Who Belongs Here?
Commentary
An upper middle-aged man is politely led out of the factory where he works by both the union and management representatives into mandatory early retirement. The company wants to hire two employees at a lower rate of pay rather than pay this skilled worker for the thirty years of seniority that he earned through days of sweat and toil.
A couple of weeks later, this worker goes to the tavern he has been drinking at for many years while buying rounds for drinks for people at his table during his years of working. When he can no longer pay for rounds for those who sit at the table, he is soon excluded from the drinking crowd whom he thought were his friends all these years. Friendship in this public drinking establishment comes at the price of buying drinks for his friends. A now-retired, fixed-income person can no longer afford such an expensive social expenditure. He is no longer invited to the group’s parties, events, or sports games and pools. He no longer belongs to this version of the older television show, “Cheers”—where everybody knows his name.
During these dark, wintry months after the major holidays, where does he belong now while retired on a fixed income? This could happen to any manufacturing worker or professional office employee in a changing global economy that moves as radically as shifting tectonic plates, which result in earthquakes that impact the lives of many people. It could occur to parents who experience the empty nest of their children leaving home. They are no longer part of the school parents’ groups.
Frustrated, the retired factory worker stops in at the local American Legion Hall because he heard their beverages are less expensive. Though he was never in the armed forces, his father served in the military during one of the nation’s wars. Upon visiting the American Legion Hall, he is asked if his father was ever in the military, to which he answers in the affirmative. He is told the local American Legion Hall has been struggling to keep its doors open. So, they created a “Sons of the Legion” group. If the man can go to the public records of military service files either online or on paper—he is welcome to become one of the “Sons of the Legion.” He follows up, and this becomes the new place where he belongs. It is affordable; there is no pressure to buy rounds for the house; and he is respected as a “retiree” regardless of his ability to pay for activities outside of the American Legion Hall.
In all three texts today, the question arises in some form as to who belongs to the people of faith in the God of both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament? Isaiah 60 is addressed to returnees from exile who do not experience a welcome homecoming. So now, where do they belong? Paul, in Ephesians, is an ambassador who opens the door to Gentiles into the Judaism people of faith. Matthew 2 depicts pagan astrologers attracted to a star in the east and to a child who is king of the Jews (Matthew 2:1-2).
Isaiah 60:1-6
This text is a promissory note of sorts that things will get better for a nation of returned exiles who are sinking into despair as their homeland still has an uncertain future. Generally dated around 520 BCE, Isaiah 56-66 is written during the times of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Only a small number of Judeans returned from Babylon, so this community was small and poor. Problems around rebuilding both the Temple and city persisted. This chapter 60-62 section is a centerpiece of other oracles of the time (Isaiah 56:1-8; 56:9-57; 57:14-21; 58; 59; 63:1-6; 63:7-64:2; 65; 66:1-16; 66:17-24). Authorship issues include whether this section was written by a third author, who uses the name Isaiah (Third/Trito-Isaiah) or if it is a continuation of Isaiah 40-49 (Childs, 446, supports the latter view. Brueggemann supports the former view, 164-165). This article will simply identify as “Isaiah.”
The main theological view of this portion of Isaiah is that living in the city of Zion is not enough, as one must live according to the commands of a Holy God. The city may never return to its former glory in form, but it is invested in the future of the covenant people in whatever shape the future holds for them.
Imagine a mid-sized city whose former time of prosperity is long gone with the exit of the once thriving industries that made it a prototype of an upwardly mobile middle socioeconomic class. No longer in its former glory, the city is full of boarded-up businesses, homes in disrepair, high unemployment, and those who work must keep three jobs to replace the single income they had in the former glory days of major industrial development. Along the deteriorating road conditions and sporadic piles of trash and garbage along the streets sits a traditional older church building. Here is a sign of life!
