January 5, 2003
Christmas II
St. Matthew's, Dayton

Sermon: "Strength in Powerlessness"
The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg
Third Bishop of East Tennessee

Our Gospel reading tells of a period of time in he early life of Jesus on earth. And, in the Gospel witness, this mention of an experience of the young Jesus is unusual. We do have a description of his birth in the Gospel according to Luke and a much briefer one in Matthew's Gospel. However, with only one or two exceptions, nothing else is recorded about Jesus until the beginning of his public ministry, some thirty years later. Thus, the passage from the Gospel today provides us with one of those few pictures in the family album of Jesus' early years.

As believers who affirm faith in Jesus as the Christ, we are interested to look back at his early life and to know more about those times. Therefore, glimpses like the one this morning are precious indeed. Thy permit at least a bit of awareness about the background of the one we call "Lord." And, if the developmental experts are correct, those early experiences have much to do with shaping the later perspectives of all human beings, including Jesus himself.

The picture painted in today's Gospel is not a pretty one. Mary and Joseph took their newborn son and fled to Egypt to escape the wrath of the ruler of Judea, Herod. After Herod died, they returned home for a while. However, then they ran away once again, out of fear for Herod's son, Archelaus, who had become ruler in place of his father. Then, this family settled in the district of Galilee, in the town of Nazareth.

The picture that we have of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus indicates a desperate family on the run … a family of first century refugees. They moved from place to place, not from any desire to resettle - but out of fear for their lives. These are runaways from society, dropouts from the world of law and order. And this is the family we call "holy" and the baby we call "Christ."

The picture of this one family suggests for us a wider view of our world and, in particular, of the plight of the powerless in a world dominated by the powerful. In the example of a group of three people two thousand years ago, there is a story told that transcends centuries and cultures. It is the story of survival on the part of those who have no power in this world - power, in terms of controlling basic decisions of life. And were it not for the identity of this particular family, their story would be lost like countless others through the years. But this is the family of Jesus Christ, the holy family, the family of our Lord.

The radical message of Christianity - when it is preached and lived faithfully - is that Jesus Christ sees the world through the eyes of the powerless. That is scary for the institutional Church as we know it. And I speak as one very much a part of that institution. The radical message of Christianity is scary. But, it is also true.

Jesus Christ seems the world through the eyes of the powerless - the eyes of someone who must flee with his family for his very life … the eyes of a homeless person with nowhere to lay his head … the eyes of a man eventually killed as a criminal on the cross of political expediency. The one who sees the world through those eyes will say of the Kingdom of God, "The last will be first." And he knows the world as one who is last.

Our collect and readings today convey three messages to the powerless, the last, and the least of this world. As the Church faithful to the life and call of Jesus Christ, we must convey these same messages to the powerless of our world. And those messages are ones of dignity, of comfort, and of hope.

In the collect today, we prayed, "O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity."

There is special dignity in all human life, for God Almighty has shared life with us. In the most humble - the least - of humanity, there is divine dignity. And that dignity is conveyed by him who humbled himself to share our humanity. Surely no greater dignity can ever be conveyed than divine dignity! And through Jesus Christ - his birth and his life - God imparts and reveals dignity in every single human being. Following the example of our Lord, we dare recognize no less!

Words of comfort to the powerless are offered in the Old Testament reading. There a promise is made, and the objects of the promise are those who need special comfort: the blind, the lame, the woman with child or in labor - dangerous circumstances in Jeremiah's day. The prophet speaks the comfortable word of the Lord, assuring the powerless that they will be gathered and brought together under the Lord's protection. And these people he calls "a great company."

Surely, this "great company" is no select group, no exclusive gathering of people who think or look or talk alike. Rather, they are gathered "from the farthest parts of the earth." And the promise from God is that this company who has suffered much will be given a special place and will be comforted.

Finally, the reading from Ephesians offers a word of hope to the powerless. "I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe."

Thus, for those without riches, without inheritance, and without power, these words of promise do indeed offer hope - perhaps the only hope the people of that company will ever know in this life. Therefore, access to the hope promised in Ephesians comes first to those who are powerless in this world and to those victimized by the abusive power of others. Indeed, the hopeful promise is surely that the last shall be first.

In conclusion, the saving word of the Christian faith speaks through a family which must flee, powerless to combat the threat of death from the powerful. And this saving word of Christ speaks across the centuries and around the world … wherever other families and individuals are at the mercy of the powerful.

The witness of our Faith - at its faithful best - addresses the least of all humanity, remembering the circumstances of our Lord and of his family on earth. Our Faith - and the faithful - convey dignity, assure comfort, and offer hope as we live in union with Christ. May we never forget that it is Christ himself who lives in union with the powerless of his world. Amen.

Copyright © 2003 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee