Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’
When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, ‘He will be called a Nazorean.’
Jesus Without Politics
(This is the fourth and final in a series of sermons for Advent "Waking up for Adventure." These sermons do not always follow the assigned lectionary.)
The words are familiar to many if not most of us . . . “We the people of the United States of America in order to form a more perfect union establish justice . . .” These are the words of the Preamble to the US Constitution. Words that many of you learned in grade school, memorizing them as you did for a class project. More than likely you memorized those words at about the same time you were memorizing other words in church: Bible verses, the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, the Ten Commandments. Words of the US Constitution and words of the faith wrap themselves around the lives of believers across this land like a nicely packaged gift. But what you and I need to talk about today as we conclude this series of messages “Waking up to ADVENTURE” . . . What you and I need to address as we conclude these messages on preparing ourselves for becoming part of God’s drama in the world, is what does it mean to be a Christian in the land of plenty. How do we understand ourselves as followers of the babe in the manger in the land of liberty.
Oh, I know that for many of us, the land of liberty is cause for celebration. For many citizens, religious freedom is a cherished right. And I agree. We should count ourselves as among the most blessed for the opportunity to worship without fear of attack or persecution or harassment. But there are people in the world who simply have not had such a cozy and comfortable relationship with the governing authorities.
Take for example Jesus. From the moment he was born till the day he died, those in authority feared him. That’s what our gospel lesson told us last week. When the wise men travelled from afar, following the star, they ended up at the doorstep of the local magistrate in Jerusalem. His name was Herod. When Herod heard the news that the Messiah of the world was born, the Bible says that he was terrified at the thought and all those in the ruling city were terrified. Jesus the Messiah was a threat. He unnerved them. Herod gathers the wise men and lies straight through his teeth, “That’s awesome! We have been waiting for this. You guys go on ahead and find the child and when you do, you send word back to us, so that we can also go and worship him.”
All the while King Herod made plans to assassinate Jesus. Jesus was Herod’s enemy. You must know, my good friends, that there are places in the world where the governing authorities do not exist for the people. They are not of the people. They are not by the people. There are rulers, and kings, and presidents, and queens, and prime ministers, and all manner of political leaders who are not interested in the people. They are not concerned about the people. They are not in solidarity with the people. Jesus lived in such a day. Jesus lived in such a land. Where those in authority are only interested in themselves, their own power, their own wealth, their own everything. Any possible threat had to be dealt with unmistakable brutality and cruelty. And that is exactly what Herod brought to the party.
When the wise men returned to their home country without consulting with Herod, Herod marshaled all the resources of the state to wage war on the baby Jesus and his teenage parents. He sent out the SS, the death squads of the empire and in one fell swoop descended on Bethlehem killing all the boys two years and younger. This is the kind of crime against humanity that you would see in Cambodia decades ago, or Serbia, or Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. All directed at Jesus.
In 1987 I was a student in seminary learning the ropes to being the dashingly good-looking preacher that I am today. One of my goals during seminary was to study abroad. I had been a Latin America history major and studied about such wonderful places as Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Chile. I had been to Mexico several times and decided to work in Argentina where I helped established a new church in a poor suburb. After that I went to Chile to study in a Protestant seminary. I wanted to study the Bible and theology in Spanish. I also wanted to learn in a setting that was politically oppressive.
The government of Chile was a military dictatorship under the rule of Augusto Pinochet. He came to power fourteen years earlier in a military coup that was brutal and oppressive. He gathered up 30,000 people from the opposition party and put them in a stadium and killed them. When I was there in 1987 there were various protests against his rule and brutality. I went there with a camera with a lens long enough that I could take photos from a distance. Tens of thousands of students were protesting throughout Santiago. Waves of masses of people. Riot police were everywhere. Back and forth. Tear gas canisters were flying through the air. You know why they call it tear gas? Well, it makes you cry almost uncontrollably. Like having battery acid rubbed in your eyes and nose and throat. Water cannons were blasting protesters with water. This was not Perrier water mind you. It was sewer water. I had intended to get some photos from a distance but I got caught up running scared with other protesters. I was running with a group of students, like a heard of buffalo we were, through the downtown streets of the capital of Chile, Santiago. When we came up on a “T” in the road, all of them turned left, but I turned right. Soon after I was tackled by a secret police into a glass window and placed under arrest. Those “billy clubs” you see riot police carry around? They use them. They beat me black and blue from top to bottom. Later that night in jail, the US consul came to get me. He told me how stupid I had been. He told me if it happened again he wouldn’t be able to get me out. I went back to my apartment, bandaged my wounds, packed my bags, and got the earliest flight home I could.
There are governments in this world that are not of the people. There are governments in this world that are not for the people. There are governments in this world that are not by the people. How do you live in such a time?
How do you live in such a time when you don’t know which way to turn? How do you align yourself when you don’t know whether to go left or right? When do you head for the hills and when should you take a stand? What are you to do as a Christian when all you can see is political intrigue and manipulation and the possibility for violence?
These questions and more are the questions that confronted two Jewish teenage parents and their little boy in Bethlehem as they held Jesus tight in a world of political trickery and violence.
What we see them do is hold on to the God who is holding on to them. Whenever they packed up their bags for Egypt, it wasn’t simply a matter of putting a few things in a bag, getting the donkey ready for Mary who would hold Jesus close. By the time the wise men leave the holy family, Jesus is a year or two old. He is sitting up and holding things. Every time they hit rough terrain, it wasn’t just Mary holding Jesus’ hand . . . he was holding hers. It wasn’t just that Joseph would put Jesus on his shoulders, but Jesus had his hand on Joseph. Every perilous uncertain step of the way, Jesus the Messiah was with them.
When you travel with Jesus, when you set out on the adventure that he brings, there is a freedom in the journey that you can’t find in the Constitution. With Jesus there is a liberty you won’t find in the preamble. With Jesus there is life that you will never read in the laws of our land.
I don’t know where you lean in this political world, whether you lean right or you lean left. I don’t know where you get your news . . . from CNN, or Fox, or msnbc, or Timbuktu cable news. But I do know that if you are looking for another way. If you are longing for real freedom. If you are longing for real liberty. If you are longing for real life, then it is here. He is here, extending his hand to support you and guide you on your way.
He is the King of kings. He is the Lord of lords. He is the Lord of nations. Jesus.
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