A New Channel

The Rev. Dr. Skip Ferguson

Manassas Presbyterian Church

Manassas, Virginia

January 6, 2013 - Epiphany

A New Channel

Psalm 72: selected verses

We can almost hear the thoughts

racing through the minds of the Wise Men

as they stood before Herod, King of the Jews,

in his opulent palace in Jerusalem:

“This man,

this Herod,

this man is a king?”

In their wisdom they kept their thoughts to themselves,

even as they exchanged knowing looks to one another.

Then, in their most diplomatic language, they asked Herod,

“Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?”

They could see that Herod was an old man,

nearing the end of his life.

Surely he would welcome his successor;

surely he would share their enthusiasm

for the newborn king.

                                            

But Herod was king in name only;

He served at the pleasure of the Roman government.

He served not because he was wise,

or courageous,

or strong or smart.

He served not because he was good,

or compassionate,

or just.

He served because he did what the Romans told him to do,

what they allowed him to do.

Questions of righteousness, mercy, justice;

questions of what was good for the people –

they were of no interest to him.

He had held his position for almost 40 years –

kept himself in power,

lived in luxury.

When he died he wanted to assure that        his sons,

just as corrupt as he was,

would succeed him.

The Wise Men could see greed,

fear,

weakness

in Herod’s eyes, his face,

in the people who surrounded him.

His title may have been king

but the Wise Men knew they looked upon a small man,

a petty man,

a cold and cruel man.

The Wise Men had come seeking a king,

a true king,

a person of greatness,

so they continued on from Jerusalem

following the star as it led them to Bethlehem,

to a simple house, as Matthew’s gospel tells us,

a house no doubt rough and small.

There was no mistaking the home they found for a palace.

Inside they found a young woman,

barely more than a girl,

nursing an infant boy.

In him, the Wise Men knew they had found their king.

He, and he alone, was the king they sought.

They dropped to their knees in that cramped space,

and although they were not Jews,

they knew the words of the psalmist,

the prayer the psalmist had written

for a king a thousand years before:             

Give the king your justice, O God,
   and your righteousness to a king’s son.

May he judge your people with righteousness,
   and your poor with justice.
^…May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
   give deliverance to the needy,
     and crush the oppressor.

The Wise Men had seen many rulers,

some great,

but most like Herod.

They knew the hallmark of a true king, a great king

was to rule with righteousness and mercy,

compassion and goodness

with genuine concern for all the king’s people,

especially the poor and the outcasts –

those unable to care for themselves.

As each man in turn offered his gifts to the child,

it was as though the stars in the sky

had become a mighty chorus

singing out the psalmist’s words:

In his days may righteousness flourish
   and peace abound, until the moon is no more.

…For he delivers the needy when they call,
   the poor and those who have no helper.
He has pity on the weak and the needy,
   and saves the lives of the needy.
From oppression and violence he redeems their life;
   and precious is their blood in his sight.

The infant king spoke no words of course,

but years later as a grown man

this King would teach his followers,

would teach every one of us,

that “justice, mercy, and faith”

are the things we are called to practice,

for they are what matters most to the king,

this king: the King of kings.

(Matthew 23:23)

So as we begin a new year,

let us commit ourselves anew,

each of us and all of us,

to justice and mercy,

faith and compassion,

to concern for the poor

and the weak

and the needy.

Let us commit ourselves anew

as Christ’s arms, hands, and legs,

as those called to be

the channels of God’s love and grace

given to all the world in Jesus Christ.

“Blessed be his glorious name forever,

and may his glory fill the earth.”

AMEN

“Let us commit ourselves anew

through the Responsive Act of

Covenant and Renewal

you’ll find printed in your bulletin.”