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Epiphany of our Lord, 01/06/2016
Sermon on Matthew 2:1-12, by Pari R. Bailey
"In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 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." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
`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.'"
Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 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." 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. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 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. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road." Matthew 2:1-12 (NRSV)
Believe it or not, more people in the world are celebrating tonight than on Christmas. For everybody outside of North America and Britain, December 25th is quiet, religious day which is observed with one’s family and by going to worship. It’s January 6th that is the biggie. Epiphany, we call it, meaning “manifestation” or “revelation.” The Eastern Orthodox Christians call today “Theophany,” meaning, roughly, “vision of God,” and the custom is Russian is to chop holes in the ice, bless the waters, and go swimming in remembrance of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan river. Perhaps that's where our custom of the New Year’s Polar Bear plunge comes from!
In Spanish-speaking countries today is called “Dia de los Tres Reyes”—Day of the Three Kings, and it’s traditional to have processions and fiestas, and light luminarias, bags of sand with candles in them, to guide the three kings to the infant Jesus.
In India, today is celebrated with a big fair outside the church with lots of festive foods. Three boys are chosen from the parish to represent the Three Kings and they are robed in red and draped in jewels. They enter the church to present their gifts before the crib holding the baby Jesus. In Eastern Europe, people gather for bonfires and dancing and spiced wine. In the Philippines and Mexico, children leave their shoes out for the Kings to put presents into, much like we do for Santa Claus.
In Germany, today is Dreikonigstag—the Three King’s Day. Children go house to house collecting for charity, and when they receive a gift, they chalk a blessing on the door with letters representing the names of the Wise Men. In England, people also go house to house singing songs in exchange for spiced food and drink, representing the spices that the wise men brought. You may have heard of the custom of “wassailing”—here we come a wassailing—that’s an English custom for today.
In France and French-speaking areas of the world, today begins the season of Mardi Gras and the custom is to feast on Galette des Rois—King Cake. Inside the cake, a trinket is hidden, perhaps a small plastic baby or a bean, and the person who finds the bean or baby becomes King for the Day. If you’ve been to Mardi Gras celebrations here at Grace Lutheran, you know this custom, which is also found in England and Germany and Spain.
In almost all of the cultures, stars are prominent today, as well as candles, reminding people of the "star of wonder" that led the Magi, and also telling how Jesus is the Light of the world. In Egypt, tonight is known as the “Festival of Lights” and in years past, Christians would make highly decorated candles called fanous and they would gather along the banks of the River Nile to sing the praise of God, swim in the water, and burn their fanous. A tourist in Cairo in the tenth century described thousands of torches and candles all along the Nile and celebrations which lasted all night.
Tonight, here, we don’t have any fanous and we won’t be going swimming. We don’t have any wassailers, but we’ll sing and enjoy some spiced cider. We’ve had our own versions of the Magi come visit, and the wise men figures have finally arrived at our nativity set over there, after moving through the church. We’ve got luminarias outside to light the way, and at the end of the service, we’ll chalk the church door in blessing, and then you can take home a small banner for your own homes and tape it up using the insert in your bulletin, or you can take a piece of chalk and do it old school. We won’t have any plastic babies or beans, but we will have some fine cheesecakes in honor of the three kings and we’re surrounded by candles to remind us that Jesus is revealed as the light of the world to all nations.
And that last is, of course, most important. The reason for all the charming customs and traditions is because Jesus was born not just for Jews, but also Gentiles. The wise men coming from the East represent all these non-Jewish nations for whom Jesus is the Savior, the light of the world.
Despite their importance, and all the sweet legends and customs, we don’t know much about these wise men. Tradition says they were kings, that one was black and one was white and one was Asian. Tradition also says that their names were Caspar, Balthasar and Melchior. None of that is for certain. We don’t even know that there were three of them—we just assume that because of the three gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. We don't actually even know that they were men, but we assume so because it would have been unusual for women to have the means for travel and rich gifts. But maybe that was part of their exotic foreign ways, that they had some women among their company! Maybe they weren't actually rich kings at all, just fortune tellers who scraped up enough cash to purchase nice presents and set out on some crazy journey.
We do know they lived east of Jerusalem, quite a ways, probably in modern-day Iran. The Bible calls them “magi” which is the plural of the Greek word “magus” which can be translated “magician.” They thought the stars influenced world events, so they were scholars and astrologers; perhaps they seemed magical because of their learning and study. We know they were not Jewish, not Christian. They probably worshipped the stars they studied, and yet when they saw this wonderful star of Bethlehem, they knew the prophecies about the Jewish Messiah, and went to investigate for themselves.
On and on they traveled, carrying expensive gifts, to a place they weren’t even sure of—they went to Jerusalem, because they logically assumed a king would be born in the capital city, but they ended up being about 5 miles off and had to get directions to the city of the Messiah, to Bethlehem. It was two years they had been traveling, following the star, heading west. They had no idea who they were looking for, really. They just knew a king—the King of kings-- had been born, and they had come to honor him. The old translations say they came to pay him homage, which means to literally put yourself at someone’s service.
They might not have known that the gifts they brought had any meaning at all for Jesus—gold for a king, incense for God; myrrh, a burial perfume, for a mortal who will die. They probably don’t realize that their arrival signaled the salvation of the whole world, not just God’s chosen people the Jews. They just know that they had to follow where the star led.
Without all the details, the wise men relied on the tiny bit they knew and sought out the Light of the World. And this is the message for us, that even in the midst of the darkness of this world, even in the midst of things we cannot hope to understand, even not having all the information, we still seek the light of Christ, however dimly we comprehend it.
Devastating storms and natural disasters, terror attacks, mass shootings, the genocide of Christians in the middle east, refugees, the family conflicts which never get resolved, the deaths of those we love--who can understand why these things happen? Many people wonder where God is when the world is so dark. Christians have an answer: especially in the darkness of death and grief, God is there. Especially when the way grows dim and long, God is near to us and we follow still, in faith. In Jesus, God has brought light in the darkness, a light which cannot be overcome.
Sin and evil seem to rule in this world; there will always be natural disasters, global tragedies and the small, private griefs that dog our everyday lives. Evil leaders like Herod still exist, people who panic at the thought of their power being taken away, and so they govern through violence and destruction. Herod, Hitler, Abu-Bakr al Baghdadi—their names hardly matter because they are legion. But I tell you, their days are numbered.
This dark world is the place into which the light is born, the tiny little light which the darkness cannot overcome. No gloomy tides of war and bombs, no despair or depression, no terrible rulers and powers—nothing can overcome the power of Christ, who is born for us.
You have heard, I’m sure, the little saying about Jesus, that wise men still seek him. Wise women and wise children, too. All who are wise still seek him, trusting him, even though the path is long and full of danger and doubt. Being wise doesn’t mean knowing or understanding everything about faith or God’s relationship to you. We're not here because we have all this faith stuff down pat and are such good people. We're here because we're broken and need wholeness. God brought us, stumbling, out of the darkness into the light. We're here because it is here that God feeds us with his own body and blood, which he willingly shed for us, to shine light into our darkness.
So being wise men and women and children means following the light where it leads, seeking Christ always, no matter what happens to you along the way. Through darkness, ambiguity, boredom, cold hearts, wandering faith, doubt—through all of that, the light of Christ shines still. In the face of tragedy, death, destruction, uncertainty for the future, anxiety—the light of Christ calls us forth to serve our neighbors and help those in need, bringing our gifts, placing our selves at his service, and also placing ourselves at the service of others. We follow because God leads us. He leads us always, no matter what.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Follow. Amen.