January07, 2018
Epiphany Sunday
I suspect we all have one or more of those “must see” movies that we watch unfailingly every Christmas season, which officially ended yesterday on Epiphany—which we are celebrating today. Movies like It’s a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story with Ralphie and his Red Ryder BB gun, or Miracle on 34th Street—one or both versions. And while Terri and I love all the aforementioned films, we don’t necessarily watch all of them every Christmas. However, since 2003, there is one particular movie that both Terri and I, along with our youngest daughter, Gabriela, always watch at least once during the Christmas season. I’m pretty sure that at least some of you may be familiar with it. It has an all-British cast, and while it is a Christmas movie and very, very funny, it is also one that is definitely not for children due to some serious language issues, especially one particular word that seems to pop-up quite frequently. It’s called Love,Actually, and when I was in the church last week and saw our Nativity Scene in front of the altar, which is now complete (though not accurate) with the addition of the traditional “Three Wise Men.” I thought of one particular scene in the movie involving a Nativity or Christmas play, when a little girl is telling her mother, played by British actress Emma Thompson, about her role in her school’s Nativity Play. It goes like this: The little girl bursts excitedly into the kitchen saying “Mommy! We’ve been given our parts in the school Nativity Play!” Mom raises her hands in excitement, and waits, expectantly for the big role announcement. The child goes on, “And I’m the lobster!” “The lobster?” says Mom. “Yes!” she replies. “First lobster!” “So,” says Mom, “There was more than one lobster present at the birth of Jesus?” At which point the little girl gives her that “look.” You know, the one every parent can recognize, like her mom had just arrived from another planet, slowly shakes her head and says, “Yeess!”
And yet as funny as the scene is, last week as I looked at our Nativity scene, what struck me was that had the mother seen this as a teaching moment and gone to the Bible to showher daughter that there were, in fact, no lobsters present at the birth of Jesus, not only would she have ruined the movie as a comedy and probably broken the little girl’s heart—which is why I’m not a script writer—she also would have been unable to prove, without a doubt, that lobsters were not present at the birth of Jesus. In fact if we go to the Bible as a source for casting nativity plays or Christmas pageants, we would be left with but three human roles—Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus—no animal roles and definitely no wise men. In fact, while we added three so-called wise men this morning, if we were being biblically accurate, we would have had to remove all the animals, move Mary, Joseph, and Jesus into a house, and then “age” the baby Jesus by around two years!
The simple truth, as I’m sure that many of you already know, is that over the years the traditions of Christmas have simply overwhelmed the few facts about the birth of Jesus, and the journey of the three wise men that are revealed ln the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. And that’s okay—to a point. So long as we make sure that important truths and teachings from scripture are not swallowed up by our beloved traditions. It’s especially important as we celebrate today the “Epiphany,” a holy day which marks the unveiling of Jesus to the non-Jewish world as a savior for all of humankind, and not just those 1st century Jews who were convinced that, in Jesus, they had found the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. And this vitally important message of inclusivity can easily be lost if we end up casting so-called wise men as extras in the nativity play, just so the congregation can sing “We Three Kings” in the play as they process down the aisle bearing their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And, while it does little harm to create additional pageant roles by adding a few extra sheep, cows, shepherds, even lobsters, since none of them were actually there anyway—when we start taking liberties with these visitors from the east and the important details of their journey, we risk losing a very important message from God. A message about the sovereignty and omnipotence of God and of the boundless inclusivity that came into the world through Jesus Christ. And if you’ve been wondering why I’ve referred to these visitors from the east as the “so-called” wise men, it’s because this term sort of creeped into English translations of the Bible. The term “Magi” is actually better translated from the Greek as “magician, sorcerer, or astrologer.” Think of Harry Potter and the Magi’s Stone.
Astrology was centered in the idolatrous belief that stars, not God, controlled human destiny, and if you could read what the stars were saying, well you just might have a handle on the future! This is why Genesis makes it clear in the creation story in Chapter 1, verse 15, that God “also made the stars” and controls the heavens, not vice-versa. We need to recall here that magicians and sorcerers are not presented in a good light in the New Testament. In the Book of Acts, Simon Magus—the singular of “Magi”—believed, like most magicians of the day, that secret cosmic knowledge could be bought for a price. When he asked how he might buy the Holy Spirit Philip scolded him severely, “Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord for forgiveness.” And yet these Magi in Matthew’s Gospel confounded conventional wisdom by acting righteously in following the star to Jerusalem seeking to find the “King of the Jews.” And here it’s really important to note that whatever kind of star they were following, it did not take them to the birthplace of Jesus. Seeking the one born to be “King of the Jews,” they quite naturally went to Jerusalem, the largest city in the region where they might reasonably assume a king would be born. It was there they discovered that a star can take them only so far, just as astrological knowledge is incomplete.
