3 Epiphany, Year A

JESUS’ FAMILY BUSINESS
Year A The Third Sunday after the Epiphany -- Amos 3: 1 – 8; Psalm 139: 1–11; I Corinthians 1: 10–17; Matthew 4: 12–23
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker given at: Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, January 27th, 2008

We live in a world of fishing….ever think about that?

For example, think of all the ads we see every day, in the newspapers, on TV and radio, on billboards, in flyers that are shoved under our doors, and so forth.

All of these efforts are attempts to fish for business.

And the fishing doesn’t stop with the business community….Ever been asked to join a social organization, or to become a part of a ministry at church? Those invitations are essentially attempts to fish for new members. (Sorry to put in such crass terms!)

And, when we consider the success rate of advertising, or of the personal invitations that people issue to one another to become involved in some organization or mission, we’d probably have to admit that the success rate is pretty low.

Not so with Jesus….Notice that His invitation to the first disciples is highly successful…Matthew tells us that those who heard that invitation: Simon Peter, his brother, Andrew, James, the son of Zebedee and his brother, John, all left their boat and their father immediately

(There must’ve been something very compelling about the Lord’s invitation!)

“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”, He said. (More modern translations render it “fish for people”.)

Perhaps we ought to pause right there for a moment….to our modern ears, the invitation “follow me” simply means to get up and “fall in line” behind the leader. But in Scripture, the words “follow me” mean something quite different….Following someone in the Bible means to become their disciple. The words have a unique connotation.

But there’s something else that needs to be noted in these words….Normally, in biblical times, if a person was seeking to know more about the Law of Moses, the individual himself would seek out a teacher, a Rabbi, to become a disciple of, to sit at the feet of the famous teacher and soak up the wisdom that came from the association with that Rabbi. But in this case, Jesus is the one taking the action, issuing the invitation. Jesus takes the initiative.

Before we make some applications to our own lives from today’s invitation, let’s look at bit more closely at some other features of today’s Gospel account as Matthew lays them out for us:

1. Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: These verses are a quotation of Isaiah 9: 1 – 2, and Matthew’s use of them points to the world-wide nature of Jesus’ invitation, which (by the time Matthew is writing, late in the first century) had spread not only to the Jews, but to the Gentiles, as well. Biblical scholars remind us that, during Jesus’ lifetime, Galilee was home to both Jew and Gentile communities.
   
   
2. The beginning of Jesus’ public ministry: The preparation is over, the baptism and the temptation are complete, and now Jesus moves onto the world stage. With the calling of His first disciples (those who would be closest to Him during his earthly ministry, by the way), Jesus’ begins to proclaim His essential message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Jesus’ message is the same one that John the Baptist proclaimed.

Now, let’s turn to our own lives……

Remember that we live in a world of fishing….calls and invitations to devote our time, energy, money and talents to any number of business ventures, causes and organizations.

But Jesus’ call to “follow me” is a call to be devoted to the very most central reality in our lives: our relationship with God. For, as we look back on the lives of Peter, Andrew, James and John, that’s what happened to them: they entered into a deep and personal relationship with Jesus, leaving all the allegiances and concerns that characterized their lives before Jesus’ call came to them on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

And Jesus’ call comes to us, as it did to them. The call is not for His benefit, but for ours.

Jesus’ call remains as compelling today as it was 2,000 years ago.

Jesus’ call is given to everyone, Jew and Gentile, churchgoer and unchurched, rich and poor, well dressed and not.

Jesus’ call is a call to join His family business, if you will, to become a modern-day disciple, and to join in making other disciples by “fishing for people”.

AMEN.

2 Epiphany, Year A

“BEHOLD, THE LAMB OF GOD”
The Second Sunday after the Epiphany -- Isaiah 49: 1 – 7; Psalm 40: 1 – 10; I Corinthians 1: 1 – 9; John 1: 29 – 41
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, on January 20th, 2008

“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” [1]

And, just in case we didn’t hear those words the first time, John the Baptist, the one would said them, wants us to hear them again: “Behold, the Lamb of God.” [2]

The “Lamb of God”, you say? Whatever could John mean by that title and those words?

That will be the focus of this sermon….We’ll try to unpack the meaning – the fullness of meaning – that is behind John the Baptis’s description of Jesus.

