Jesus’ life by taking him beyond the reach of Herod.

So Joseph and Mary and Jesus became refugees, fleeing the danger of their homeland. 

Like many refugees and immigrants, they took only what they could carry. 

Scripture doesn’t say what life was like for them in Egypt. Could they speak the language? Was Joseph able to find employment? Was Mary included in the conversations women had at the marketplace, or at the well where they fetched water for drinking and cleaning? Was she offered advice and support to help her with the challenges of childrearing?

What was the attitude of the Egyptian people and the Egyptian authorities towards immigrants and refugees? Did they even practice the same level of hospitality that Jews were instructed to practice in regards to immigrants and refugees? 

I imagine that Egyptian religion did also teach the importance of showing hospitality, as most religions did then and still do today… but as we know, what the religions teach, and how the people act, aren’t always the same.

Nevertheless, it was a safer place for Joseph, Mary, and Jesus than their homeland, and that is what matters most of all.

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There are so many ways to connect this 2,000 year old Bible story to experiences and situations today. 

The one that most clearly comes to mind is the treatment of immigrants and refugees. The Bible repeatedly calls upon us to show hospitality, to welcome them, to treat them as if they were citizens. 

In the Bible, we see good examples of that, like the way Boaz showed kindness to Ruth; but we also see bad, even horrific examples of those who treated foreigners poorly… as in the city of Sodom. 

And we would do well to remember that even Jesus and his family were, for a while, refugees.

It’s a shame that the issue of immigration, like so many other issues, has become a weapon in the hands of political parties. As a result, our policies are neither fair in how they are written, nor fair in how they are implemented.

What we lack is compassion, and love for one’s neighbor. Just like in ancient times, it’s about power and control.

Meanwhile, the Josephs, Marys, and Jesuses of our time face incredible hardships and challenges as they seek a safe and secure place to live. 

Even after Jesus’s family returned and settled in Nazareth, they faced many of the same struggles that immigrants today face. Jesus and his family were Jews, but they were also Galileans. Galilean Jews were not fully accepted by the Jews living in Jerusalem. They were considered lesser Jews, or not REAL Jews. There was a little too much Roman or Greek influence on the way they practiced their Jewish faith.

But they also weren’t fully Roman, or Greek; and because they were Jews, they weren’t fully accepted into Roman or Greek culture. 

Neither here nor there did they find a welcome.

Which is the experience of many today.

California, where I’m from, used to be part of Mexico, along with a number of other southwest states. Some Mexican-American families there go back many generations. They are not immigrants, yet they are often treated as if they were. I’ve heard some of them defend their right to live here by saying that they never crossed the border to come into the United States; the border crossed them. 

Yet because of their culture and ethnicity, they aren’t always fully accepted into American society; sometimes they are even told to “go back home…” even though there is no “home” for them to go back to. Their home has always been here. 

And just like Jesus the Galilean Jew, they aren’t fully accepted anywhere. Neither here, nor there. Even though they aren’t, technically, immigrants at all.

Many who are immigrants, in California, or here in Illinois, and elsewhere, have recently come to the U.S. But the Bible does not allow us to use that as an excuse to withhold hospitality. Jesus himself said that “whoever welcomes the stranger, the foreigner, welcomes me; and whoever does not welcome the stranger, the foreigner, does not welcome me.”

At the very least, immigrants should be granted safety, compassion, and immigration policies that are fair and fairly enforced; and all who follow Jesus are called to practice these things. For the good news of Christ, and the good news of Christmas, is especially meant to be good news for them and for people like them: all those who are vulnerable, or poor, or oppressed, and in need of mercy.

There is no doubt that God’s attention, God’s mercy and compassion, are especially focused on those who are the most vulnerable in society. Vulnerable, just like Jesus was when his family took him into hiding in Egypt, to escape Herod’s wrath. 

The love we practice must do the same. We must act mercifully and compassionately to all those who are vulnerable in our world today; all those who are frightened; all those who are fleeing their homeland seeking safety, security, or wholeness.

Because in our world today, Herod is alive and well. Oppression and corruption are alive and well. Hatred of one’s neighbor is alive and well. 

Yet the gospel has the power to overcome all that, with the limitless love of God, the love that God offers to all through Jesus. 

He is the Prince of Peace, the King born in a manger, whose reign of love has long outlasted the reign of Herod, and which will outlast the reign of every evil, oppressive ruler, for his reign is forever. 