Twelve-step recovery groups meet there weekly, as loved ones feel comfortable dropping the addicted family member off at a church. A senior group meets in the fellowship hall once a month as the church is willing to accept their donations rather than charging rent. Finally, there is a summer lunch program for elementary-aged children during the summer. Despite the dismal surroundings of the once prominent city now considered part of a rust belt of sorts, this church could echo Isaiah 60:1-2, “Arise, shine; for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness thepeoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen in you.” This church in the older city neighborhood is still acting as light in the city despite its current state of urban disrepair, similar to what the returnees from exile experienced in the days of Isaiah 56-66.
Isaiah 60 is a reminder that God can and will transform any community that has seen better days. Practicing one’s faith and seeking social justice for the marginalized will always attract outsiders into the community.
It does no violence to this text to suggest that the magi, or foreign astrologers, were attracted to the star above Bethlehem in the Matthew 2:1-12 lesson. This fulfills God’s promissory note. Camels did come to visit the baby Jesus from afarwith gifts (Isaiah 60:6).
A possible three-point sermon might be: 1) The promises of God are good. 2) The future is still bright. 3) Living by the Holy Scriptures attracts outsiders in any time or nation. Another way to phrase this text might be: 1) What…God’s promises are good. 2) So what…we have reason to rejoice (despite setbacks and defeats). 3) Now what… Let us live out our Scriptures, showing right worship and caring for those in need. The older city church remains committed to being the light in darkness, regardless of any despairing times that occur. They show all people they can belong in this house of worship—even if it is not on Sunday mornings, but by supporting other groups that make use of the church building.
To break down the Isaiah 56-66 chapters into a manual for discipleship might look like: 1) Isaiah 59: Those who repent in any city will have future triumphs and glory, 2)Isaiah 60: More glory is yet to come for those who worship God, 3) Isaiah 61-62: The call is to minister to the poor to bring God’s glory.God is powerful enough to bring reversals. Those peoples who shamed God’s people may one day honor them and bring them offerings and gifts. All things are possible with God, regardless of how bleak they appear now. This is the good news of the text.
Though the man in the opening illustration has little use for the church he drives past daily, the man occasionally goes there as it is also a voting/polling station on election day. “Do not put glory to rest yet” might be a possible sermon title for those who are rebuilding their lives.
[Sources: Brueggemann, Walter, Westminster Bible Companion: Isaiah 40-66, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998; Childs, Brevard, The Old Testament Library: Isaiah, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001; Sakenfeld, Katharine D., Editor, “Isaiah, Book of,” The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Volume 3, Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2008].
Ephesians 3:1-12
A person in a caregiving vocation relocates from his or her home state, which is four states away, into a tight-knit, smaller community. The person is told that they should attend the local high school sporting event on Friday nights to get to know the community better. Upon entering the high school building, purchasing a ticket, and getting a bag of popcorn, the new arrival seeks a place to sit in the gymnasium bleachers. It soon becomes apparent that those seated are grouped with families and lifelong friends from childhood. The new caregiver resident smiles and tries to be friendly, only to be greeted with polite smiles and body language signals which suggest, “Do not sit next to us. These seats are taken.”
In Pauline language, this caregiver is an ambassador to this community who did indeed require them to physically relocate into this demographically declining community. Now the newcomer is treated as an outsider, feeling isolated and alone. He or she does not know where to sit during the sporting event. With the sports program sheet in hand and a bag of popcorn, the person finally sits alone away from the various clusters of families who are cheering on the local sports team and visiting with one another, as this is a family event. The newly arrived caregiver sits alone, wondering if it was a mistake to move away from his or her hometown community quite a distance away. A feeling of intense isolation persists as the crowds cheer, with the pep band music playing and the smells of concession stand food wafting through the air. Is this how ambassadors to foreign countries feel when they relocate their families into unfamiliar distant lands?
This same person decided to attend a local church worship service on Sunday. After the worship service, they go into the fellowship hall for coffee hour. Upon getting a cup of coffee and a snack, they sit alone at one of the church’s round tables. Then one of the ladies from another table signals to the visitor and says, “Hey, you do not need to sit alone. Come on over, sit at our table, and join us.” From there on, it was introductions, names, and tips on how to shop and do business in this town. This time of fellowship lasted until coffee hour was over and the tables were being cleaned. The caregiver found a place he or she belonged among God’s people. This might be a small-town equivalent to rolling out the red carpet to welcome the new town member and church worshipper.
