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1/7/07

Everyone Is Welcome??

Can you believe it’s already time to take one calendar down and put another up?  I was just looking at my calendar this afternoon on my computer, and I could hardly believe my eyes that the second to last day was highlighted already!  Doesn’t every year seem to go faster than the one before it?

As we begin a new year, many people take the opportunity to look back at the past year.  Maybe you’ve already started doing this -- looking back at the good and bad of 2007.  I’ve talked to several people who are glad that 2007 is over, and they only hope that 2008 will be better.  I’ve talked to other people who thought that 2007 was one of the best years of their life.  For me and my family, we’ve had some high – highs and some low – lows.  In 2007 we went through a difficult separation for a church I had been pasturing in Up-State New York, but we also had the opportunity to experience many of our daughter’s firsts – her first words… her first steps… her first bites of solid food.  So 2007 was definitely mixed bag for us.  How about for you?  As you reflect over the past year, were there so low points?  If there were, and we’ve all almost certainly had some, I hope there have been some high points to balance them out.

As I thought back this past week, I was thinking some about the history of our nation.  As we enter 2008, our nation is in it’s 231^st year.  While we were living in New York, my family and I had the opportunity to visit some very historically significant places for our country.  Among those were Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.  Both of these landmarks help us remember some of the great aspects of our nation’s history.  The Statue of Liberty reminds us of the freedoms we have in this country and the sacrifices that were made to receive those freedoms.  Ellis Island reminds us the fact that so many came to this country to escape the injustices of their home countries.

But while it’s nice to remember the high points of our nations history, not every page in our nation’s history book is pleasant to remember.  The museum at Ellis Island is a perfect example of that.  Even while many people left their homes for the promise of a new life and equity in the United States, that’s not always what they found when they got here.  In any group of people, it’s easy for an “us versus them” mentality to set in, and the United States is no exception.  We have continued to see this even in the past year has there have been heated debates around the topic of illegal immigration.  Even though most American families came to the United States as immigrants at some point, those who had been here for several generations were quick to want to close the door to further immigration, and when they were unsuccessful in closing the door politically, they closed the door through segregation and unequal treatment. Certain shops and even areas of the city were exclusive.  That is, they treated people equally only if they were like themselves in nationality, ethnicity, religion, or any other category they chose to use.

There has been a good deal of progress made in the acceptance and understanding of other cultures and ethnicities in our country, but that doesn’t mean that it’s no longer an issue.  Most of us can still easily think of inequalities and exclusivity in our country.  The situation has improved, but it is still a concept that we are all familiar with.

In the Bible, too, we see inequality and exclusivity.  An “us verses them” mentality.  And why not?  God calls the Israelites “my people” no less than 200 times in the Old Testament.  Even the temple was a picture of segregation.  It had a court for the Gentiles (that is, everyone who was not a Israelite) on the outside of the rest of the temple.  If anyone had a reason to think they were a little better than everyone else, it was the Israelites.  They were God’s chosen people.

But God seems to introduce something new in the New Testament.  Something which Matthew, more so than any other of the gospels, doesn’t want us to miss.  And, I don’t know you yet, but I’m guessing we can all be grateful that God did start something new, since we’re likely all Gentiles.  And in the New Testament, God starts, more so than before, to expand the good news of salvation to the Gentiles.

I want to invite you to turn to our passage for this evening if you would like:

Matthew 2:1-12 (NRSV)

2 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.

Matthew didn’t want us to miss the expansion of his love to those who were otherwise on the outskirts of the Jewish faith, but our familiarity with the story of Jesus coming into the world often does cause us to miss what exactly God is doing.  If we were to begin reading Matthew from the beginning, we’d see that Matthew includes 4 women in his genealogy who have things in their past which may have caused some people to want to omit them.  Tamar played the role of a prostitute to impregnate her father-in-law.  Rahab was a prostitute.  Ruth has a connection to the city of Moab, a Gentile city.  And Bathsheba is referred to in a roundabout way, reminding us of David’s immoral acts.

And then, in the second chapter, Matthew is the only one to refer to the Magi.  Perhaps Matthew was trying to show that God was working beyond those people whom we might expect God to work through.

But wait… what’s the matter with the Magi?  Why would the Magi suggest the expansion of God’s target audience?  Aren’t they just the three friendly kings who show up to bring gifts to the newborn Jesus?  That’s what they look like in any nativity scene I’ve ever seen.  Kings coming to worship the king of kings.

Well, in actuality, the Magi, or wise men, are quite mysterious individuals.  From scripture, we know very little about them.  As a matter of fact, all that we actually know about the Magi we know from the passage we just read and another brief mention in verse 16.  Much of what we “know” about the Mage is actually just legend.  For instance, even though we sing of “We Three Kings,” there is no reason to believe there were three of them beyond the fact that they brought three gifts, and they were almost certainly not royalty or kings.  At best, they may have been connected with the royal courts of Persia, but we don’t even know that for sure.  The “Three Kings” have traditionally been given the names “Melchior, Gaspar, and Baltasar,” but these names were given by St. Bede the Venerable in the 8^th century, and all indications seem to suggest that he just made them up.  Finally, you can go to Cologne, Germany and see the supposed skulls of the Magi on display, but the likelihood of their legitimacy is dubious at best.

So if that is all legend surrounding the Magi, what do we know about the Magi, and what does their inclusion in Matthew have to teach us today?  What we know about the Magi is what the Bible tells us, which isn’t much.  We read in our Bibles that they were Wise Men from the east, but the Greek can be translated either that they were Wise Men from the east, or that they were Wise Men who traveled east, which would mean they came from the West.