But before we investigate the matter before us today, let’s remind ourselves a little about John’s Gospel account….for the truth of the matter is that we do not get enough of John in our three year cycle of readings.[3] We get a smattering of John here and there, interspersed with our readings from Matthew (Year A), Mark (Year B) and Luke (Year C).

But we need to hear John’s Gospel….John’s Gospel witness is clear in proclaiming Jesus Christ as the great “I AM”,[4] one with the Father,[5] the great “I AM” in the same sense as the voice from the burning bush said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”[6]

The Fourth Gospel voice proclaims Jesus Christ’s divinity (theologians call the emphasis on His divinity High Christology[7]), His pre-existence before all time, His all-knowing wisdom, His power over all things, even the power of death.

John’s voice has a timeless quality to it (Biblical scholars have long noticed his “looping” writing style that seems to make chronological time disappear), and a forward-looking emphasis.

All of these qualities, Jesus Christ’s divinity, His oneness with God the Father, His pre-existence before all time, His all-knowing nature, His power over all things (especially the power of death), and the forward-looking, timeless nature of the Gospel, all are found in today’s passage from the end of chapter one of John’s account.

And so, it is to the passage before us that we now turn….

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”, John the Baptist says.

(Today’s account is obviously[8] another angle of understanding of the events surrounding Jesus’ baptism…Remember that we heard Matthew’s account last week. Now, this week, we hear John the Baptist’s recounting the divine revelation that disclosed to him just who Jesus is.)

We should remember that the Gospel writers are looking back into their Old Testament roots to place Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension into context. For it is in the ancient symbols which are inherited from God’s Chosen People, seen through the lens of Jesus Christ, that the Gospel writers appropriate to understand what God is doing in Jesus Christ.

So, when we turn to the word “lamb” in the Old Testament, two major themes are found there. They are:

• The Passover Lamb (Exodus 12: 1 – 30): The Feast of Passover occurred when the Israelites were told to slaughter a lamb, and put some of its blood on the top and sides of the doors. When the Angel of Death came to slaughter the first-born, and saw the blood, the house which had the blood on it would be spared. Specific instructions were that the Passover lamb was to be slaughtered without breaking its bones. Thus, the significance of Passover was the blood was a signal to God’s people that they were spared the reality of death, as God, as mighty warrior, delivered them from bondage in Egypt.[9]
  
  
• The Suffering Servant (Isaiah 52: 13 – 53: 12): Here, the mysterious “Suffering Servant” is led to the slaughter “like a lamb, who did not open his mouth”.[10] Furthermore, the Suffering Servant suffers on behalf of others’ sins and transgressions…His suffering is a vicarious[11] one.

So, the Fourth Gospel picks up these two themes:

• No breaking of bones –and-
  
  
• The silence of the Suffering Servant

And sees in them a pattern for Jesus Christ’s death, which occurred at the time of the slaughtering of the Passover Lambs in the year that He died. Jesus’ silence before Pilate (John 19: 8) and the fact that none of His bones were broken (in contrast to the other two who were crucified with Jesus) (John 19: 36) signifies that, in Jesus’ death:

• The powers of death have been defeated,
  
  
• Jesus’ blood is the signal to God, the mighty warrior, to begin the deliverance of His people

And so it is, in the Gospel writer’s portrayal of Our Lord’s passion, that he consistently describes Jesus’ trial, crucifixion, death, burial and ascension as Jesus “hour”. It’s a phrase we hear again and again in John.

For, in the Gospel according to John, Jesus’ Passion is the time when Jesus is most in charge, most in command, most clearly seen as victor, not victim. Jesus reigns from the cross as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

So, with these connections, we can see where the writer is leading us in our passage today….

All of it has a “forward-looking” aspect to it….Each of the titles which are applied to Jesus will be taken up as the Gospel account unfolds….Consider the ones we read today:

• Lamb of God (verses 29 & 36)
  
  
• Son of God (verse 34)
  
  
• Rabbi (verse 38)
  
  
• Messiah (verse 41)

All of these will be taken up as we turn the pages of John’s account.[12]

Now, as we close our consideration of the concept of “Lamb of God”, we should
return to John the Baptist for a moment….