Ephesians is a call to the unity of Christians regardless of social class, status, religious background, or place in the household. Most modern scholars consider this to be a general letter to churches in Asia Minor, written by a pseudonymous author around 75-90 CE. Those who support Pauline authorship date it into the early 60s CE and believe it to be addressed to a church in Ephesus. One-third of the book of Colossians is in Ephesians. Authorship of Colossians is beyond the scope of this article. Arguments for pseudonymous authorship include style, vocabulary, and a shift in theology away from imminent end-world expectations toward a long-term future of the church in the list of household duties (Taylor, 10-15). Those who support Pauline authorship argue that the author has simply altered his views in light of changing circumstances in the Roman Empire (Martin, 5-6). This article will use “Paul” as the author and assume it is a general letter to all churches in Asia Minor, as well as in the future in times such as ours today.
Authorship questions do not detract from the main message of a call to unity in Christ, who is the mystery that God revealed from the God who created all things (3:7). This section is often viewed as a digression from Paul’s general call to unity, which isthe strand that ties the letter together.
Two other passages that might provide helpful bookends for context in preaching this text include 2:19-20: “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ himself as their cornerstone.” At the end of this digression, 4:1-2 might express Paul’s desired outcome of this epistle: “I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling you have been called, with humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Preaching might involve asking if a Christian is an ambassador in every community, workplace context, or location away from one’s home base. How is he or she to carry out a particular message or mission? In Ephesians, it is a call to unity in polarized times. How can any given congregation call people to unity in divided times? One obvious suggestion is to encourage participation in voicing views on any given divisive topic, showing a willingness to move forward with some sort of compromise solution, and finally to support one’s words with actions of kindness for the good of the community. In the above illustration, the caregiver is not angered by early signs of apathy or unfriendliness but remains quiet and attends another community event of church fellowship after worship. Then discussions and dialogues can begin in terms of introductions, relationships, and shared life stories.
Many churches use anniversary events to allow various people to share their history in the community, as well as that of their families. This points to paths toward the future. All people are stewards of their faith stories, as Paul is attempting to articulate his in Ephesians 3. He is identifying himself as an ambassador, stating his credentials and summarizing his gospel message. This might be one three-part division of this text for preaching.
In Ephesians 3, Paul is keenly aware that he is a steward of the message of God’s plan of salvation, who has revealed the mystery that Gentiles and Jews alike are now part of the mystery of God's revelation to creation. This is an Epiphany moment of realizing that God calls all people into unity in Christ, not just a particular ethnic group or nation. Those who were once strangers are called to be a unity of one community.
How does any church or community welcome outsiders who do not share similar pasts with native residents? This is a pressing question as families may consider relocation for employment or economic reasons and may be worried if their children will be welcomed or treated as outsiders in the new community. Might a suburban setting be more conducive to relating to local families than a smaller rural setting where families all share similar last names?
One takeaway point, regardless of which direction one pursues in this text, is what message the church community and individual Christians feel called to deliver at any cost. While in seminary, I was taught that small-town and rural churches need a fully educated, researched, and prepared sermon as much as larger flagship congregations might hear. Another message might be that urban churches need all the help they can receive—even from those people who have relocated out into safer, more economically viable suburbs. Also, as time marches on, where do elderly people who cannot afford senior community housing live in their final years? We all get old!
Alternative path
The text states Paul is a “prisoner for Christ, for the sake of the Gentiles” (3:1). As Black History Month comes up every February, one can admire from a distance civil rights activists being jailed for civil disobedience against racist laws. Are there reasons why the average Christian in any community would risk imprisonment for a passionate cause they deeply believe in? [Sources: Gaventa, Beverly R., Editor The New Interpreter’s Bible: One Volume Commentary: (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2010); Martin, Ralph P. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching; Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1991); Taylor, Walter F., John H.P. Reumann, Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: Ephesians, Colossians, (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Press, 1985)].
