Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72: 1-2,7-8,10-11, 12-13; Ephesians 3:2-3A, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12
“The longest journey is the journey inward.” That's a quote by Dag Hammarskjold, who was the Secretary General of the UN in the 1950's. Today's journey on the Feast of the Epiphany, when the divine is made manifest, seems - at first - to be a journey outward.
The story of the Magii is one of the best loved features of the Christmas story. And no wonder! Look at the effect of these exotic characters on us to this day. Yet, the Book of Matthew is the only one of the four Gospels to tell it.
The word “Magii” is taken from the Greek word “magos” , from which we get the word magician. They do seem magical in themselves, with all their wealth of education and influence. They are teachers, priests, physicians, and astrologers. Yet, with all this apparent power, outside themselves for divine wisdom.
Bible scholars emphasize that Matthew's Gospel is aimed primarily at a Jewish audience. But it was people outside the Community, strangers from lands far away, who were wise enough to seek something more. Some One more than themselves.
The Magii, named “wise men” in the NLT translation we're using today, are simply called “magi from the east” in the New American Bible. It is entirely possible, according to Benedict Thomas Viviano, a renowned authority on the Gospel of Matthew, that women could have been among them. In the commentary on the commentary on Matthew in The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, he is quoted as saying. “The main reason to think of the presence of one or more women among the magi is the background story of the queen of Sheba, with her quest for Israelite royal wisdom, her reverent awe, and her three gifts for a king.”
Because of the three gifts we're noticing, we think of the Magii as three in number. Yet manuscripts from the Middle Ages feature more than three and some Eastern churches today commemorate as many as twelve.
They bring gold, symbolizing unshakable wealth that increases in value with time. Frankincense, a perfume to sweeten the senses and create powerful memory. And myrrh used in anointing sacred passages in our lives. We might ask ourselves today: What is golden to us? What do we really “own” that is of eternal value? We might ourselves today: what is the frankincense that attracts us with its irresistible scent? The perfume that draws us in and creates an indelible memory? And the myrrh! How have we made use of the myrrh in our lives, absorbing the oil we receive in body, mind, and spirit to know ourselves as holy. As human creatures made forever in the image of God!
Let's think of these three, - called “kings” in a much later tradition – let's think of them as us! They have a wide assortment of names suggested throughout the centuries: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar are those that prevail to this day. Their origins were first thought to be Persia, India, and Arabia. Later commentators proposed that they represented the three known continents at the time: Africa, Asia, and Europe. They are almost always depicted as a multi cultural group.
I had a profound experience last Wednesday when I was on the road from Hertford to Chesapeake. Just as I passed the State line on Rte 17, I had a flat tire! I to pulled over onto the shoulder of the by-pass. You know the road. Big rigs passed me, shaking my car, and so I got out to stand on the embankment. While I called for help, three cars and a truck stopped at different times. Four! Two of them were on the Southbound lanes, and so they went miles out of their way to circle back to me. One of those four drivers was white like me. I'm grateful beyond measure to share the road with these big hearted human beings.
The Magii, on their route, come from the East, following a star that rose above them in the East, then appeared over Jerusalem, then turned south to Bethlehem. As we join them today, we find ourselves on a route that's a bit like a three-point turn. Why are they and we so tenacious in following this guiding star?
And what about the significance of this particular star? In ancient times, stars were associated with important powerful figures and with the historical founding of Rome. Herod had his star. Appointed by the Roman Senate, he was obsessively protective of his new found status as none other than king of the Jews. Imagine his outrage when the Wise Ones asked him for directions to another king! From the outset of the story, we are confronted with conflict - with two radically different kinds of kingdoms: One an Empire. The other - a kin ~ dom.
Science proves that there was indeed a bright object in the sky at the time of Jesus' birth. Today there are many theories about this star, which must have been so bright in the night sky before modern times when light pollution inhibits our vision. Even without a telescope, we would be intrigued with this stellar display. Astronomer Michael Molnar points to the facts in his book The Star of Bethlehem published by Rutgers University (1999). Various planets did indeed align with the moon and sun around the years of Jesus' birth. We – like our ancestors before us, are still intrigued with this star And we follow it here – in our personal experience - to City Road Methodist Church on January 8, 2023.
Like the Magii in the story, we bring homage to the Christ Child. {Pause for Silence} We open to the loving unitive consciousness before us in Jesus of Nazareth. And as we do, we are simultaneously opened to our deepest most authentic selves. We know the journey to be both inward and outward. For the Epiphany, the manifestation, is this: We too are incarnations of the divine. … Let's linger here. In this shared light. … We trust its energy to both rest us and move us. As we bring our gifts, we trust that we are given what we need to co-create a just and merciful world:
To be loved and to love. To feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, shelter the homeless, heal the sick through our presence united in God.
These weeks, the time between Epiphany on January 6th and the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, this year on February 12th of 2023 , was – in ancient times – a season to celebrate that we are born of a royal nature. “Culturally this has 'de-volved' into Mardi Gras or Carnival without an understanding of its spiritual roots. And most do not realize that these celebrations are an entire season – weeks long – not merely a few days. Perhaps one reason that this season has been lost is that the eroneous concept of 'original sin' overtook the embodied truth of original blessing.” (Alexander John Shaia)
We are in the Season of Epiphany! We follow the star.
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