But the Greek does say they were Magi, which we often translate as Wise Men, and from this description, we do know something about the Magi.  We get our word “magic” from the same root as “Magi,” but these were not the type of magicians you would expect to see at a child’s birthday party.  These Magi were more like modern day astrologers or palm readers.  They looked to the sky to predict the future.  They tried to read the stars, which would in turn have been the source of their “wisdom.”  They would have been seen by the Jews much as we may look at mediums or fortune tellers.  At best they’re con-men, and at worse they’re dependant on sinful practices for their livelihood.

There’s good reason to discredit the work of such individuals whether or not their predictions are accurate.  The bible warns against consulting false prophets, diviners, dreamers, soothsayers, or sorcerers.   Their power, at times, may be legitimate as was the case with Pharaoh’s magicians.  They were able to reproduce many of the same plagues that Moses brought on Egypt.  But whereas the power with which Moses worked came from God, the power the magicians conjured up was not from God.  Likewise, there must have been some legitimacy to the Magi’s power in Matthew because they were able to follow the star to the place where Jesus was born.  God works all things together for good.  Even though the Magi may have used unholy power, God used it to bring them to worship the true King of kings and Lord of lords.

So what do we know about the Magi?  We know that they were likely magicians who traveled some distance, led by a star, to pay homage to the new born baby Jesus and to give him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Beyond that, we don’t really know anything about them with any certainty. 

But then I have a second of two questions.  What does their inclusion in Matthew have to teach us today.  Is Matthew trying to legitimize the craft of magic by showing what advantages it can bring?  I don’t think so.  That would contradict other biblical writings.  So why is it here?  I wonder if the inclusion of the Magi isn’t included here for the same reason Matthew included the four women in the genealogy.   I wonder if they aren’t included to show that with the birth of Christ, Jesus was expanding the sphere of his salvation. 

In the New Testament we often read the refrain, “first to the Jew, and then to the Gentile,” and to our ears that may seem rather exclusive.  But to the Jew it was inclusive.  They had been used to hearing, “first to the Jew” and stopping there, but the New Testament went further to include the Gentiles as well.  Gentile Magi would not have been respected in the Jewish culture.  They used unholy powers to do unholy things.  But Matthew in essence says, “the coming of the Christ is good news, not only for the Jews, but even for the Magi.”  Matthew could put “Everyone is Welcome” on the sign in front of his Synagogue, and for the first time, really mean it.

So what about us?   What about this church?  Could you put “Everyone is Welcome” on your sign out front and really mean it?  I come to you as a guest this evening, so I can’t answer this question for you.  Maybe the people of Rose Park are known for their reaching out and including those whom others would shun.  If that’s the case, great!  Maybe my message next week will be more applicable.  But if Rose Park is like most churches, and if the nature of people at Rose Park is like human nature, this is probably an area we all struggle with.  Why?  Because it’s easy to become comfortable with the familiar… with people who we know… with people like us – and it’s hard to reach out to people we don’t know… to people not like us. 

What about those people whom we don’t really think of as church going people.  What if they spent all Saturday night drinking away their pain?  What if they haven’t hade a shower in a month?  What if they don’t have any money to drop in the offering plate, or even to buy “Sunday, going to church” clothes?  What if their children aren’t well behaved?  What if they’re of a different culture?  What if they don’t do things the way we’ve always done them?  Are they welcome in this church?

I think by including the Magi in the salvation story, Matthew is saying everyone should be welcome in our church – or should I say everyone is welcome in his church.  But it’s so easy to say everyone is welcome in our church.  I see it on church signs all the time.  “Everyone is welcome”  “Visitors Expected”  But when I see those signs, I often wonder what those churches are doing to make everyone feel welcome?  What are they doing to ensure that the expected visitors actually show up? 

We can’t just say everyone is welcome, but then never invite them or make them feel at home.  I’ve heard people say, “they know where we are… the doors are open… they could come in any time.”  And while that may be true, and perhaps that thought process worked in the past (although I doubt it worked very well), it strikes me as not being a very Christ-like attitude.

Think about  when you welcome someone into your home.  Do you put a sign in your front yard… leave the door unlocked… and wait for the guests to come?  No!  You invite them.  You go out of your way to make sure they’re comfortable, even if it means having to do something you’re somewhat uncomfortable or unfamiliar with.  For instance… I love salmon and hate broccoli.  Imagine I invite someone over to have supper with my family, and I knew he absolutely hated fish of every kind!  Would I grill up a big fillet of Salmon for everyone at the dinner?  Of course not.  Sure I would enjoy the Salmon, but the point isn’t me… it’s the guest.  I want the guest to feel comfortable.  If I were to serve steak instead, my guest would feel comfortable.  But if I also knew my guest really liked broccoli, I could prepare the best broccoli I knew how.  That would be taking the step from making my guest comfortable to making my guest feel at home… to being hospitable. 

The principles of hospitality in the home can and should be brought over to the church.  We can invite our guests  We can make our guests comfortable by not doing anything that would offend them or make them unnecessarily uncomfortable.  But if we want our guests to really feel at home… if we want to really be hospitable, we’d set aside our own preferences and substitute them with our guests preferences.  We must never compromise on the foundations of our faith, but our personal preferences must never be confused for what’s foundational.  When a church learns how to be hospitable it can truly say “Everyone is Welcome!” 

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.