Wise men

Theme: Wise men

Matthew 2:1-12 

Readings:

Isaiah 60:1-6 - Isaiah predicts that people from afar bearing gifts of gold and incense will visit the one on whom God's glory shines.
Ephesians 3:1-12 - St. Paul speaks of the mystery of Christ.
Matthew 2:1-12 - the Magi visit the newborn baby.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem [2] and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." [3] When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. [4] When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. [5] "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: [6] " 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'" [7] Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. [8] He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." [9] After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. [10] When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. [11] On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. [12] And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

I suspect that for most people, Christmas was well and truly over by January 2nd, and a return to work after a week or so off. The final party was on New Year's Eve, the next day was a chance to sleep it off over a Bank Holiday, and then it was all over at last for another year.

Mind you, the build up probably started at least by the beginning of December, and probably even earlier with the Christmas shopping. Then as Christmas Day grew ever closer there were the parties and the Christmas lunches and the school nativity plays and the carol singing, until at last the great day itself came and went.
It does seem that for most people, the Christmas season is before Christmas, ending perhaps after Boxing Day with the added fillip of New Year just to let us down gently and to ease us back into work. But for the Church, Christmas ends today at Epiphany, which marks the visit of the Magi - the Wise Men - to the stable at Bethlehem to see the new baby.

Today is Twelfth Night when the decorations traditionally are taken down, since to leave them up after Twelfth Night is considered to be bad luck. Our Christmas season has long been a rich mixture of the spiritual and the secular, of folk traditions from way back mixed with traditions from the Bible. And somewhere into all that mix of Christmas and Twelfth Night, legend and story, come the three Wise Men from the East, riding their camels and bearing their exotic gifts.

At least, tradition tells us there were three of them and even reveals their names to us immortalised in the carol, "We Three Kings of Orient are", but the Bible never mentions a number let alone a name. Originally the word "Magi" referred to a Persian priestly caste, but it gradually changed its meaning as so many words do, and eventually came to refer to those who were regarded as having supernatural knowledge. Matthew's Magi might have been astrologers who studied ancient manuscripts from around the world, but who had copies of the Old Testament in their land because of the Jewish exile some 600 years earlier. Or they might have been Jews who remained in Babylon after the exile and knew the Old Testament predictions of the Messiah's coming.

Some scholars believe the Magi were from different lands, representing the whole world bowing before Jesus. Whoever they were, they were men who recognised Jesus as the Messiah when most of God's chosen people in Israel failed to recognise him.

It was a common ancient belief that a new star always appeared at the time of a ruler's birth, but in his story Matthew also draws on the Old Testament story of Balaam, who had prophesied that "a star shall advance from Jacob" (Numbers 24:17), although in this context the star refers not to an astral phenomenon but to the king himself. Whatever the Old Testament story meant, apparently there was a conjunction of the planets Jupiter, Saturn and Mars in 6BC (thought to be the year Jesus was actually born) which would have produced a bright enough light in the heavens to have been seen throughout much of the ancient world.

When the Magi arrived with the unwelcome news about a potential threat to Herod's autonomy, Herod's hurried consultation with the chief priests and scribes recalls a Jewish legend about the baby Moses, some 1450 years earlier. In this legend the "sacred scribes" warn Pharaoh about the imminent birth of one who will deliver Israel from Egypt, and Pharaoh makes plans to destroy this child. It may be that this legend is based on the destruction of the first born at the time of the Exodus, and texts which refer to this (such as Psalm 72:10,15 and Isaiah 60:6) are those texts which led to the interpretation of the Magi as kings.

If the Magi were of Jewish descent and came from Parthia (which next to Rome, was the most powerful region), they would have welcomed a Jewish king who could swing the balance of power away from Rome. Being far from Rome, the land of Israel would have been easy prey for a take-over bid from any nation trying to gain more control. And since Herod's title of King of the Jews was granted by Rome but never accepted by the Jewish people, most Jews both within Israel and elsewhere would welcome a new pretender to the throne. Although Israel benefitted from Herod's lavish building programme and his efforts to repair the temple in Jerusalem, he was despised for rebuilding various pagan temples and for his cruelty. And, of course, since Herod was only partly Jewish, he was never really accepted by the Jewish people.

But the Magi weren't bothered by Herod and the threat he posed, they went on their way regardless of the danger because reaching Jesus was more important to them than anything else, and they were prepared to take any risks to find him. When they found him, even though he was only a baby they worshipped him, and presented their gifts to him.

The gifts were highly symbolic. Gold represented kingship and was a gift for a king, incense represented spirituality and prayer and was a gift for a deity, and myrrh was a spice used in burials. So all three of the gifts foreshadowed both Jesus' life and his death.

After finding the Saviour they were seeking, the Magi were warned by God to return to their own land a different way rather than through Jerusalem as they had intended.

Finding Jesus means taking risks in life, and may mean risking all simply to find him. But once he's found, life may have to take a different direction, one that is responsive to and obedient to God's call. So as we move away from Christmas and more fully into this new year, are you willing to seek him out and be led in a different way, like the wise men of old?