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January 1st 2016 Epiphany
Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:1-12, Matthew 2:1-12
Seek oh seek the Lord.
Fran Sagar
When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord (Jeremiah 29:13a)
Prayer: Holy Spirit, touch our lips, open our hearts and transform our lives.
Welcome to 2017
Last year (2016), we experienced three super moons, in October, November and December. Has anyone witnessed this wonderful sight? The next super moon is due in December of this year (2017).
A couple of years ago, I encountered a super moon as I drove along Canning Highway on my way to a Bible study class. As I drove down the hill towards Point Walter Road and headed up towards Stock Road, the enormous bright moon looked like it was sitting on Stock Road. I was sooo impressed I nearly drove off the road. The wonder of God’s amazing creation, made me smile and kept me smiling for the rest of the evening.
And today we hear the story about another heavenly wonder, a bright star, which led some wise men, or Magi, to leave the comfort of their homes and follow that star on a long, arduous and most likely dangerous journey, trusting that it would lead them to the ‘King of the Jews.’
We know very little about the men other than what our imagination can put together. In Matthews Gospel we only know that they were ‘from the east’. They must have been regular ‘star gazers’ or astronomers to observe ‘the star at its rising’. Astronomy, one of the oldest natural sciences was a respected activity in those days and the Magi must have been skilled observers to detect the star at its ‘first rising’ and recognise its significance.
The Magi expected to find a ‘King of the Jews’. How did they know this?
The Magi may have come into contact with descendants of Jewish exiles dispersed and scattered throughout the Middle East after various political invasions. We know that from about 597 BCE onwards, there were a least three groups of Hebrews: in Babylon, in Judea and in Egypt. Although the Persian king, Cyrus the Great allowed the Babylonian Jews to return to Judea, many preferred to remain where they were, but continued to follow their Hebrew ways. Perhaps the Magi learnt about the Messiah through interaction with these Jews.
Suffice to say that the Magi became sufficiently intrigued and keen to find this ‘King of the Jews’. Their observations had indicated a ‘king’ of significance had been born. They wanted to seek him out and pay their respects as one does to royalty. On the strength of this belief, they journeyed to Jerusalem, some 1600 kilometres away. For comparison, consider the distance between Perth and Eucla, close to the South Australian Border.
This was no luxury stretch limo trip, with hotel stopovers on the way. The Magi most likely travelled by camel, camping on the rough terrain, on a journey that must have taken some months to complete. The especially bright star they had ‘seen at its rising’ directed their journey. At Jerusalem, a capital city, (where one may be expected to find a king), their enquiries came to the notice of the local king, Herod the Great, who became worried that another king may overthrow him.
Herod gathered his chief priests and scribes for advice. The chief priests and scribes consulted their scriptures and said that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem about 6 kilometres south of Jerusalem. Herod provided the information to the wise men, asking them to return when they had found ‘the king’, so he too could pay homage to this king. Herod’s real intentions, however, were in fact quite murderous, as we learn later in the chapter (2:13-18).
Not finding the ‘real King of the Jews’, in Jerusalem, the Magi continued on their journey out of the city and the star re-appeared, directing them to Bethlehem to the exact ‘place where the child was’. The Magi were overjoyed when they realised they had found the real ‘King of the Jews’. They knelt down, bowed before him and paid him homage in true recognition of a King. They gave him gifts befitting a king.
The Magi were gentile people from the east, non-Hebrews, yet they recognised the ‘specialness’ of that child. That ‘uh ha’ moment when suddenly everything falls into place and you just ‘know’ you have witnessed a great revelation. An Epiphany moment in fact!
In the young child Jesus, the Magi saw the wonder of God’s son. They saw the light of his love shining for all to see. They saw his awesome radiance. Perhaps they even heard choirs of angels- they recognised that holy moment! A moment of great joy! And they did not even belong to the Jewish faith!
