Choosing Courage

“Choosing Courage” was preached at Grace-Trinity Community Church on Sunday, January 6, 2019. Inspirations for this sermon included Scripture, commentaries, identities of the Magi, Star Words, New Year resolutions, and injustice our country & world continues to experience. I shared this Word with the people of Grace-Trinity as a guest preacher.

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Matthew 2:1-12

1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 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.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They 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. 8 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.” 9 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. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 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. 12 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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Today is Epiphany, a day for revelation and direction. We celebrate this day to commemorate the Magis’ visit to Jesus by following the star. When they arrived on the scene with Mary and Joseph and that child in their arms, the Magi make an epiphany of who is before them. With great joy, they recognize this child as King of the Jews. Today we celebrate that revelation; that moment of divine introduction.

What I love about most about this passage is the Magi.  I love their story, who they were and why we celebrate their revelation.

But first I want to clarify something. The New Revised Standard Version translation of Scripture is the translation I use most. It’s the translation we just heard for Matthew 2. I believe it’s accessible for people of all ages, accurate to the original text, and inclusive for most people in a modern world. However, the NRSV translation of Matthew chapter 2, uses an inaccurate translation of the Magi.

The Greek words used, Magoi and Magous, translates to Magi, an indefinite number of astrological-priests. While I’m sure they were wise, I don’t think this is their best descriptor because it’s not precise enough about their identity in the story. And although I love the hymn we will sing in later in this service, the Magi were also not kings nor any high political leaders. These identities miss the mark of the identity of the Magi, so I, and maybe you too, need to know the Magi as Magi, as magicians, as sorcerers, as astronomers. This is who they were.

The Magi were priests who studied the stars, but not for the sake of science, but for the sake of prophecy. The Magi studied the stars to interpret the present and to forecast the future. They were ancient horoscope writers. And although actual Kings, such as Herod, occasionally utilized their services—their predictions of what is and what is to come—they weren’t exactly seen in the highest regard, especially in the eyes of a Jewish audience, in which the Gospel of Matthew was written.

But this isn’t too surprising; that they wouldn’t be seen in the highest regard. Jesus, who would one day spend most of his ministry hanging out with tax collectors and prostitutes, was known to spend his time with what was considered the wrong sort of people. And it starts here, at his young age, God choosing to fill important, essential role with the wrong sort of people. It was to the Magi, through a moment of great joy that Christ was revealed as the Son of God and as God incarnate, the Word made flesh. And then through this revelation, the identity of Christ is not revealed only to the Magi, but to all for the first time; the Jews and the Gentiles. Which is why we still celebrate Epiphany today.

But what I love most about the Magi, even more than who they are and why we celebrate their revelation— what I love most about the Magi is what they are doing in the passage. Or rather, what I love, is what God is doing, and how the Magi are responding…  

See, the reason it’s important to note that the Magi were astronomers and magicians is because they discovered Jesus for the first time by doing what they do. It was God who first came to them. They were practicing magic and studying the stars. Jesus was made known to them when his star rose into the sky, a star that led the Magi to him, a star that was created and guided by God.

Now for someone like me, someone who is directionally challenged at times, following this star seems like the miracle. You know, for someone like me, it usually takes me a moment even to figure out where north is. *points north* Right? Don’t worry. I looked it up on my phone before the service. So yes, for someone like me, who needs a phone to figure out where north is, noticing a special star seems like a miracle. But as I said, this is what the Magi did. They could read the stars. By doing what they do—by studying the stars, God made the Christ-child known to them. And when God did this, the Magi could now choose how they would respond. They could now continue to study the stars near their homes or they could follow that rising star to Jesus. The miracle here is they chose to leave what they were doing to follow that star.

Of course, it was also King Herod, after the Magi respond to the rising star, who sends them to Bethlehem, saying that when they find the child, they must return to him with the child’s location. But then it happens again, when the star stops overhead of Christ, after they see the child and are overwhelmed with joy, after they present Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh; God comes to the Magi again. This time, through a dream, the Magi are warned not to return to the king that sent them. Once again, they had options of how they could respond; they could return to the king that had sent them, probably with the guarantee of rewards and riches, or they could return to their homes by another road. The miracle here is the Magi chose to disobey the king and instead they returned to their homes.

