Reconsider It

A Reflection on the Gospel for January 5th, 2019:
The Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord

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.

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I think familiarity leads to complacency. I’ve heard the Christmas story so many times I often don’t even really think about what it’s saying. I think it might be the story I know better than any other. I’ve read it in picture books. I’ve acted it out with porcelain figures in a nativity set — we played with the one we had at our house growing up so much that we had to reattach poor Saint Joseph’s head with a hot glue gun. I’ve seen it over and over, complete with shepherds wearing bath towels on their heads and a Cabbage Patch Jesus in church pageants. And I’ve heard it read again and again each December for decades. With so much repetition it can almost seem more like a beloved fairy tale or children’s bedtime story than an event that turned the world upside down. The words just kind of wash over me and their true meaning doesn’t sink in. But, when we really stop and consider the Christmas story for what it is – the revelation of God in the seemingly most unlikely of circumstances – it is astounding.
 

I think our knowledge of the story has taken away the element of surprise. The Messiah had been long expected and much discussed. It seems unlikely that the King of the Jews, the Saviour of the World, the Prince of Peace, the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, the Son of God, Emmanuel – literally God With Us — would be born into poverty, into darkness, into relative obscurity, into filth, into hostility. And yet, that’s exactly where the Christmas story places the infant Jesus.


The faithfulness of the wise men is remarkable to me. I doubt these rich, powerful men expected to find Jesus where they did. I wonder if they might even have imagined that they could write a better entrance for the Son of God into the world than the one they found. But they followed the prophecy of the Old Testament to Bethlehem, they followed the star to Jesus’ humble family, and they followed their dreams away from Herod. And they got to experience the presence of Jesus. They found Him, they worshipped Him, and they did not bow to the pressure of King Herod.
 

When I stop to consider the Christmas story for what it is, I find it endlessly encouraging. God who does the unexpected was born as a helpless baby into a world as horrible, dark, and painful as the one we can find ourselves in. Jesus, Emmanuel – God With Us, entered that world to offer love, freedom, and redemption in the most surprising ways. And He offers us the same things today in our own sometimes horrible, dark, and painful world. 
 

God is with us. We are loved. Thanks be to God.



​Morgan MacKenzie

Photo by Sylwia Bartyzel on Unsplash

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