Matthew 2:1-12
Joan Paddock has a memoir (Soul Support) of an Episcopal Chaplain as she recounts stories of the mystery of a higher power’s presence in acute care in a palliative care hospital in Washington, D.C., where she served for seven years. One of the challenges of caring for people diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses is helping them come to grips with their spiritual worldview as the end of their life is closer than once believed. Often, spiritual care is provided to those whose religious beliefs are a hybrid combination of other world religious traditions, as well as undefined, open-ended spirituality. In such situations, this Matthew 2 text of pagan or other world religious people following a star toward the baby Jesus may be a good starting point for discussion. In Matthew 2, it is pagan astrologers or magi who are the first outsiders to visit and worship the baby Jesus at birth in Bethlehem (Smith, 39).
This text is placed alongside the Isaiah 60:1-6 text in the lectionary as a possible fulfillment of Isaiah 60:1-7 of the “wealth of nations” traveling to this humble town of Bethlehem. These pagan astrologers embody a higher sincerity of worship, with a community of faith, than Herod the King of Judea at that time, who is actually an Idumean usurper to the throne without blood ties to the lineage of David. Matthew 1:1-16 goes into meticulous detail to identify the family of Jesus’ bloodline. Scholars have suggested that this account of these non-Jewish astrologers serves as a front bookend to the later bookend of the “Great Commission” in Matthew 28:16-20, where all peoples (Greek, Ethnoi) are to become disciples of this Kingdom of Heaven (Powell, 46). Matthew suggests these astrologers do belong to this community of faith. The Episcopal Chaplain could be at peace here.
The narrative of wicked kings using astrologers to undermine God’s people has roots in the Hebrew Bible. In Numbers 24:17 is the narrative of Balak, as well as in Daniel 2, when Nebuchadnezzar uses magi and enchanters to interpret his dreams. Josephus records that it was a common practice of Egyptians and Persians to seek the advice of astrologers in uncertain times (Smith, 40). One path to explore might be whether there is a legitimate use for astrology, horoscopes, and other methods of discerning the future within the Christian church (or is this unacceptable heresy or superstition?).
Matthew 2:23 highlights the Micah 5:2-4 tradition of God doing mighty acts within a small community. This child will be the Greek word “poimaino,” meaning shepherd. Many traditional churches have “Bethlehem” in their name. This text suggests three contrasts one may pursue as a sermon path: 1) King/Magi 2) Scripture/Stars 3) Jerusalem/Bethlehem. Another set of bookends might also be the enemies of the Kingdom with Herod in Matthew 2 and Pilate in Matthew 27.
Probing into the practice of the gifts of kingship that the astrologers brought to the family could be a lively topic to explore. Is this the family financial nest egg until the next step in their life’s journey? What gifts do people bring to the altar of the church after the Advent/Christmas season? Does the church need outside financial giving to sustain its budget, or are gifts seen as supplemental income to be donated to missions and local people in need? [Sources: Maxwell, Joan P., Soul Support: Spiritual Encounters at Life’s End, Eugene, OR: Resource Publications, 2017; Powell, Mark A., Interpretation Bible Commentary: Matthew, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2023; Smith, Robert H., Augsburg Commentary of the New Testament: Matthew, Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 1989]
Application
Who belongs here in the church? In Matthew, it is those who go to worship in church.Worship is not necessarily an experience to feel good (but can be), nor to be motivated and “get something” out of the sermon (but can be). Worship in this sense is the Greek word “Proskyneo,” or awe and devotion to one whose symbols are on the altar and worship furniture. After the magi worship Jesus in this manner, the disciples worship Jesus in 14:33, after he walks on the water. Two women worship the risen Jesus in 28:9, as well as the disciples in 28:17 (Powell, 52).
Alternative path
Are dreams legitimate ways in which we receive revelation? In Matthew, when an angel appears to Joseph in a dream (1:20-23). After their visit, the magi are told in a dream not to return to Herod (2:12). Finally, Matthew 27:19 reports that Herod’s wife suffered a great deal in a dream about the arrest of Jesus.
