Jesus Teaches the Crowds

Rev. Debbie Cato
Matthew 5:1-12
Fairfield Community Church
January 29,2023,
Januruay 29, 2023
Worship at PCAL 5^th Sunday

Gracious God, as we turn to your Word for us, may the Spirit of God rest upon us. Help us to be unwavering in our hearing, in our speaking, in our believing, and in our living. Amen.

 

Jesus Teaches the Crowds

 

So far in Matthew, Jesus has prepared for his ministry. He has been baptized.  We skipped over other things in his preparation.  Jesus has been tempted by Satan. He has called his first four disciples. He has taught in the synagogues, proclaimed the good news, and cured diseases and sickness. Jesus is ready for business. 

 

Now, he turns to teaching his disciples, the first time they are called such in the Gospel, presumably only the four that have so far been called—Andrew, Simon Peter, James, and John. The crowds serve as a sort of backdrop to this sermon.  He has already done some teaching and word has spread – there is something special about Jesus.  People are drawn to follow Jesus and listen to what he has to say. He is much more than just a great teacher.

 

In Matthew, the Sermon on the Mount includes chapters five, six, and seven.  Three chapters of a collection of of Jesus’ main teachings, and they include the Beatitudes which we read this morning.   These ‘blessings,’ the ‘wonderful news’ that he’s announcing , are not saying ‘try hard to live like this.’  They are saying that people that are already like this are in good

shape.  They should be happy and celebrate.[1]  

 

Jesus is not suggesting that these are simply timeless truths about the way the world is nor is it about human behavior.  We know that mourners often go uncomforted, the meek do not inherit the earth, those who long for justice frequently take that longing to their grave.  Jesus is proposing an upside-down world and he is saying that with his work, it is starting to come true.  It will come true. This is an announcement.  It is something that is and will continue to happen as we live out the gospel; the good news that Jesus teaches.[2]       

 

Jesus called his first disciples by saying, “Follow me,” because through him, God was doing a new thing and this list of beatitudes is part of the invitation, part of his summons, part of his way of saying that God is at work in a fresh way and that this is what it looks like.[3]  We live in a world where everything about it teaches us that our goals in life should be success, wealth, long life, and victory in battle.  But Jesus turns it all upside-down.  He offers wonderful news for the humble, the poor, the mourners, and the peacemakers.

 

 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they know they need God.” I think the poor in spirit as those who lack, who are materially bereft and therefore worn down by the plight of poverty. They are those whom society has left behind, who break their backs to make ends meet, whose struggle for basic survival crushes their spirits. They know they  need God.  They can’t do it

on their own.  Jesus says theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven, for there will be no poor in spirit there. God will set things right.[4]

 

“Blessed are those who mourn.” Grief comes for all of us.  No matter who we are, we will grieve. We will regret.  We all suffer great loss.  But mortality rates were especially high in the ancient world. Parents simply could not expect their children to survive infancy, let alone make it to adulthood. War, food and housing insecurity, and infectious diseases could cut a life short. Jesus’ audience was living under Roman occupation, and they had lost their land.  And the audience of the Gospel, encountered this story after Rome’s destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 CE, were deeply grieved the violation of their land and sacred space. The Promised Land was occupied by foreign powers. Yet, to those who mourn, Jesus proclaims a coming comfort.[5]

 

“Blessed are the meek.” This is a reference to Psalm 37:

 

Don’t worry about the wicked
    or envy those who do wrong.
² For like grass, they soon fade away.
    Like spring flowers, they soon wither.

³ Trust in the Lord and do good.
    Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you your heart’s desires.

 

And verses 10 and 11:

Soon the wicked will disappear.
    Though you look for them, they will be gone.
¹¹ The lowly will possess the land
    and will live in peace and prosperity.

“Meek” refers to those who are abused by the wicked who seem only to prosper. God reassures the meek that they will inherit the land or the earth. Jesus tells the disciples and the crowd that those who are abused by the wicked will inherit the land or the earth—a land currently claimed and exploited by Rome for the benefit of a few. God’s rule will reverse this. 