Some important lessons can be drawn from John’s understanding of who Jesus Christ is, and the source of his understanding:

1. Notice, first of all, that John the Baptist’s knowledge of Jesus is the result of divine revelation … John says, “I myself did not know Him” (verse 31), and again “I would not have known Him” (verse 33), and adds the second time, “Except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’”
   
   
2. John the Baptist’s witness (which is the fulfillment of John 1: 6 – 8) leads to Jesus’ breaking onto the world scene. As a direct result of John’s witness, Andrew and Simon Peter become disciples. And, as they encounter Jesus, and then others encounter Him as a direct result of Andrew and Peter’s witness, the titles used to address Jesus begin to multiply: “Lamb of God” (John’s witness), “Son of God” (John), “Rabbi” (Andrew and another disciple of John’s), “Messiah” (Andrew and Peter).

The point seems to be:

1. God’s revelation: Is necessary for us to understand who Jesus Christ is,
   
   
2. No one title/understanding: Can possibly comprehend the richness and variety of Jesus Christ’s identity.

So, as we make our way through this season of Epiphany, and consider the Bright and Morning Star who is Jesus Christ, who shines into the darkness of the world, may we come to understand more and more that He is the “Lamb of God”, whose blood delivers us from the power of death and whose death is the signal that God acts to deliver His people from bondage.

Thanks be to God!

AMEN.


[1] John 1: 29
[2] Verse 36
[3] Truth be told…If I were in charge of the liturgical commission that designs the lectionary, I’d expand the cycle to a four year cycle, with a full year devoted in large measure to the Gospel according to John.
[4] The “I AM” sayings in John are very prominent, such as, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14: 6)
[5] John 10: 30
[6] Exodus 3: 14
[7] As opposed to Low Christology, which emphasizes Jesus Christ’s humanity, and is found in the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark and Luke.
[8] The connection is the descending of the dove upon Jesus….John does not actually narrate Jesus’ baptism. Instead, this Gospel writer’s concern is for John the Baptist’s witness to Jesus’ identity, and the fact that the revelation came from God to John the Baptist.
[9] I am indebted to the Anchor Bible Dictionary, (New York: Doubleday, 1992, Vol. IV, pp. 132 – 134) for the description of God as “Divine Warrior”.
[10] Isaiah 53: 7
[11] Meaning “in place of”
[12] Though we do not read them today, read on toward the remainder of chapter one (verses 42 – 51) to see other descriptions as well, including: “The one about whom Moses and the prophets wrote” (verse 45), “King of Israel” (verse 49) and “Son of Man” (verse 51).

1 Epiphany, Year A

“BREAKING NEWS FROM THE TRINITY CHURCH NEWSROOM….”
The First Sunday after the Epiphany -- Isaiah 42: 1 – 9; Psalm 89: 20 – 29; Acts 10: 34 – 38; Matthew 3: 13 – 17
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, January 13th, 2008

Ever notice how news casts often begin these days? “We have breaking news from (reporter), who is covering a ‘breaking story’ out of (location).” After the camera focus on the on-site reporter, extensive coverage is given to whatever event is being highlighted…Only after a good length of time is the “regular” newscast begun, often with a transition sentence that goes something like this: “And now, for the rest of the stories we are covering for you tonight.”

Newscasts these days are a far cry from the format of days gone by…Remember Walter Cronkite (on CBS), or Huntley-Brinkley (on NBC)[1]? They usually didn’t begin with “breaking news”, even if something major was going on somewhere in the world. And some of the stories they brought us are stories that are still shaping our lives today….I remember the day Neil Armstrong landed on the moon (July 20, 1969) – I was in the Army, doing Basic Training at Ft. Dix, New Jersey, and we got the whole day off to sit in front of the television and watch those famous first footsteps…there was no crawling in the mud or marching that day. And we continue to live today with the impact of being people who live in the Space Age. The effects of those well known events continue to shape our lives today, and we remember them, marking their importance by their link to events in our own lives. We can often remember exactly where we were, and what we were doing, when we heard the news of a life-altering event.

Today’s newscasts try to grab our attention with the line, “Breaking News”, as if what’s about to be covered is life-shaping, life-altering information. Often, it’s not that at all, but it’s presented that way. Essentially, our media are trying to get our attention in a busy and hectic world, I think, with such tactics.

What if we were to cover today’s Gospel reading, Matthew’s account of Jesus’ baptism, like a news cast? After all, Jesus’ baptism really is “Breaking News”, for it continues to shape our lives today. (Our purposes might be to cast fresh light on an old, but familiar story, to garner our attention to this event in a busy and hectic world, to get us to ponder the ongoing effects of this event in Our Lord’s life that continue to shape our lives today. It might go something like this:
Announcer: “Live from the Trinity Church newsroom, this is ‘You-are-there-News’ from the Trinity Church newsroom…”

Anchor: “Good morning. We have ‘breaking news’ out of the Jordan Valley today…..and it’s a new development in a story we’ve been covering for awhile now. We go live to our reporter, on the scene with the crowds who have gathered around this enigmatic and strange character called ‘John the Baptist’…..”