A couple of weeks later, this worker goes to the tavern he has been drinking at for many years while buying rounds for drinks for people at his table during his years of working. When he can no longer pay for rounds for those who sit at the table, he is soon excluded from the drinking crowd whom he thought were his friends all these years. Friendship in this public drinking establishment comes at the price of buying drinks for his friends. A now-retired, fixed-income person can no longer afford such an expensive social expenditure. He is no longer invited to the group’s parties, events, or sports games and pools. He no longer belongs to this version of the older television show, “Cheers”—where everybody knows his name.
During these dark, wintry months after the major holidays, where does he belong now while retired on a fixed income? This could happen to any manufacturing worker or professional office employee in a changing global economy that moves as radically as shifting tectonic plates, which result in earthquakes that impact the lives of many people. It could occur to parents who experience the empty nest of their children leaving home. They are no longer part of the school parents’ groups.
Frustrated, the retired factory worker stops in at the local American Legion Hall because he heard their beverages are less expensive. Though he was never in the armed forces, his father served in the military during one of the nation’s wars. Upon visiting the American Legion Hall, he is asked if his father was ever in the military, to which he answers in the affirmative. He is told the local American Legion Hall has been struggling to keep its doors open. So, they created a “Sons of the Legion” group. If the man can go to the public records of military service files either online or on paper—he is welcome to become one of the “Sons of the Legion.” He follows up, and this becomes the new place where he belongs. It is affordable; there is no pressure to buy rounds for the house; and he is respected as a “retiree” regardless of his ability to pay for activities outside of the American Legion Hall.
In all three texts today, the question arises in some form as to who belongs to the people of faith in the God of both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament? Isaiah 60 is addressed to returnees from exile who do not experience a welcome homecoming. So now, where do they belong? Paul, in Ephesians, is an ambassador who opens the door to Gentiles into the Judaism people of faith. Matthew 2 depicts pagan astrologers attracted to a star in the east and to a child who is king of the Jews (Matthew 2:1-2).
Isaiah 60:1-6
This text is a promissory note of sorts that things will get better for a nation of returned exiles who are sinking into despair as their homeland still has an uncertain future. Generally dated around 520 BCE, Isaiah 56-66 is written during the times of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Only a small number of Judeans returned from Babylon, so this community was small and poor. Problems around rebuilding both the Temple and city persisted. This chapter 60-62 section is a centerpiece of other oracles of the time (Isaiah 56:1-8; 56:9-57; 57:14-21; 58; 59; 63:1-6; 63:7-64:2; 65; 66:1-16; 66:17-24). Authorship issues include whether this section was written by a third author, who uses the name Isaiah (Third/Trito-Isaiah) or if it is a continuation of Isaiah 40-49 (Childs, 446, supports the latter view. Brueggemann supports the former view, 164-165). This article will simply identify as “Isaiah.”
The main theological view of this portion of Isaiah is that living in the city of Zion is not enough, as one must live according to the commands of a Holy God. The city may never return to its former glory in form, but it is invested in the future of the covenant people in whatever shape the future holds for them.
Imagine a mid-sized city whose former time of prosperity is long gone with the exit of the once thriving industries that made it a prototype of an upwardly mobile middle socioeconomic class. No longer in its former glory, the city is full of boarded-up businesses, homes in disrepair, high unemployment, and those who work must keep three jobs to replace the single income they had in the former glory days of major industrial development. Along the deteriorating road conditions and sporadic piles of trash and garbage along the streets sits a traditional older church building. Here is a sign of life!
Twelve-step recovery groups meet there weekly, as loved ones feel comfortable dropping the addicted family member off at a church. A senior group meets in the fellowship hall once a month as the church is willing to accept their donations rather than charging rent. Finally, there is a summer lunch program for elementary-aged children during the summer. Despite the dismal surroundings of the once prominent city now considered part of a rust belt of sorts, this church could echo Isaiah 60:1-2, “Arise, shine; for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness thepeoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen in you.” This church in the older city neighborhood is still acting as light in the city despite its current state of urban disrepair, similar to what the returnees from exile experienced in the days of Isaiah 56-66.
