The progression of the Christmas season began not only with Advent, but many months before. With the Annunciation it was the angel Gabriel who spoke directly and clearly to Mary about the child who would come. And throughout the Gospel stories leading up to the Nativity, angels and direct revelations were prominent – they figured in the stories of Elizabeth and Zechariah as they waited for the birth of John the Baptist. On Christmas eve, too, we remember that there was a revelation to the shepherds in an unmistakable and sure fashion: the glory of the Lord shone round them, a heavenly chorus filled the skies, and they were told in certain terms to go to Bethlehem, and they would find the child Jesus.
Then we celebrate Epiphany – the coming of the Magi to adore and worship the newborn King, the revelation of Christ to the Gentiles. If Christmas is about the shortest route from here to Bethlehem (as the Shepherds discovered), then Epiphany is about a longer, ‘pilgrim’ road to Christ.
Instead of angels and visions, we have the image of the magi following a sign in the skies – in nature – and for a longer period of time. The magi see the intentions of God in the skies. This is not new: Psalm 19 tells us that the heavens themselves declare who God is, and that his handiwork is seen in created nature. But still with a tinge of the “Christmas miraculous”, it is a peculiar kind of sign – “we observed his star at its rising”. The magi know that there is something significant happening. In a way we might in all likelihood hazard a guess that they even believed in the divine. But the whole story of Epiphany reminds us that a general belief in God is a beginning point, not the end point.
The magi have a general idea of this God and this King of the Jews, but they don’t know how to find him. The general revelation that God gives us are evident everywhere, and the wise pay attention to God’s hints about Himself that he has placed in the world. Traveling by starlight is a wonderful thing, it got the magi to the right country. But God does not want us to come to a country – to a merely general idea of God. He wants us to find Jesus.
In the Epiphany story there are several characters who have the opportunity to find Jesus, but refuse. First we have “Herod, and all Jerusalem with him”. Matthew says that they both had the same reaction – “They were frightened”. They are afraid of something new – a new power that they have no control over. Herod is frightened because the new king of the Jews is a threat. Herod is the ruler and there is room on his throne for no other. The people are afraid because they are afraid of Herod -= anything that upsets him, upsets them. They know Herod is a bit of a tyrant – and anything that makes him upset is a threat to their peace and well being. At all costs – don’t get Herod agitated.
I need to avoid the temptation of reacting like Herod: I am threatened that God wants to somehow be King in my life, ‘rule’ my life. Who is on the throne of my life? Is it Jesus, or is it me? There can be only one ruler, one king. Is it Jesus, or is it me? Herod decided that there was no room for Jesus in his world. I am in charge of my life, and no one else. Self sufficient, self determined, and in the end, self centered.
The people who make up “all of Jerusalem” in the story are frightened like Herod, but for different reasons. They are perhaps a step ahead of Herod. They have not placed themselves on the throne of their lives. They do not say “I will rule my own life”. Instead, they have let someone else rule their lives. But they have picked the wrong person. They have decided to let Herod rule their lives. Why does Matthew say “Herod, and all of Jerusalem with him, was frightened”? Jerusalem is frightened because Herod is frightened. They have thrown their lot in with Herod their ruler, instead of with God, their true Lord. Whatever Herod thinks, they think, whatever Herod says, goes. If Herod is scared, then we better be scared, or at least act like it.
We are like “all Jerusalem” when we are controlled by someone else’s reactions and someone else’s opinions. The people of Jerusalem were afraid of Herod – he controlled how they felt. They were really at his whim. It is a very subtle, but very powerful, form of fear. “All Jerusalem” is like someone who is constantly waiting for someone else’s reactions, someone else’s approval or disapproval, someone else to tell them how to act, what to do, someone else to tell them how to live. The only problem is, they picked the wrong king. They picked Herod instead of God. We don’t need to pick Herod, as long as we don’t choose God, it doesn’t matter who controls.
So Herod does a smart thing. He calls together the chief priests and the scribes of the people, and finds out exactly where the new king is going to be born. He knows where to go – find the people who know the scriptures – the chief priests – the professional clergy are supposed to be paid to know these things. Herod does not go to the Temple or to the Scriptures to get closer to God; he goes for his own purposes. He wants information for his own purposes. He wants the Temple and the Scriptures to serve his own ends, not God’s purposes. If we approach the Temple (the Church) and the Scriptures in the spirit of Herod; we will have missed the point. Both the Church and the Scriptures are God’s, and are intended to serve his good purposes.
So the chief priests and the scribes read the scriptures – they know the Scriptures well – it does not take long before they give Herod the answer to his question. The new King will be born in Bethlehem. But chief priests do not themselves have any personal interest in going to see the new King. Amazing. They had all the information from God right in front of them, and they don’t bother to do anything with it. Maybe Herod did not tell them that the wise men had come. But no matter, they were blind to the presence of the star, which the wise men had followed all the way from the east, and they are blind to the importance of their own scriptures. At any rate, they were too busy playing church to actually take the time to find God. They have no love for the object of which the scriptures speak. They know the King will be found in Bethlehem, yet they do not bother to go.
So how does the story proceed? Herod calls the wise men secretly. That alone is a warning sign. Why secretly? He sends them on their way with a bit of a false promise. Go and find the child, and then let me know so that I may do him homage as well. As the wise men head out – there ahead of them is the star – it’s still there, but no one is paying any attention. God gives us signs, but often we are blind to their presence. Herod is looking at his throne, the scribes are looking at their scriptures, the people are all looking at Herod, and only the wise men still recognize that the star is still there.
The wise men do what the others do not – they actually make the effort to get to where Jesus is.
2:9 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. 2:10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 2:11 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. 2:12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
So the magi have finally found Jesus. And what is their response? Their first response is joy – “they were overwhelmed with joy”. That is what happens when we find Jesus. That is what awaits us at the end of the journey. Next, they paid him homage – they worshiped him and acknowledged Him as King. After the joy comes the worship. That means acknowledging Jesus as King. Jesus as the center. Jesus as Lord. And then, after joy and after worship, comes offering of their gifts. In response to who Jesus is and the joy He gives, we offer ourselves and our gifts to Him.
Where do we go with this Epiphany story? It is about us paying attention to the signs of God around us: the visions, the dreams, the stars and the Scriptures. It will be a pilgrim story: it took the magi up to two years to find the destination they were looking for. Patience in God’s work is not always appreciated in our instant world.
Ephesians 3:5 “In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit”. While I haven't yet connected the Ephesians reading to all of this, it is certainly there with its theme of "revelation", and mystery becoming known. If I get around to it, I'll tidy it all up, or do something completely different.
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