January 03, 2016
EPIPHANY
Scripture: Hebrew Bible: Isaiah
Gospel:
60: 1-6 (a paraphrase)
Matthew 2: 1-12 (a paraphrase)
Meditation: A Word About the Magi
Who exactly were these men we depict so beautifully at the end of our Christmas story? I am
sure you have noticed that in most nativity scenes or movie projections they are the ones dressed
in very opulent clothing, travelling on camels with many servants and aids to minister to their
every need. We put these men beside the poor and lowly shepherds, the cattle and the innkeepers
and people of the little town of Bethlehem. Have you ever wondered why we do that? Why do
we seem to need to put the powerful and rich into this very simple story?
Commentaries tell us that these men were priests from Persia, something like the priests of the
Levites in Israel. They were once Medians who had tried to overthrow the Persian Empire, failed
and became teachers to the Persian Kings. They were skilled in philosophy and science. Their
studies and their discipline had prepared them for the rising of this star that foretold the coming
of the long-expected savior and king of the Jewish Nation. For all their acclaimed wisdom; for
all their truly impressive foresight, amazing interpretive skill, persistence, and generosity to this
tiny child, they worshipped momentarily and then they LEFT. They gifted Jesus but saw no need
to commit to an ongoing relationship with him.
And now here we are. In some ways we are like those Magi of long ago. It’s still easier to
acknowledge Jesus than to be COMMITTED to Jesus. It’s easier to be an admirer than a disciple.
It’s easier to acknowledge God then it is to stick around for the implications of God with us. It’s
easier to raise questions than to make affirmations. It’s easier for people to talk about their
church than to talk about their God – easier to talk about their worship of God than their
relationship with God. It’s easier to make excuses about why it’s impossible to live as Jesus did
than it is to try to live that way.
The Magi didn’t really seem to GET IT! -what Jesus would come to mean to a broken world.
The one who did seem to really get it in this story – oddly enough – was Herod. Herod the Great
was a pathetic, warped, frustrated old man. Herod is the one who is most terrified by the birth of
this King who has been foretold for such a long time. Somehow he seemed to know that he
wouldn’t do well in Jesus’ world where the last would be first and the meek would inherit the
world. He seemed to know that in this new world he wouldn’t be able to stay in power – stay in
control – that the world he once knew was going to be turned upside down by the profound effect
Jesus would have on individuals and he, Herod, reacted the way all tyrants and bullies do. He
reacted with VIOLENCE.
Herod represents power – a certain kind of power – earthly power – political power- the power
of violence and greed and the power of all those who rule in the world by oppression. The
promise of Christ’s reign brought hope and peace and the possibility for a new way of living for
everyone – Herod included – but Herod clung to the way things were, fearing change, fearing
that he could change, fearing that a world restructured would mean he would have to give up the
illusions of his power. It was precisely his holding so tightly to his own interests that prevented
him from being able to embrace the good news in any form. He was trapped. He was trapped in
his own fear, a paranoid old man who knew just how fleeting his power really was. He was
compelled by his own fear to never being able to see what this new King could offer him in a life
that could indeed be transformational. He could not accept the true weakness of his powerful
position and so he was compelled to do violence to those who appeared to threaten him. And in
the end – he lost – he lost the possibility of “Glad tidings of great joy. Good news. For unto you
is born a savior who is the Messiah – the Lord.”
And here we are in our time and place. Ours is still a world waiting. We are still surrounded by
the Herods who cannot see the possibility of a world transformed by LOVE. In the grand ways of
our wide, wide world and in the smaller ways of our own lives we are still trapped by those filled
with fear of losing power. We, too, know the profound longing for one who will establish justice
and righteousness among all of us. One who will deliver us from all oppression and fear – who
will bring a viable and lasting peace. We look for one who will bestow meaning to our living – to
our actions and to our choices. We look for one to follow – mind, heart, body and soul. We look
for one to whom we can give ourselves. We have looked to political leaders and military
solutions, and to those who we THINK might have the answers to all that hurts and harms in our
world. We have pursued the sciences, the arts, even the religions, but human achievement in
ALL its manifestations has proven to be insufficient. The human perspective is just too small.
We like the Magi and the Herods of old, and of the present, need to let go of the fear that keeps
us trapped in the world as it is and unable to see the world as it might be. We too must hear the
good news. God has broken into the world. God continues to break into our world, and in a
remote and backwards part of the world, a child is born and grows to be a man who dies, and the
implications ripple out through time and creation – to this time and to this place – and to you and
to me. We just need to see that star and the light that it brings and our world can and will be what
we long for. We only need to believe. We only need to allow the light to do its work of
transformation. We only need to let go of fear and we too like those in that ancient time can be
part of that world that we long for. We pray - MAY IT BE SO!
AMEN