{"id":15617,"date":"2022-12-30T15:41:55","date_gmt":"2022-12-30T14:41:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theologie.whp.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/?p=15617"},"modified":"2023-01-01T23:02:50","modified_gmt":"2023-01-01T22:02:50","slug":"matthew-21-12-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/matthew-21-12-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew 2:1-12"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Epiphany of Our Lord | 01\/06\/23 | Mt 2:1-12 | Ryan Mills |<\/h3>\n

1<\/sup>In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,\u00a02<\/sup>asking, \u201cWhere 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.\u201d\u00a03<\/sup>When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him;\u00a04<\/sup>and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.\u00a05<\/sup>They told him, \u201cIn Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:<\/em>
\n\u20036<\/sup>\u2018And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,<\/em>
\n\u2003\u2003are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;<\/em>
\n\u2003for from you shall come a ruler<\/em>
\n\u2003\u2003who is to shepherd my people Israel.\u2019\u2006\u201d<\/em>
\n\u20037<\/sup>Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared.\u00a08<\/sup>Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, \u201cGo 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.\u201d\u00a09<\/sup>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.\u00a010<\/sup>When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.\u00a011<\/sup>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.\u00a012<\/sup>And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

(Matthew 2:1-12, NRSV).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Many of you are probably familiar with beautiful, elaborate Nativity sets, which are an important artistic and devotional tradition in much of the world. At the Blessed Father McGivney Pilgrimage Center here in New Haven they feature a massive nativity set, whose twin is in the Vatican. It\u2019s hand-carved in Italy, with each of the huge figures exquisitely decorated, including their three kings\u2014dressed in shimmering robes, shining crowns, laden with picture-perfect gifts. It\u2019s beautiful as a means of devotion, but I imagine that if you really had come thousands of miles, over the course of years, you might be looking a little more rough around the edges, sort of like the three kings in our old nativity set here at church that some of you may remember: broken hands, cracked crowns, half-missing treasures.\u00a0 The great poet T. S. Eliot wrote a poem about what it was like for the Three Kings, told from their perspective:<\/p>\n

\u2018A cold coming we had of it,
\nJust the worst time of the year
\nFor a journey, and such a long journey:
\nThe ways deep and the weather sharp,
\nThe very dead of winter.‘
\nAnd the camels galled, sorefooted, refractory,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lying down in the melting snow\u2026
\nAnd the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
\nAnd the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
\nAnd the villages dirty and charging high prices:
\nA hard time we had of it\u2026[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A hard time they had of it, but still they came, the light of the star drew them onwards, onwards to come and worship a newborn King.\u00a0 And after all those miles, the first person they stopped and asked where they could find the newborn King was King Herod.<\/p>\n

Everyone in those days knew that King Herod was a narcissist, even a sociopath, that his only care was for himself, and that people who crossed King Herod or who got in his way tended to not live very long. Herod is a great example of what\u2019s become so common in our culture, of what you and I are constantly tempted to: of self-worship, the worship of the Unholy Trinity me, myself, and I, as one writer has called it: \u201cSelf-ism\u201d, trapped in ourselves, having no regard for God or compassion for other people, it\u2019s all about us, no matter the cost. So when the Wise Men waltz into town asking where the Newborn King is so they can worship him, the old King who worships himself isn\u2019t too excited.\u00a0 It\u2019s like asking your insecure neurotic boss when his replacement is arriving, or your bad-mood spouse when their replacement will show up!\u00a0 But Herod also knows how to use religion as a tool for himself, to make himself look good, so \u201cPlease tell me, wise men,\u201d he says like the wolf dressed up like grandma, \u201cplease tell me when you find the newborn king, so I too can come and \u2018worship him.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 And we know that Herod has all the children 2 years and under in the Bethlehem region slaughtered, didn\u2019t he?\u00a0 Worship of the self, selfism, always leads to death. Who will you worship with your life this year, who will you live to bow down before?<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But then consider these Kings as they come to worship God.\u00a0 They\u2019re not really believers or church people, coming from so far away, they haven\u2019t gone to Sunday School or done confirmation, they\u2019re outside the faith in every way. The Bible\u2019s words for the Kings, magi<\/em>, means more like astrologers\u2014the zodiac, crystals, all that kind of stuff.\u00a0 But through truth, through beauty, through the shining of that heavenly star, they had to come, no matter how hard it was, no matter how different it was for them.\u00a0 They knew enough to know the answer to their life was not themselves, so they got on those camels and went.\u00a0 And they followed that light as far as it would go, to Jerusalem.\u00a0 But Bethlehem is still 7 miles further past Jerusalem, and so they needed not just truth, not just beauty, not just light, but they also needed God\u2019s own Word, his own self-revelation, his telling about himself in Scripture, they needed the prophet Micah to lead them the last few miles, \u201cAnd you, O Bethlehem, are by no means the least city in Judah, for out of you will come a ruler to shepherd my people Israel.\u201d\u00a0 No matter who we are, we all stand equally in need before, God, we all need his Word to lead us safely to our final destination.<\/p>\n