And the whole world will be redeemed and restored to wholeness, filled with the hope, peace, joy, and love of Christ.

A Star to Guide You (Matthew 2)

 One of the things I’m looking forward to in 2024 is spending time at Camp Walter Scott, which is the camp and learning center owned and operated by First Christian Church and the other congregations of the Illinois-Wisconsin region. 

Camp is such an important experience for young people. It enriches the lives of youth, and strengthens congregational ministry.

One of my very favorite things to do when I’m at camp is to take campers out at night to a dark place, and look at the stars.

I tell the campers that, for thousands of years, humans have gazed up at the stars. People throughout history, in countless generations, watched the stars…night after night…season after season; and after observing the stars night after night, season after season, they began to notice some things.

First, they noticed that all the stars moved together across the sky, rising in the east, and setting in the west, much like the sun; and that the path that they followed was an arc, with Polaris, the north star, at the center.

Those ancient observers also noticed that, if they used their imagination, they could see shapes and images in the stars. They imagined animals, gods, and mythological creatures.

At this point, at camp, I would point out a few of these constellations: Ursa Major (the Big Dipper); Scorpio; the constellations of the Summer Triangle… 

And every night, all these constellations move together across the sky, rising and setting four minutes earlier each night; for this reason, some of them are seen more easily in one season, and others are seen more easily in other seasons.

It all follows a predictable pattern.

But ancient people noticed that a few of the stars they saw didn’t follow this pattern. These few stars seemed to follow their own paths. 

And maybe, in one season, these stars would be located in one constellation, but as the seasons changed, so did the position of these few stars. Sometimes, these stars would even appear to move in one direction for a while, but then stop, and move in a different direction.

The ancient Babylonians were the first to realize that these wandering stars weren’t stars at all, but something else entirely. Eventually they were given the name planets, from a Greek word that means “wanderer.”

Ancient people also saw comets, which looked like stars, but with tails, and which also seemed to follow their own paths.

And, generation after generation, people would continue observing the night sky, learning more about the wonders of the universe God created.

In today’s scripture story, magi came from the east to Jerusalem, looking for Jesus. They were guided by a star, which they had been observing.

I don’t know if this star that they saw was actually a planet, or if it was a comet, or what. Many have speculated over the years about this particular star.

And, in Matthew’s gospel, it could be that this story is more parable than historical account. I’m not sure that Matthew even knew the difference between a star, a planet, and a comet.

But, as Matthew describes it, these magi were observers of the stars, and they came to Jerusalem and, eventually, to Bethlehem, following this particular star, which seemed to follow its own path, and which was leading them to the “king of the Jews.”

Now, there’s a lot more to this story. It sets up the conflict between the kingdom of Herod, and the kingdom of God, a conflict that is central to the gospel.

And we could talk without end about how much of this story is literal and historical, and how much is parable and metaphor.

Nevertheless, I am fascinated by the story of these magi, travelers from a far away land—foreigners who probably didn’t even worship the God of Abraham—following a star a long distance, a star that didn’t move like all the other stars, a star which followed its own path, and guided them to Jesus.

I’m fascinated that the star led them to Jerusalem, led them to Herod, led them to Jesus—yet the star didn’t guide them to the temple. Last week, I talked about how the temple was the most magnificent house of worship on earth. Yet the temple doesn’t even appear in this story. 

And I wonder how tempted I would be, if I were one of those magi following this star, to take a little side trip, to visit the temple. What better place is there in the ancient world to take a selfie and post on social media? A picture that says, “look at me, I’m at the temple!”

But these magi were not distracted by that. They were intent on following the star.

One of the brightest stars in the sky—and one that’s easy for me to find and point out to campers at summer camp—is Arcturus. That’s what we call it; but in Hawaiian, the name of that star is Hokulea, which is a Hawaiian word that means “star of joy.”

Not long ago, a group of modern-day Hawaiians from the Polynesian Voyaging Society built a traditional Polynesian canoe—the first canoe built in the traditional Polynesian way in over 600 years. When it came time to pick a name for their canoe, they named it after this star. They named their canoe Hokulea, since Hokulea was a star that guided ancient Polynesian voyagers.

