Loving God, your light continues to shine in the darkness of this world, and for that we give you thanks.  May your light also shine in our hearts as we worship together today, helping us to share your love for all people; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    Throughout the entire Christmas story, and again in the readings that we have heard today, there are two themes that seem to be found in almost every reading.  There are constant images of the light shining in the darkness, whether it is the glory of the Lord out in the fields or an unusually bright star that announces the Saviour’s birth.  At the same time, God seems to make a habit of using highly unlikely people in order to spread the word about the birth of the Messiah.  Involving the shepherds made it clear that outcasts were especially invited to come and meet the Saviour, and involving the wise men (or magi) makes it clear that even Gentiles are included.  However, this last part will make no sense to you whatsoever unless you know a little bit about both magi and Gentiles.

    First off, have you heard of the magi?... (another name for the wise men -- the Greek word found in today’s gospel) And, do you have any idea what type of person is described by the Greek word magi?... The word can mean astrologers or magicians, but it most likely refers to a priestly caste from Persia.  They obviously studied the stars and knew what certain stars might mean.  They were also spiritual people, in the sense that they knew the importance of worship and put a huge amount of time and effort into making the trip to Bethlehem in order to worship Jesus.

    However, these magi were also Gentiles.  Now, do you know what a Gentile is?...  (Anybody who isn’t Jewish) And a lot of Jewish people around the time that Jesus was born viewed Gentiles as unclean pagans who were best avoided.  Gentiles were not allowed in the Jerusalem Temple.  Jewish people were not supposed to enter a Gentile’s house or to share a meal with a Gentile – or at least if they did they would have to purify themselves afterwards.  And many of the Jewish people hoped that when the Messiah came, the Gentiles would be utterly defeated and would become their slaves (Isa. 60:10-16; 61:5).  

    So imagine how disturbing it would be to have some Gentiles show up in Jerusalem asking where the child is “who has been born king of the Jews” (Mt. 2:2)!  Why on earth would God reveal something like this to some foreigners, rather than to the religious leaders in Jerusalem?  It’s relatively easy to understand why King Herod would have been frightened by the news, for we know how paranoid he was and how he murdered anybody who might challenge his position as king.  However, when we read Matthew carefully, it’s not just Herod who is frightened, but “all Jerusalem with him” (Mt. 2:3).

    The thing is that if these magi were right, and the Messiah really had been born, the very fact that the magi knew about it would have challenged all of their assumptions about their special status with God.  While it seems that God has gone to great lengths to include everybody in the birth of Jesus, those who wanted the Messiah to come only for their own special group might well have been frightened, or angry, or perturbed.  In fact, nothing stirs up more anger in the New Testament than those times when Gentiles or other outcasts are included by Jesus or his followers.

    Just to give one example, do you remember what happened when Jesus preached his very first sermon in Nazareth?... The people got so angry that they tried to throw him off a cliff.  How come?...  Because he mentioned two Gentiles who received special treatment by the prophets Elijah and Elisha (Lk. 4:16-30).  These were stories straight out of their own Scriptures, and yet the mere mention of God’s ministry to the widow at Zarephath and to Naaman the Syrian filled them with rage.  They did not want to see Gentiles included, just as they did not want Jesus to spend his time with tax collectors and sinners and other outcasts.

    I mention this, not as a condemnation of Jewish people, but as a call for us to examine our own hearts.  Over and over again, God acts through Jesus in order to include people that others would rather keep out.  And so, who are the people that you don’t want to see in the church?  Who are the people that you would hesitate to share a meal with?  Who are the people that you would like to see condemned by God rather than accepted?  Who are the people that you would tell to leave rather than inviting them to come in?  Jesus would probably include those people, too!

    At the same time, we can say with certainty to every single person who is here today that Jesus came for you.  It doesn’t matter what your ethnic background is or what you might have done in the past or even what religion you are.  Jesus came for you.  It doesn’t matter if you are male or female, gay or straight, single or married, rich or poor.  Jesus came for you.  It doesn’t matter if you are Jew or Gentile, Christian or Zoroastrian, aboriginal or immigrant.  Jesus came for you.

    There are so many things that still divide people in this world, and in his coming Jesus sought to break those barriers down.  When Jesus comes into our hearts, he brings all his friends with him.  All are equal at the foot of the cross.  That’s why Jesus always connected loving God with loving your neighbour.  It is impossible to love God without exhibiting that same love for the people around us.

    And so, today we are invited not only to come to the light of Christ, but also to be the light in the darkness.  While Jesus is certainly described in Scripture as the light of the world, he also says to us, “You are the light of the world” (Mt. 5:14).  It is the light that first comes to us through Jesus and then shines in us in order to be passed on to others – kind of like the light that was taken from the Christ candle and passed on to Garrett today.

    And so, to return to the magi for a moment, I would wish for every person here an experience that is similar to theirs – For upon seeing the star stopping over the place where the child was, “they were overwhelmed with joy” (Mt. 2:10).  And in their joy over finding the one who is born to be their Saviour, they go in and kneel down and worship, offering him their gifts.  May we, too, find this overwhelming joy in Jesus and be moved to kneel down and worship him, for he has come for the life of the world – and that includes us!  Amen.

Epiphany of Our Lord                            Matthew 2:1-12
January 5, 2014                                Isaiah 60:1-6
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church                        Ephesians 3:1-12
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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