 

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”  Righteousness in the Hebrew Bible refers to a total societal restructuring that includes the equitable distribution of resources. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, then, are those that Rome’s unjust distribution keeps at the margins of subsistence. In a reimagined society, everyone will have enough. Everyone. And Jesus says that in God’s kingdom, these folks will be filled.[6] 

 

“Blessed are the merciful.” Jesus says that those who practice mercy, those who give of their resources and care for the outcast, will receive mercy. In God’s Kingdom all will be welcome, and all will have plenty.

 

“Blessed are the pure in heart.” The pure in heart are those who follow the will of God in their thinking and in their doing. Jesus will talk a lot about a person’s heart throughout his ministry.  He will teach that it is the heart that matters.  For those that totally commit to God they will encounter God. 

 

“Blessed are the peacemakers.” Rome claimed to be the bearers of peace, but Rome’s peace only came through domination. In Matthew, peace is not the absence of conflict; Jesus is well aware that his message will cause division. However, Jesus never coerced or forced anyone into becoming a disciple. Rome forced people under their rule through threat and violence; but entry into God’s kingdom is voluntary. Peacemakers proclaim not the empire’s will but God’s merciful reign, living toward this wholeness and well-being and against any power that hinders or resists it.[7]

 

Finally, Jesus says “blessed are those who are persecuted for justice’s sake … when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” The life of a disciple of Jesus runs counter to the values of the world. Perhaps we don’t experience persecution in our modern American context in the way that early Jesus followers did—no one is looking to kill us simply because we confess Christ. But do not be deceived. When we live a life for justice for the oppressed and marginalized, when we extend mercy to the outcast, when we live the values outlined in the beatitudes, there will be resistance. Jesus’ teachings tell us that we must persevere if we are to be blessed. 

 

If you listened closely, you heard how these still apply today.  They remain relevant for us today, in our time and our place in the world more than 2,000 years later.  There are still people worn down by the plight of poverty.  There are still those who mourn that need comforting.  There are still those who are abused and exploited by the more powerful.  There remain those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for an equal distribution of resources.  There remains those who show mercy and care for others, the pure in heart, the peacemakers.  There remains persecution for those who speak against the mainstream values and try to live this upside-down way of living that Jesus’ teaches.

 

I think the question is how do we choose to be?  Will we choose to try to live as Jesus teaches?  Or will we choose to live as the world wants us to live?  Will we try to live counter to our culture and live an upside-down way of being or will we go with the flow and be like everyone else.  I think that’s a good thing to decide.  A good thing to reflect on. How will you choose to live in this new year?  Amen.

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[1] Matthew For Everyone.  Part I.  N.T. Wright.  Westminster John Knox Press.  2002/2004.  P. 36.
[2] Matthew For Everyone.  Part I.  N.T. Wright.  Westminster John Knox Press.  2002/2004.  P. 36.
[3] Ibid.
[4] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-after-epiphany/commentary-on-matthew-51-12-9
[5] [5] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-after-epiphany/commentary-on-matthew-51-12-9
[6] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-after-epiphany/commentary-on-matthew-51-12-9
[7] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-after-epiphany/commentary-on-matthew-51-12-9

 

You Are My Beloved One

 Rev. Debbie Cato
Matthew 3:11-17
Fairfield Community Church
January 22,2023, 

God of mercy, you promised never to break your covenant with us. In the midst of the mass of words in our daily lives, speak your eternal Word to us, that we may respond to your gracious promises with faithfulness, service and love. Amen.

You Are My Beloved

 

We have gone from Jesus the baby, to Jesus the refugee, to Jesus 30 years-old, being baptized by his cousin, John the Baptist.   Time flies!   Luke has Jesus in the temple at 12 years – old, learning from the rabbis but that is the only glimpse we get of Jesus between infancy and adulthood.  We have to assume the growing up years are not important.  What’s important is that the Christ child is born, and Jesus begins his ministry.

I’m always surprised to remember that Jesus begins his ministry by being baptized in the Jordan River by John who calls for all sinners to repent.  Jesus was not a sinner.  He was sinless.  Yet, he insists on being baptized. Even after John protests. 

