First Sunday after Epiphany January 7, 2007
Preached at Kingston Road United Church by the Rev. Richard C. Choe
* * *
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. … '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.’”
* * *
There are different kinds of gift we give and receive.
News from Leksand, Sweden on Friday about Team Canada’s win over Russia and their third consecutive gold medal at the World Junior Hockey Championship was a kind of gift that gave us national pride.
Then, there is the kind of gift you receive that makes you wonder about the intention of the giver and use of the gift itself. Margaret was trying to figure out what the Christmas gift from her brother was all about. She was describing the gift at the Christmas Eve dinner at Phyllis’ place. It seems that the gift was a Winnie the Pooh wind-up music box. Margaret told me this morning that her brother’s gift was for her collection of teddy bears.
Last week, Paul reminded us that, according to a poll, a fruit cake rates as the worst Christmas gift. He also told us that it is not a good idea to give a household item to one’s partner. The advice was too late: I confess I gave Kim a Wüsthof cook’s knife as part of her Christmas gift. She loved it, but thank God I gave her more than a knife!
One story of gifts we know well is “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry. Della sells her beautiful long hair to buy a fob chain for her husband Jim’s gold pocket watch. Jim sells his gold watch he inherited from his grandfather to buy combs for Della’s beautiful hair.
Why would they spend so much money on gifts when they could barely afford rent for their flat? In the end, Della no longer had long hair to be held by combs. Jim no longer had a watch to be held by a fob chain. And yet, we “know” they gave a cherished possession out of love for each other.
This is how O. Henry ends his story:
“The magi, as you know, were wise men – wonderfully wise men – who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days -- let it be said that of all who give gifts, these two were the wisest. [Everywhere] all who give and receive gifts, such as they, are wisest. They are the magi.”[i]
O. Henry’s story tells us of a love that enables two individuals to give away the most treasured gifts they had for each other -- themselves.
The original story of the Gift of the Magi written in the Gospel according to Matthew tells us of an absurd and unrealistic scene for us living in Canada.
Nothing belongs together in the scene described in Matthew. There is a mother with a newborn baby in an animal feeding trough. There are strangers presenting expensive gifts to a baby from a not-so-well-off family away from their home. The story is as ludicrous as Della and Jim spending three week’s worth of rent money on a gift that neither could use.
There are many things out of place in Matthew’s narrative. There are human beings lodging in a place for animals – a barn. There ought to be animals there. This means manure, hay strewn over the place, mice and other vermin, etc. Farmers would tell you that those of us who grew up in the city are also missing the stench of the barn and many other details.
There is a common family huddled in a stable. There are gift-giving foreigners at the stable. All, except the animals, are strangers in a strange land, far from home.
The scene conjures up the images I have seen in many refugee camps in war torn zones in Africa and the Middle East. The story sounds like the United Nations Aid being presented to refugees in Darfur, Sudan.
We live in a society where propaganda of unbridled consumerism dominates the airwaves and all types of media in and around the season of Christmas. We could easily misread and mishear the story of the Magi as the story of affluent kingship given to Jesus, like the kingship of the empires of our time.
Matthew’s story has foreigners recognising Jesus of Nazareth as the King of the Jews. It was the outsiders (those not from Palestine) who recognized another outsider (a Nazarene who are the marginalised within Jewish society.) By juxtaposing the Wise Men from the East bearing expensive gifts with the family in the common stable, the community of Matthew also emphasizes that Jesus, whom they believed to be the Son of God, came to them as the lowest of the low and smallest of the small in the human world.
The birth narrative of Jesus is a revolutionary idea that to be the Messiah is to come from the lowest of the low and to serve the meek and the marginalised in human society. God chose the lowest place in human society for the birth of God’s chosen child. Such an idea was foreign to most in the time of Jesus and is still a foreign concept to most of us today who are surrounded by trappings of affluence in our society.
The gift of the Magi was the recognition that Jesus was not just for a particular tribe of people but for the world. The gift of the Magi, understood by the community of Matthew, was that Jesus was the Gift from God to all humanity. This gift of God, Jesus of Nazareth, was born in the midst of political and religious intrigues and violence. The violence connected to politics and religious ideologies continues in our global village. We still need the gift of the Magi for our world today.
But what does the story of Magi and Jesus in a stable tell us about our faith and day-to-day life here in Canada?
“It is not the extra-ordinary events that shape our lives. These times are few. Rather, it is the ordinary, day-to-day occurrences that form the pattern of our days and give our lives meaning. It is these events that will some day be read and cherished by those who come after us.”
- Col. Garry A. Littleton
A friend of mine sent me this e-mail after reading my Christmas sermon. This is what she says.
“I also have memories of the first several Christmases in Canada (arriving on a student visa) from the United Sates. My (Canadian) husband at that time was a candidate for ministry who sat without call for 5 years. Because we arrived in Toronto without jobs - straight from seminary - no one would rent to us. I used much of what was left of my savings to pay rent upfront for 6 months to put a roof over our heads. I also remember being turned down for jobs for which I was over qualified, for lack of Canadian experience. When we were totally stretched financially, the church where we worshipped brought food and a Christmas gift for each of us on our third Christmas here. I remember giving treasured possessions away as gifts to family members. For instance, my gift for my mother was a pair of pearl earrings my grandparents (her parents) had given me for my confirmation and which I had worn for my wedding. To be working for church nine years later, after a tumultuous decade of multiple jobs and disintegration of that marriage, seemed nothing short of a miracle.”
My friend’s e-mail reminded me of the ordinary miracles we live through in our own lives. The gift of the Magi was experienced through the love of friends and relations, including those in church. For love is experienced in and through life. It is not something we just talk about.
We can start to transform the world we are part of by working on our own life contexts. We work out our own salvation and liberation by being a gift to those around us. Realities of the homeless and lack of affordable housing are issues here in our community. I think the solutions will have to involve much more than churches trying to house the homeless in our neighbourhood. I believe that our government is getting away with negligence toward the poor in our society. Raising the minimum wage slightly is not the answer. A congregation in the Beach area and some of their neighbours are arguing with each other about housing the homeless once a week over the winter. At the same time the levels of the governments are not being challenged enough to provide care for the poor. However, it is a concern that the attitudes towards the poor in this neighbourhood seem to be changing for the worse.
God’s Call is to be a gift to the world. Della and Jim in O. Henry’s story were fictional characters that set an example for us to follow. It is also the Call to each and every Christian believer. We must follow the example set by Jesus of Nazareth who offered himself as a gift to the world so that the world may see the love of God being lived out in and through him. We are ordinary people who struggle to live out our faith. May we dare to be a gift to the world we are part of each and every day. Amen.
-----------------------------------
[i] “The Gift of the Magi,” O. Henry
No comments:
Post a Comment