A sermon for the third Sunday of Epiphany, January 23, 2011, given at the United Church of Acworth, Acworth, NH.
Isaiah 9:1-4
Psalm 27:1, 4-9
1 Corinthians 1:10-18
Matthew 4:12-23
Today’s gospel reading begins with an act of governmental oppression.
John has been put in prison.
Herod Antipas, the local governor, had recently imprisoned him.
According to Mark chapter 6, John had openly criticized Herod’s marriage, a marriage which went against Jewish customs, and Herod’s wife had urged him to put him in prison.
Josephus, a Jewish historian, adds another dimension to the story. He writes that Herod imprisoned John because he “feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise.” (Antiquities, Book XVIII)
Herod’s wife’s anger and Herod’s own paranoia joined forces to silence and detain John.
But John wasn’t trying to start a rebellion and what he said about Herod’s marriage was true.
So, no one could really claim that there was anything right or just about John’s imprisonment.
Just plain old oppression.
John’s speech was unwanted by the powers that be and so it was silenced.
It is after John’s silencing, that Jesus begins to speak
He picks up right as John had left off proclaiming,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
We can imagine Herod’s response when he reads this in the Galilee Times.
“John’s Message Not Dead -- Lives On In Galilean Carpenter”
Jesus defies the intimidation of Herod and begins to preach the message that needs to be heard:
God’s kingdom has broken into the world.
“Repent,” he says, “for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Forsake your old ways, for a new way has come to you.
Wake up! Attention! Warning!
A new reality has intruded into the present one.
John spoke of the coming of the kingdom -- It is at hand
Jesus speaks of the coming of the kingdom -- It is here.
It is important to note the timing of Jesus’ message that kingdom of God has arrived.
John has been arrested and everyone in Galilee has been reminded that the authorities will not tolerate a threat to their influence over the hearts and minds of the people.
It is to an intimidated people, living under oppressive regimes, that Jesus ministers.
It is to the fearful and uncertain that Jesus speaks
It is to the worn out and anxious that Jesus comes
Before Matthew goes on to tell how Jesus’ ministry begins, he emphasizes the importance of the fact that Jesus moves to Galilee.
His emphasis of this comes by quoting a passage from the prophet Isaiah, our Old Testament reading for today:
This passage in Isaiah 9 comes right after speaking about the destruction that will come to Israel as a result of the oppressive empires that will conquer the nation. This passage begins the poem of hope for future restoration.
Those living in darkness have seen a great light
Those living in the shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.
It is in Galilee after John’s arrest that this darkness is an even greater reality. The people are reminded that they are living under a government that does not care about justice. They are living in the shadows, they are living in the darkness of fear and oppression.
And so, to the place that lives in the shadow of death and the darkness of oppression, Jesus moves and begins to minister the truth of God’s truth, justice, and healing.
It is to a burdened people that Jesus comes to comfort and heal.
Those living in darkness have seen a great light
Those living in the shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.
I can’t help but think of Robin Hood as I read this text. Herod is definitely a Prince John type of guy. Justice doesn’t matter; only what is convenient and helpful for him to remain powerful and wealthy.
Jesus is a Robin Hood coming to Galilee’s discouraged and proclaiming hope -- being hope -- by his very presence with them.
He walks along the sea of Galilee and sees some Galilean fishermen and calls out to them: “Come and join me, friends. We’re going to build a kingdom and you’ll be my recruiters.”
Their names? Little John and Will Scarlet -- wait, I mean James and John (whether they called him Little I don’t know).
These guys don’t waste any time but immediately jump up, leave their boat and nets, and join Jesus.
The kingdom had come and the Spirit of God through Jesus’ words and works was changing an old world into a new one.
I think of C.S. Lewis’ children’s book, the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, of Aslan’s entry into Narnia--breaking the spell of the White Witch which had created perpetual winter (with no Christmas!)
Aslan enters Narnia and the frozen places melt, the stone statues of those who went against the White Witch are given motion and life once again.
Lewis’ fantasy story is a perfect picture of the interruption of God’s kingdom into a violent and oppressive world.
People have been living in darkness -- the darkness of disease, injustice, fear, and all kinds of other oppressors.
But in Christ they will see a great light.