“John says, “He’s coming!  He’s more powerful than me!  He will give you God’s wind and God’s fire, not just water!  He’ll sort you out – he’ll clear out the mess – he’ll clean us until only the good wheat is left.””[1]

We are expecting a great leader, perhaps the living God himself, sweeping in with a great explosion, a blaze of light and transforming everything in a single blow.[2]

Instead we get Jesus.  The Jesus we have only met so far in Matthew’s gospel.  A baby with a price on his head.  Helpless.  A refugee. Homeless. A Jesus who comes and stands humbly before John, asking for baptism, sharing the remorseful mood of the rest of Judaea, Jerusalem, and Galilee.  A Jesus who seems to be identifying himself, not with a God who sweeps all before him in judgement, but with the people who are themselves facing that judgement and needing to repent.[3]

John, of course, is horrified!  He seems to know that Jesus is the one he was waiting for; but then why would he be coming for baptism?  Why would Jesus want John to baptize him?  What happened to the agenda that John expected?  What happened to the wind and the fire?

N.T. Wright says that “Jesus’ reply tells us something vital about the whole gospel story that is going to unfold before our surprising gaze.  Yes, Jesus is coming to fulfil God’s plan, the promises which God made ages go and has never forgotten.  Yes, these are promises which will blow God’s wind, God’s spirit, through the world, which will bring God’s fire of God’s just judgment on evil wherever it occurs and which will rescue God’s repentant people once and for all from every kind of exile to which they have been driven.  But if Jesus is going to do this, this is how he must do it; by humbly identifying himself with God’s people, by taking their place, sharing their repentance, living their life, and ultimately dying their death.”[4]

When Jesus comes up out of the water after John baptizes him, God’s Spirit descends on Jesus and his voice says, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Here is the good news.  The same voice speaks to everyone who follows Jesus in repentance and faith and is baptized.  To everyone who is baptized, rather an infant or young child, baptized through the faith of their parents, or an older child, young adult, or adult, baptized by their own faith, God says, “You are my beloved.  With you I am well pleased.”

When you were baptized, whatever your age and whoever made the vows for you, the waters washed away the sins and evil of the world and brought you new life in Christ.  It claimed you as a beloved child of God.  Created by God in his image.  Claimed by God. And, loved by God beyond anything that we can imagine or grasp.  Nothing we can do will ever separate us from the love of God.  And because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we are forgiven for our sins and receive eternal life.  That is good news!

In baptism, we are called to a new way of life as Christ’s disciples, sharing the good news of the gospel with all the world.

 

Baptism is a sign and seal of the covenant of grace made by God through Jesus and extended to us. After all, it is only through the grace of God that we receive faith and forgiveness.  In baptism, God claims us as beloved children and members of Christ’s body, the church, washing us clean from sin as we renounce the power of evil and seek the will and way of God.

 

Nadia Bolz-Weber says, “You belong to God and are beloved by God and in his kingdom, there is forgiveness of sin.  You may think that your failings are inescapable, but that is a lie because no offense is inescapable or unforgiveable. Jesus defeated sin and death. I’m pretty sure forgiving your sin isn’t going to be that hard for him. So friends, I invite you to enjoy your forgiveness –it will not be taken away as a punishment and it will not be granted as a reward, it is your inheritance as a freed child of God’s kingdom. ”[5]

 

But with all this comes responsibility too.  If we are claimed as beloved

children and members of Christ’s body, the church, we must live as

Christ’s body.  We must continue to read the gospel to see what this means.  To learn how Jesus lived, what he taught, how he wanted his followers to live and be.  Being Christ’s body – being followers of Christ means we must be Christ-like.  We must be different than those who are not Christ-followers. Different than the world tells us to be. 

 

As we continue to read the gospel, we will find that Jesus is kind and loving and he teaches peace and justice.  He  focuses on those that others ignore or look down on or take advantage of.  The poor, the persecuted, the neglected.  He passes on the love and grace of God to all he meets.  As followers of Jesus we are to do the same.  Rather than worship the powers of this world we are to worship God alone and trust in his promises for our future, knowing that the Holy Spirit that fills us will guide our steps if we trust and listen for God’s voice in our life. 