Isaiah 60 is a reminder that God can and will transform any community that has seen better days. Practicing one’s faith and seeking social justice for the marginalized will always attract outsiders into the community.
It does no violence to this text to suggest that the magi, or foreign astrologers, were attracted to the star above Bethlehem in the Matthew 2:1-12 lesson. This fulfills God’s promissory note. Camels did come to visit the baby Jesus from afarwith gifts (Isaiah 60:6).
A possible three-point sermon might be: 1) The promises of God are good. 2) The future is still bright. 3) Living by the Holy Scriptures attracts outsiders in any time or nation. Another way to phrase this text might be: 1) What…God’s promises are good. 2) So what…we have reason to rejoice (despite setbacks and defeats). 3) Now what… Let us live out our Scriptures, showing right worship and caring for those in need. The older city church remains committed to being the light in darkness, regardless of any despairing times that occur. They show all people they can belong in this house of worship—even if it is not on Sunday mornings, but by supporting other groups that make use of the church building.
To break down the Isaiah 56-66 chapters into a manual for discipleship might look like: 1) Isaiah 59: Those who repent in any city will have future triumphs and glory, 2)Isaiah 60: More glory is yet to come for those who worship God, 3) Isaiah 61-62: The call is to minister to the poor to bring God’s glory.God is powerful enough to bring reversals. Those peoples who shamed God’s people may one day honor them and bring them offerings and gifts. All things are possible with God, regardless of how bleak they appear now. This is the good news of the text.
Though the man in the opening illustration has little use for the church he drives past daily, the man occasionally goes there as it is also a voting/polling station on election day. “Do not put glory to rest yet” might be a possible sermon title for those who are rebuilding their lives.
[Sources: Brueggemann, Walter, Westminster Bible Companion: Isaiah 40-66, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998; Childs, Brevard, The Old Testament Library: Isaiah, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001; Sakenfeld, Katharine D., Editor, “Isaiah, Book of,” The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Volume 3, Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2008].
Ephesians 3:1-12
A person in a caregiving vocation relocates from his or her home state, which is four states away, into a tight-knit, smaller community. The person is told that they should attend the local high school sporting event on Friday nights to get to know the community better. Upon entering the high school building, purchasing a ticket, and getting a bag of popcorn, the new arrival seeks a place to sit in the gymnasium bleachers. It soon becomes apparent that those seated are grouped with families and lifelong friends from childhood. The new caregiver resident smiles and tries to be friendly, only to be greeted with polite smiles and body language signals which suggest, “Do not sit next to us. These seats are taken.”
In Pauline language, this caregiver is an ambassador to this community who did indeed require them to physically relocate into this demographically declining community. Now the newcomer is treated as an outsider, feeling isolated and alone. He or she does not know where to sit during the sporting event. With the sports program sheet in hand and a bag of popcorn, the person finally sits alone away from the various clusters of families who are cheering on the local sports team and visiting with one another, as this is a family event. The newly arrived caregiver sits alone, wondering if it was a mistake to move away from his or her hometown community quite a distance away. A feeling of intense isolation persists as the crowds cheer, with the pep band music playing and the smells of concession stand food wafting through the air. Is this how ambassadors to foreign countries feel when they relocate their families into unfamiliar distant lands?
This same person decided to attend a local church worship service on Sunday. After the worship service, they go into the fellowship hall for coffee hour. Upon getting a cup of coffee and a snack, they sit alone at one of the church’s round tables. Then one of the ladies from another table signals to the visitor and says, “Hey, you do not need to sit alone. Come on over, sit at our table, and join us.” From there on, it was introductions, names, and tips on how to shop and do business in this town. This time of fellowship lasted until coffee hour was over and the tables were being cleaned. The caregiver found a place he or she belonged among God’s people. This might be a small-town equivalent to rolling out the red carpet to welcome the new town member and church worshipper.
