On Being Wise

Scriptures: Ephesians 3:1-12, Matthew 2:1-12

Even though we just sang the oh-so-familiar “We Three Kings”, this whole story of the Magi visiting Jesus is full of misconceptions and later centuries’ add-ons. Did you listen carefully to the Matthew text? It just says “wise men”. Doesn’t say how many there were. Since it is plural there must have been at least two, but it could have been many more – a dozen, fifteen, twenty. Tradition has placed it at three probably because that correlates to the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Plus which, we probably wouldn’t want to try to put twenty little wise men characters around our Christmas crèches. And they weren’t kings. In fact, they probably weren’t particularly rich at all, despite our cultural images of them like those in Gian Carlo Menotti’s opera “Amahl and the Night Visitors”. Again, tradition needed to see them as great kings in order to contrast them with the image of a king who was of such lowly estate as to be born in a manger.

But perhaps the most significant misconception has to do with when they came to finally find this promised Messiah – this “ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel”, according to the prophecy. By the time they got there Jesus may have been close to two years old; otherwise, why would Herod send out the order to kill all those two years old or younger? Note that our text says, “On entering the house” – not the stable. Despite our much-loved – perhaps in some cases hand-carved – Christmas crèches, having the three wise men placed therein is decidedly un-Biblical.

Here’s another perhaps unsettling or balloon-bursting thought: these wise men were not particularly people of faith, or at least not of the Jewish faith as practiced in those days. They were Magi or magos – magicians, sorcerers, alchemists (alchemy was considered a legitimate science then) – which refers to the priestly caste of Zoroastrianism. Their preferred mode was to look for some sort of magical solution when an interesting problem presented itself.

Therefore, these wise men were not monotheists as far as we know. They did not believe what the Jews believed and had no access to Jewish scripture that might have shown them how some Jews had long looked for a leader to come and help them become fully the people God wanted them to be. The Magi were devoted first and foremost to the gods and goddesses they knew in their religious practices, probably in what we call today the country of Iran. As David Albert Farmer notes, “The ongoing tension between Iran and Israel today makes the connection between the wise ones and Jesus all the more interesting!”

However, as part of their religion, these priests paid particular attention to the stars, which is how what we have come to call the Star of Bethlehem came to their attention. It was a star that only shown intermittently – never in the daytime but only at night, and not every night at that. So, their progress was sporadic; some days they didn’t proceed toward where they needed to go at all. But they were persistent, not least, most likely, because Herod had told them to “search diligently for the child”. They lived in hope; they lived in joyful anticipation; and they lived in the light of that intermittently flickering star.

And so we have come to celebrate that hope, that anticipation, that light on a day we call Epiphany – which fell last Thursday, January 6, twelve days after Christmas (hence the familiar song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”). The word “epiphany” means “manifestation” or a “miraculous appearance”, and it is intended to mark how Christ was shown to the world. Christ is manifested to us – that is, appears to us – as a creature of the light. We see it in all kinds of ways: that rollicking song that young people like to sing, “Shine, Jesus, Shine”; the emanations from the angels as they appear before the nativity; the glow from the candles that were raised here on Christmas Eve; the torch that Jeannette and Isabella bring; the lit-up Christmas trees here in church and in our homes.

But most especially, of course, we see it in the Star of Bethlehem – that star that the Magi followed. The birth of Jesus was so significant on the world’s stage that a special spotlight was required. This was no quickly shot-off fireworks, to be oohed and aahed over and then forgotten, like we did here on New Year’s Eve, but this was a steady, long-lasting light for the whole world. As the last line of our familiar hymn’s chorus says it, “Westward leading, still proceeding, Guide us to thy perfect light.”

A “miraculous appearance”, which Epiphany signifies, is precisely what these Magi – these magicians – are hoping for and anticipating, for that is part and parcel of their Zoroastrian faith. But soon they will discover that the star is leading them to something much more than this.

