JEREMIAH 31:7-14

PSALM 84:1-8

EPHESIANS 1:3-6,15-19a

MATTHEW 2:13-15,19-23

Sermon – January 2, 2005

“Jesus was a refugee.”

That’s the headline over this morning’s Gospel reading. St. Matthew paints a picture of Jesus’ birth and childhood as being already threatened by hostile established worldly powers, and the Gospel writer declares that the Savior of the world was himself kept safe from harm by the actions of his faithful human parents, who listened and responded to God’s guidance.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem – Joseph and Mary’s home, according to Matthew – and was visited in infancy or as a toddler by mysterious “wise men” from the East, who inadvertently tipped off the paranoid and murderous King Herod about the birth of the real King of the Jews.

But after the wise men went home to their own country by another road, Jesus’ adoptive father, Joseph, like his Old Testament namesake, was repeatedly guided by God in dreams – first to flee Bethlehem for Egypt, and then to resettle in Galilee in the north of the Holy Land in the little town of Nazareth.

Joseph, Mary and Jesus did not go to Egypt because a new “Disney World” had just opened there. They went because King Herod was about to send his army to Bethlehem in an effort to murder Jesus and to do so Herod ordered his troops to kill all the boys under two years old in and around the village. It is hard to imagine the horror of one’s own government being in the hands of a terrorist dictator who orders infanticide, but such was the horrendous situation of the parents of Bethlehem, who could have given eloquent and anguished testimony (if any is needed) that the world desperately needs a Savior.

So some of the earliest experiences the Son of God had while incarnate as a human being were of fleeing for his life from a murderous dictator, of being a refugee in a foreign country, and of being vigilantly protected and nourished by Joseph and Mary, who stepped up big-time to their parental responsibilities. Like the companions of the ring-bearer in The Lord of the Rings, they would never have been in danger except for the one they protected, and they would never have been safe if they had not listened to divine guidance in Joseph’s dreams.

Some members of our parish family have had the experience of having been refugees, immigrants fleeing Stalin or Castro or a murderous regime in Sierra Leone. All of us need to remember that Christ himself was once a refugee – Christ, who later said, “As you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you have done it to me.”

Therefore, it is imperative for us individually as Christians to respond to the needs of those made homeless as a result of man-made or natural disasters. Saying a disaster is far away does not cut it. God is at home everywhere and no one is a foreigner to God. As children of God ourselves by adoption and grace through Jesus Christ (as today’s Epistle reminds us), we are related to the whole world.

I imagine many of us have already sent in donations in response to the horrific cataclysm in the Indian Ocean, but for those who have not yet done so or who want to do more, we enclose an insert in today’s service leaflet with a list of organizations which are helping victims of the tsunami.

We are related to the whole world. And one member of our parish – who was in Youth Group just a couple of years ago! – is now a US Navy medic aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln steaming toward Indonesia. Very soon now, Ariel Jones-Knuckle will be treating some of the survivors of the tsunami in the hospital ward aboard her ship, taking the commandment she learned about in confirmation class and Sunday School here – “love your neighbor as yourself” – to a whole new level.

So that’s my first point: loving our neighbors as ourselves is not an optional extra; it’s part of the basics of our faith.

My second point follows up the story of Joseph and Mary’s actions in the Gospel and of the parental language used of God in the readings from Jeremiah and Ephesians. God is a loving parent, offering guidance, rescue and a permanent relationship in the midst of this broken world which has so many dangers, natural and man-made.

And God calls those who are parents to be responsible parents, to care for their children with wisdom, vigilance and love – including making provisions in advance for their care should they, the parents, pre-decease them.

I’m following up the article in our January newsletter, folks, talking about Wills, and about how writing – or updating – your Will would be an excellent New Year’s resolution to make and keep.

And this is not my original idea; I am, in fact, instructed to do this by The Book of Common Prayer, which says (at the end of the service called “Thanksgiving for a child”), page 445:

“The minister of the Congregation is directed to instruct the people, from time to time, about the duty of Christian parents to make prudent provision for the well-being of their families, and of all persons to make Wills, while they are in health, arranging for the disposal of their temporal goods, not neglecting, if they are able, to leave bequests for religious and charitable uses.”

“Leaving bequests for religious and charitable uses”, as the Prayer Book says, is a good thing, and St. Barnabas specifically invites parishioners to include this Church in their Wills and we are grateful to those who have already done so, but that is not my focus this morning. I’m concentrating on “the duty of Christian parents to make prudent provision for the well-being of their families.”

That includes (a) writing a Will and (b) naming someone to be the guardian of your child or children should both of their parents die before the child or children reach the age of 18.

For my next witness (after The Book of Common Prayer), I call Jim Carrey, perhaps the first time he’s been a witness in a sermon on responsible parenting. Jim Carrey stars in a, uh, unique, PG movie currently in theaters called “Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events,” in which the character he plays manages to become the guardian of three orphaned children. They are unusually resourceful and resilient children who survive these repeated encounters with Count Olaf – just barely – due to their being smarter than the adults who are supposed to be looking out for them.

It’s a fun movie in an old-fashioned, creepy, “gothic” sort of a way. But if you have kids and take them to the movie, be ready if they ask on the way home, “Who would our guardian be if anything happened to you?” If the parental answer is, “Uh, we don’t have wills so we haven’t picked anyone,” expect nightmares until you do.

My final witness to this point is The State of New Jersey. You see, if you haven’t written a Will, the State of New Jersey has written one for you (and guess who’s in charge). Copies of it are available on the table in the welcoming area. It makes sobering reading. All adults can benefit by reading “Section VI, Death Taxes.” Under existing law, there are certain legitimate avenues open to me to lower death taxes. Since I prefer to have my money used for governmental purposes rather than for the benefit of my spouse and issue, I direct that no effort be made to lower taxes.”

Parents of minor children should pay particular attention to Section V “Guardianship”, in which you have waived your right to nominate a guardian of your child or children. You then “direct ‘your relatives and friends’ (however those terms might be defined) to select a guardian, and failing that, you direct ‘the Probate Court’ to make the selection. If the court wishes, it may appoint a stranger applicable to it.” Count Olaf, step this way.

I hope I have made at least some of my listeners uncomfortable this morning – uncomfortable enough to motivate them to action. Christmas Season, which we are still within, is about family – God’s adoption of us, our membership in a global family, and the special family responsibilities some of us have for children.

Joseph didn’t waste anytime before he took action. Neither should we.

(The Rev.) Francis A. Hubbard

St. Barnabas Episcopal Church