As we learn in verse 6 of today’s Gospel, it would take scripture to point them to Bethlehem, where the lesser prophet, Micah foretold, “shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.” Having been told this, it was then that one of the stars, placed in the heavens by God, led them where? To a stable and a manger? No, but to a “house” as we are told in verse 11 of the Gospel, when they entered, knelt down, and paid homage with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. This, by the way, is where we get “three” as the number of wise men or, to be accurate, magicians, sorcerers, or astrologers. There were three gifts, but there may have been 2, 3, 4, or more “wise men.” We might also take note that while everyone in Herod’s court—all of them Jews—heard the scripture from the prophet Micah about the promised Messiah, only these foreign pagans, these sorcerers, made the five-mile trip to Bethlehem to see for themselves. And when they arrive at the “house” where Jesus was then living with His parents, notice that these foreign sorcerers, magicians, what-have-you, are quite willing to put theory into practice. True wisdom is found in the Bible. From the Bible’s prophesy they move forward to Bethlehem. These foreign visitors representing a false belief are led to the home of the savior of the world, demonstrating, as Paul would later write to the Ephesians, that those “far off” would be brought “near.” At this time, it is these outsiders, these magicians, or astrologers from the east who recognize that Jesus is the “King of the Jews.” Some thirty years later, as He is raised up on the cross on Calvary, the placard above his bloody head with its crown of thorns would also read, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” After their visit, the Magi are warned in a divine dream and, disobeying King Herod, they return home, bypassing Jerusalem.
Having “unpacked” this important story of the journey of the Magi by putting it on its proper time frame, and taking a closer look at some of the details, we can now see it as an important lesson of how God is at work, through outsiders and for outsiders. Later, in thelife and ministry of Jesus, we learn that it is those on the margins of society—the sick, the sinners, the suffering—who always seem to be the quickest to believe in Jesus. In the Older Testament, we recall that God promised Abraham, then an “outsider” himself, that all nations would be blessed through his name. The prophets told of a time when the nations would come to their mountain to worship the God of the Bible.
And it was the Persian king Cyrus, whom God referred to as “my shepherd,” who “shall carry out all my purpose,” that sent God’s people back from Babylon to Judea to rebuild the temple destroyed by the Babylonians.
Moving to the New Testament, we find Jesus speaking of a Roman Centurian who showed more faith than He had found among His own people, and also praising the faith of a Canaanite woman. Today’s story of the magicians, sorcerers, or astrologers becomes then for us a reminder that if we are not willing to listen to scripture, then today’s “Magi,” today’s Canaanites, and others who are made to feel not welcome in our churches, will be more than happy to follow the star to wherever it might lead them. And finally, let us not forget that Matthew tells us that the sorcerers were “overwhelmed with joy” when they finally arrived at their destination.
I suspect that many of us here today, I know I am, are exhausted from the holiday season. We’ve been shopping for gifts, wrapping gifts, cooking everyone’s favorites, and rushing from one celebration—or obligation—to another. And then suddenly, before we’ve had a chance to recover, we find ourselves plunged back into our regular activities. So, in a few moments, when you are invited, come forward to this altar prayerfully and humbly; come bearing the gifts God has given you—your talents, your peculiarities, those qualities that make you a prized insider, and those aspects that sometimes make you feel like an outsider—like a magician in the court of Herod, or a sorcerer kneeling at the feet of a 2-year-old Jesus.
And while you’re doing this, you might smile. And, who knows, if you follow the star in your heart and listen to the scriptures beilng fulfilled, perhaps, like the wise men, you too will be “overwhelmed with joy” at your arrival, when you bend your knee before the Christ child this day.
For this day, and every day, is a day the Lord has made. Let us all rejoice and be glad in it!
Glory to the Father,
And to the Son,
And to the Holy Spirit. Amen.