So what I love most about is this story is God reveals Godself to the Magi; twice, once in the rising of a star and once in a dream; and both times the Magi respond with courage to do the right thing.

And I think that each time the Magi chose courage, they did so despite their fear; their fear of leaving their homes and their fear of disobeying the king. Despite their fear, they chose courage.

We can relate to that. It’s always a beautiful thing for Epiphany to occur about the start of the New Year. Perhaps for some it’s a time where we turn our own revelations into resolutions for this upcoming year. To do this, many take the New Year as a time to reflect on all that occurred over the past year. One of my reflections that I had, not only as clergy but as an active church-goer, was the fear that I carried with me nearly every single Sunday. Fear with what happened the in the week prior, fear of what might happen next, even the fear of what to say to those who were hurting. Perhaps you at one point over this past year have carried this fear as well. Perhaps you carry it now.

The last several years have been filled with social justice movements across our country and across the world. They came from all sides of the political spectrum. 2018 was no different. And although through acts of great courage, stories of trauma were lifted and made known publically, as we enter into 2019, that fear is still there. Now we, like the Magi, are given a choice: give into the fear or choose courage?

My hope and prayer for all of us, as individuals and as the church, is that we choose courage.

So how do we do this?

There’s a pretty well-known Epiphany discipline that many churches practice. It’s called “Star Words.” During some part of the worship service, each person is a given a star with a single word written on it. They then use this word to navigate the new year, to serve as a tool for discernment and prayer, to guide them closer to Christ.  

Now as a guest here at Grace-Trinity, I discerned that this might not be the most practical discipline to do as part of this service. Partially because I don’t think it’s the place of a guest preacher to come into a church and tell the people what to do while their pastor is away, but also because I believe as members of the Body of Jesus Christ and as children of God living in a time such as this, the star word many of us need is the same word: courage.

May that guide us in the days and weeks ahead.

To be courageous is to be Christ-like. And Christ is courageous, he displayed in in two significant ways.

First, Christ is pastoral. As said earlier, Jesus was often known to surround himself with “sinners” – the wrong sort of people. The Magi, the tax collectors, the prostitutes; those are the people he called to him. And with them and with others, he offers forgiveness and extends mercy. He sought out a ministry serving people considered to be the least of these; the poor, the hungry, the sick and the blind. He would look at them and see them for what they were: children of God. The Magi displayed this same pastoral courage when they sought out the Christ-child to be overwhelmed with joy at his presence. And we’re called to do the same. We’re all called to display pastoral courage. We are called to go out and spread the love of Christ with everyone we encounter. There is enough grace through Christ for everyone, especially for those who we think there might not be enough grace. It is courageous to be pastoral.

But second, Christ, with his courage, is also prophetic. He went forth with loud cries of apocalyptic messages. He demanded justice for all. With wisdom and passion, Jesus would go into temples and other public places and call out leaders and teachers and rulers for their wrong-doings. He spoke of the truth and many were unhappy with this truth. So unhappy that they persecuted him and sent him to his death on the cross. He defied unjust power; and so did the Magi; they were prophetic in their courage when they defied the king and went their own way. Prophetic courage is to free the oppressed; to speak truth to power, and to give forth honest integrity.

The Magi modeled themselves after the same Christ-child they went to visit. They were Christ-like in their courage, both pastoral and prophetic, both loving and just. And I trust that is how God will lead me and how God will lead you—lead all of us—into 2019. That’s our revelation; this is our Epiphany.

God will reveal Godself to us. Perhaps as a star or in a dream, perhaps through movements or stories made known, or perhaps here in this church or as we go out in the community, God is present and God is doing something. God is revealing Godself. And you are there in the midst of it, and God is giving you the opportunity to do something. Consider the areas of darkness in your own life or in the lives of others, the areas of fear. And then look for that revelation of Christ. A star of courage arises; go forth, my friends, and follow. Thanks be to God. Amen.

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© Jan Richardson