Sunday Homily 1-3-10, Epiphany (Magi Visit)
Readings: Isaiah 60, 1-6; Psalm 72, Lord, Every Nation on Earth will adore You; Ephesians 3, 2-6; Matthew 2, 1-12.
Isaiah 60: author, date, subject
Author: 3 Isaiah (responsible for chapters 55-66)
Date: ca. 400, after the Babylonian Captivity, ended ca. 550
Subject: lines such as, Rise up in splendor, the glory of the Lord shines, people from the east will come with gold & frankincense.
source: John Shelby Spong
The Great Debate: Myth vs Fact
I have just had an epiphany event in my life. I was visited by an old friend, a wise friend, maybe a wise guy friend. He says, "Stack, you are a fraud." You folks have known this all along. He says that the homily I gave before Christmas on the Partridge in a Pear Tree was not true. Sorry to have to tell you this. The history was wako, did not happen. As you can imagine, I was quite deflated, but figured he was right because he is more of a researcher than I.
So, folks, the old geezer fraud fesses up this morning. I confess that I did not do any research on the subject. Somebody sent it to me a few years ago, and I did not even save the name of the sender.
So, using my friend's research and my own, I discovered that maybe the symbols were connected to the old Christmas carol ca. 1990. Apparently nobody knows. It was pointed out that these symbols did not need to be secret because of persecution. The Elizabethan protestants shared most of the same symbols. No secret needed. Plus the carol may have come from France. So, everyone, erase that homily and the history I gave you. I blew that one.
It struck me in the midst of this, could we be witnessing the creation of a myth? 100 years from now how many people will believe the version that I presented? Could this be an example of what took place in the bible? You have certainly heard that biblical scholars have determined that the nativity stories are the result of literary liberties taken by Luke & Matthew, not factual history. I can give you two simple examples.
First, Bethlehem. It is thought that Jesus was really born in Nazareth. But Luke & Matthew, the only writers dealing with the nativity, wanted to connect Jesus with King David. David was born in Bethlehem. It is pointed out that it is a long way from Nazareth to Bethlehem, it was winter, and Mary was pregnant. A woman researcher commented, "Only a man would imagine such a journey possible for a pregnant woman."
Why were people going to Bethlehem? To be counted in a census of all the descendents of David. David lived a 1000 years earlier, had many wives and mistresses. His offspring would have numbered in at least the thousands. No wonder there was no room. And imagine how skitzy Herod would be with these thousands of potentially hostile subjects just a few miles from Jerusalem.
Why did the writers use such literary liberties? They want to show that Jesus was special, he was the figure 1 Isaiah predicted, the God-hero, the wonder worker, the Prince of Peace. They had heard so much about the adult Jesus that they wanted to make his birth a God-hero event. So, connect him with the Great King David.
Finally, secondly, there is one small but significant mistranslation. In Isaiah 7, 14, it is said, "A young woman will have a child." Matthew, most likely intentionally to craft his point, mistranslates the word young woman as virgin, and says 'a virgin will become pregnant' (1, 23). And so it has come down.
There are three ways to respond to these studies. One is to say, "No problem, God can do all that stuff. He's all powerful." The trouble with this is that the evidence is becoming overwhelming. Like still saying the earth is flat.
Or I can simply toss out the whole and stay home.
A middle ground could be to recognize that literary liberties have been used. And still celebrate the event. The event, the Prince of Peace gives me peace and gives me a longing to share the peace.
I goofed up by not researching the Partridge in a Pear Tree. Sorry about that. What we may be seeing here is a myth process similar to the biblical stories. Myth or fact? How can I be an educated, intelligent Christian?
What do you think about all this? What do you feel about it?
Sources: John Shelby Spong; Harvey Cox, Future of Faith; Catholic Encyclopedia on line; Snopes
Picture 1: Epiphany Celebration begins
Picture 2: Mass with Kevin helping
Picture 3: 35th Anniversary, Carol & Richard
Picture 4: Chloe dances (see video)