Ephesians is a call to the unity of Christians regardless of social class, status, religious background, or place in the household. Most modern scholars consider this to be a general letter to churches in Asia Minor, written by a pseudonymous author around 75-90 CE. Those who support Pauline authorship date it into the early 60s CE and believe it to be addressed to a church in Ephesus. One-third of the book of Colossians is in Ephesians. Authorship of Colossians is beyond the scope of this article. Arguments for pseudonymous authorship include style, vocabulary, and a shift in theology away from imminent end-world expectations toward a long-term future of the church in the list of household duties (Taylor, 10-15). Those who support Pauline authorship argue that the author has simply altered his views in light of changing circumstances in the Roman Empire (Martin, 5-6). This article will use “Paul” as the author and assume it is a general letter to all churches in Asia Minor, as well as in the future in times such as ours today.
Authorship questions do not detract from the main message of a call to unity in Christ, who is the mystery that God revealed from the God who created all things (3:7). This section is often viewed as a digression from Paul’s general call to unity, which isthe strand that ties the letter together.
Two other passages that might provide helpful bookends for context in preaching this text include 2:19-20: “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ himself as their cornerstone.” At the end of this digression, 4:1-2 might express Paul’s desired outcome of this epistle: “I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling you have been called, with humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Preaching might involve asking if a Christian is an ambassador in every community, workplace context, or location away from one’s home base. How is he or she to carry out a particular message or mission? In Ephesians, it is a call to unity in polarized times. How can any given congregation call people to unity in divided times? One obvious suggestion is to encourage participation in voicing views on any given divisive topic, showing a willingness to move forward with some sort of compromise solution, and finally to support one’s words with actions of kindness for the good of the community. In the above illustration, the caregiver is not angered by early signs of apathy or unfriendliness but remains quiet and attends another community event of church fellowship after worship. Then discussions and dialogues can begin in terms of introductions, relationships, and shared life stories.
Many churches use anniversary events to allow various people to share their history in the community, as well as that of their families. This points to paths toward the future. All people are stewards of their faith stories, as Paul is attempting to articulate his in Ephesians 3. He is identifying himself as an ambassador, stating his credentials and summarizing his gospel message. This might be one three-part division of this text for preaching.
In Ephesians 3, Paul is keenly aware that he is a steward of the message of God’s plan of salvation, who has revealed the mystery that Gentiles and Jews alike are now part of the mystery of God's revelation to creation. This is an Epiphany moment of realizing that God calls all people into unity in Christ, not just a particular ethnic group or nation. Those who were once strangers are called to be a unity of one community.
How does any church or community welcome outsiders who do not share similar pasts with native residents? This is a pressing question as families may consider relocation for employment or economic reasons and may be worried if their children will be welcomed or treated as outsiders in the new community. Might a suburban setting be more conducive to relating to local families than a smaller rural setting where families all share similar last names?
One takeaway point, regardless of which direction one pursues in this text, is what message the church community and individual Christians feel called to deliver at any cost. While in seminary, I was taught that small-town and rural churches need a fully educated, researched, and prepared sermon as much as larger flagship congregations might hear. Another message might be that urban churches need all the help they can receive—even from those people who have relocated out into safer, more economically viable suburbs. Also, as time marches on, where do elderly people who cannot afford senior community housing live in their final years? We all get old!
Alternative path
The text states Paul is a “prisoner for Christ, for the sake of the Gentiles” (3:1). As Black History Month comes up every February, one can admire from a distance civil rights activists being jailed for civil disobedience against racist laws. Are there reasons why the average Christian in any community would risk imprisonment for a passionate cause they deeply believe in? [Sources: Gaventa, Beverly R., Editor The New Interpreter’s Bible: One Volume Commentary: (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2010); Martin, Ralph P. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching; Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1991); Taylor, Walter F., John H.P. Reumann, Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: Ephesians, Colossians, (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Press, 1985)].
