11^th January 2011

Rev Dr Max Champion at St John's UCA Mt Waverley Christmas Day 2010

Lessons -- Isaiah 60:1-6; Matthew 2:1-12

'The giving of silly Christmas presents,' writes Emma Tom recently in The Weekend Australian, 'has a long and biblical history dating back to the three wise men's bizarre idea that gold, frankincense and myrrh were appropriate gifts for a newborn.' Imagine Mary's awkwardness at Bethlehem's Boxing Day sales going to exchange them for something more practical than 'anointing oil'.

This light-hearted touch is often accompanied by a rather sentimental approach to Christmas -- in the community and sadly in the churches. No wonder many people now regard Christianity as a religion for the shallow, the unthinking and simple-minded.

Matthew's profound and intricate nativity story about the wise men should spell the end of such ideas. Only Matthew tells us about the wise men. The details about the star cannot be verified. The nativity story doesn't have the same ring of historical authenticity as events starting with Jesus'
baptism. It is full of forced references to Old Testament texts which relate Jesus' birth to the fulfilment of Jewish hopes for a Messiah and which emphasise the inclusion of those who were once considered to be outsiders to true faith.

Of particular interest to Matthew is Balaam, a famous 'seer' recruited by bad King Balak of Moab to curse Moses and Israel (Numbers 22-24). Instead, Balaam, whom Jews would have regarded as a swindler, predicts that, in the future, 'a star shall rise from Jacob to rule many nations' (24:7,17).

Matthew finds this reference helpful because he was living in a Christian community steeped in Jewish traditions and growing in Gentile members. As he reflects deeply on the extraordinary events surrounding Jesus' whole life, he finds in this perceptive outsider Old Testament support for the explosion of faith in Christ beyond Israel. The pagan seer Balaam becomes the model for his imaginative story about the wise men who see hope for the nations in the Christ-child.

Critical to Matthew's nativity story too is the clash between perceptive 'seers' and an evil king. In his Christmas story (which is much more sombre than Luke's), Matthew shows that the coming of Jesus causes
division: between those whose 'insight' leads to joyful adoration and those whose 'insight' leads to scheming and murderous rage (as we shall see in the 'massacre of the innocents' in vv 13-23).

Herod and the wise men do have some things in common. They are both 'outsiders'. These seers 'from the East' (Persia) are pagans whose wisdom or magic would have been viewed with suspicion by Jews. Herod is the Roman governor who was brutal and unsympathetic to the Jews. Such outsiders were not expected to play a part in the coming of the Messiah.

Herod and the wise men alike are also very curious about news of Jesus'
arrival and go to great lengths to discover details of his birth. The wise men have studied and travelled for a long time; Herod wants to find the child. Both say that they want to know the facts so that they can worship him (vv 2,8).

But that is where the similarities end! The outsiders from the East are inquisitive because they want to know the truth about the one who gives meaning to history. But the Roman outsider wants to know so that he can eliminate a perceived threat to his power. Herod's curiosity is the result of fear and short-term political gain. The wise men are curious because they want to rejoice in the long-term significance for all people. Where Herod sees a threat to social order in his province, they see a new order of hope for the world.

In contrast to Herod's reaction, the reactions of the wise men to the birth of Jesus should stimulate and strengthen our faith. We don't know much about them. They are anonymous and shadowy characters about whom we know very little. We don't know their names or how many there were. The C10th legend about them being kings is false. The emphasis in the story is on the clash between King Herod and Jesus, King of the Jews.

The key thing to see is that they are perceptive! Their 'searching minds'
are not 'closed to the truth', even when it comes from an unexpected source. Their discovery of 'the newborn King' is an occasion for indescribable joy, deep humility and great generosity. They also see through the fear and hatred that drives Herod's insincerity.

These outsiders suggest a pattern for the life and teaching of the Christian community. Curiosity about the incarnation is an essential ingredient in a truly 'Christian' faith. They show us that love of theology is to be nurtured when it springs from gratitude, joy and humility at Jesus' coming in the flesh.

