RBWords

     As the first preachers of Jesus' life, death and resurrection sought to understand him in broader terms than his death and resurrection, they turned to the only scriptures they had at the time, the Old Testament - the Law and the prophets.  The words quoted above from the first scripture today come from the Book of Numbers, one of the first five books of the Old Testament, which are the Law - the Torah.  They were spoken by Balaam, a kind of prophet or seer, who was hired by the pagan King of Moab to curse the Israelites before a battle.  He is famous for his talking donkey who resisted the journey and saw the angel of the Lord before Balaam did!  Balaam wound up prophesying the victory of the Israelites!  Part of his prophecy was seen by Jews and Christians as predicting the coming of the Messiah.  The "star" may well have made its way into Matthew's account of the Magi and their journey.

     Balaam and his donkey remind us that God's message can come in unusual ways from unusual sources.  The chief priests and elders who challenged Jesus in the temple in today's gospel scripture saw him as a country preacher who had no business disturbing the temple routine and challenging their position as teachers.  He was "unusual," to say the least, to them.  He did not act on an authority of any kind they knew of.  He acted on his own authority.

     We are not only in the season of Advent/Christmas/Epiphany, we are in a season of pandemic and hopes of all kinds are rising, especially in the form of a vaccine.  But there may be people and events in this time that remind us of the kindness and love of God that can transcend the sorrows and trials of this difficult time.  The dedication of health-care workers right now, people whom we could easily take for granted at other times, remind us that hope can come in unusual ways.  We are offered the opportunity in this difficult time to look for the signs of hope that we take for granted or come in unusual ways.  A messiah in a stable could be a good starting point.  AMEN