Reporter: “Thank you. We’re here live on the banks of the Jordan River, not far from the city of Jericho, where a desert preacher who’s been nicknamed ‘John the Baptist’ has been baptizing people here in the river. His message is clear: “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is near.” Now in response, people from Jerusalem and the surrounding area of Judea have made their way out to this desolate place, and many have gone into the waters, often loudly confessing past sins and wrongdoings. After their confession, John dips them under the water, and they emerge again. But today, we have a new development….quite a stir among the crowds occurred as a very charismatic individual named Jesus came to be baptized….You can see him, standing in the water with John right now. But, instead of confessing some wrongdoing or past transgression, he and John have been engaged in a conversation that seems to indicate a difference of opinion. Let’s see if we can’t get our long-range microphone to pick up some of their conversation….(Sound comes in)….(John) “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”[2] (Jesus) “It is well that we do this, in order to fulfill all righteousness.”[3] Now we’re not sure at this point what it is exactly that Jesus means by “fulfilling all righteousness”, but we’ll be standing by to see how Jesus’ actions confirm the exact meaning of his words.”

Well, it can be a good change-of-pace to look at old, old stories from the Bible in a slightly different light (like portraying them as a newscast). Such presentations help us to remember that the people we meet in the pages of Holy Scripture are real people, with real issues, real concerns, real spiritual hunger….Spiritual hunger was one of the reasons why so many people came to undergo John’s baptism: they were stuck in their sins, yet expecting that God would soon do something new….It was this “new thing” in Jesus Christ that John pointed forward to, preparing the way for the Lord.

Jesus’ baptism is like a news story, “breaking news” that alters our lives forever. A major event that continues to have life in our lives years afterward, its effects linger, and will linger, until the end of time.

So, we would do well to reflect on some of the aspects of Jesus’ baptism as Matthew records them, noting along the way the ongoing importance of this event in our lives:

A boundary crossing: Notice that Jesus’ baptism involves water (I know, that much seems obvious: baptisms involve water)….Just as John’s baptism was a once-for-all-time event (unlike the ritual purity baths that Judaism’s purity laws required, which were repeatable), so Jesus’ baptism is a once-for-all-time event. It marks a boundary in Jesus’ life: His time of preparation, of being a baby born in a manger[4], of being a child on the run for his life in Egypt[5], of living with Mary and Joseph in Nazareth[6], are over.

Now Jesus’ public ministry begins, with a passing through water.

We should stop there for a moment….In the consciousness of God’s
Chosen People, crossing – or passing through – water is significant….Remember that Noah passed over the flood waters in the ark that God designed and told him to build? Remember the crossing of the Red Sea when God’s people passed through the waters on dry ground? Remember the crossing of the Jordan River as Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land? Each event created a boundary, and each event meant salvation – a new life – to those who were delivered from the power of death.

So, Jesus’ baptism – His passing through the waters - marks the beginning of a “new thing” that God is doing, saving His people through the teaching and work of Jesus Christ.

Drawing attention: Jesus has been drawing people’s attentions since His birth in Bethlehem….At first, it was the shepherds who came to see Him in the manger, led by the heavenly hosts.[7] Then, the Magi from the East came to find him, and offered gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.[8] As a result of the visit of the Magi, King Herod the Great also focused his attention on Jesus, forcing Jesus to flee to Egypt.[9]

And now, with the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, more and more people will focus their attention on Jesus as a result of His healings and His teachings.

The servant nature of Jesus’ presence: Let’s go back to the exchange between John and Jesus…..Notice that John is aware (at least) that there’s something very different about Jesus. For he says, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

But Jesus’ response is to cast the baptism in the light of God’s larger purposes, setting aside any personal prerogative or status: “It is well that we do this, in order to fulfill all righteousness.” God’s larger purposes are clearly in Jesus’ sight.