In Christ they will be healed, relieved, given hope, forgiven.
And his kingdom will provide an alternative to the violence of the world.
His kingdom will dispel the winter of injustice and shine light into the darkness of violent actions and false speech.
His kingdom will be
a community that seeks to serve in a world that only knows the desire for dominance,
a community that seeks to help in a world that wants to keep to itself, mind its own business,
a community that seeks to speak the truth in a world that only knows how to manipulate words to serve its own quest for power or wealth,
a community that seeks to bring peace and be peace in a world that only knows violence.
Christ’s kingdom has come and Galilee, having lived in darkness, is now witnessing a great light.
For we read that:
The life of God radiates so powerfully from the Spirit of God in Christ that all of the shadows of death that are brought to him in bodies, minds, emotions, spirits --
all the shadows are dispelled
and life and light, health and hope pour out of Him as he proclaims and displays that the kingdom of God has come.
And, much to Herod’s chagrin, Jesus’
The shadow of death is still with us in 2011. Darkness is still here. Injustice, violence, disease, psychological oppression.
We can’t mention psychological oppression without thinking about Jared Loughner, the young man who killed six people in Tucson, Arizona. We can’t mention injustice and violence without thinking about that tragedy.
Almost immediately the media was pointing fingers as to who was to blame for creating the environment in which violence like this could take place.
Almost immediately people all over the nation were wondering how someone could will themselves to do this.
People tried hard to find an explanation. But there is no easy explanation. Evil is a complex reality -- it is not easy to see clearly when your subject is darkness.
But we have to remember that violence is not new
the darkness that we see in Jared Loughner is the same darkness we’ve seen when Cain killed Abel.
We have to wonder, what would have happened if the church had reached out to someone like Jared or to a family like the Loughners.
What would have happened if someone, seeing the darkness in that boy, had sought to be a light, to show the generous love we find in Christ that dispels hate, the life that dispels the fearful shadows of death.
Perhaps nothing would have happened.
But we must think about these events and the people involved with the perspective of those who believe that a new kingdom has broken into this world.
That those who have lived in the shadow of death have seen a great light.
And we exist as a community to be the light of the truth and love of God that shines in the darkness of lies and hatred, the life and love of Christ which neither death nor darkness can overcome. Amen.
John has been put in prison.
Herod Antipas, the local governor, had recently imprisoned him.
According to Mark chapter 6, John had openly criticized Herod’s marriage, a marriage which went against Jewish customs, and Herod’s wife had urged him to put him in prison.
Josephus, a Jewish historian, adds another dimension to the story. He writes that Herod imprisoned John because he “feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise.” (Antiquities, Book XVIII)
Herod’s wife’s anger and Herod’s own paranoia joined forces to silence and detain John.
But John wasn’t trying to start a rebellion and what he said about Herod’s marriage was true.
So, no one could really claim that there was anything right or just about John’s imprisonment.
Just plain old oppression.
John’s speech was unwanted by the powers that be and so it was silenced.
It is after John’s silencing, that Jesus begins to speak
He picks up right as John had left off proclaiming,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
We can imagine Herod’s response when he reads this in the Galilee Times.
“John’s Message Not Dead -- Lives On In Galilean Carpenter”
Jesus defies the intimidation of Herod and begins to preach the message that needs to be heard:
God’s kingdom has broken into the world.
“Repent,” he says, “for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Forsake your old ways, for a new way has come to you.
Wake up! Attention! Warning!
A new reality has intruded into the present one.
John spoke of the coming of the kingdom -- It is at hand
Jesus speaks of the coming of the kingdom -- It is here.
It is important to note the timing of Jesus’ message that kingdom of God has arrived.
John has been arrested and everyone in Galilee has been reminded that the authorities will not tolerate a threat to their influence over the hearts and minds of the people.
It is to an intimidated people, living under oppressive regimes, that Jesus ministers.
It is to the fearful and uncertain that Jesus speaks
It is to the worn out and anxious that Jesus comes
Before Matthew goes on to tell how Jesus’ ministry begins, he emphasizes the importance of the fact that Jesus moves to Galilee.
His emphasis of this comes by quoting a passage from the prophet Isaiah, our Old Testament reading for today:
The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.
