“EPIPHANY”
Christmastide ends in the West this Wednesday, January 6, a date which the church has traditionally named as Epiphany. It celebrates the arrival of the magi to worship the baby Jesus. The story in Matthew 2 is filled with intrigue and slyness and violence. This is the first story in the New Testament about people coming to see the baby Jesus. We will get the angels and the shepherds in Luke 2, but here in the first book of the New Testament, we find that it is foreigners who first pay tribute to Jesus. In this time of nativism and anti-immigrant sentiment in the USA, let that sink in for a while – “foreigners” are the first people outside the family who pay tribute to the baby Jesus and to what he means to the world.
The magi, or astrologers, have watched a star rising in the West, and they decide to follow that star to find who they hope to be the “King of the Jews.” The magi arrive in Jerusalem, announcing (undiplomatically) to King Herod that they are searching for the baby born to be king of the Jewish people. Herod is greatly troubled, which is no surprise because he is a Trump-like figure. We should also note, however, that it is not just Herod who is troubled and frightened, but as Matthew tells us “all Jerusalem with him.” People are already noticing that the birth of this baby will mean a revolutionary moment and movement for all of us. Jesus of Nazareth will reverberate throughout human history, and no matter whether we are believers or not, this baby and the life that flows from his birth will engage and confront us all, no matter the place or the century in which we live.
Herod gets advice from his palace prophets that the baby is to be born in Bethlehem. He tells the magi that he wants to worship the baby too, and he asks that they inform him where the baby is, so that he can come and pay homage. He has, of course, no intention of acknowledging this baby – his purpose is to kill him, to destroy any chances of Jesus’ being a rival for his kingdom. We will visit that part of the story next week.
The magi arrive at the place where Jesus and his parents are staying, and they kneel down and worship him as a special messenger from God. They bring him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. As many scholars have noted, the gifts are symbolic: gold for his majesty, frankincense for his priestly role in bringing God to us (and us to God), and myrrh for the suffering and price that he will pay for showing us the way to God. We can only imagine what Mary and Joseph think as they watch these respected royals arrive with their entourage, proclaiming that this baby is the One.
On December 30, we had the privilege of watching eleven Buddhist monks pass by our house on their way to downtown Decatur. They are on a walking march for peace, having started in Texas and heading for DC to proclaim the way of peace. As we watched from our driveway, waving and conversing with them, I thought to myself that this must have been some of the way that Mary and Joseph felt when the magi arrived.
On this level, we are called to remember that the first witnesses to Jesus and his meaning are “foreigners” whom we are now hearing are enemies in American culture. We are being trained to fear the stranger and to join the people of Jerusalem in being troubled and frightened at the appearance of these “foreigners.” Let us take heart from this story and resist that impulse which runs so long and so deep in our national history. Epiphany reminds us – the stranger is not our enemy. Indeed, as this story tells us, the stranger is often the vehicle of God’s grace and mercy and revelation.
After they have seen the baby Jesus, the magi decide to return home. Herod has asked them to report back to him so that he can come and worship Jesus also. As we shall see, however, Herod does not have adoration in his heart – he has murder in his heart, similar to our current president. The magi have eyes to see and hearts to discern, however, so they return home by another way after they have found Jesus. They do not report back to Herod, and as we shall see next week, Herod decides to take matters into his own hands. There will always be Herods and Trumps, but let us have ears to hear and hearts to believe – God is calling us to join Her in movements for justice and mercy and peace.
