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(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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There is a brief passage in Evelyn Waugh's novel Helena that has stayed with me and colored the way I picture the evocative
narrative of the visit of the wise men from the East to the stable of the child Jesus. Helena was the mother of Emperor Constantine,
and she discovered this new faith, Christianity, late in life. In Waugh's novel, Helena makes a pilgrimage to the Holy Land
to help ground her religious experience, to find some sense of security in the very physicality and earthiness of the geography
of Jesus.
For her, this trip is also a response to the pressures and complexities surrounding the political intrigue of Constantine's
remarkable work of subduing the entire Roman Empire. Plots and espionage, assassinations and a new world order are all part
of the world she lives in with her powerful son.
On her pilgrimage, she finds herself in Bethlehem, in a church, weary and perplexed. Three Greek priests, bearded and vested,
with silver bells announcing their entrance, process solemnly to begin the worship.
Evelyn Waugh writes: Helena knew little Greek and her thoughts were not in the words nor anywhere near the immediate scene.
She forgot everything except the swaddled child long ago and those three royal sages who had come from so far to adore him.
'This is my day,' she thought, 'and these are my kind.'
These wise men; these plotters of the stars and guests of King Herod. These were the people she was used to: brilliant,
clever, powerful, complicated, maybe devious; they are the late arrivals at the manger.
Like me, you were late in coming, she says to the wise men. The shepherds were here long before; even the cattle.
They had joined the chorus of angels before you were on your way. ...How laboriously you came, taking sights and calculating,
where the shepherds had run barefoot! How odd you looked on the road, attended by what outlandish liveries, laden with such
preposterous gifts.
One of my college roommates had a bumper sticker he put on our refrigerator. "The Bible: God Said It. I believe it. That's
that." And that worked for Howard.
But not for me. The Bible has always seemed more complicated and contradictory than that. For many of us, coming to faith
is not simple. For many of us, it is not as clear-as-a-star that God exists; it is not self-evident that this whole Jesus-thing
is true; and the intrigue and conflicts of competing religious orders -- including even plots and espionage and assassinations
-- compromises the perceived legitimacy of all faith systems.
Even without adding a layer of spirituality, life is difficult. How are we supposed to live? There are so many competing
political theories and economic theories, vast cultural divides, and the menial hurts and injustices that scar and confuse
us. What is truth? The more it seems you know the more you know you don't know.
Some of us think and read and study ourselves paralyzed into intellectual Gordian knots. Others find something they can commit
to and run off with purpose and intention, only to find themselves disillusioned, even betrayed, by the brokenness and disappointment
of that which we put our hope in. How odd we look on this road, attended by our outlandish liveries and laden with such preposterous
gifts.
Helena speaks to the wise men: You came at length to the final stage of your pilgrimage and the great star stood above
you. What did you do? You stopped to call on King Herod. Deadly exchange of compliments in which there began that unended
war of mobs and magistrates against the innocent!
How the powerful and complicated create havoc on the innocent. A polite state visit from Eastern dignitaries to Jerusalem,
and all of the male children of a Jewish village are massacred. So much collateral damage; unintended consequences. Nuclear
power makes both electricity and bombs. Through the Internet we can communicate with one another and understand others better
than at any time in human history. We have the resources to eliminate extreme poverty world wide. We can gather intelligence
from space or cell phone or email to thwart those who would do harm. And still the innocent suffer. Who is not complicit
in the complicated systems that victimize the weak?
But... Surprise! Miracle! The wise men are welcome. Helena continues...
You came and were not turned away. You too found room before the manger. Your gifts were not exactly needed, but they
were accepted and put carefully by, for they were brought in love. In that new order of charity that had just come to life,
there was room for you. You were not lower in the eyes of the holy family than the ox or the ass.
They are welcome. We are welcome. You are welcome at the manger. Bring all of your complexity and doubt with you. Bring
your failure and shame, your complicity and guilt. All that is needed is love. The wise men's gifts weren't needed any more
than your strange gifts. Whatever you have, whatever you have done, whoever you are, whoever you have been -- do not leave
it outside the manger door. Bring it all inside, and give it with love. Your gifts also will be accepted and put carefully
by. There is room for all.
Nothing need be left outside, for Christ is the journey and the journey's end. All of the wrong turns and dead ends and false
starts are part of the journey, and Christ is the journey as well as the journey's end. Whatever has been, is part of who
you are. It is part of the experience that has moved you to the truth. I know people in recovery in AA who thank God for
their alcoholism, for without it they would not know God the way they do today.
So bring your complexity with you as your gift to the child. If you are intelligent or tangled, if you have some power or
influence, if you have been complict in things that have damaged others, let the wise men be your patron saints. Take all
of your complicated history with you and journey with them to the manger.
Helena speaks to them: You are my especial patrons... and patrons of all latecomers, of all who have a tedious journey
to make to the truth, of all who are confused with knowledge and speculation, of all who through their politeness make themselves
partners in guilt, of all who stand in danger by reason of their talents.
Dear cousins, she addresses the wise men, pray for me, and for my poor overloaded son. May he, too, before the end
find kneeling-space in the straw. Pray for the great, lest they perish utterly... For His sake who did not reject your curious
gifts, pray always for the learned, the oblique, the delicate. Let them not be quite forgotten at the Throne of God when
the simple come into their kingdom."
Amen.
While looking on-line for the text of St. Helena's prayer to the wise men, I came across Archbishop Rowan Williams' 2002 Christmas
Day Meditation for BBC Radio 4, which strongly influenced the composition of this sermon. http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/sermons_speeches/2002/021225.html
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