Eyes to See

Wednesday, 04 January 2012 09:03

Wednesday 4th January 2012

Isaiah 60.1-6,
Matthew 2.1-12

The air waves and newspapers have lately been full of commentators reading the runes of last year's happenings and making predictions about this year. Which time will prove more or less accurate!

Much credence is given to these prophecies.

There were prophecies in Jesus day too, but more of a Messianic than economic nature. The Jews did not put much trust in political or economic management as a way of making things better. They looked to God who, they believed, would send his Messiah to deliver his people, give them a kingdom of their own, and in the process destroy all their enemies. Prophecy in the bible was about what God was doing or would do.

When Jesus came it wasn't at all clear that he was the Messiah so Matthew, writing for an audience of predominantly Jewish Christians was keen to show how the ancient prophesies, which we can read in our Old Testaments, confirmed that Jesus was indeed the Saviour.

So he tells how Herod's advisers referred to a prophecy.

"'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'" (Matthew 2:6 ESV)

We saw this in last weeks's passage as well - where Matthew quotes the passage about Rachel weeping for her children - which he interprets to apply to the mothers of the babies killed by Herod's soldiers.

And today's OT reading has been chosen to direct our attention to Isaiah's words which Matthew would have and we also interpret in the light of the Magi.

And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord. (Isaiah 60:3, 6 ESV)

The OT prophets spoke out of and about their own situations. But history has shown that their words have several layers of meaning.

Many of the prophecies in the OT were very much for the people at the time they were uttered.

For example the words in Jeremiah 31.15 which refer to Rachel weeping for her children originally referred to the people being led away into exile, passing, as they went, the land of Ramah. It was in Ramah that Rachel, wife of Isaac was buried. Jeremiah pictures Rachel weeping, even in the tomb, for the fate that had befallen her people.

When Jesus came some were able to apply those ancient words to him and the situation surrounding his birth. But ot all saw the carpenter's son as the awaited Messiah.
And virtually all were scandalized at his crucifixion.

But again, it was by reading again certain Old Testament prophecies that his disciples began to make sense of what had happened. For example, Isaiah's prophecy about the suffering servant assumed a new meaning in the person of Jesus.

But only for those who had eyes to see. Not everyone accepted that these prophecies were about Jesus, preferring to limit them to their original meaning.

It has always been the case that when God speaks he does ambiguously. He does not announce through a celestial megaphone, leaving no room for doubt. Rather, he is a courteous God who would not compel but who invites.

So in the story of our lives too, he seeks to communicate with us, but in ways which leave the door open for doubt as well as faith. Through the words of someone, through a seemingly chance encounter, even through a time of pain and hurt God reaches out with his word.

Can you look back at your life to times when you had the intuition that perhaps in this thing or that person God was trying to talk to you.

So it's all about having eyes to see and ears to hear. This coming Friday is the feast of the Epiphany - and this is about seeing the light! What we need to pray for is that we might be open enough to perceive those moments whenever they come; to be able to see the light.
To see the prophetic all around us. God keeps on trying, day by day. He never gives up.

William Temple said that when he prayed coincidences happened, when he did not pray, they did not happen. Is it a coincidence or is it God. That's up to us. That's how God, in his love and wisdom has decreed it.