Epiphany of Our Lord
Sunday, January 6th, 2013click here for past entriesLoving God, you reveal yourself to people of every race and nation, drawing all to come and worship you. Enable us to recognize you whenever and wherever we meet you, opening our hearts to the wonderful gift you have given us in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
How much can you tell me about the wise men? What do you know about them? [from the East; 3 kings; Gaspar, Melchior & Balthasar; studied the stars; astrologers; magi; camels; brought gifts] Some of what we know about the wise men comes from the gospel of Matthew, and some does not.
The Greek word that is translated as wise men is magoi, from which we get magi. Magi can mean astrologers or magicians. It also refers to a priestly caste from Media and Persia who worshiped the elements (earth, air, fire, water). However, there is also the tradition that they were three kings, which comes in part from two of our other readings today, from Isaiah 60 and Psalm 72. Since Isaiah also mentions camels, usually they are pictured riding on camels in order to come and worship the infant Jesus.
It was in the early Middle Ages that the wise men were given names: Gaspar (or Caspar), Melchior and Balthasar. They are also usually depicted as an old man, a middle-aged man, and a young man, in order to communicate that Jesus came for people of all ages. Today, for simplicity’s sake, I’ll refer to them as the magi.
These magi, who come from the East, saw a star in the sky that signaled the birth of the Messiah - the king of the Jews. And so they gather up their camels and their gifts and set out on a long journey that eventually brings them to Jerusalem. As they don’t know exactly where to go to find this child that has been born, they go to King Herod, who surely should know these things. As it turns out, of course, Herod doesn’t know about any king of the Jews who has been born, and his reaction is very telling. Matthew records that Herod was frightened by this news, and all Jerusalem with him. How come? Why would he be frightened? [feels threatened; he is “king of the Jews”; how could outsiders from another religion know this?]
Once you know a little bit about Herod the Great, it is pretty easy to see why he would be disturbed by the news that a Messiah has been born. Herod was notorious for not tolerating any rivals, and murdered many people, including his son. Herod had also been given the title “king of the Jews” by the Roman senate in 40 B.C. He held onto power so tightly that he had white knuckles, and he was always paranoid that people were trying to get rid of him. And so, Herod’s fear can be understood.
But why would “all Jerusalem” be frightened, too? It’s almost like, “Uh oh. What if they’re right? What if the Messiah has been born and we missed it? How could this be? How could foreigners know about this, and we don’t? Aren’t we still God’s chosen people?” It’s kind of like when you think you’re really powerful and special and then find out you’ve been left out of the loop on something really important.
However, if there’s anything the magi have to teach us, it’s that Jesus came for all people. As far as we know, they were from a totally different religion (probably Zoroastrianism) and didn’t even worship God. Yet, somehow they knew that the birth of the Messiah was important for all people, including them. And so they come to worship Jesus, the newborn king, bringing gifts that are entirely appropriate for a king at that time, and that end up paying Mary and Joseph’s way as they are forced to flee to Egypt.
Of course, much has been made of the gifts brought by the magi. I’ve seen a number of cartoons indicating that if they were wise women, they would have brought far more practical gifts. Even This Hour Has 22 Minutes had a sketch in December where the magi were in a department store trying to pick out gifts. In the end, when the oldest one comes back with gold as a gift, one of the others says, “I thought we were going with fragrant resins for under $20.” “Well, aren’t you going to look cheap,” is the predictable response. In today’s gospel, however, the magi give their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, and then return home without going back to see Herod. It seems they had been warned about Herod in a dream.
It probably seems almost unbelievable to us that people who didn’t even worship God would come and seek out the Messiah and bring gifts fit for a king. Yet, God communicated to these magi that the Messiah had been born, not only for the Jews, but for them. I need to mention at least in passing that God’s methods of communication are rather interesting. God directs the magi through a star that appears, through a passage from the prophet Micah, and also through a dream. We just never know how God is going to choose to communicate with us!
At the same time, this is a gospel that begs for our response. We have been reminded once again of the wonder of the incarnation – of God with us - in the flesh - through Jesus Christ. We have a Saviour - one who gave all of himself for us so that we might be reconciled with God and with one another. And so, being aware of this marvelous gift, what are we going to do?
Are we going to react in fear like Herod and all of Jerusalem? Are we going to hang back and not make any sort of commitment, just in case we get lumped in there together with outsiders and foreigners and people we don’t wish to associate with? Or, are we going to give thanks and come and worship? Are we going to spend time and energy and resources in order to be able to be in the presence of Jesus and offer all that we can in God’s service?
Last week we were reminded of how Mary and Joseph would take several weeks each year in order to travel to Jerusalem for the Passover festival – several weeks in order to worship God! Now, this week we have the magi who spent months and possibly even a couple of years traveling to Jerusalem and Bethlehem in order to find the Messiah – months and years in order to worship God! So why is it that we have so much trouble with one morning a week?
Our God has come down in love and lived among us through Jesus the Christ, bringing life in all its fulness and salvation to all who put their trust in him. Our God is entirely worthy of worship and praise. Let us then continue to come and worship -- just waiting for the next time that God is going to send some unlikely person our way who has received God’s direction in some unexpected and unlikely way. Our God continues to defy all expectations in coming and living among us. Thanks be to God! Amen.
Epiphany of Our Lord Matthew 2:1-12
January 6, 2013 Isaiah 60:1-6
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
Pastor Lynne Hutchison
© 2013 Lynne Hutchison All Rights Reserved
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