Na ke aloha o ke Akua ma loko o Iesu Kristo, e aloha iā ʻoukou ā pau!

We begin 2023, yet again, in a complicated and uncertain time. The economy is shaky, there is war in Europe and threats to peace in Asia, a pandemic continues, and our national government seems to be unsteady. This year is beginning like so many other years in human history. What does reality mean for us who know God in Jesus Christ.

For today, I have been rereading the second chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. The account of the birth of Jesus in Matthew’s telling of the story focuses on Jesus as “Emmanuel” (meaning “God with us,” 1:23). The second chapter focuses on the Magi, King Herod and the flight into Egypt. It is the story of dreams and misplaced trust.

It was a time of anxiety. Herod was in power as king with the support of the Roman Empire. He was an outsider who played the games of power with skill and being made king was his reward. The Magi (they are never called “kings” in the story) are astronomers/astrologers (there was no difference in the ancient world) from the “east” (2:1). No, there is no explanation how far east. They are following a star looking for the “king of the Jews.” The story unfolds as they stop by Jerusalem to get directions from Herod. Herod tries to fool the Magi. The Magi find Jesus. They have a dream to avoid Jerusalem on their way home. Joseph has a dream and is warned to flee with Mary and Jesus to Egypt. Herod finds out and orders all the babies murdered. Time passes and Herod dies. Joseph has a dream and is told to return home, but as he does, he avoids Bethlehem and settles in Nazareth.

It is a great story. What does Matthew want to teach? Those first hearers of the story would have immediately connected the story to the story of Moses with an evil king, the murder of children and the flight (this time into Egypt). They also would have connected “kingship” with David. Frankly, they would have understood why Herod and “all of Jerusalem” was frightened at the notion that a king (and not Herod or one of his sons) had been born (2:3). It was a threat to the established order and the Romans didn’t like that. That fear led to a great evil in the murder of the Holy Innocents.

Matthew is reminding his hearers that authority – holy authority – comes from God. Jesus is “God with us.” While raw power not only corrupts, it can also be comforting to those who desire security and certitude. The recognition of the difference can even come from strangers -- the Magi from the “east.” The “true” king must become a political refugee escaping to the Roman Province of Egypt. God acts in a personal way – by dreams in the story. Finally, the story of Jesus is connected to the grand narrative of the Hebrew scripture. It is a story of connection and of universality. It is a personal story of Emmanuel, “God with us”: Jesus.

It us our story. The brokenness and limitations of the world and of civil leaders is real today. The same, of course, is true of me. Anxiety and the desire for security can lead us to accept unjust and even harsh authority. We can turn a blind eye to the brokenness around us. National leaders can direct that great power into violence done to innocents. Refugees still wander the earth seeking safety. It can be overwhelming and frightening. It is a story for 2023.

In such times, I am reminded of the words of Dorothy Day (1897-1980):

I do believe in a personal God, because I too have had revelations, answers to my questions, to my prayers, and if the answer fails to come, which is usually the case because God wants us to work out our own salvation, I have that assurance God gave Saint Paul and he passed on to us, “My grace is sufficient for you.” And what is grace? Participation in the divine life. And that participation means for me light and understanding and conviction, of course only occasionally, but strong enough to carry me along, to lift me up out of depression, discouragement, uncertainty, doubt. (The Reckless Way of Love: Notes on Following Jesus, [Walden, NY: Plough Publishing House, 2017], page 44)

Day was the co-founder (with Peter Maurin) of the Catholic Worker Movement. She was a Roman Catholic lay woman and a social activist. Day is reminding us that for Emmanuel to have impact, God must be “personal.” We cannot put our whole “trust and faith” in the world as it is. As we seek God’s realm of justice and peace, we must also be reminded that it is not up to us alone, but we each must do our part as best we can.

As we live into 2023, I pray that we have the grace of God to have the wisdom of the Magi to seek Emmanuel in the world around us, that we have the ears to hear the dream of God and the courage of Joseph to act upon it, that we have the eyes to see the refugees around us and the hands to help them, and that we all may have that “participation in the divine life” to can carry us through days such as these.

May 2023 be a blessing to each of us.

Aloha ma o Iesu Kristo, ko makou Haku,

+Bob

The Right Reverend Robert L. Fitzpatrick,

Bishop Diocesan

The Episcopal Diocese of Hawai'i

Today, on Epiphany, the Bishop and Canons Heather Patton-Graham and Sandy Graham "chalked" some of the main doors in the Memorial Building at the Cathedral of St. Andrew, as part of a traditional blessing this time of the year. Written in chalk is a "formula" made up of the current year, crosses, and initials of the three wisemen (kings or magi), that is explained in the Episcopal News Service article further below. Pictured above at the door leading into the Diocesan Support Center are Sonny Liu, Bishop Bob Fitzpatrick, Canon Heather, Rae Costa, and Canon Sandy. (Photo by S. Nishioka)