In 2017, I had the opportunity to lead a group of youth from the Pacific Southwest Region on a trip to Hawaii. We learned about Hokulea (the canoe), and how its crew had to re-learn, almost from scratch, the ancient way of navigating. They learned to navigate by the stars and the sun. No compass, no GPS. Just sailing their canoe, like Moana, across the vast ocean.

Their goal was to prove that ancient Polynesians were expert navigators, that they were capable of pinpoint accuracy in their navigation. Compared to the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, the Hawaiian Islands are so small. Finding them in a canoe without a compass or GPS would be as hard as finding a needle in a haystack. Some doubted that anyone, ancient or modern, could do that, guided only by the stars. Yet the crew of the Hokulea was determined to prove that it could be done.

Hokulea’s first voyage, from Hawaii to Tahiti, was a great success.

Then, Hokulea set sail for a three-year, around-the-world voyage—again, using only the stars to guide them.

When Hokulea returned from that three-year, around-the-world voyage, its arrival was the biggest cultural event in modern Hawaiian history. It was a symbol of the rebirth of Hawaiian culture. 30,000 people were there at the waterfront, to welcome Hokulea and her crew back to Hawaii.

And among those 30,000 people was our little group of Disciples from southern California.

Hokulea’s journey is an inspiration to people all over the world. In Chicago, there is an organization called the Hokulea Academy of Polynesian Arts. On their website it says that they are inspired by “Hokulea, the star of gladness, which guided early Polynesian explorers to the shores of Hawaii.”

One of the reasons Hokulea’s journey is so inspiring is that navigating a canoe by following the stars is no easy task. Remember that scene in Moana where she dozes off, and all of a sudden, her canoe is going in the wrong direction? It’s hard to stay focused!

The same is true in life. It’s so easy to get distracted, to lose our focus, to lose our way, to lose sight of what it is that is guiding us.

So often, we chase after other things…we find ourselves being guided by other things…

Think back to the year that has just passed. In 2023, what was it that guided you? What “star” did you follow?

Was it leading you to Jesus? Was it leading you to love? Was it leading you to wholeness? 

Or not?

How often were you tempted to follow other things? Other distractions? How often did you stray from the path you knew God was calling you to?

What star did you follow? What purpose guided you? What was your goal, your mission, your purpose? What was your “why,” your reason for doing what you do?

For the past five years, I have given out stars on the Sunday closest to Epiphany— stars with words on them—because I realized that we all could use a little help when it comes to navigating through life. Today, we have a basket full of stars, and you are invited to take one. You can take it when you come up for communion, or you can come up after worship and grab it then.

If you are worshiping with us online, you can wait until the next time you are here in person to get your star… or, we have set up an alternative way for you to get a star-word, which you can find on our Facebook page…

Each star has a different word. The hope is that the word on your star will, in some way, help guide you on your faith journey in the coming year.

Maybe your star (and the word on your star) is a reminder to give thanks for how God guides you. Maybe your star is encouraging you to focus more on whatever word appears on it. I’m not telling you how your star or your word should guide you. That’s for you to figure out.

But if you ever have trouble praying, maybe the word on your star is a good word to focus on as you pray.

And if you’re not sure where your faith journey is leading you - if, on some days you aren’t sure what to believe anymore, or you aren’t even sure that you do believe anymore - maybe the word on your star can help.

If your heart is filled with fear, or anxiety, or doubt - perhaps your star can help with that.

Your star word may be a challenge, or an affirmation, or a comfort. That’s for you to figure out.

But hopefully, it helps guide you in some way, as you journey through the coming year.

So when you take your star, don’t try to pick out a particular word. I heard a clergy friend of mine who also gives out star words at Epiphany say that the magi didn’t choose their star, the star chose them. Reach in to the basket and try to select a star without looking at the word. Look at the word after you’ve pulled your star from the basket.

Take your star home. Place it where you will see it every day. I don’t know how much help it will be to you, but who knows? Maybe it will guide you to something as profound and wonderful as the star that guided those magi all those years ago.

Stars, Pirates, and Dung Beetles (Matthew 2)

 In the latest issue of Christian Century magazine, Peter Marty writes about how migrating animals navigate. Monarch butterflies use the angle of the sun as a compass; sea turtles use geomagnetic cues to guide them across the sea to the very nest where they were born decades earlier; and dung beetles (get this!) navigate via the Milky Way galaxy. 

How is that even possible?