 

We are his beloved.  God’s beloved.  Think what that means.  Think about how much you love your children, your family, your spouse, your partner.  Think what you would and will do for them.  Think of how full your heart feels when you think about spending time with them.  Being with them. 

 

Then imagine – if you can – that God loves us far more than that!  Because only God loves completely unconditionally.  God loves us exactly how we are.  Exactly how he created us  As imperfect and full of sin as we are, God loves us.  And he will never stop.  We are his beloved.  You are his beloved.  With you he is well pleased. 

 

In a few minutes I will baptize Henry Clausen through his parents’ affirmation of faith.  I hope you will remember your baptismal vows as I baptize Henry.  Whether you were a baby and have no recollection or whether you were older and can remember being baptized, these are the vows you took and the words that were spoken.  This is how your life in Christ began.  Either through the faith of your family or your own faith.

 

You are my beloved with whom I am well pleased.   This is our baptismal legacy.  Think what kind of world it would be if we lived into our legacy.  Amen.                       

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[1] Matthew for Everyone, Part i.  N.T. Wright.  Westminster John Knox Press.  2002.  P. 21.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Matthew for Everyone, Part i.  N.T. Wright.  Westminster John Knox Press.  2002.  P. 21
[4] Ibid.  p21-22.
[5] Nadia Bolz-Weber.  The Corner.

Jesus the Refugee

Rev. Debbie Cato
Matthew 2:12-23
Fairfield Community Church
January 15, 2023

Almighty God, by your Holy Spirit, light up your sacred words, we pray, that our minds may be open to receive your Word, our hearts taught to love it, and our character strengthened to obey it, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Jesus the Refugee

 

This is a hard passage.  We just celebrated Christmas and the romantic manager scene.  We have this image of this sweet baby Jesus in our heads.  Yet this is an important passage.  It is important that we know this part of the story.  This scripture is known as “The Massacre of the Infants” or the “Slaughter of the Innocents.”  It leaves nothing to the imagination.  Herod is an evil man  He kills the babies; all the children in and around Bethlehem that were two years-old and younger, just to be sure every child that could possibly be a threat to his reign; to his power was killed.  It’s horrible.

In his commentary on Matthew, theologian N.T. Wright writes, “Jesus is born with a price on his head.”[1] “Matthew’s gospel is a baby who poses such a threat to the most powerful man around that he kills a whole village full of other babies to try to get rid of him.  At the heart of the Christmas story in Luke, too, is a baby who, if only the Roman emperor knew it, will be Lord of the whole world.  Within a generation his followers will be persecuted by the empire as a danger to good order.  Whatever else you say about Jesus, from his birth onwards, people certainly found him a threat.  He upset their power-games and suffered the usual fate of people who do that.”[2]

He’s known as Herod the Great.  He thought nothing of killing members of his own family, including his own wife, when he suspected them of scheming against him  When he was dying, he gave orders that the leading citizens of Jericho should be slaughtered so the people would be weeping at his funeral. So, this Herod would not bat an eyelid at the thought of killing lots of little babies in case one of them should be regarded as a royal pretender.  As his power had increased, so had his paranoia – a not unfamiliar progression as dictators around the world have shown from that day to this.[3]

N.T. Wright goes on to say, “The Gospel of Jesus was born in a land and time of trouble, of tension, of violence, and fear.  Before Jesus had even learned to walk and talk, he was a homeless refugee with a price on his head.  This is how God would set about liberating his people and bringing justice to the entire world.  No point arriving in comfort when the whole world is in misery.  No point having an easy life when the whole world suffers violence and injustice.  If Jesus was to be Emmanuel – God-with-Us, he must be with us where the pain is.”[4]

Two dreams protect Jesus.  The magi are warned in a dream not to go back to Herod and tell him where they found the Christ child.  They listen and go back home following a different route, a longer more treacherous  route.  And then Joseph has a dream to take his young family to Egypt – to flee to a land that is completely foreign to them.

