1/7/24 Sermon
Whelp 2024 is here. And I’m already for the election to be over. I guess I don’t mind; it’s a necessary evil. But There’s a strange wedding that goes on between politics and religion. It’s really an interesting thing. It’s strange, I think, that Christianity has almost become an institutional religion. It’s interesting that political leaders seek the endorsement of Christian leaders. That somehow it’s important and can make or break a campaign. It’s interesting that it matters whether or not our leaders belong to a certain religion. And that whether or not a certain politician supports certain Christian values can determine how long they stay in office. I’m not quite certain which Christian values we’re talking about but it still stands. It just seems a bit ironic that declaring a personal relationship with a man who was put to death for treason and sedition by the most powerful empire of that time would be necessary to run for leadership of the most powerful empire of this time.
It is interesting that Christianity should even be the choice religion of political leaders. After all, when we look at the Gospels and especially the Gospel of Matthew, we see some radical social and political thoughts both for the time in which it was written and for our time as well.
Jesus seems to be born into opposition to the powers that be. We witness this in our Gospel text today. The Wise men are told to find Jesus and report back to Herod so that he could pay homage to the new-born king. However, we know that this wasn’t the King’s intent. The text tells us that Herod was scared of the news that Christ was born. So, we know that his goal was not to pay homage to the baby Jesus like he says.
The ancient Jewish historian Josephus wrote extensively on Herod’s family and his writings shed some insight on just what kind of situation Jesus was being born into. Israel wasn’t the Israel we know at this time; it was divided into two territories: Judea and Samaria. And these two territories had a bitter hatred for one-another. In Judea, where a majority of Jesus’s ministry would take place, to be called a Samaritan was probably about the most insulting thing you could be called. It’s important to remember that. It lends some insight into some of the parables of Jesus, especially the Good Samaritan and how shocking it must have been to the original listeners. So it’s a good thing to keep in the back of our mind how hated Samaritans were in Judea.
It would seem that the only thing that the Samaritans and Judeans really had in common was the mutual hatred of two things: The Roman Empire and the Herodian family. Herod’s family was viewed as having stolen the throne from the line of David and had aligned themselves with Rome in order maintain power and control. And there were several different Herods all related to each other mostly through their father Herod the Great. Some Scholars suggest that The Herod in charge of the area Jesus was born was Herod Archelaus, the oldest son of Herod the Great, who incidentally was not so great. Not much is really known about him except he had a horrible temper and was paranoid. This gives us some context. The Gospel of Matthew was written for a more Jewish audience rather than the Gospel of Luke which was written for a more Gentile audience.
So the first listeners of this Gospel would know that Herod was not going to be paying homage to this new-born king because of his paranoia and temper. And they would also see a tension immediately developing from the claim that Jesus is of Davidic lineage. Herod’s family stole the throne from this lineage and now the Messiah, who is of this lineage, is born. Did the wise men from the East know this? We’re not sure but the text tells us they were warned in a dream.
My point is this: Almost immediately into this Gospel we are shown the theme that will continue throughout the rest of it. You have God’s rule and you have human rule. And Christ, even through the example of the Virgin birth will be in the center of direct opposition to the oppressive powers of the land, namely the Herodian family and Caesar of Rome. The only other person besides Christ claiming Divinity is Caesar himself who is also called the Son of God. And so the theme throughout develops – Do you follow Christ or do you follow Caesar? The question that the author of this Gospel will ask us over and over again as we move through it is this: Which God will you follow? Will you follow Caesar who is responsible for the dark times or will you follow Christ who shines light through the darkness?
There is a powerful political and social dimension to the life of Christ that we would be remiss to ignore. Christ was born into this world in a time of political and social turmoil, into a time where there was great dissonance and disconnect between the rulers and the rest of the people, and he brought with him the promise of change that threatened to turn the entire social order upside down.
And in some respects that time may not have been too different than our current situation. Many people in this country feel disenfranchised and alienated by the political situation in this country. Many people feel as though their voice and their vote aren’t heard and don’t matter. And perhaps it’s caused us to grow a little apathetic when we see the dark sky of empty promises and the “same story different name” politics that seems so commonplace today. But let’s consider the question that Matthew is asking: Which God will we follow? Can we see the light leading to Christ in the sky and do we choose to follow it?
Do we follow our spiritual commitment to “the least of these” or simply say we can’t make a difference? When we’re told one thing by those in power yet look around seeing and feeling something else, which God do we follow? If no option seems to be a good option do we work to create another option that actually is better? Where we see the light shining in the sky of darkness do we choose to follow it?
What happens when our spiritual convictions conflict with our allegiance to the society, culture or political party that we identify with? Which God do we choose? There comes a time in all our lives when we are forced to ask ourselves this question.
Many people ask us to follow status quo and tow party lines. They tell us it isn’t in our best interest to rock the boat. We should sit back and let life go on as usual. And If we refuse to do so, sometimes we are threatened with devastating consequences and we’re told that we’re unpatriotic or even Bible denying and unchristian. We’re threatened to be separated from the fold. And that threat, The threat of being alienated and no longer a part-of something can be devastating. It can cause us to question all that we believe and want to stand for. But Which God do we choose? Do we follow Caesar or do we follow Christ?
The wise men follow the star. They follow the light that leads to Christ. They follow the light through the darkness. And despite the calls of the person claiming power, they choose the one who has ultimate power. It probably wasn’t the popular decision to make. In fact, it was probably an extremely dangerous one; to ignore the wishes of jealous and angry king. Yet amid the darkness, they follow the light, the light that leads to Christ.
Listen, it’s often said that we live in dark times. And there are a lot of Herods who claim to pay homage to our Christ. Some of them are even Church leaders and claim to be a prophetic voice. But a voice that truly pays homage to Christ does not teach hatred, condemnation, or persecution of any person for any reason. Nor does it tell us that the goal of religion is personal wealth and personal gain. That is a message that leaves many in the darkness still.
But the voice that truly pays homage to Christ is a light that leads people through the darkness and leads them to Christ who is the light that dispels the darkness. And there are many people who feel that they are in the dark. That is why we are here. We are the body of Christ called to be the light that leads people through the darkness. And we can be the light that leads people to him.
We can be the light of Christ in this world. We can help people follow that starry path through the darkness of this world and bring the light of Christ here to our own community.