And this focus, on God’s larger and greater purposes, is a pattern that we will see again and again in Jesus’ earthly ministry, culminating in His prayer in the Garden of Gethesemane on Maundy Thursday night, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, but nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”[10]

God is fully present in a new way from this time onward: Notice that we encounter the three Persons of the Trinity[11] for the first time with clarity at Jesus’ baptism….As Jesus was coming up out of the water, the Spirit of God descended on Him like a dove, and a voice was heard from heaven, saying “This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased.”[12]

For another instance of the appearance of all three Persons of the Trinity in Matthew’s Gospel account, we turn to the final three verses of his writing:[13] “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the ages.”

Matthew’s understanding is that Jesus is present with us, “wherever two or three are gathered”.[14] Jesus is with us, in Matthew’s theology, until the “very end of the ages”….Matthew does not narrate Jesus’ resurrection at all. Jesus continues to be present with us, wherever disciples, believers in Christ, are to be found.

So, in closing, might the news of Jesus’ baptism cause us to:

• Reflect on the times in our lives when we heard that “breaking news” in fresh ways?
  
  
• Recall that, in our own baptisms, we are “buried with Christ” in a once-for-all-time event that creates a boundary for us between our old selves and our new selves in Christ?
  
  
• Remember the times when we’ve been especially aware of Jesus’ ongoing presence with us (such as: during worship – i.e., “when two or three are gathered”, or during the Holy Communion, when Our Lord is present with us in the Sacrament)

After all, Jesus’ baptism is “Breaking News” that seeks to get our attention, and
to see anew the implications of His life for our lives.

AMEN.


[1] Their theme music was the second movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony – class stuff way back then, indeed!
[2] Matthew 3: 14
[3] Verse 15
[4] Matthew 1: 18 - 25
[5] Matthew 2: 13 - 18
[6] Matthew 2: 19 - 23
[7] Luke 2: 8 - 20
[8] Matthew 2: 1 – 12 (read last week)
[9] Matthew 2: 13 - 18
[10] Matthew 26: 39
[11] To be sure, the understanding of God’s people as to the fullness and meaning of the Trinity was in its very early stages at the time of the baptism, and in Matthew’s early church. My point here is simply to point out that we have present in today’s text what the Church would later identify as the three Persons of the Trinity present at Jesus’ baptism: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
[12] Matthew 3: 17
[13] Matthew 28: 18 - 20
[14] Matthew 18: 20

The Feast of the Epiphany, Year A

“PRIVATE TREASURE – OR – SHARED WEALTH?”
Isaiah 60: 1 – 6, 9 --- Psalm 72 --- Ephesians 3: 1 – 12 --- Matthew 2: 1 - 12
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, January 6, 2008

It is a significant part of human nature to try to preserve and hold onto the things we have….family, relationships, possessions, wealth (to cite but a few).

When we’re under threat, whether it’s military defeat and subsequent occupation, looming financial losses or debts, or threats to our family and other relationships, we tend to clutch ever more tightly to those things we have.

“Clutching” seems to be a good verb to describe the secular and religious world into which Jesus was born….after all, God’s chosen people were under threat: having been conquered by the pagan Romans, their national and religious identity was under siege. Although the Romans allowed the construction of the Temple to continue, for the priests of that Temple to function, and for a puppet king (Herod) to rule over Judea and Galilee, the truth was that their identity was under threat.

Into this cultural setting come strangers from the East….having seen a sign in the heavens, they come to Jerusalem, asking “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?”

(We ought to pause in our examination of the topic for this sermon to note
a few points, in order that we may be faithful to the Biblical narrative: 1. the Magi were not kings, they were probably astrologers; and 2. there weren’t necessarily three of them….we often think that there were three because of the gifts that were brought to Jesus: gold, frankincense and myrrh; and 3. the Magi most likely didn’t arrive in Bethlehem at about the same time that the shepherds did (see Luke 2: 1 – 20), for Matthew tells us that these visitors from the East came to the house where Jesus was (not the manger).

But now, back to the issue of “clutching”…..notice the alarm that the question posed by these eastern sages causes….Matthew tells us that, once King Herod the Great heard the question, he and “all Jerusalem with him” was disturbed…(As a side note, that same sort of fear/alarm/concern/threat to the established order would come into play again as Jesus is taken before Pilate, the charge being that He had claimed to be some sort of a king.)

Threats to the established order become much more serious when that order is already under siege.

In spite of the troubled atmosphere in Jerusalem, Herod’s inquiry of the chief priests and teachers of the Law as to where the Christ[1] is to be born nets an answer: “In Bethlehem of Judah”, they respond.

