What
Do You Seek? Power, Authority and
Character
Reflections
on Matthew 2.1-12
The
Epiphany of Our Lord
3
January 2016
Saint
Faith’s Anglican Church
When
Paula and I were married, we were given the gift of a Nativity set. It’s made in the style of the Hispanic and
Indigenous pottery of the American Southwest.
The faces of each figure also reflect the peoples of the Southwest where
Paula and I grew up.
When
our children were younger, we would set the Nativity up in the living room of
our house. Mary, Joseph, the animals and
the shepherds would patiently await during Advent for the arrival of the Christ
Child on Christmas Eve. On that night,
as far away as possible from the living room, the Magi would make their first
appearance.
Each
night between Christmas and Epiphany the Magi would travel, in stages, to the
living room where Mary, Joseph and the Christ Child awaited them. Each of our children would choose one of the
Magi and we would move ever so closer.
As we moved through the house, we sang,
O star of wonder, star of night,
star with royal beauty bright;
westward leading, still
proceeding,
guide us to thy perfect light.
Today
we celebrate, a few days early, the arrival of the Magi in Bethlehem. If we follow the chronology of Matthew’s
story, then they have been on the road to Bethlehem for two years. The Magi had embarked on a journey to find
the Child who was born to be ‘King of the Jews’, the herald of God’s promised
reign of justice and peace. Each of the
Magi brought a symbolic gift, gifts that can be understood to represent the
stages in our own journeys of self-discovery.
Born a
King on Bethlehem’s plain, gold I bring to crown him again
Have
you ever experienced a child’s first attempt to exert control over her or his
life? It’s that moment when he or she
first says ‘No’ and will not cooperate in whatever the parent or caregiver is
trying to do with and for the child.
Even though it can be very frustrating to the adult, it is a vital stage
in the development of the child. He or
she has come to the awareness of self-identity and independence.
Another
word for control is power. Every human
being has a legitimate need for some power in her or his life. When I visit people in long-term care
situations, one of the frequent laments I hear is the loss of control over
one’s body, one’s routines, one’s freedom of choice. One of my pastoral responsibilities in such
situations is to help people identify where they do have control and how to
exercise this control.
But
control has a darker side. Some of us
become so fixed on control that we sacrifice our relationships with other
people. We focus on acquiring money,
property, material goods and the secrets that give us power over other
people. We use these acquisitions to
bully and manipulate others. It’s the
other ‘golden rule’: the one who has the
gold rules.
If
we are fortunate enough to have wise mentors and caring communities, we may
find ourselves mired in this important but only preliminary stage of maturity.
Frankincense
to offer have I: incense owns a Deity
nigh
Have
you ever stood for election, whether in school, in a social society or in some
other organization? If you have, then
you have sought authority. Authority is
power used within the boundaries of mutual relationships of respect and
self-giving. Sometimes the boundaries
are set by terms of office, other times by the nature of the relationships or
by the bonds of affection. Those who
understand the difference between authority and power choose persuasion rather
than coercion when faced with conflict or competing expectations.
Authority,
like incense, flows through a community and, if used wisely and carefully,
sweetens the atmosphere with subtle perfume.
After a while, the perfume fades away and another aroma may take its
place. Authority knows its own time and
place and does not seek to go beyond its proper limits.
But
authority can be exercised by people who are drawn by the lure of power, ‘the
iron fist in a velvet glove’. Some
people seek to exercise roles for which they are not suited in terms of gifts
and temperament. Like incompetent or
corrupt officials, we recognize their authority even if we seek ways to limit
them or to remove them from office.
To
know the difference between power and authority is a necessary part of growing
up. But it is the last gift of the Magi
that is key to living in the fullness of the stature of Christ.
Myrrh
is mine; its bitter perfume breathes a life of gathering gloom
In
the ancient world myrrh, the resin from a small thorny tree native to the
Middle East, had many uses: perfume,
incense and medication. Many ancient
peoples used an oil of myrrh to anoint the sick and the bodies of the
dead. As an oil it seeps into the body
through the skin and blends with the body’s own chemistry. Someone anointed with myrrh brings that aroma
with them into any space they visit and transform it.
For
me myrrh represents character.
Character, in the old-fashioned meaning of the word, is that quality of
an individual that determines how he or she will use power and exercise
authority. Character is the one thing
that endures even after power vanishes and authority passes.
On
Thursday of this past week Bishop Jim Cruickshank, the retired and last Bishop
of Cariboo, died. For many people, lay
and ordained, Jim was the embodiment of character. As a bishop of the church, Jim had power as
well as authority. In that he was no
different from any other bishop. What
distinguished Jim from so many other leaders was his character. He embodied these words from the letter to
the Colossians:
As
God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.
Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another,
forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must
forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves
with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your
hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly;
teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts
sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the
Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. [1]
I hope that, when I grow up, it is
this character embodied in Jim that I reach.
Jim
was a fellow traveller with us on the same road as was travelled by the
Magi. Like the Magi we seek the One who
shall show us how to live and become truly who we meant to be. Like the Magi we bring gifts that represent
the stages of our journey: the gold of
power, the frankincense of authority and the myrrh of character. We bring them before the Child who shows us
how to accept the power that is rightfully ours and to exercise it within the
limits of mutual and respectful relationships with God, our neighbours and ourselves. But more importantly this Child, in his life,
in his teaching and in the example of his death, shows us the character which
is ours if we are willing to walk this road, stage by stage, sometimes two steps forward and one step back, but always walking towards the light.
O star of wonder, star of night,
star with royal beauty bright;
westward leading, still
proceeding,
guide us to thy perfect light.
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