Finally the star stopped over the place where the child was, and the wise men rejoiced with exceeding great joy.\u00a0 That\u2019s what coming to know Christ, coming to see God\u2019s light, coming to experience his love for us does, it gives not just happiness, not just feeling pleasant, but rejoicing in joy.\u00a0 To find a love that loved us first.\u00a0 To be found by a love that seeks us out and calls us by our name.\u00a0 To find a love that lays down its life for us!\u00a0 And on entering the house they fell down and worshipped him.\u00a0 These kings, after all those years and miles are not too proud to bow down and worship a young mother and a newborn.\u00a0 All their love, all their trust, all their hope, all their faith is now in the God made flesh in this little child!\u00a0 This greatest gift, what St. Paul calls the boundless riches of Christ, these boundless riches lie in the manger for them and for you and for the whole world.\u00a0 So all people\u2014people of every race and tribe and language under heaven\u2014even these kings, even you and me, all can share in the endless riches that exist in this little child.<\/p>\n

And then they open their treasure chests.\u00a0 Gold for a King.\u00a0 Frankincense to be burned in a temple, in the presence of God.\u00a0 And myrrh; an expensive combination of Chanel No. 5 and embalming fluid, myrrh for anointing a body, myrrh for one who will give of himself, sacrifice his life on the Cross so that you and I might not die, but live with him forever!<\/p>\n

Some scholars say that their gifts may have been trophies of their former lives, they bring what they used to worship, what used to be important, and give it to the newborn King.\u00a0 What would you bring, and leave?\u00a0 Like the little drummer boy song, you don\u2019t need a gift to bring, Jesus wants nothing except for you, but maybe you and I can bring and leave what used to be so important to us, what we\u2019re tempted to worship, and give it to him, and bow down and worship him, your King lying in a manger trough.<\/p>\n

Because like the Kings, when you come and worship Christ, you always leave with more than you brought.\u00a0 No matter what you bring, you always leave richer. So you too, like the wise men of old, come this morning with whatever is important to you, and leave it at the altar.\u00a0 As you kneel down, open your hands, to make an open treasure chest, to make a manger bed, and receive there the priceless gifts of his body and blood, that he freely gives to all who come to bow down and worship him.<\/p>\n

And then, like the wise men of old, you\u2019ll go home by another road.\u00a0 Your life will be different, your way will be different this week, this year, for you worship the Newborn King, and he has given you the treasure of himself.<\/p>\n

So Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Blessed Epiphany!<\/p>\n

And the Peace of God which passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen.<\/p>\n

\n

The Rev. Dr. Ryan Mills<\/strong><\/p>\n

New Haven, Connecticut<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pastor@TrinityLutheranNH.org\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

[1]<\/a> T.S. Eliot, Journey of the Magi, <\/em>(London: Faber & Gwyer, 1927).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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