Isaiah 60:1-6/Matthew 2:1-12

Isaiah 60:4, “Lift up your eyes all around, and see…”

Few days ago, we were celebrating Christmas, the birth of the Christ. I feel very uncomfortable to talk about the birth of Christ because I believe in the pre-existence of Christ, He was there from the beginning. So, for me Christmas is not necessarily the birth but the incarnation of Christ. Today is the Epiphany Sunday, the manifestation of Christ as the Messiah not only to the Jews but to the entire human race especially the Gentiles. If we follow the incarnation story closely as narrated by Matthew, we get the impression that Christ was born as a Jew to serve the Jews but in today’s reading, Matthew universalizes Christ from being the Savior of the Jews to being the Savior of the entire human race including Gentiles. Matthew presented this by telling us that when Christ was born, the first people to worship him and to be witnesses to others were the Magi, Gentiles from the East. This message alone should be enough to sustain our faith and love in Christ till the next Epiphany-Gentiles were part and parcel of God’s salvific plan. I strongly disagree with the notion that God’s initial salvation plan was for the Jews and the Gentiles were an afterthought, the same way I disagree with the claim that men were created first, and women were an afterthought, the same way I disagree with the claim that human beings are God’s priority, and all other creatures were an afterthought.

Epiphany means that salvation is for everyone regardless of race, tribe, gender, and color, nationality, religious affiliation, political affiliation but not only that, salvation is for all the creatures and not only human beings. Salvation is for everyone, but the problem is that as human beings we build walls against each other and against other creatures. Isaiah 60:1-6 should be understood within the context of the return of the Israelites from Babylon. This was after the Persian king Cyrus issued the edict of toleration in 539 BC. Though being a Gentile king, Cyrus allowed the Jews freedom of worship but Jews who remained in Jerusalem could not welcome & accommodate those who were returning from exile. Cyrus relaxed worship restrictions but those who claimed to be pure Jews built strong walls against those who were coming from diaspora whom they derogatorily called Samaritans. Now God spoke to the Jews from diaspora through Isaiah, “Lift up your eyes and see…” This was a strong message for the Jews coming from diaspora to lift their eyes beyond the walls built by their fellow colleagues and see the blessings that were coming with God’s grace. Isaiah was simply saying, “Salvation was for everyone, including half-Jews or Samaritans”. Similarly, the message of salvation as narrated by Matthew speaks to the breaking down of dividing walls, the end of hostilities between human groups and even between human beings and other creatures. The message of epiphany challenges us to consider all those whom we perceive as being outside the love of God-Salvation is for all creatures. The death of Christ on the cross did not only serve human beings but also served lambs, doves and other creatures which were prone to sacrifice in the Old Testament times-so salvation is for all the creatures, that’s the message of Epiphany. 

Coming back to the gospel of Matthew, though the gospel is very Jewish the author failed to exclude the Gentiles in his narrative. The wisemen from the East were Gentiles. Though being a Jew, Matthew introduced Gentile worshipers right at the beginning of his gospel; this was maybe in preparation of Jesus’ last words to his disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19ff).  The Greek word for nations, “ethne” can be interpreted as “Gentile”. Though being particular with Jews, Matthew could not avoid the universalization of his gospel/salvation. Remember the story of the Gentile Roman Centurion (Matt. 8:5-13); and the Gentile Canaanite woman (Matt. 15:21-28). Matthew and the message of Epiphany tells us that barriers that separate people from each other do not in any way separate them from the love of God. The barriers that separate human beings form other creatures do not separate either human beings or those creatures form the love of God. Epiphany entails the breaking down of barriers/dividing walls. The idea of boundaries, be it geographical, ethnic, racial, color, nationality, religious, or political is not Godly but is driven by human ambitions. Lift your eyes and see! Now God’s grace knows no barriers or walls, salvation is for all. 

The narrative form Matthew today, is among the few in the New Testament which can be better interpreted by the poets than scholars. The difference between poets and scholars is in attitude. Poets approach the scripture with affection i.e., their hearts, while scholars approach the scripture with analysis i.e., their heads. In this case, God enriches the wisemen because they came with their hearts and God allowed them to see wonderous things. While the Gentiles, the Magi were full of joy, Herod and the Chief priests were full of fear. While Gentiles paid homage and worshipped the Messiah, Herod and the Chief priests insincerely pledged to worship the Messiah.

People who should be ready to receive Christ with joy are instead uncomfortable with the coming of Christ. I guess that sort of servitude was spirit-killing and under that condition it should have been difficult for Christ to gain his footing, but He lifted His eyes and saw God’s grace. Similarly, for Jews from diaspora, not to be welcomed by fellow Jews in Jerusalem was spirit-killing, and with that kind of servitude it should have been difficult for the Jews from diaspora to find their footing, but Isaiah encouraged them, “Lift up your eyes and see, the grace of God that breaks down the diving walls/barriers”. 

May I encourage someone today, as we begin 2022, that we are all in the plan of God’s salvation. Challenges will come, walls will be built and in some cases by those whom we perceive to be closer to us. Let’s not be discouraged. Let’s lift our eyes and see God’s grace that breaks down barriers. Barriers may separate us from each other, but we should never allow them to separate us from the love of God. Amen.