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NRS Matthew 2:1 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 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.
In June 2012, I
had open-heart surgery. Following that surgery, I found myself at a follow-up
visit with the surgeon who asked me this question, what are you going to do
with the gift that God has given you? I have often thought about that question,
especially since it came from the doctor who had just saved my life. What are
you going to do with the gifts that God has given you?
Have you ever
had an Epiphany? You know, one of those moments when you finally get it. Today
is Epiphany Sunday, the Sunday closest to the day of Epiphany. Webster’s
defines Epiphany as:
- A Christian feast celebrating the
manifestation of the divine nature of Jesus to the Gentiles as represented
by the Magi.
- January 6, on which this feast is
traditionally observed.
- A revelatory manifestation of a
divine being.
- A sudden manifestation of the
essence or meaning of something.
- A comprehension or perception of
reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization: “I experienced an
epiphany, a spiritual flash that would change the way I viewed myself”
We
celebrate on January 6th each year the arrival of the Magi to the
baby Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew gives us no clue as to Jesus age when they
arrive and yet the story in Matthew is meant for us to be a revealing story of
who Jesus is. One of the definitions of the word Epiphany is that it is, “a
revealing manifestation of divine being.” Simply said, it is that moment when
we have a sudden awareness of Jesus, who he is and what he is. We have epiphany
moments in our lives when we suddenly get it. I often call these moments “AH-HA”
moments. They usually come in the middle of studying a particular bible verse,
in the middle of a group study or even during sermons when suddenly we get it.
There are those who would argue that the Magi visit never happened. That
Matthew simply made it up in order so that we would understand who Jesus was
through the story itself. Then there are those who believe it really happened
just as Matthew says it does. My hope today is to give you reason to believe
that it could have happened just as Matthew said it did. That the facts have
been obscured by time and human misunderstanding.
We
start this discussion with who are the Magi and did they really exist. The Magi
were wise men or astrologers. We actually met them in the Old Testament Book of
Daniel. They were the King’s wise men who were unable to understand the Kings
dream and Daniel, given a vision by God of the dream, came to prominence
through that vision. The Magi were students of astrology who foretold events in
the world through the alignment of stars, planets and the sun. Their existence
is well documented in the historical records of ancient empires. These
particular individuals are thought to be a remnant of the Babylonian Magi. Why
is that important? The Babylonian Empire conquered the people of Israel and
brought the best of the Hebrew people back to Babylonia, in what is now modern
day Iraq. At that point the stories and prophecy of the Messiah would have
become a part of their culture as well. So these Magi would have been looking
for a sign in the heavens of the birth of that child. And they would have
looking for this sign for as much as 600 years before the birth of Christ.
So
where would they look? To understand the answer to that question, we need to
understand a little about Astrology. In and around the first century, we find
historical evidence that the world embraced Astrology with the exception of the
Hebrew people. That point will have significance in a moment. Astrologers would
have looked to the Constellation Aries. Not fully understanding the science
behind that, I will simply tell you that Aries represented the Judean region of
the world. Jupiter was the sign of royalty and when it aligns with the Moon in
the constellation Aries it would have represented to the Magi, the birth or
conception of a divine presence in the Judean region. This would be the sign
that they were searching for to tell them that the birth of the Messiah had
occurred. Well, it turns out that this event happened twice in 6 BC, in April
and again in December of that year. By the way, the calendar we have today is
in error. When it was created, the priest or monk tried to calculate the birth
of Jesus as year zero. After it was created it was learned that Herod died by
the current calendar in 4 BC indicating that the calendar was incorrect by 4-6
years. We have prophesy that starts the Magi searching the heavens and a
celestial event that could have led the Magi to move towards the East, and Magi
who really existed. Now I am not discounting the ability of God to create a
miracle Star. Consistently in the Bible, when God wants something to happen or
a sign in the heavens it is done through the natural order of things. God is so
great, that we can accept that the Magi were led to Israel by a sign in the
heavens placed there by God.
The
thing that becomes important is that the Magi would only have a celestial event
that tells them a general location. They would not have had the knowledge of
later prophets that tell the specific location. So they begin their travel in
order to bring gifts to this divine presence. And this is where Herod comes
into the story of Jesus birth. The Magi looking for a King would have gone to
the local ruler to find the King, probably fully expecting this young child to
be in the royal palace. And yet he is not there. But Herod’s version of the
Magi know where he is supposed to be born. In Micah, the town of Bethlehem is
identified as being the place of this divine birth. All of these pieces coming
together in this way are then an elaborate imagination or as we believe, the
actual story that happened.
We
come now to the gifts themselves and their importance to both the
identification of the person they came to see and what these gifts say about
that person. Gold carries obvious significance in that it is precious and
worthy among all cultures and nations. It is a sign of royalty and wealth. It
would easily have been a gift for a king and would have been appropriate to
their understanding of the role of this child in the world. The next gift was
Frankincense which was a special incense used in the ancient world. Its purpose
was for healing and quiet contemplation and would have been a sign of sanctuary
and peace. The final gift was Myrrh. In the ancient world this was used for two
purposes. It is a strong anti-inflammatory or antiseptic quality and is still
used today to treat patients in many parts of the world. The second purpose of
Myrrh was to use it as an embalming material and it was one of the burial
spices with Jesus in his tomb.
As you shopped this last
Christmas season for gifts for family and friends, you more than likely tried
to purchase the things you knew they wanted or would want. You spent some time
focusing on making each gift special for that person who would receive it. So
too, the Magi spent time thinking about what the proper gifts should be. Well
they gave symbols of power, prestige, and wealth in their choice of Gold, symbols
of peace, healing, uplifting spirits and warmth in their choice of
Frankincense, and finally, a symbol of healing and a death perfume in the form
of Myrrh. What would you have thought if you were the parent and these gifts
were given to your child as gifts? The first two would probably have caused no
concern, but that last one, well, I am sure that we would consider it a little
strange, don't you think? I mean that a burial spice would have been given as a
gift at birth is a little on the strange side unless you consider that Myrrh is
also used to treat illness today. In these gifts, if you are carefully paying
attention is a wondrous sign of who Jesus was and what he was to do through his
life and then his death. Impressive don’t you think that we should be reminded
at his birth of his life’s purpose?
As we think about the
season, we must realize that the reason we call it Epiphany, a comprehension or
perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization, is that we
are faced with the glory of what the birth of this child has brought into our
hearts and homes. What gifts are you giving to the world to show your love for
one another? While other people are opening presents and exchanging gifts, we
are receiving things greater than our understanding, greater than our ability
to return, and completely beyond our deserving of such a gift. Let us rejoice
in the gifts brought by the Magi as the complete understanding and validation
of this child, the gift for humankind brought into the world in the most humble
of settings to assure that this gift is received by all who ask. What are you
going to do with the gift that God has given you?
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