This blows my mind, even though I myself have a fairly good sense of direction. I can usually keep in the back of my mind an awareness of which way is north, or which way I have come from on a journey, and which way I’m headed. I can usually sense where in the sky the sun should be, even if it is cloudy. Here in our sanctuary, I’m facing north, and you all are facing south, and the sun, in the middle of the day, is behind me, which is why the window above the baptistry will glow a little brighter during the day than the window in the back.

But my sense of direction isn’t perfect. One of the things I’m most amazed about when I ride Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland is how the design of the ride disorients me. As I walk into the building, my mind is vaguely aware that I’m facing south; and when the boat leaves the loading station, we’re heading south.

But then the ride starts curving slowly to the right - in the darkness, it’s hard to measure the arc of the curve. Your boat goes down a drop, and makes another right turn. It goes down a second drop, and curves to the right yet again, before finally curving back to the left, and by then, unless I’ve been paying very close attention, I’m disoriented, and don’t know which way we’re headed - which, I think, is pure genius on the part of the imagineers who designed that ride. In that particular setting, it’s kinda fun to get a little lost and disoriented.

In the movie Moana, one of the things I noticed was how Moana learned to navigate her canoe across the ocean. Maui taught her to hold her arm out and measure the night sky, to figure out exactly where she is and where she was going.

And perhaps you thought that’s just another made-up Disney idea; yet shortly after the movie Moana was released, I learned that Disney got it right. 

It happened on my first trip to Hawaii, when I led a group of youth from our region on a ten-day trip during which we spent a lot of time learning about Hawaiian culture.

You’ve heard me talk about this trip before, but let me go into a little more detail about what happened on our first morning in Hawaii.

We got up super early. I think it was about 5:00, and our jet-lagged bodies struggled to get out of bed. But pretty much the entire island was gathering for an important historic event that we, too, wanted to see; and we didn’t know how much the crowds would affect how long it took to get there, or whether all the good viewing spots would be taken if we didn’t arrive early.

We made our way to the shores of Kahanamoku Lagoon. We found a spot on the rocky seawall. And we waited for the arrival of the Hokulea.

 The Hokulea is a traditional Hawaiian canoe - the first authentically traditional canoe built in 600 years. It was built by the Polynesian Voyaging Society to prove that ancient Hawaiians and Polynesians were expert navigators, capable of navigating across the vast ocean in ways modern scholars thought impossible. 

Scholars had assumed that the first Polynesians to arrive in Hawaii came there by accident - that they drifted there. Finding those islands in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean would be like finding a needle in a haystack. There’s no way ancient people, without GPS, without even a compass, would be able to navigate there on purpose.

The crew of the Hokulea wanted to prove otherwise.

On the day I saw Hokulea arrive in Hawaii, it was returning from a 3-year, around-the-world voyage. It was navigated using only traditional methods. No GPS. No compass. They navigated by reading the stars - holding out their arm, measuring the stars… just like Moana. 

That’s impressive. Almost as impressive as the dung beetles. I can point out many constellations and even the names of some of the stars, but to use the stars to navigate at that level of accuracy, that level of precision - that’s some real skill.

As the Hokulea sailed into the harbor, some people to my left were weeping with joy. Off to my right, a person who I later learned was Hina Wong-Kalu - a Hawaiian cultural icon - sang traditional chants while dressed in traditional Polynesian attire. It truly was a sacred moment.

Because, for generations, the art of Hawaiian navigation over the ocean had been forgotten. The Hawaiians literally forgot that they were voyagers; expert navigators across the sea. Just like in Moana.

But now, they remembered.

So, both dung beetles and the ancient Hawaiians navigated by reading the stars. What about the magi? How did they find their way to Jesus?

Scripture says that they, too, followed a star. First, it says that they observed the messiah’s star, rising in the east. Scripture also says that they came from the east. But if they came from the east, doesn’t that mean they traveled west to find Jesus?

I don’t know about you, but I’m already starting to feel disoriented by this story.

But scripture doesn’t really say they followed the star; they just saw it rise. It wasn’t giving them directions; it was letting them know that the messiah had been born, and that they should go find this messiah.

Which is why they went to Jerusalem instead of Bethlehem. Because Jerusalem is the city of power, of grandeur, of glory. There, they found Herod, and asked him about this new messiah, this new king that had been born.