Apparently, in spite of their tendency to guard with zealous zeal their identity as God’s Chosen People, the inheritors of the Law of Moses, they were able to think through their treasury of divine wisdom to find the answer: in Bethlehem.

At least the Temple priests and teachers of the Law were able to look beyond their firmly clasped arms to see the answer. We can give them that much credit.

But along with their limited ability to see that God would eventually do something great and new in sending the Messiah to them, there was a readily apparent inability to see beyond their own, special status as God’s Chosen People, the descendents of Abraham. At one point, Jesus has to scold them, saying, “Do not claim to be children of Abraham, for I tell you, God is able even from these stones to raise up children for Himself.”[2]

Jesus’ point seems to be that God will gather to Himself a people. And, if the Jews of Jesus’ time had remembered the prophetic words of Isaiah (chapter 60, verse ), they would have remembered that, at some future time, God would begin to bring all peoples to Himself, from Sheba, from Tarshish,[3] from the ends of the earth. All would come to God’s holy mountain. All would see God’s great light. That was God’s vision, delivered through Isaiah.

So much for the Jews as the curators of a private treasure. Apparently, God was going to share the wealth of His presence and His will for the world He had created – and all those in it – with everyone.

Private treasure – or shared wealth?

This question lies at the heart of Jesus’ coming among us….God cared enough to send the very best – Himself – in the person and work of Jesus Christ. God could just as easily have kept to Himself, writing off the world and its people in the process. But, He didn’t….He left His heavenly abode, emptying Himself[4] in the process, to come among us as one of us. In so doing, He humbled Himself, even to the point of death on a cross…talk about sharing!

As God’s “newly Chosen People”, the Church, reflected on Jesus’ birth, life, teachings, death, burial and resurrection, they became more and more convinced by God’s easily-discerned workings though Jesus Christ that God had reached out to us in these things, and that we, the Church, are thereby commanded to do the same to the world around us.

It was this understanding: that the generosity of God in sending Jesus Christ was to be matched by those who had come into an intimate and lasting relationship with Him – the Church.

“As the Father has sent me, even so I send you”,[5] He said.

As the Magi’s visit indicated, even at that early point in Jesus’ presence among us, people from far and near would come to worship Him as king. Remembering that visit, the early Church went forth, led by its apostolic leadership, to be the vehicle for sharing the great Good News of Jesus Christ.

And the way people would enter into this new covenant would be through acceptance of this gift, freely given…no longer did it depend on an accident of birth, or of time or place.

And this was the message from the very beginning….for the prophets and sages of ages past testified to the time when it would become a reality.

Remembering these prophesies, living in the shadow of God’s work in Jesus Christ, the Church went forth to share the gifts they had received at Christ’s hands with all the world.

And so, what about the Church today?

Are we guardians of a private treasure, or are we sharers of great and good gifts?

To what extent does our status as a threatened group in an increasingly pagan world affect the human tendency to “hunker down” and hoard what we have?

To do so – to “hunker down” and close in ourselves, hoarding as private treasure God’s goodness in Jesus Christ, is to signal the end of our existence as the Church….

At least, that’s the lesson that history teaches us….God cannot work with stingy people.

Instead of stinginess, God calls us – as His Chosen People in this and every age – to share our blessings in Christ with all the world….

That is the basis upon which we call on all believing Christians to prayerfully work toward the Biblical tithe as the standard of giving for the support of His work in the world. It’s the basis upon which we undertake various ministries in the Church (by the way, there are no “more important” or “less important” ministries in the Church, only various ministries, all of which are vital to the Church’s mission and work.)[6]

As we look forward into this New Year, having begun a new relationship in Christ’s body here at Trinity Church, may God give us the grace to overcome our normal human tendencies to hoard as private treasure the gifts He has given us, that the love of Jesus Christ and His power to transform us and the world may be seen and accepted by all with whom we have contact.

AMEN.




[1] Notice how Matthew equates “King of the Jews” with “Messiah”.
[2] Matthew 3: 9
[3] Sheba is thought to be in Ethiopia, and Tarshish is usually thought to be a seaport in the western Mediterranean.
[4] My thoughts in this paragraph are guided by the wonderful passage in Philippians 2: 5 – 11, which I commend to your further study and reflection.
[5] John 20: 21
[6] See I Corinthians 12 for St. Paul’s discussion of the gifts and ministries in the Church.