Homily for the Epiphany: Seeking Sanctuary.

Psalm 72

1 Endow the king with your justice, O God,

the royal son with your righteousness.

2 May he judge your people in righteousness,

    your afflicted ones with justice.

3 May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,

    the hills the fruit of righteousness.

4 May he defend the afflicted among the people

    and save the children of the needy;

    may he crush the oppressor.

5 May he endure as long as the sun,

    as long as the moon, through all generations.

6 May he be like rain falling on a mown field,

    like showers watering the earth.

7 In his days may the righteous flourish

    and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.

8 May he rule from sea to sea

    and from the River to the ends of the earth.

9 May the desert tribes bow before him

    and his enemies lick the dust.

10 May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores

    bring tribute to him.

May the kings of Sheba and Seba

    present him gifts.

11 May all kings bow down to him

    and all nations serve him.

12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out,

    the afflicted who have no one to help.

13 He will take pity on the weak and the needy

    and save the needy from death.

14 He will rescue them from oppression and violence,

    for precious is their blood in his sight.

15 Long may he live!

    May gold from Sheba be given him.

May people ever pray for him

    and bless him all day long.

Matthew 2:1-12

2 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah[c] was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

    who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Was Jesus a refugee?

In our bible reading we heard that the Wise Men, “...having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.” If we read on we discover that Joseph receives the same divine warning, “...take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

Herod intended to murder all the male infants in and around Bethlehem in an attempt to kill 'the one born king of the Jews'.

So Joseph flees with Mary and Jesus to Egypt.

Does this make the infant Jesus a refugee?

This is not a neutral question, or rather, in recent times this has become a political question. Christians making the case for accepting refugees have argued that as Jesus was a refugee we now should be welcome all refugees.

So was Jesus a refugee? We need a definition to test the case by.

The United Nations Refugee Agency defines refugees as, “people who have fled their countries to escape conflict, violence, or persecution and have sought safety in another country.”

The Holy family was seeking refuge from politically motivated violence, Herod's murderous actions were motivated by a desire to secure his position, and that of his dynasty. As a man of violence he probably feared 'the one born king of the Jews' would in due course turn up at the gates of his palace with a sword in his hand and in the company of armed men, so Herod struck first.

Therefore, the argument goes, Jesus was a refugee, and so we should welcome refugees.

However, Christians who make the case for restricting the welcome given to refugees have argued that Jesus was not in fact a refugee. It is argued that in international law to be a refugee means to have crossed an international border in order to flee persecution, in the first century Judea and Egypt were provinces in the Roman Empire, not separate states, so no international border was crossed— in fact no modern nation-states or bordered "countries" existed. The Holy family remained within the jurisdiction of the Roman Empire. Jesus was an internally displaced person, not a refugee.

It doesn't end there, the argument goes on to say the Holy Family were not undocumented migrants as they had registered as required by law, and that in any case, they did not intend to remain in Egypt, their journey was not to Egypt, it was through Egypt with the intent of eventually returning safely home. So Jesus was not a refugee, and as Jesus wasn't a refugee we have no obligation to unconditionally welcome all refugees.

You may not have come across this debate, but it is playing out on social media as we are gathered here, and in the comments columns of some newspapers, and also I am aware that some of my clergy colleagues have been keen to weigh in on the side of 'Jesus was a refugee.'

I find the whole debate frustrating because in my view Asylum and Immigration policy can not be determined on the basis of whether Jesus was a refugee or not. Proving that Jesus was, or was not, a refugee will not settle the contemporary argument about Asylum, and anyway – that's not how the bible and Christianity works.

Should Christians be arguing for specific Forestry policies on the basis that Jesus was a carpenter?

Should Christians be arguing for specific alcohol policies on the basis that Jesus turned water into wine?

Should Christians be arguing for specific Fisheries Policies on the basis that 11 out of the 12 Apostles were fishermen?

If the Holy Family had not fled Herod, if Herod had been no threat, would there now be no biblical case for welcoming refugees?

I am of course aware that I am being somewhat disingenuous, that in most instances the argument for welcoming refugees is not made solely on the basis of the disputed refugee status of Jesus; Christians are to welcome the stranger, care for the poor, and repent of all prejudice, but all this still doesn't get you to a modern Asylum and Immigration policy, or mean you can dismiss as necessarily wicked those who do not agree with your views on Asylum and Immigration. Christians of good will, and sincere faith, will disagree on social and political issues. The challenge is to disagree not from a position of self righteousness, but of penitence. The bible isn't there to prove you right, it's there to prove you wrong.

Was Jesus a refugee? Listen to the Psalmist!

He is the King who will he judge the people in righteousness, the afflicted ones with justice. He will defend the afflicted and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor. He will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and save them from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight. All kings will bow down to him and all nations serve him.

 Amen.