From
The Rectory
I
said last time that, in line with the Diocesan focus for the year, I would try
at least to mention Matthew’s gospel here each month.
The
Church of England has set Lectionary Bible Readings for each Sunday of the
Year. The modern Common Worship liturgy (from 2000 onwards) uses the Revised
Common Lectionary. Something like this is used by the Roman Catholic church
and many other churches around the world. It has a three-year cycle (this is
Year A) with a gospel given prominence each year (this year it is Matthew). So
as I write I’ve already preached a couple of times from Matthew’s gospel this
year. As usual, you can find those sermons on the Warbleton church website or
indeed the whole service is on the church’s YouTube channel
(@warbletonparishchurch849 or simply search for Warbleton Parish Church). Remember
you can easily look up or listen to Matthew’s gospel online. I refer to parts
of chapters two and three a bit further below.
I
know I mentioned the wise men here a couple of months ago. And I must have
preached on them countless times in Christmas and Epiphany sermons. But I do
find they’ve somehow captured my imagination. I can’t quite shake them off. Maybe
it’s the mystery around them. That journey. The danger. The T. S. Eliot poem.
I’m not sure. Their example urges us to seek Christ in the Scriptures, whatever
the cost, and to appreciate something of Jesus’ true significance. How much
they really knew we cannot tell. Yet they gave Jesus gifts fit for a king. And
perhaps, if the carol can be believed, they saw that a deity was nigh, but also
the bitter perfume spoke of gathering gloom and of an impending death of great
import. A Bible study on gold, frankincense and myrrh is instructive. The only
passage where all three are actually named together is in Old Testament love
poem The Song of Songs (that is, the best song ever), sometimes known as The
Song of Solomon. The gifts are associated with the arrival of this great
bridegroom king famed for his wisdom, the object of the bride’s love and
longing.
The
gospels tell us next to nothing about Jesus’ childhood and adolescence. Matthew
goes straight from the wise men and the associated sojourn of the Holy Family
in Egypt to the baptism of Christ. Scholars imagine Jesus was about 30 years
old at this point which marked the beginning of his public ministry. Now John
the Baptist fades from the scene and Jesus takes over. In three years’ time he
will be crucified.
John’s
baptism is a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And in
Christian theology Jesus is the perfect God-Man. He has no sins of which he
needs to repent. So why is he being baptised? The Baptist recognises something
of this oddity. He at least says to Jesus it ought to be the other way round:
“Jesus, you should be the one giving me a wash, not me you.” Baptism in the
Bible can be a picture of death, of flood waters which overwhelm. Here is the
shadow of the cross again. Jesus is standing in the place of sinners. He is the
innocent one on whom our guilt will crash. The judgement of God will expend
itself on him that grace and mercy, blessing and love might flow to us.
The
baptism is also rich with Biblical associations. Water, God speaking and the
Spirit hovering recall the creation narrative. Jesus is the New Adam who will
bring in a New Creation. Like Noah, who is associated with a dove, Jesus will
be the Saviour. The church is a kind of ark. There will be a fresh start for
planet earth. Jesus is called God’s Son whom he loves, with whom the Father is
well pleased. Later in the gospel these words are repeated with the instruction
“listen to him”.
Seek
Jesus. Listen to Jesus. These are great new year’s resolutions as relevant in February
as in January. And if we haven’t managed this brilliantly well so far this
year, Jesus is always ready to receive us back, to welcome us, embrace us and
go with us on the Way.
The Revd Marc Lloyd
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