Matthew wrote the Gospel some 60 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus when the Christian church was developing and growing. Initially there were many teething difficulties as the church was being established. As the diaspora Jews returned to Jerusalem, it became clear that the Torah and the sacred books had been interpreted from slightly different perspectives. The Pharisees and Scribes considered themselves the most knowledgeable interpreters of the laws of the Torah. At the same time new people, gentiles, unfamiliar with the restrictive laws of the Torah, were becoming members of the ‘church’.
Matthew through his Gospel, endeavoured to build a bridge between the old knowledge and the new knowledge and to show how the new teaching of Jesus complemented and enhanced the old testament.
Jesus’ credentials as the Messiah
Matthew, from the first chapter shows that Jesus is descended from Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, with whom God made the first covenant. Ancestry through his adopted father Joseph is also traced back to King David of Judah with whom God made the Davidic covenant as noted in the second book of Samuel. ‘Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever’ (2 Sam 7:16).
Matthew is very clear that the ancient prophecies about the Messiah, made many years before the birth of Jesus, were in fact fulfilled in the person of Jesus. The very first verse, tells us that the gospel is ‘….an account of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham’ (1:1).
Matthew is very definite about Jesus. He is the Messiah, the Son of God, the leader of the world. Matthew often introduced a passage with the words ‘this is to fulfil’. Matthew’s version of the birth story includes ‘all this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “look the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall call him Emmanuel”, which means, “God is with us” (1:22-23). The original passage is found in Isaiah (7:14).
God sent his only son for the entire world and not the select few
Matthew shows us that Jesus is given to everyone and not just the select few. The star first appeared in the East and the Magi, the gentiles, were wise enough to recognise the sign and set off in search of this ‘king’. They were the first gentiles to witness and recognise the wonder of the special child.
The Pharisees and Scribes on the other hand, had all the knowledge from their scriptures and sacred books at their fingertips. They were even able to tell Herod where the child king would be born. They were only a short distance from the wonder. But, they chose not to act upon their knowledge!
‘Outsiders’ found the Messiah. Matthew shows us that knowledge alone is not enough. One has to make a choice to actively seek the Lord with their heart, to persist, and to have a desire to be part of his life.
Mathew shows that God is a loving God. He loved the people in the Old Testament, making a covenant with them to be their God for all time. But the people, typical human beings, made mistakes and become distanced from God.
So God took matters into his own hands and gave the supremely precious gift of his beloved Son to humanity. In the words of John, “The Word became flesh and lived amongst us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
The Epiphany fulfils the promises of Advent and celebrates this manifestation of the divine Son of God. God revealed his Son and extended this revelation not just to the Jewish nation but to the whole world. The Magi, representing the gentiles, recognised the sign and came to worship and offer gifts to the new king, even when he was found in the most unlikely of places.
So what does this mean for us today!
We can rest assured that we are greatly loved by God. God gave us the gift of Jesus, his only son. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus is ever active and present in our lives. He shares our ups and our downs. He wants a relationship with us.
We need to be willing to recognise the signs of His presence in our lives. The sign may be a bright star or a magnificent moon. It may be the outstretched hand of friendship which helps you when you stumble on the road. The sign may be the shoulder to cry on when experiencing unbearable pain. Any of these moments may become the ‘uh ha’ moment. If we are open to seeking, recognizing and receiving Gods all-embracing love, then we too may encounter that transforming, epiphany moment.
We must be willing to recognize the signs, and take action. The Magi trusted and believed they would find the new King of the Jews. They actively searched persevering even when the road was long, rocky and tiring.
We, like the gentile Magi, have a choice. We too can actively seek God, worship him and accept the invitation to a relationship. We can offer our gifts of love to Him and learn more about His divine love. We can do this in many ways such as:
reading the scriptures, attending study groups, through meditation, through random acts of kindness, through sharing worship in community.
When we willingly seek the Lord with our hearts, he will find us! And we will be transformed!
In 2017, may your journey with Christ be full of wondrous joy!
Prayer
May the God of love fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13). Amen
References
Bill Loader’s Home Page: -Lectionary resources.
Green Michael The Message of Matthew
Mounce Robert H. Matthew
Various websites