The lavish gifts which they bring also point us to the Incarnation.
Matthew wants us to see that Jesus fulfils ancient hopes for the coming of a Messiah in a completely unexpected way. Gold is a present fit for a King, frankincense is fit for the God and myrrh is fit for anointing the body.

It is likely that the gift of myrrh is meant to point us to Christ's suffering and death at the hands of evil people (like Herod). In Matthew
26:6-13 Jesus rebukes the disciples for taking umbrage at a woman who poured a 'very costly oil over his head'. He says, 'By pouring this oil on my body, she has prepared me for burial (v12).' At the crucifixion (Mark
15:23) Jesus is offered 'wine mixed with myrrh'. Afterwards (John 19:38ff) Nicodemus brings 'a mixture of myrrh and aloes' to embalm Jesus' body.

By shaping the nativity story in this subtle and deeply symbolic way, Matthew encourages us to be generous and extravagant in response to the wonder of God's self-giving love for the world in Christ. He shows us that, in fulfilling ancient hope for the long-awaited Messiah, God has embodied his costly love for Israel and the nations in the body of the
Christ-child: the One whose body was to be crucified and raised from death as the sign of hope for everybody.

This is superbly expressed in a C4th hymn (AHB 216): 'Sacred gifts of mystic meaning: frankincense God to disclose, gold the King of kings proclaiming, myrrh his sepulchre foreshows.'

This interpretation of the gifts fits Matthew's intricate use of symbolism. Remember! His nativity story is carefully crafted over years of profound reflection on Jesus' baptism, ministry, death and resurrection.
In looking back, he welded legends about Jesus' early life, strands of hope from various parts of the Old Testament and details of his turbulent ministry and fate into a nativity story that contained in embryo all that was needed to link Jesus with God's promises to Israel and to all nations.

The symbolic use of myrrh also fits with Matthew's warnings about threats to faith from tyrants like Herod. His sombre nativity story warns us against trivial or sentimental approaches to the birth of the Messiah.
Hostility toward Jesus, evident in his ministry and crucifixion, was already present at news of his impending arrival!

Christians, says Matthew, shouldn't be naive about the cost of faith or hoodwinked by those, like Herod, who profess to be fellow travellers. We are urged to see through evil done in the guise of faith.

Violent opposition to the truth often takes place under cover of sincere worship of God. Dictators and revolutionaries often appeal to godliness and 'Christian' morality in support of unjust actions: Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland; Orthodox and Catholics (with Muslims) in Bosnia.

Herod is the first of many tyrants who correctly see in the birth of Jesus Christ a threat to their unrestrained power. As the story of the 'massacre of the innocents' shows (2:13-23), his suppression of Christian dissent is typical of leaders today in places like North Korea, the Sudan, Egypt, Myanmar, Iran, Iraq and Nigeria.

Reactions to the incarnation of Christ then, as now, are divided. Often it is trivialised, often vehemently opposed. Today in many parts of the world
-- including Western countries like Australia -- threats to faith in Christ come from militant atheists and unthinking believers.

We need to heed these warnings in the context of Matthew's invitation (so carefully and profoundly crafted in his nativity story) to respond to God's coming in Christ with open minds, expansive hearts and humble, extravagant praise.

This is splendidly expressed in AHB 214, v3:

Wise men, they called them, earnest astrologers,/ watching for meaning in the moving stars,/ science of fancy, learned or laughable,/ theirs was a vision that was brought to pass./ Sing all you wise men, dance all the scientists,/ Whether your theories are false or true,/ God uses knowledge, God uses ignorance,/ God at his coming had a need of you.

Our Christmas prayer is that, in everything, we may imitate the curiosity of these anonymous 'outsiders' from the East. Then our faith in Christ will overflow in joy, gratitude, humility and generosity -- and we will be alert to the inhumane schemes of various tyrants in our day!

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Rev Dr Max Champion is minister in the St John's Uniting Church, Mt Waverley, Victoria, Australia. Dr Champion is Chair of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations within the UCA.