THIRD SUNDAY OF EPIPHANY Year A 26 January 2014 History matters. When I was in school, I learnt, like most children of my generation, about the heroism of General James Wolfe, scaling the Heights of Abraham to defeat the French at the Battle of Québec in 1759, giving his life in the process. But then I moved to Canada, and ultimately met my French-Canadian wife, who for her part had learnt about the heroism of the French General Montcalm, giving his life in the defence of New France. Je vous répondrai par la bouche de mes canons – I will answer you with the mouth of my cannon – he supposedly said; though as with many such quotations, it was actually said earlier by someone else. And for the record, the idea of attacking the city via the Heights of Abraham wasnt actually Wolfes either, but his naval commanders, while Wolfe was ill with fever. But to this day, the principal fault-line in the provinces politics is still essentially between those who think Wolfes victory was a good thing, and those who think Québec would have been better off had Montcalm been the victor. History matters in the Bible too. So when Matthew evokes Isaiah in our Gospel today, the passage we heard as our first reading: Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned … he is not simply evoking a congenial Old Testament passage; he is invoking a specific historic and politic context, and context of which his first-century Jewish reader would have been well aware. And as a result they would have understood the sub-text of just what Matthew was trying to communicate. Because Zebulun and Naphtali had been part been of the territory captured by Assyria from Israel in the Eighth Century B.C., and “The Way of the Sea”, “The Land beyond Jordan”, and “Galilee of the Nations” correspond to the administrative provinces created by the Assyrians after their conquest, who cruelly oppressed their new subjects, embarking on a project of what we today would call, ethnic cleansing. This was the immediate context of Isaiah’s prophecy; an invasion, interpreted by the people of Israel as a sign of God’s disfavour, because of their unfaithfulness, and the wickedness and disobedience of Ahaz their King. And the light of which Isaiah speaks in is his vision is that of a new king, heir to Ahaz, who will rule in justice, restore God’s favour to his people, and drive out the Assyrians. The rod of their oppression will be broken, the yoke of slavery lifted from the shoulders of God’s people, just as when the hero Gideon defeated the Midianites in an earlier conflict. For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. And the passage continues with those familiar words we associate with Christmas Midnight Mass: For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onwards and for evermore. When Matthew applies these words to Jesus, he is doing more than simply talking about Jesus as “the light” in a vague, symbolic way: the way in which, more often than not, we interpret these words. Rather, he is seeing a parallel, pointing to Jesus as the real king and heir to the throne of David, the Messiah, truly fulfilling the prophets words. Against this backdrop, even Jesus’ movements around Palestine, now occupied by a different oppressor, become significant. The closest parallel for us today might be speaking about “the spirit of the Blitz” or evoking memories of Churchill and the Battle of Britain. But Geography is important too. Because for all this, Galilee (where all four Gospels agree Jesus began his ministry) was not an important place. It was a rural backwater, a long way from where the action was. The people of Galilee too were simple folk, fisherman mainly, and other people whose skills would have supported the local fishing industry. You might imagine Jesus withdrawing to the coast of Norfolk or the Scottish Isles if you wanted a contemporary parallel. But it is here, among these people, that Jesus finds his first and closest companions: James and John, along with Andrew and his brother Simon Peter, about whose call we heard in last Sundays Gospel. In fact, Matthew implies Jesus has deliberately chosen to go to Galilee, to be away from the centre of power until things quietened down after his cousin John the Baptists arrest. And Jesus ministry remains among the provincial poor until the very end, when he finally makes his way up to Jerusalem for one tumultuous week … a reminder that moving among the rich and powerful is not necessarily as mark of faithfulness. Sometimes, as today, our Old and New Testament readings are directly related, having been chosen for that reason. At other times, particularly on weekdays, there is no direct connection; rather, our Old Testament readings serve to expose us to the history of God’s people in a more general sense. Both types of reading are important, as we read about Israel’s times of faithfulness, and times of disobedience, and of their hope for the One who would save them from their enemies. As Christians, we know that person to be Jesus; but we know that because of the writings of those like Matthew, who knew the story of God’s people in the Scriptures of the Old Covenant, and were able to recognise him for who he was. When we read the Old Testament, it deepens our knowledge and our faith, and helps us to understand passages like today’s Gospel. But it is important that we take time to study the Old Testament if that is to happen, just as we need to learn about the towns and places where Jesus lived and preached. Because then we will see more clearly the light in the darkness, and understand Jesus more fully as the One who saves us and sets us free from all that oppresses us.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 11:00:01 +0000
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