One of the recurring prophecies about the restoration of Israel and the inauguration of God’s kingdom is that the nations will bring their treasures to Jerusalem and to the throne of God. In Isaiah 60, we hear, “The wealth of the nations shall come to you … They shall bring gold and frankincense.” In Revelation 21, we are told, “The kings of the earth will bring their glory into [the new Jerusalem] … They will bring into it the glory and honor of the nations.” When the New Jerusalem descends, when God’s kingdom comes, when creation is finally set free of bondage to sin and death, the nations of the earth will arrive in the presence of God with treasures in their arms, ready to worship.
In that light, it is not surprising that the early church saw in the visit of the Magi to Jesus, complete with gifts and worship, more than just a handful of interesting converts. They saw the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s promises, the first fruits of the nations bringing their treasures to the throne of God. Others have followed behind them, but those Magi had the privilege of being the first ones to fulfill the prophecies. When they arrived at the feet of the King, offering their treasures as they bowed in adoration, something shifted in the cosmos—God’s kingdom was coming; the nations were bringing their treasures!
Most of us probably don’t think about our own giving as continuing what the Magi began, and most of us probably don’t think about it as a fulfillment of prophecy. But if you are a Gentile (i.e., the nations) bringing your treasure to the throne of God in worship, that is exactly what it is! It is easy to forget the significance of giving, and easy to think about it as just “funding the church” or just “doing my duty.” Instead, this humble act of worship points to the fact that God’s kingdom is here, is coming, and one day, will arrive in fulness. In that moment, all of the nations will bring their treasures to the throne, just as the Magi did.
In Christ,
Steven+
Scripture Reflections
I was given an amazing gift a few weeks ago. I was walking our puppy and came to a favorite spot where you can see out over the rooftops of Shymkent to the mountains in the east. When I arrived, the light of the rising sun was just appearing over the mountains, and as I watched, the sun in all its glory rose from behind their peaks. It was awesome, and completely unexpected. The Lord had ushered me into my spot just in time to view this glory of his making. Since that morning I have been in my spot in time for the sunrise most days, but sometimes it’s only by the lightening of the sky and the testimony of the birds that I can tell the sun is rising, its face and brilliance being hidden by clouds, even “thick darkness” as described in Isaiah 60:2. As Annie Dilliard has famously said in Pilgrim at Tinker’s Creek, “I cannot cause light; the most I can do is try to put myself in the path of its beam.”
The 25th of December until January 5th are, in our church calendar, the 12 days of Christmas which lead up to Epiphany on January 6th. These days of feasting and celebration are a gift, an opportunity to prepare--though in a different way than during Advent--for the second coming of our Lord. After all, the first thing he has planned for us in the new heavens and the new earth is a huge feast, the wedding supper of the Lamb (Revelations 19:6-9)! And more than feasting, when our Lord comes in his glory, he will come to be with us, even as he came at Christmas as Emmanuel, God with us. In a sermon from the beginning of Advent, Steven+ made a passing reference to the “third advent”: Christ has come, Christ will come again -- and daily, Christ comes to us. In her book Sacred Seasons, Danielle Hitchin says, “In acknowledging that Jesus has already come and will come again, his coming is made present in our own lives.” Celebrating Christmas through these last 4 days or so could mean putting off that New Year’s diet and keeping up your tree until after Epiphany; it is a great time to invite neighbors over to help you finish the Christmas cookies and candy and sing a few carols together—have you sung “Go Tell It on the Mountains” yet?? But more than anything else, I hope it is a time to remember and even, as in the beam of the rising sun, bask in his presence with you. He truly delights in you, even rejoices over you (Isaiah 60:4-5).
In this dark midwinter time, even though it may be hidden by clouds, the sun is rising every morning. In your life, as in mine, our Savior is also shining on us day by day, even when the darkness of this world or of our own hearts makes it hard to see him. As we heard from the reading of John 1 this past Sunday, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” This is our hope, as it is the hope of the whole world! How can we put ourselves in the way of his light today? We can be in Scripture and in prayer, and we can come together with the saints to worship on our Lord’s Day. There is still one more Sunday of Christmas! Come fellowship, and be encouraged.
“‘Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.’”
(Ephesians 5:14)
Hannah
Scripture Reflections
Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute… We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things. (I Cor. 4:8-13)
When we read this passage on Sunday, I couldn’t help but wish that I had met Paul. Mild-mannered theologian? Hardly! Paul’s frustration with the Corinthian church spills over in one of the most sarcastic passages in the Bible. The Corinthians think HIGHLY of themselves, and Paul, through holy sarcasm (is that a real thing?) brings them down a notch or two. He asks them, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” (v. 7) They thought that they were exalted, and they thought that they deserved their high status. That attitude flies in the face of the Gospel, so Paul lets them have it!
When Paul calls the apostles “fools for Christ’s sake,” he is using the tradition of the “holy fool.” Throughout the Scriptures, the prophets frequently look and act like madmen. John the Baptist dining on grasshoppers is barely weird when compared to Jeremiah hiding underwear in a cave (Jer. 13), Ezekiel playing with models of the city of Jerusalem and eating bread cooked over burning dung (read Ez. 4!), or Isaiah running around (nearly?) naked for three years (Is. 20). Even David, dancing before the ark in a sacred shirt (II Sam. 6), fits this category. God encourages his prophets to act very strangely, at times!
The true “holy fool” is Jesus, who emptied himself of dignity for us. He became a laughingstock, a fool, out of love. All of the prophets who were asked to act like fools set the stage for the most absurd act of all—God, the Majestic Creator and Lord of Heavenly Armies, became a frail creature and chose to suffer for those he knew would reject him. In love, he became a laughingstock.
God’s ways don’t make sense to the world. Human pride is deflated when we see the King of the Universe submitting to mockery and death. He becomes a fool to get our attention—our boasting is foolishness, our pride is ridiculous. What are our achievements, in light of God’s self-chosen folly? Human goals and pursuits become emptiness, folly itself, next to a suffering God.
Each of us harbors desires for recognition, status, and achievement that are revealed as ashes and nothing in light of Jesus’ self-emptying. As you wait for our King this Advent, consider the High and Holy One who was willing to become a fool for you. Don’t be afraid to follow him on his path of divine wisdom, even when it seems like folly to the world.
Steven+