EGYPT ON ALERT AS COPTS GATHER FOR CHRISTMAS EVE

Pray for their safety today

This blog provides a meditation of the Revised Common Lectionary readings along with a headline from world news.

Isaiah 60:1-6,9

The Ingathering of the Dispersed

60Arise, shine; for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

2 For darkness shall cover the earth,

and thick darkness the peoples;

but the Lord will arise upon you,

and his glory will appear over you.

3 Nations shall come to your light,

and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

4 Lift up your eyes and look around;

they all gather together, they come to you;

your sons shall come from far away,

and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.

5 Then you shall see and be radiant;

your heart shall thrill and rejoice,

because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,

the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

6 A multitude of camels shall cover you,

the young camels of Midian and Ephah;

all those from Sheba shall come.

They shall bring gold and frankincense,

and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

9 For the coastlands shall wait for me,

the ships of Tarshish first,

to bring your children from far away,

their silver and gold with them,

for the name of the Lord your God,

and for the Holy One of Israel,

because he has glorified you.

This is prophecy of the gathering of Israel’s exiles and diaspora by God, whose light and glory will dignify his people. It expresses the stubborn faith of a continually defeated and scattered people that there must be a place for justice on the earth, which will be their homeland. It would have seemed useless to them to talk of a place beyond this earth: their God had to show goodness on the earth, in the world, or he would not be God. Out of every defeat of this people’s hope came new visions and new prophecies of justice. This one envisages the Gentile nations drawn to the light of Israel’s God, bringing gold and frankincense in offering to Him. This prophecy has furnished the outline of the story of the Wise Men in Matthew’s Gospel. Both passages are used by the Christian Church for Epiphany, the festival which celebrates the revelation of Christ to all peoples. St Paul imagined that Israel had built a wall to keep the Gentiles out, (like the wall in Gaza today) which Christ on his cross had kicked to bits. Gentile dogs (Jesus’ word!) that we are, we should identify with all who feel excluded from God’s saving justice and praise the love which gathers us in.

Epiphany-Rafael

Matthew 2:1-12

The Visit of the Wise Men

2In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, ‘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.’ 3When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

6 “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.” ’

7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8Then 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.’ 9When 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. 10When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11On 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. 12And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

I think this story is a legend confected by Christian tradition from the prophecy above: its purpose s a noble one: to assert that Christ’s life from the outset was welcomed by people outside Israel; and that they were welcome at his birth. The poetry of Isaiah is surpassed by the poetry of the seekers of the king, led by a travelling star. It tells us not just about first century mythology but about our own search for the true ruler of humanity to whom even the stars bow down. The greatest detail of the story in my opinion, however, is the addition of myrrh to the gold and frankincense mentioned by Isaiah. To the symbols of royalty and worship is added the symbol of death, which is inseparable from the revelation of God’s love in Christ. The pouring out of life, joyously and sacrificially, in life and in death, is Christ’s way of battling against evil, and must also be the way of his followers.

myrrh

Tonight Coptic Christians will gather in the churches in Egypt, to celebrate Christmas in the wake of the recent murders. We should pray for their safety, knowing that they will show their faith in the king who received myrrh at his cradle.