Reflection
By Timothy K. Snyder
An Epiphany for violent times
ACT ALLIANCE/PAUL JEFFRIES I
t’s always the familiar stories that are difficult to hear. This Epiphany we again try to hear in Matthew’s Gospel how wise men from the East notice a star signaling the birth of
a new king. We try to hear how a fearful king named Herod intercepts these men on their quest so that he, too, might honor this child—or so he says. The men from the East do indeed find Jesus right where
the heavens say he will be. They offer their expensive gifts to him, but with an eerie foreshadowing they’re warned in a dream to return by another road. The events of recent months have been a brutal reminder
for many of us that we live in violent times. When you hear the text from Matthew, listen closely: it’s not just a paranoid Herod who is afraid. All of Jerusalem is in fear. In recent months whole cities have been united in fear of violence. What can we say about an Epiphany for such violent times? It’s worth remembering that the earliest hearers of this
text also lived in violent times. It’s also worth noticing that the text doesn’t endorse such vio- lence—it doesn’t say this is the way it should be but that this is the way it is.
Author bio: Snyder is adjunct instructor of theology and spirituality at Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, and a doctoral candidate at Boston University.
The good news, of course, is that God draws most near in
such times. The star above Bethlehem announced not only a new king, but a new kind of king—one who begins his reign not in violence but in the vulnerability of infancy. Jesus is an altogether different kind of king than Herod—and different from the rulers and wannabe rulers of today. Martin Luther wrote often about how God works through
two kingdoms: the kingdom of earth and the kingdom of heaven. Among other things, his writings remind us that God’s idea of power is very different from ours. Perhaps even better news is that during Epiphany we
remember that God is not just with us but that God in Jesus Christ becomes one of us. Jesus comes to share in the pain and fear such violence brings to so many lives. Maybe this Epiphany it’s enough to take responsibility for how this story is our story. How will we respond to the violent times in which we live? When rulers and wannabe rulers insist on violent ways, O God ... show us to another road.
When we see signs of our coming kingdom, O God … may we choose costly generosity over fear.
And when this story repeats itself over and over, O God … give us the wisdom to seek vulnerability over violence. Or, in other words, be near to us again, here and now.
January 2016 23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52