The Welcoming Face of God

January 4; Epiphany (Isaiah 60:1-6; Matthew 2:1-12; Ephesians 3:1-12)The Bible teaches us that the people God called in the Old Testament were notcalled simply for themselves. They were not called for their own ambitions and goals.They were not called simply for their families and friends. These people were calledfrom the beginning to be a blessing, a priesthood, to all the nations. Their purpose wasfor the world around them. For years the people of God seemed to live in relativeisolation and almost hostility towards their neighbours. The people were to establishthemselves by God’s law and spirit so that they would be unlike their neighbours. The point of creating this distinct community was to offer light and salvation to those indarkness not because of the moral accomplishments of the people, not because they werein any way better or more special but because their lives were centered on the worship of the one true God creator of heaven and earth.In time the prophets and the psalmists picked up this vision. They saw at theheart of the people an alter; a place where we individually and communally openourselves vulnerably before God. They believed that to this place the nations will come.To this place the world would draw close. The Psalmist says that all kings will bowdown to him who is at the centre. Isaiah who we have heard from already this morningsays that as the LORD rises the nations will come to the light and the kings will turntowards its brightness. And what is more is that the nations will come and they will bringtheir wealth with them. They will open their storehouses and journey with their treasuresto the house of God.And now this morning we hear about some strange visitors. Contrary to popular tradition we don’t actually know for sure how many of them came or who exactly theywere. Some have called them the three kings others have called them wise men. Thesemen were likely some sort of astrologers. These are men of questionable character andreligious practice by Jewish standards but they have come from a far away land in searchof a king and they have recognized this king in the child Jesus. They were faithful to thesign that was given, even when it took them off of the main roads that led to the major cities of power, even when it took them out in the country, even when it took them pastthe warmth of the inn and the smell of cooked food. They believed their sign even whenthey had to cover their noses from the smell of urine and manure and watch what wasgetting stuck to the bottom of their sandals. Here is where the star rested and so here wastheir king. To this child-king lying in a feed-trough they opened their chest and offeredgold, frankincense and myrrh. As the Old Testament had told of long ago the nationswould flow to the light of God as so it began with these men.There was a time when it troubled me to think about the nations bringing their wealth to the Kingdom of God. What did the Old Testament mean by this act? Was theGod’s kingdom going to be established and recognized by earthly wealth? This realityseemed so foreign to the experience of the Jews when they returned from Exile andcertainly from Jesus’ own ministry. Does the welcoming face of God come with a price?So in preparation for this sermon I decided to see how these items brought by the magiwere used in other places in the Old Testament. It quickly became clear that all three of these things were used predominantly for the purposes of acts of worship. Even gold,which does at times simply designate monetary wealth, is far and away most often used

in reference to objects used in worship. This of course was evident to see all along as itsays right there in the text that the magi came explicitly to worship to this king. But Iwonder if I am alone in separating worship from things such as wealth, politics, andsociety. I have been deeply impacted lately by the way that proper and faithful worshipshapes the beginning and end of our life with God.I have heard the phrase ‘work and worship are one’ in Mennonite circles. As Iunderstand it this phrase points to the reality that your work should not be separate fromyour worship. This is true. However, the phrase may not go far enough. The Bibleteaches us that there is in fact only worship and that our life and work will always already be in the service of some form of worship. The issue is not trying to understand how wecan transform our work into an act of worship but in recognizing in whose service of worship our work is already engaged? And as Christians we are called not only torecognize that