Well! Could you imagine going to the king of England - even in this modern year of 2023 - and asking where the new king is? It really is hard to imagine. I’m not sure what these magi were thinking. Herod put people to death for far, far less.

But Herod was shrewd. He decided not to execute these magi - not yet, anyway. Herod didn’t know how to read the stars as the magi did, so he sent them to find this new king, and then return to him, so that he also could go and honor him.

Yeah, right.

So the magi left, and the star that they had seen rise in the east now led them south from Jerusalem to Bethlehem; the star went ahead of them, and stopped over the place where they would find the child messiah.

And this is the kind of story that makes me wonder: “OK, but what really happened? How much of this is historical, and how much of it is parable? Because stars don’t act like that!

And I don’t really know.

But I do know that these magi went on a journey, and that, somehow, they were guided by God. Just like Abraham and Sarah, when they went on their journey to a new land. Just like the people of Israel, who were led by Moses through the wilderness to the Promised Land. Just like the apostle Paul and the many voyages he went on, spreading the gospel.

And just like God’s people throughout scripture, really; scripture can be thought of as a collection of stories of people, all of whom are on a journey of faith.

I first heard that phrase - journey of faith, or faith journey - in college. I thought it described how people learn as they grow up and become adults, and eventually figure everything out.

Now I realize that we never do figure everything out. The journey is never-ending. I’ve done a lot of figuring out during my life, and that has taught me that no matter how far I’ve come on my faith journey, there is still - and always will be - more yet to come.

And I think that’s what it means to be a progressive Christian.

I used to shy away from that term - progressive. It seemed too political. It was sometimes used in a derogatory way. And it can be divisive.

But what progressive really means is that faith is evolving. Growing. It means that the journey continues. It means we haven’t yet arrived, but that we are always arriving.

And every day, it seems, I learn something new. Sometimes, new knowledge and insights come to me from surprising places - dung beetles, for example! 

There’s a quote, attributed to Thomas Merton, that goes: “If the you of five years ago doesn’t consider the you of today a heretic, you are not growing spiritually.” I don’t think Thomas Merton actually said or wrote that, but still, it’s a good quote. “If the you of five years ago doesn't consider the you of today a heretic, you are not growing spiritually.”

That’s a quote that points to the journey we are on. It’s a journey of growth. It’s a journey of faith. It’s a journey of doubt. It’s a journey on which we are not afraid to ask deep questions. 

And that is what it means to be progressive. We never stop asking questions. We never stop thinking. We never stop progressing; moving forward.

Jews - including Jesus - were guided by the Torah on their faith journey. The Torah refers to the first five books of the Old Testament. The Torah includes the stories of Abraham and Sarah and Hagar; Isaac and Rebecca; Jacob and Rachel and Leah; and Jacob’s sons. The Torah includes the stories of Moses. And, the Torah includes all the laws given by God to God’s people as they made their way to the Promised Land.

In that same article I mentioned earlier, Peter Marty points out that what the word Torah actually means is “the way.” This meaning is echoed in the sayings of Jesus, who described himself as “the way,” and also by Jesus’s followers, who called themselves followers of the way.

This makes Jesus sound a lot like the Mandalorian. “This is the way.” But Jesus came first.

And when we call ourselves followers of the way, it implies that we are still on some sort of journey. We are still on our way.

And, we still seek God’s guidance as we journey on the way.

Two days ago - January 6 - was Epiphany, sometimes called Three Kings Day. And for the fourth year in a row, we are giving out stars on the Sunday closest to Epiphany - stars with words on them - as a reminder to follow God as we journey through life. Every star has a different word, and every year you get a new star. The hope is that the word on your star will, in some way, help guide you on your faith journey in the coming year.

Maybe your star is a reminder to give thanks for how God guides you. Maybe your star is encouraging you to focus more on whatever word appears on it. I’m not telling you how your star or your word should guide you. That’s for you to figure out.

But if you ever have trouble praying, maybe the word on your star is a good word to focus on as you pray.

And if you’re not sure where your faith journey is leading you - if, on some days you aren’t sure what to believe anymore, or you aren’t even sure that you believe anymore - maybe the word on your star can help.

If your heart is filled with fear, or anxiety, or doubt - perhaps your star can help with that.

How you use your star is up to you. But I do hope it helps guide you in some way, as you journey through the coming year.