Matthew 2:1-12
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 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.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6 ‘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.’” 7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 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.” 9 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. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 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. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
We are in the midst of the Twelve Days of Christmas, the season of the church year that begins Christmas Day and ends on Epiphany on January 6, next Thursday. Why does the author of Matthew's Gospel tell this story, the one that's so familiar as the story of the 3 Kings?
Who were these strangers from the east? Most likely, they were members of the priestly cast of Zoroastrianism, noted for their study of the stars, and they bring gifts appropriate for a king: gold, a symbol of kingship; frankincense, a perfume and symbol of deity; and myrrh, a holy oil for anointing. And they were wise --- wise enough to discern a problem with Herod, to become suspicious of his feigned “desire” to worship the child, and to see through his fear of the possibility of another king. And just where did they come from? Some would say from Babylon and Persia, two former super powers who had oppressed the people of Israel in the past. At any rate, they were Gentiles, "outsiders,” and they represented the world, coming to the little town of Bethlehem. Their presence indicated this was a major event – the birth of Jesus as a new birth of justice and peace, in the midst of an oppressive and corrupt world, the manifestation of God coming into the world, not just to the Jews but to everyone. Perhaps their coming points us to an inclusive and all loving God, who gives us a child to save the world from its never-ending cycle of violence and war.
What if...the church...and the world...were to be truly impacted by this story, the story of a child? It’s interesting, in the Gospel of Matthew, this insistence on the child: Where is the child. (vs 2)...And further on, to Joseph: Take the child.(vs13 and 14).. and ...He took the child... The child Jesus was surrounded by care, attention, and love in the most difficult of circumstances. A child, weak and vulnerable, crying, hungry, suffering, who came so that all who are weak and vulnerable might have hope. At the same time, we see Herod’s horrific war on children: He sent and killed all the children. . .who were two years old or under! (vs16) Yes, this is our warning. In Home by Another Way, James Taylor sings it this way. "A king who would slaughter the innocents will not cut a deal for you. But Herod's always out there, he's got our cards on file. It's a lead pipe cinch, if we give an inch, old Herod likes to take a mile." How do we identify the Herods of our world today? And then what do we do about them?
Can we discern the harm and the destruction, the wickedness, and then, like the wisemen, refuse to follow Herod’s way of fear, domination, and oppression? What if we did all within our power, as citizens of the Kingdom of Peace, to urge our nation and our world to stop feeding the Beast that devours our world’s resources and sacrifices hungry children on the altar of bigger military budgets? What if we prayed that the leaders of all nations would dream dreams until, “having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another way?”
“Another way” ...that’s what we are celebrating here this morning, as we approach this day of Epiphany. And it's also the challenge it presents to us. How do we find another way? How do we take stock, not just by creating resolutions for the New Year, but by reevaluating and reassessing our manner of living, our sets of attitudes and habits that reflect our values. One New Testament scholar put it this way: "For Christians, Christmas has never promised to soothe every pain or cure every ill. Unfortunately, life with God doesn't work that way. Instead, Christmas is the grand miracle that makes space for all the smaller miracles, it gives us enough hope to walk a little farther in the dark. Christmas is, in the words of John's gospel, the light that shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it." Look at it this way. Christmas is the story of a divine presence that permeates the universe and came to human expression in a baby, a baby who then gives the universe a way to reflect and to love and to hope. That's another way.
We live in a time of Covid, of another variant, and further isolation, a time of great fear, anxiety, frustration, and anger. But our theme throughout Advent and in this Christmas season has been, and still is Hope. Let's not lose that. We know as the Wise Men did not, something about the meaning of Jesus' birth and what developed in the years following. We know what Jesus taught, the lifestyle he modeled for us, the value of living close to God and in community with one another. Another way opened up with the birth of the Christ child, the Prince of Peace—the way of love, inclusion, compassion, and harmony between sisters and brothers, Jews and Arabs, Muslims and Christians, the way lived out in the life of the One who said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” the same One who comes close to us in this sacrament. May it be so. Amen