Matthew 2:1-12
Joan Paddock has a memoir (Soul Support) of an Episcopal Chaplain as she recounts stories of the mystery of a higher power’s presence in acute care in a palliative care hospital in Washington, D.C., where she served for seven years. One of the challenges of caring for people diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses is helping them come to grips with their spiritual worldview as the end of their life is closer than once believed. Often, spiritual care is provided to those whose religious beliefs are a hybrid combination of other world religious traditions, as well as undefined, open-ended spirituality. In such situations, this Matthew 2 text of pagan or other world religious people following a star toward the baby Jesus may be a good starting point for discussion. In Matthew 2, it is pagan astrologers or magi who are the first outsiders to visit and worship the baby Jesus at birth in Bethlehem (Smith, 39).
This text is placed alongside the Isaiah 60:1-6 text in the lectionary as a possible fulfillment of Isaiah 60:1-7 of the “wealth of nations” traveling to this humble town of Bethlehem. These pagan astrologers embody a higher sincerity of worship, with a community of faith, than Herod the King of Judea at that time, who is actually an Idumean usurper to the throne without blood ties to the lineage of David. Matthew 1:1-16 goes into meticulous detail to identify the family of Jesus’ bloodline. Scholars have suggested that this account of these non-Jewish astrologers serves as a front bookend to the later bookend of the “Great Commission” in Matthew 28:16-20, where all peoples (Greek, Ethnoi) are to become disciples of this Kingdom of Heaven (Powell, 46). Matthew suggests these astrologers do belong to this community of faith. The Episcopal Chaplain could be at peace here.
The narrative of wicked kings using astrologers to undermine God’s people has roots in the Hebrew Bible. In Numbers 24:17 is the narrative of Balak, as well as in Daniel 2, when Nebuchadnezzar uses magi and enchanters to interpret his dreams. Josephus records that it was a common practice of Egyptians and Persians to seek the advice of astrologers in uncertain times (Smith, 40). One path to explore might be whether there is a legitimate use for astrology, horoscopes, and other methods of discerning the future within the Christian church (or is this unacceptable heresy or superstition?).
Matthew 2:23 highlights the Micah 5:2-4 tradition of God doing mighty acts within a small community. This child will be the Greek word “poimaino,” meaning shepherd. Many traditional churches have “Bethlehem” in their name. This text suggests three contrasts one may pursue as a sermon path: 1) King/Magi 2) Scripture/Stars 3) Jerusalem/Bethlehem. Another set of bookends might also be the enemies of the Kingdom with Herod in Matthew 2 and Pilate in Matthew 27.
Probing into the practice of the gifts of kingship that the astrologers brought to the family could be a lively topic to explore. Is this the family financial nest egg until the next step in their life’s journey? What gifts do people bring to the altar of the church after the Advent/Christmas season? Does the church need outside financial giving to sustain its budget, or are gifts seen as supplemental income to be donated to missions and local people in need? [Sources: Maxwell, Joan P., Soul Support: Spiritual Encounters at Life’s End, Eugene, OR: Resource Publications, 2017; Powell, Mark A., Interpretation Bible Commentary: Matthew, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2023; Smith, Robert H., Augsburg Commentary of the New Testament: Matthew, Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 1989]
Application
Who belongs here in the church? In Matthew, it is those who go to worship in church.Worship is not necessarily an experience to feel good (but can be), nor to be motivated and “get something” out of the sermon (but can be). Worship in this sense is the Greek word “Proskyneo,” or awe and devotion to one whose symbols are on the altar and worship furniture. After the magi worship Jesus in this manner, the disciples worship Jesus in 14:33, after he walks on the water. Two women worship the risen Jesus in 28:9, as well as the disciples in 28:17 (Powell, 52).
Alternative path
Are dreams legitimate ways in which we receive revelation? In Matthew, when an angel appears to Joseph in a dream (1:20-23). After their visit, the magi are told in a dream not to return to Herod (2:12). Finally, Matthew 27:19 reports that Herod’s wife suffered a great deal in a dream about the arrest of Jesus.
