Seats of power

First Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6

 Arise, shine; for your light has come,

  and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

 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.

 Nations shall come to your light,

  and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

 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.

 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.

 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.

Psalm: Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14

Give the king your justice, O God,

  and your righteousness to  the king’s son;

 that he may rule your  people righteously

  and the  poor with justice;

 that the mountains may bring prosperity  to the people,

  and the  hills, in righteousness.

Let him defend the needy among the people,

  rescue the poor, and crush  the oppressor. R

May he live as long as the sun and  moon endure,

  from one generation  to another.

Let him come down like rain upon  the mown field,

  like showers that water the earth.

In his time may the  righteous flourish;

  and let there be an abundance of peace till the moon shall  be no more.

May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles pay tribute,

  and the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts. 

May all kings bow down before him,

  and all the nations  do him service.

 For the king delivers the poor who cry out  in distress,

  the oppressed, and those who  have no helper.

 He has compassion on the lowly and poor,

  and preserves the lives  of the needy.

 From oppression and violence he redeems their lives,

  and precious is their blood  in his sight. 

Second Reading: Ephesians 3:1-12

This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

  Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.

Gospel: 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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They first came to Herod, the seat of power, to find the one next in line. Their news unnerved him, he wasn’t planning on ever letting go. These travelers from exotic faraway lands, lands perhaps ripe for trade in fine goods that could line Herod’s pockets with gold and fill his kitchen with enviable spices, came to Jerusalem, to the great city, in search of a king needed so badly by the world that those outside and beyond the empire came to seek him out. But Herod was not the king they were looking for. His power was only temporary, his imagination too small. Herod was sitting in a stolen seat of unbalanced power, always looking over his shoulder for the next threat to his rule, and the reason the angel told the magi to avoid him on their way back east was because this was the sort of king who would kill every child in his kingdom just to secure his own power from the threat of a 2-year-old. That kind of power combined with that kind of fear is a terrorism this country knows all too well if we’re paying attention to the news.

We first come to our own authorities, the seat of modern-day power. We want peace, we want security, we want our children to be able to play safely without fear for their lives. But there is only so much that guns, or votes, or money, or education, or our national hopes and dreams can do. Our longings unnerve these false gods, they cannot provide what we need. No amount of money can cure our warring madness. No amount of guns can bring peace. No politician of any stripe can ‘make America great again.’ We dare not rely on these faulty, temporary powers to wield the authority that can heal our human anxieties, because they are just as poisoned as we are, just as frightened.

Jesus came to Saul, who was actively fighting against the first Christians. He had power and authority to arrest anyone claiming Jesus as the Christ, but all of that changed when God met him on the road and changed his heart. After being blinded by the light of Christ, Saul gained renewed vision, changed his name to Paul and discovered the real power that changes the world. He lost all the power and authority given to him by his old life and endured beatings, imprisonments, and worse, living in the freedom that could never be contained by the bars of his prison cell, preaching the power of the Gospel which embraces all people, Jews and Gentiles alike. It was not his own power that made Paul’s far-reaching ministry possible, but the power of God living within him.

Very soon in the telling of the Jesus story we will see multitudes of the powerless come to the baby still in a manger before us this morning. To him, wandering teacher, peripatetic prophet, unwashed healer, Word of God made flesh, all power in heaven and on earth will be subject to his authority, but he wields it far differently than anyone before or anyone since. He does not kill children. He does not build walls. He does not exclude or scapegoat people based on the color of their skin or the language they speak or the way that they pray. He is Jesus, the true light that was coming to enlighten everyone, the one by whom the worlds were made. He is the one who came to us before we even knew we could come to him, who comes to us when we feel too far off to try, who lives among us when we are shamed and too embarrassed to consider he might offer anything other than punishment if he even cares at all.

We still long for him. That hope for a world at peace? That is hope for his kingdom, though it may look far different than what we imagine. That desire to be loved without a doubt? That is the love which God has put on our hearts. The security we want for our children is a universal need of all people for their children, if only we could know how far-reaching is the true kingdom of God, the deep desire of God for a world where we no longer fear one another. And the strength with which God’s heart beats for us all might unnerve us. The compassion God has for all people might unsettle us. The light of God is magnetic, drawing all people from near and far. The light is healing, stitching back our broken body as sons and daughters of God come from the far corners of the earth to the light of Christ. This is the Epiphany light shining in the darkness, the sun rising earlier each day and staying around a little longer each night. Everyone will be welcomed into his love, brought in out of the cold.

And still He comes to us. We hear the miracle again in the voice of the prophet Isaiah: “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 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. … 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. Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice…” 

He is our light. He is our peace. He is Jesus, the king, the lord, the messiah, the baby born to all the world.