The Church of St. Paul and Incarnation, Jersey City NJ
January 3, 2021
Year B: The Second Sunday after Christmas
Jeremiah 31:7-14
Psalm 84
Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-19a
Matthew 2:1-12
Journeys of Faith and Hope
Happy New Year!
I don’t need to tell you that most of us were glad to see the old year finally come to an end. It was a hard year, and true to form, as many of you know by now, 2020 handed us one last loss.
On Christmas Eve, former longtime St. Paul’s parishioner Joyce Thorpe died.
I’m sure you St. Paul’s old-timers will agree that Joyce was just the loveliest person.
Joyce spoke with the most beautiful Barbadian lilt. She radiated love and kindness, and was especially concerned for the well-being of our church children – children who are by now all grown up, but no doubt changed forever by her care and interest.
When I remember Joyce, in addition to her goodness, I think back to how she could walk only with great difficulty, and, I assume, a lot of pain.
And, yet, week after week, she came to church, dragging herself up the short flight of steps into the sanctuary – and, later, pulling herself again, up the stairs to the altar rail where she reached out to receive the Body and Blood of Christ.
Each week, Joyce made a journey – it may not have been very far by our standards – but, for her, it was an arduous journey – a journey she wouldn’t have missed for anything – a journey of faith and hope.
Journeys of faith and hope.
Peter Gomes, a preacher and theologian who was longtime minister at Harvard University, once wrote, “The land we seek is not behind us. It is before us, and that is the secret the Bible has always been willing to impart to those who would seek it.”
The story of the Bible, the story of God and us, is a story of journeys.
Over and over, God calls us to move from one place to another.
Sometimes, like when Abraham and Sarah are called to leave their home, trusting in God’s promise that they would produce multitudes, or when Moses is called to lead his people home, the journeys are far indeed.
And sometimes, like for our beloved Joyce, the journey is a short distance, at least in the eyes of the world.
And sometimes, the journey covers no physical space at all, like when people at odds finally reconcile, or when people turn away from self-destruction and choose healing and wholeness for themselves and those who love them.
Journeys of faith and hope.
Today as we approach the end of the Christmas Season, we heard about another journey – another journey of faith and hope - a famous journey – the journey of the mysterious wise men from the East, following a star, bearing gifts that they hope to present to the child who has been born king of the Jews.
In today’s Gospel lesson we hard the story of the Epiphany – when the good news of Jesus begins to spread beyond a small group of Jews, the first sign that Jesus is a gift for the whole world.
Journeys of faith and hope often take us to unexpected places, and that’s definitely true for the wise men.
Looking for a newborn king of the Jews, they do the logical thing and head to the capital city, to Jerusalem. And there’s a king there, but he’s been around for a while, and whatever he might say out loud, he’s none too pleased to hear about the birth of a potential rival.
Journeys of faith and hope often take us to unexpected places, and the wise men end up in Bethlehem, discovering a scene that must not have looked very royal at all – just a seemingly ordinary woman and man and child, living in simple, if not primitive circumstances, and yet, despite this unlikely scene, they trust that the star has indeed led them to the right spot and present their gifts.
Journeys of faith and hope can be sometimes dangerous – dangerous for the wise men, who take another way home to avoid the furious Herod – and dangerous for Mary, Joseph, and the child, who will flee to Egypt, desperate to escape the same Herod who is definitely not interested in paying homage to the newborn king.
And, actually, if you stop and think about it, the whole Christmas story is a journey of faith and hope.
The journey began with Mary saying “yes” to the angel, and Joseph choosing to stand behind her, despite what must have been a great cost to himself.
The journey continues from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the journey from promise to fulfillment – there really is a newborn child – and if he really is who the angel said he would be, well, then everything is about to change.
And, I may be stepping out onto theological thin ice here, but isn’t this a journey of faith and hope for God, too?
Entering into our flesh and blood world in a way different than what God had ever done before – trusting that Mary and Joseph would nurture this holy but completely dependent life – hoping that someday people would hear the message that the kingdom was near – anticipating the day when heaven and earth would be reconciled at last.
Journeys of faith and hope.
“The land we seek is not behind us. It is before us…”
And, you know, come to think of it, we here at St. Paul and Incarnation have been on a journey of faith and hope these past few years, haven’t we?
In some ways it feels like we’ve been together forever, but it’s good for us to remember that, in fact, we’ve come a long way in a pretty short time.
It was just a few years ago that we were two churches, separated by a few blocks and quite a bit of not so good history – two churches beginning to celebrate together a little more – holy days and picnics in the park – two churches that, maybe without quite realizing it, embarked on a journey of faith and hope.
It was a journey that had some dangers. Would we be welcomed? Would we be welcoming? Would we manage to hold onto our individual histories and identities while at the same time creating something new, and possibly even more beautiful than what was before?
And then this past year, our journey took an unexpected turn.
Just as we had pretty much gotten used to being together, just as we were working on the legalities that would make our union official, our world was turned upside-down by the pandemic, our church was shocked by closed doors, and stunned by the loss of one of our greatest leaders, Sidney King.
Yes, for nearly a year now – with many of us barely leaving our homes – we have been on a journey of faith and hope.
We’ve been using prayer and technology to stick together as close as we can, trusting that God is with us even when – especially when – we can’t see the way forward, knowing that God is not going to let go of us, no matter how unlikely the scene looks, no matter if Herod is on the rampage, no matter if every step pains us so much.
A hard year has finally come to an end, but not before it handed us one last loss.
For our dear sister Joyce Thorpe, the journey has come to an end.
She has returned to the God who dreamed her up in the first place – the God who upheld her throughout her life – the God she loved and served her whole life - the God who fed her right here – the God she journeyed toward every single day.
But, like for the wise men and the Holy Family long ago, for us the journey of faith and hope continues – a journey that will no doubt take us to some unexpected places, with some dangers, and many blessings, along the way.
So, as a new year begins, and not knowing what is yet to come, we head out together, trusting God, and remembering that, “the land we seek is not behind us. It is before us…”
Amen.
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