Before we get to that “much more”, though, I want to go off on a bit of a lighthearted tangent. Like Christmas, Epiphany has a lot of different customs connected with it around the world. Wikipedia has a whole page listing some of them; for example,in Puerto Rico it is traditional for children to fill a box with grass or hay and put it underneath their bed, for the wise men’s camels. But right here in a state not very far away from us is one of the odder ones:in Colorado, around Manitou Springs, Epiphany is marked by the Great Fruitcake Toss. Fruitcakes are thrown, participants dress as kings, fools, etc, and competitions are held for the farthest throw, the most creative projectile device, etc. As with customs in other countries, the fruitcake toss is a sort of festive symbolic leave-taking of the Christmas holidays until next year, but with a humorous twist, since fruitcake (although the traditional Christmas bread of America, England and other English speaking nations) in the United States is considered with a certain degree of derision, and is the source of many jokes. I wouldn’t be surprised if there weren’t some of you who might like to journey to Manitou Springs next Epiphany and see how far you can toss the fruitcake you got from Aunt Minnie!

Back to the wise men. Once they have “been warned in a dream not to return to Herod” and thus go back to their own country we don’t see them on the Biblical stage anymore. For Matthew they have played their crucial role in proclaiming what this child would mean on the world’s stage. They have completed a journey which has changed them profoundly. They are, therefore, a model that we can call on when we reflect on our own spiritual journeys.

The wise men were indeed wise for three reasons. First, the key to their journey and what they found at the end of it is that despite their religious leanings (or lack of them) they were open to what they might discover. They had heard the prophecy and pondered it and thought that they had some insight into what this “ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel” might be all about – but they needed to see for themselves and learn more about what his kingdom would consist of. Their wisdom was based on an openness that would take them on a surprising journey, and there would be no turning back. It would lead them to an act of homage which meant that the world as they knew it would be turned upside-down. Matthew contrasts their willingness to be open to this new thing to the attitude of Herod who allows his fear at having his own authority challenged to cause him to lie about why he wants them to find the child and to be manipulative. Moreover, the chief priests and scribes whom Herod calls together are not willing to set out to try to discover something that will confront their privileged position in the world. Being open to that which will challenge our own privileged positions is the beginning of wisdom.

Second, the wise men persevered. Just consider for a moment what it must have cost them to undertake their journey – in time, in money, in dangers. Especially after their encounter with Herod it would have been so tempting to turn around and decide that the rest of the trip wasn’t worth the risk. Here the better part of wisdom could have said to them, “Let’s go back to our country in the east”. But their wisdom took them a step farther and in a different direction. Being ready to go the extra mile, to persevere when common sense tells us not to, is the continuation of true wisdom.

Third, as a result of their openness and their perseverance the wise men experience a profound joy. In fact, Matthew says, “they were overwhelmed with joy.” Wisdom does not come solely from book-learning or logic or dialectical thinking – although all of these were involved in the wise men’s approach to following the star – but it comes ultimately when we can experience the elation of being in the presence of the Christ-child – who is, as the gospel of John proclaims, “The true light, which enlightens everyone,…coming into the world.” Isaiah lifts up the heights of that joy, as well, when he proclaims:

“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”

Epiphany means that something wholly new has happened. It is something that cannot be explained by philosophical theory or scientific experiment. It is something that comes to each one of us personally. The Magi by their visit affirmed that here is the manifestation to us of divine love, and that this is not a realization that they could have reached by their own calculations. They could only reach it through openness and perseverance and finally joy. This is why we truly refer to them as “wise men”.

In Ephesians Paul refers to “this mystery” that “was not made known to humankind” but has now been revealed. And moreover, it has been revealed to Gentiles as “fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise of Christ Jesus through the gospel.” He could well be speaking here of these wise men, these Gentiles, these Zoroastrians, who have helped to lead us into the community of Christ. These are the ones whose light has aided us, as Paul says in verse nine, “to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.” Here is God’s plan of salvation which comes to us through “the wisdom of God in its rich variety” which now is “made known to the rulers and authorities.” The wise men have participated in the wisdom of God – as do we when we offer our testimony to God’s plan of salvation, for as Paul says, “This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that God has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.”

Be open to the new thing that has come into the world and which Epiphany manifests; be dedicated and persevering in all that you do on behalf of the Lord; above all, be joyful in offering the wisdom of God to rulers and authorities…..and to all those you meet in your everyday life.

Amen

Dave Pomeroy

First Congregational Church/United Church of Christ

Las Vegas, NV

January 9, 2011