MAGI not MAGA - Rev Allister Lane
READINGS: PSALM 139:1-6, 13-18 AND MATTHEW 2:1-12
6 January is the ‘Feast of Epiphany’, when Christians celebrate how the light of Christ spreads to all nations.
Matthew’s Gospel tells the story of Christ’s arrival, and how this Light has come for all people. The ‘universal’ nature of this event is represented by the Magi.
In the second hymn we sang:
Jesus, whom the gentiles worshipped/at your glad epiphany
As Gentiles, these Magi who came to worship Christ represent people of all nations – indicating that the Gospel is not bounded within Judaism only, but is open as a worldwide message. This is what we celebrate on the Feast of Epiphany.
But on 6 January this year, bizarre and scary events were taking place in the United States. Instead of MAGI we had MAGA (which stands for Donald Trumps catchphrase ‘Make America Great Again’).
Epiphany literally means ‘reveal’ – the Light has come into the world to reveal truth to all nations. But in the US we saw images of people acting violently with the purpose of perpetuating lies for narrow political purposes; using force to try and exert power and influence.
This does NOT reflect the meaning of Epiphany – the Light has come into the world to reveal truth to all nations.
In the story of Matthew’s Gospel, we hear of a figure who is desperate to protect his power. King Herod is full of anxiety at losing his power, and he tries to use the Magi, claiming he also wants to worship the Messiah. Like Herod, leaders today still use manipulative disinformation for self-interest.
Historian John Fea commented on the Sojourners website that one aspect used for political gain is nostalgia.
…it’s tied into fear that the nostalgic view of America as being largely white and largely Christian is now disappearing,” …‘Make America Great Again’ connotes a desire to return to a golden age in America that either is never coming back or probably never existed in the first place.[1]
What about us? Let’s not point a finger at America without learning a lesson for ourselves.
What aspects of ‘nostalgia’ do we live with in NZ that distract us from being ‘real’ with the people in our communities?
New Zealand has been described as a ‘Christian country’. Can we really say that now? We know Christianity has never been an ‘official’ religion of New Zealand. And although Christianity is still the largest religion, it is shrinking, and more importantly: sharing the space with more religious traditions.
How do we remain faithful amidst increasing religious difference?
Remember, the magi of the Epiphany were ‘outsiders’ – they had different theological commitments. What does their presence at the arrival of Christ tell us? How are we to relate to adherents of other religious traditions?
Do we approach them as rivals in a popularity contest?
Should we ‘moderate’ how we live our Christian faith?
Should we embrace the plurality and even commonality with adherents of other religions?
Firstly, Jesus teaches we must be tolerant toward those who are different – even more, that we must love them. Jesus tells us to
Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44)
Love is at the centre of the Gospel – Christ has come (as the Light of the World) to bring God’s love for all. This self-giving love restores us into full relationship with God and invites us to participate in the restoration of all relationships.
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; (2 Cor 5:18)
This priority of love compels us to live our faith with social tolerance and relational tolerance. But theological tolerance of all faiths is impossible.
Religious traditions are NOT all the same. Far from being a problem, our specific theological convictions make our faith rational and credible. These convictions help us know who we are, and guide our decisions. Acknowledging our convictions frees us to have really interesting and meaningful engagements with others who are different (we see this in Jesus’ own conversations).
In this sense, I believe to live as a Christian is to have social tolerance, and theological intolerance. That means we always approach others with goodwill and care for their well-being, without feeling we must compromise what we believe in.
The Jesus we follow doesn’t want us to hold a neutral position in this world, but to take his presence and purpose so seriously that we will treat others (all others) with love.
My final point is that, as well as acting with love, we must have humility as Christians. Miroslav Volf says we fail when we
exclude anyone from the community of humanity and
exclude myself from the community of sinners.
The events in the US remind all Christians of the need for humility. In recent days I’ve found myself identifying not with those pointing a finger of blame but those who acknowledge they are enmeshed in the difficult dynamics. To have humility is not to try and deny our part, but to identify with the community of humanity that is fractured and in need of reconciliation.
We have a theological conviction that we (all) need forgiveness and redemption.The psalmist declares on our behalf:
O Lord, you have searched me and known me. (v1)
Thankfully, the Lord has come into the world. We celebrate this truth that the Light is revealed to all nations, that we are restored us into full relationship with God and invited to participate in the restoration of all relationships.
May God help us to embrace this truth in every part of our lives.
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[1] https://sojo.net/articles/they-invaded-capitol-saying-jesus-my-savior-trump-my-president (11th Jan 2021)