Cathedral Sermon
Epiphany, Sunday 3rd January, 2010
Readings: Isaiah 43: 1-7; Ephesians 3: 1-12; Matthew 2:1012
I spent a couple of nights in Taupo last week, and while walking Fergie and looking up at the clarity of the stars on those clear rarefied evenings I re-experienced a sense of being at home. I was reconnected to those wistful memories over the years of the mystery of belonging to a universe, so vast and beautiful yet including and embracing me – a reliving of an essential epiphany.
Many of you will have seen the movie Amistad. In the first few minutes of the movie, Cinque, a black man from Africa who has been ambushed and sold into slavery aboard the ship Amistad, has an awed response to a starlit night on board the slave ship. He and his people have just taken over the ship and are attempting to sail back to their homeland in Africa. Cinque looks into the starry night and wonders about the vastness of the universe and the manifestation of this heavenly light to a partly receptive, mostly hostile world. This movie is about epiphany, how the light comes to illumine the dimness of human minds; but how difficult the human struggle for freedom, grace, and enlightenment can be!
Epiphany, which we celebrate today, means simply the manifestation of the light. Matthew's story of the journey of the Magi is the only Gospel recording of the journey, and it is filled with mystery, intrigue, and some measured tragedy. There is nothing sentimental about this scene; the guiding star, the warning dream, the intricate itinerary are all moving us toward the manifestation of the light to a partly receptive, mostly hostile world.
How shall the light enter the world this year? We acknowledge a world a lot more like Cinque's than an innocent starlit night. Ours is a world much like that of the magi—party receptive, mostly hostile. Although slavery no longer exists in most parts of the world, a significant part of the world's labour force is comprised of illegal sweat shops and the labour of underage children. Although the advantages and disadvantages of affirmative action can be debated, racism and other prejudices still exist and influence the way we choose or decide not to choose those who will have an opportunity to succeed. Although most of us sleep in comfortable beds and have a roof over our heads, many in our country live in considerable poverty, desperation and cannot achieve the status of equal opportunity for all.
How shall we come to the Light this year? We acknowledge a world partly receptive, mostly hostile. I must believe that we in this cathedral congregation and in this church are mostly receptive, and not at all hostile, to the cries and needs of those around us.
What would I hope for as we approach the coming year? If there were a star here in this sanctuary, maybe I might wish upon it!
I pray that we will continue to invest in the rigorous discipline of being in community. One of the things which I wholeheartedly believe about those who dwell in community is that you don't have to like those you live with, but you do have to love and respect them. To make a decision to live in, and support each other in the bonds of community is difficult, rewarding, and sometimes downright unpleasant; but I would choose no other way. The goodness of dwelling in unity with brothers and sisters of faith far outweighs the difficulties.
I wish that, as a community of faith close to the heart of the city, we might continue to find effective means of letting the light of the Gospel shine for all to behold and embrace. I pray that we will continue to open doors which encourage the stranger to enter and feel a radiant acceptance and welcome. One of the gifts we inherit in the Anglican Church is a radical zeal for justice and for including love for all God's people, no matter race, sexual orientation, gender, age, or socioeconomic class.
As we celebrate this Eucharist and participate in a simple feast of bread and cup, we are reminded that this is a love feast of sorts. It is a feast set for those who would choose to do God's will in this world. What does God require of us? - To love mercy, to seek justice, and to walk humbly with God.
All are invited to the feast of this table. All are invited out of the despair of our human longing into the light of the star which shines in the face of Jesus Christ. All are invited to come on the journey home. All are invited to be free to experience the grace and freedom of life in Christ. All in this place are welcomed to participate in the work of love and justice for a world that needs to know in its despair that God is good.
I remember the dark of the night over many years and the elation and assurance of seeing the bright stars overhead.
Such is the grace of God which shines so brightly upon this feast and upon all God’s people – in this year 2010 and always!