It is about 40 miles from Bethlehem to Egypt.  If the young family  were able to walk about 3 miles an hour, they would have walked for 12 hours to escape Bethlehem and the surrounding region and reach Egypt.  They had traveled to Bethlehem to register for the census when Jesus was born there so we could assume that they had few belongings with them and so they had little to take with them to Egypt.  Little to start their new life.  They were poor to begin with.  I wonder what they were thinking.  I’m sure they wondered what their future would look like.

They don’t know the language, the culture, they have no place to live, and no job to earn a living. They are refugees fleeing a delirious ruler who wants to kill their baby.  The trauma they have been through, the fear of fleeing their homeland in time before the soldiers find their infant child must have been terrifying.  They must have been exhausted – physically and emotionally.

Once again, we don’t know any details.  Were they welcomed when they crossed the border into Egypt?  Did someone help them get settled?  Find a home?  A job?  Learn the language?  Get food and supplies? 

This is a story familiar to so many people today.  If we put aside our political opinions, people are fleeing political persecution and dangerous life conditions every day from countries to the south of us and countries overseas like Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa, to name a few.  People who leave everything they have, everyone they know – their culture and homes and jobs and families to find safety.  It’s impossible for us to imagine how horrendous their conditions that force them to leave all they know and flee to the unknown with hope for a better life.  How impossible their life must be to take children on such dangerous journeys.  The journey itself life threatening.

We are people of privilege.  We do not live in danger.  We do not have dictators or rulers wanting to kill us because we are a threat to their power. We do not live in a place where lawlessness reigns and drug cartels control our community.  We do not live in a country where wars are ravaging our land and our lives.  We do not live where it is so unsafe that it is better to travel a treacherous journey for miles and miles in hope of a better life for our families.  We cannot imagine.  We cannot understand.

But Jesus can.  Jesus knows what this is like.  At less than two years old, he was a homeless refugee.  Once again, our Lord and Savior, the Messiah, born to save the world, God Himself, can relate to those who are persecuted and suffer the most.  He can relate to the refugees because he too was one. 

Mary and Joseph and Jesus must have had help acclimating to their life in Egypt.  Joseph found work as a carpenter.  They found a place to live.  They must have learned the language so they could communicate with their new neighbors.  They must have acclimated to the culture; made new friends.  They lived there for three years before God told Joseph, through another dream that it was safe to return home.  Most refugees can never return.

May we too, if we have the opportunity, welcome the refugees, knowing they are here because they had to come.  May we understand their story and know that they are human beings that have hope for a better future and a safe place for their families to live because where they came from was  not safe for them to stay.  May we remember that the Lord we worship was once a refugee and may we praise and thank him that he understands the persecuted and wants us to do the same.   Amen. 

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[1] Matthew for Everyone., Part I.  Chapters 1-15.  N.T. Wright.  John Knox Press. 2004. Page.14.
[2] Matthew for Everyone., Part I.  Chapters 1-15.  N.T. Wright.  John Knox Press. 2004. Page.14.
[3] Matthew for Everyone., Part I.  Chapters 1-15.  N.T. Wright.  John Knox Press. 2004. Page.14.
[4] Matthew for Everyone., Part I.  Chapters 1-15.  N.T. Wright.  John Knox Press. 2004. Page.14 - 15.

 

Always Seeking

Rev. Debbie Cato
Matthew 2:1-12
Fairfield Community Church
January 8, 2023,  Epiphany Sunday

God of starlight, every part of us is trying to seek you: our bodies that carried us into this space, our heads bowed in prayer, our hearts that keep whispering, “There is more than just this.” We are seeking you. Like a dog looking for its owner, who will search the whole house— under beds, behind doors, in every corner of every room until their person is found— we are turning over every rock and leaf looking for fingerprints that belong to you. So meet us halfway. Find us in the maze. Quiet the rest of the world. Open the door to us with rich laughter and say, “Come on in!” We know you’re near, so know that it’s you we seek. Find us in these words. Gratefully we pray, amen.