our

work is already worship but that the world around us, the people andthe systems, are also form their own acts of worship. This means recognizing that the political systems and social structures are also liturgical expressions. Our malls arecathedrals where we seek comfort and security. In the west we sing anthems to our state, pledge allegiance to its security, establish missions to strengthen our presence within andoutside our borders, we tithe to it and we submit to its discipline. Much of our lives arespent in the liturgical rhythms of living into the Canadian or the Western Idea. Eventhough we may, in our minds, believe otherwise we still live as though the church isessentially a side-project, a hobby, a club, a support group or a relief organization. Thenations come to worship and give allegiance to a king and not to an idea or to a hobby or project. They stream to Christ, leaving their homes, leaving their allegiances, and theycome to humbly enter a new kingdom.Our third reading this morning comes from the Apostle Paul. Paul establishedhimself as an influential figure within Judaism. As a Pharisee Paul was concerned withthe practical relevance and practice of the Mosaic Law. It could be said of the Phariseesthat their goal was indeed that worship and work would be one. But at that time inhistory most of Judaism understood itself as a national religion. It was a religion basedon geography, culture, and lineage. It is like the particular assumptions that come tomind for many of us when we use the word Mennonite. We think of food, dress andactions. Jesus however did not define his life and ministry by the same parameters as theJewish leaders did. Jesus in fact did not seem to fit within any system established in theJewish or Gentile world. Jesus was born as the king of only one kingdom. In time Paulhimself was converted to this Kingdom. In fact Paul recognized that this kingdom wasfundamentally different then how the world has conceived of its governments andkingdoms. This kingdom exists within Christ. In fact early in this letter Paul goes so far as to say that the whole universe is contained and held together in the body of Christ.The magi and nations now flow not to another king who wields power at the tip of thesword or the end of a gun. They come now to king whose sword flows from the words of his mouth. They come now before the face of God.It is this shift in conceiving how our lives are lived together in Christ that allowsthe nations to be welcomed because they are no longer bound by land or culture. Theyare received now if they turn their face to the face of God. Later in our reading Paul callsthis relationship a mysterious economy, a new economy, though in English the word isoften translated administration not economy. The Old Testament talks about the nations

bringing the wealth of their economy to God but this does not quite capture the picture.In God’s administration the wealth of the nations has no value in itself. Sitting in their storehouses the treasures of the nations are worthless. But if the treasures are opened andthey are brought before the Lord

then

they become valuable. The magi’s gifts only became valuable in their presentation to Christ. This is the mysterious economy of God.We believe that we can honour God with our value but in fact our value comes insteadwhen we open whatever gifts we have already been given before the welcoming face of God. It is the simple story of the widow’s mite in the New Testament. In Christ’smysterious economy the woman’s small monetary gift outshine the filled treasure chestsof the wealthy. Paul’s mission and ministry is to share this newly founded economy withthe Gentiles. He hope too show them that they now have currency within it. This visionconsumes his life and in our reading this morning he hopes to spread his vision toestablish another star for the nations to follow. He tells the Galatians that the intention of God is that this new and mysterious economy should be made known to the rulers andauthorities of the world

through the church

.We are called to live out an economy reflected in the face of God. We are calledon to show the nations that it is God’s face that gives value and worth to the world. It isthe light of God’s face that illuminates the truth and treasure of every person. I have to be honest and tell you that this Advent series on the face of God has not quite grabbed methe way I hoped. We say that it is possible to see the face of God in each other and this isa valuable gift we are given but I can’t help but think that there is something more thansimply seeing good things in each other. If we believe that the very body of our kingJesus was born on earth and rose from the dead then in some way there is only one facethat we seek.

We are parts of the body but we all look towards and point to the on face of God.

At the close of the 18

century the world witnessed one of the most astoundingevents in the modern period. The French Revolution was a dramatic and intenseoverthrow of established power and order in France both of their government and of their church. During the events that led up to the Revolution and thenthrough its wake oneCatholic order offered a specific act of worship in response. It is told that in 1843 a nunof the Carmalite order received a word from Jesus who said to her, “the earth is coveredwith crimes. The violation of the first three Commandments of God has irritated MyFather. The Holy Name of God blasphemed, and the Holy Day of the Lord profaned, fillsup the measure in iniquities. These sins have risen unto the Throne of God and provokedHis wrath which will soon burst forth if His justice be not appeased.”In response to this revelation and in hopes of restoring the faithful witness of thechurch the order established a form of worship called devotion to the Holy Face. It was believed that humble and devoted attention to the face of Jesus in prayer and meditationwould bring healing and restore justice. The particular ethnic features of the face werenot so important as were the depictions of Jesus life and death and often particularly of his suffering and death. It was understood that these practices carried real currency inGod’s Kingdom. They were acts such as what Paul called the church to in asking her toreveal the mysterious economy of God in the presence of the powers and authorities of the world. And there was perhaps no better audience of competing powers andauthorities in that time than in France.A young woman of fifteen years entered this particular order in 1888. She was