This passage in Isaiah 9 comes right after speaking about the destruction that will come to Israel as a result of the oppressive empires that will conquer the nation. This passage begins the poem of hope for future restoration.
Those living in darkness have seen a great light
Those living in the shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.
It is in Galilee after John’s arrest that this darkness is an even greater reality. The people are reminded that they are living under a government that does not care about justice. They are living in the shadows, they are living in the darkness of fear and oppression.
And so, to the place that lives in the shadow of death and the darkness of oppression, Jesus moves and begins to minister the truth of God’s truth, justice, and healing.
It is to a burdened people that Jesus comes to comfort and heal.
Those living in darkness have seen a great light
Those living in the shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.
I can’t help but think of Robin Hood as I read this text. Herod is definitely a Prince John type of guy. Justice doesn’t matter; only what is convenient and helpful for him to remain powerful and wealthy.
Jesus is a Robin Hood coming to Galilee’s discouraged and proclaiming hope -- being hope -- by his very presence with them.
He walks along the sea of Galilee and sees some Galilean fishermen and calls out to them: “Come and join me, friends. We’re going to build a kingdom and you’ll be my recruiters.”
Their names? Little John and Will Scarlet -- wait, I mean James and John (whether they called him Little I don’t know).
These guys don’t waste any time but immediately jump up, leave their boat and nets, and join Jesus.
The kingdom had come and the Spirit of God through Jesus’ words and works was changing an old world into a new one.
I think of C.S. Lewis’ children’s book, the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, of Aslan’s entry into Narnia--breaking the spell of the White Witch which had created perpetual winter (with no Christmas!)
Aslan enters Narnia and the frozen places melt, the stone statues of those who went against the White Witch are given motion and life once again.
Lewis’ fantasy story is a perfect picture of the interruption of God’s kingdom into a violent and oppressive world.
People have been living in darkness -- the darkness of disease, injustice, fear, and all kinds of other oppressors.
But in Christ they will see a great light.
In Christ they will be healed, relieved, given hope, forgiven.
And his kingdom will provide an alternative to the violence of the world.
His kingdom will dispel the winter of injustice and shine light into the darkness of violent actions and false speech.
His kingdom will be
a community that seeks to serve in a world that only knows the desire for dominance,
a community that seeks to help in a world that wants to keep to itself, mind its own business,
a community that seeks to speak the truth in a world that only knows how to manipulate words to serve its own quest for power or wealth,
a community that seeks to bring peace and be peace in a world that only knows violence.
Christ’s kingdom has come and Galilee, having lived in darkness, is now witnessing a great light.
For we read that:
he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
The life of God radiates so powerfully from the Spirit of God in Christ that all of the shadows of death that are brought to him in bodies, minds, emotions, spirits --
all the shadows are dispelled
and life and light, health and hope pour out of Him as he proclaims and displays that the kingdom of God has come.
And, much to Herod’s chagrin, Jesus’
fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
The shadow of death is still with us in 2011. Darkness is still here. Injustice, violence, disease, psychological oppression.
We can’t mention psychological oppression without thinking about Jared Loughner, the young man who killed six people in Tucson, Arizona. We can’t mention injustice and violence without thinking about that tragedy.
Almost immediately the media was pointing fingers as to who was to blame for creating the environment in which violence like this could take place.
Almost immediately people all over the nation were wondering how someone could will themselves to do this.
People tried hard to find an explanation. But there is no easy explanation. Evil is a complex reality -- it is not easy to see clearly when your subject is darkness.
But we have to remember that violence is not new
the darkness that we see in Jared Loughner is the same darkness we’ve seen when Cain killed Abel.
We have to wonder, what would have happened if the church had reached out to someone like Jared or to a family like the Loughners.
What would have happened if someone, seeing the darkness in that boy, had sought to be a light, to show the generous love we find in Christ that dispels hate, the life that dispels the fearful shadows of death.
Perhaps nothing would have happened.
But we must think about these events and the people involved with the perspective of those who believe that a new kingdom has broken into this world.
That those who have lived in the shadow of death have seen a great light.
And we exist as a community to be the light of the truth and love of God that shines in the darkness of lies and hatred, the life and love of Christ which neither death nor darkness can overcome. Amen.
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