 

Always Seeking

 

Christmas Nativity scenes around the world feature a familiar cast of characters: Jesus, Mary, Joseph, an angel or two, some barnyard animals, shepherds and, of course, the three wise men led by a star.

 Within the New Testament, the story of the wise men is found only in the Gospel of Matthew. It spans 12 short verses, and is simpler than we likely remember. The wise men arrive in Jerusalem from an unnamed location “in the East,” led by a star and in search of a new king. They make their way to Bethlehem, where they bow before Jesus and offer gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, because God warns them in a dream, they return home by a different route.

The details in this story are slim, and so it raises more questions than it answers. Where were the wise men actually from?[1] Why were they interested in Jesus? And, above all, who were they?

“Magi” is a Greek word that is difficult to translate.  Some versions of the New Testament render it as “wise men” and others say “astrologers.” But neither of these captures the full sense of the term. Both can have both positive and negative connotations today, so too did magi have a range of meanings and uses in the ancient world. Some ancient authors speak positively of individuals they describe as magi, while others consider the label to be more of an insult.^[2]

Take, for example, the New Testament Book of Acts, which mentions two magi: one is named Simon, and the other is named Elymas.

Simon is a performer who amazes crowds with his ability to do magic, and he angers Jesus’ apostles by offering them money in exchange for some of their powers. Elymas is an adviser to a government official on the island of Cyprus, and he is referred to as a “false prophet.[3] He is struck blind for trying to interfere with the apostle Paul’s attempts to convert the official to Christianity.

When it comes to both of these characters, the label “magi” is meant negatively. It was intended to suggest to readers that they are sinister charlatans, and not to be trusted.^[4]

In other ancient literature, however, magi are sought-after specialists who possess valuable skills like divination. In the Greek translation of the Book of Daniel, the king of Babylon summons magi to his court and asks them to decipher the details of a strange dream.^[5]

But, who are the magi who visit Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew? The answer, it turns out, is complicated. Matthew doesn’t tell his readers exactly what he means when he refers to his visitors in this way, and so it is up to us to figure it out.[6]

Biblical scholars often argue that Matthew intended for the magi in his Gospel to be understood as gentiles or non-Jews who come to Bethlehem to worship Jesus. They conclude that this story is meant to predict the fact that Christianity would eventually become a gentile religious movement instead of a Jewish one.

The argument that the magi are meant to be understood as gentiles is based in part on the fact that they come to Jerusalem and Bethlehem “from the East,” which could suggest that they are “outsiders.” "But in light of how magi are spoken of in other ancient literature, this understanding is too simple.[7]  Had Matthew intended to say that gentiles came to Bethlehem, he would have done so without using a loaded word like magi.^[8] He may intend to let us know that outsider also means those not accepted in society, like we will see with the tax collectors, the prostitutes, and others that Jesus will welcome into his ministry.

Because Matthew doesn’t bother to say exactly who these visitors were supposed to be, the magi have fascinated readers and kept them guessing for nearly 2,000 years.

Regardless. the Magi were seekers. They sought wisdom, they sought the divine, they sought fortunes to tell the future. Their seeking led them to Jesus, the newborn king of another culture and religion. And yet, their seeking is also what protects them from Herod’s deception and harm.[9]

Despite the vagueness of their identities, we can learn a lot from their actions. They observe the star and discern, or recognize, that it is pointing them to the divine, to the holy. Instead of ignoring it or simply observing it from far away, they decide to make the treacherous and difficult journey closer to Christ. They cross over geographical, political, religious, ethnic, and cultural boundaries to seek out the newborn child. They are filled with joy at the sight of the child and humble themselves before him, bowing and bearing gifts. They listen intuitively to their dreams and evade Herod’s deception, choosing what is likely a more difficult journey home by a different route.

Epiphany was actually on Friday, January 6^th this year.  Epiphany  is on the twelfth day of Christmas or the 12^th day after Christmas.  Epiphany means hope and joyful revelation, just as it did then. It is the revelation of the birth of Christ.  The Magi had hope in the Star that God placed before them. They followed that light of hope until they found Jesus – realizing that this infant King would save the world.

We too, today, need to follow the light of hope that God has given us through Jesus. We need to be seekers.  We need to venture out of our comfort zone and seek God.  Where will we find the Christ child this year?  Where will we find God?  Perhaps in people like the not yet seven-year-old boy in Spokane Valley who has a heart for the unhoused.  He and his family recently moved here from Texas.  During Christmas break, he had a hot chocolate stand in his neighborhood and has raised over $300 dollar for a non-profit that helps people experiencing homeliness.  Surely this young boy is the face of Christ among us.  Perhaps you will find the face of Christ in the children that gather here on Sunday mornings and sit here with me.  Who so innocently trust in the love of Jesus.  Perhaps you will find God in one another as you pray for one another and help one another during this coming year.  As you show what it means to be neighbors and friends and community here where we live.  Perhaps you will f’ind Christ in the face of someone who holds your hand during a crisis.  Perhaps it will be in the face of a stranger that touches you or a co-worker or a healthcare worker or a teacher.  Perhaps you will see God in the face of someone new you get to know at Family Meal and Game night this year or maybe in the face of a resident at PCAL when we worship there on the 5^th Sunday of this month,  God is all around us.  He is always finding new ways to reveal Himself.  To make Himself known.  To show Himself to us.  He says, “Here I am.”  We just need to be looking and aware and watching.  We need to seek Him out.  We need to be seekers.

Look closely at the actions of the Magi. What can we learn from them? What do they teach us about being a seeker, one who persistently seeks the sacred?  There’s no question it changed their lives.  It will change our life too.  We just have to let it.  We need to look for God in the ordinary all around us and when we find Him, we need to say, “Come in!  Let us see what you want us to learn.  Help us to be more like you.”  “Come, Lord Jesus, Come.” 

I’m going to end with a poem written by Rev. Sarah Speed from Santified art.  It’s called…. 

 

A Blessing for the Seekers  by, Rev. Sarah Speed from Santified art.com

Blessed are you who turn your face up to the sky,
who open your arms to feel the wind,
who notice all the things that we should notice.

Blessed are you who are fluent in wonder and familiar with awe.
Blessed are you who, even now, dream dreams,
who have not lost hope,
who swear the glass is still half-full.

Blessed are you who plant trees and sing the harmony, |
who tell the children how this world can be magic.

Blessed are you who walk and seek and turn over every stone,
pointing out all the corners and colors that God lives in.
Blessed are you. Amen

Let’s be seekers this year.  Let’s notice the things we should notice.  Let’s be familiar with awe and wonder.  Let’s hold onto hope.  Let’s tell the children how this world can be magic.  Let’s walk and seek and turn over every stone to find God.  Let 2023 be a year of seeking.  Amen.

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[1] “Who were the three wise men who visited Jesus? - Episcopal Journal”
[2] https://pres-outlook.org/2023/01/who-were-the-3-wise-men-who-visited-jesus/ by Eric Vanden Eykel, associate professor of religious studies, Ferrum College
[3] https://pres-outlook.org/2023/01/who-were-the-3-wise-men-who-visited-jesus/ by Eric Vanden Eykel, associate professor of religious studies, Ferrum College
[4] Ibid.
[5] https://pres-outlook.org/2023/01/who-were-the-3-wise-men-who-visited-jesus/ by Eric Vanden Eykel, associate professor of religious studies, Ferrum College
[6] https://pres-outlook.org/2023/01/who-were-the-3-wise-men-who-visited-jesus/ by Eric Vanden Eykel, associate professor of religious studies, Ferrum College
[7] https://pres-outlook.org/2023/01/who-were-the-3-wise-men-who-visited-jesus/ by Eric Vanden Eykel, associate professor of religious studies, Ferrum College
[8] Ibid.
[9] https://pres-outlook.org/2023/01/who-were-the-3-wise-men-who-visited-jesus/ by Eric Vanden Eykel, associate professor of religious studies, Ferrum College