| Epiphany – The Coming Of The Three Wise Men |
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Explain term “Epiphany” – God appearing or a visible visitation of God.
Advent was all expectation – God is coming; Epiphany is God is here.
At this time of the year the church moves from Advent, through Christmas and on into Epiphany: A, C, E – an “ace” time of the year! Not the THREE wise MEN: could have been any number (the word “magi” is the plural of “magus”) and not nec. MEN.
But depicted as such since the very early times. Assuming the three wise men were Kings, how many Kings are there in our story today? Five: the three magi, plus Herod, plus Jesus: three good, one bad and one perfect.
Let’s have a quick look at Herod and then at the three wise men, the magi. Herod is bad, very bad. He is a Jew whom the Romans keep and use as their puppet King, so that Israel seems to be self-governed. He is a collaborator and a coward and a traitor and bully. Look at how he acts in Matthew ch. 2: He gets all jealous and insecure when he hears that another, new King has been born. He feels threatened (Kings don’t mix well with other Kings. If you buy one as a pet they recommend that you keep it away from other ones, or they fight. Kings should be kept in separate cages.). In his dealings with the Magi Herod is secretive, deceptive and manipulative. He is subject to mood swings and violent bad temper tantrums and in the end he is a murderer – of children and babies.
Now let’s look at the Magi. The are questioning and questing: in looking for answers they find The Answer. They are open, and receptive. They look and listen. The only emotion they are described as having is feeling “overjoyed” when they find the baby. They are giving: they give gifts (the famous three gifts: Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh) and they give worship. Two themes in Matthew’s gospel: 1. Dreams, or to be more precise God speaking through dreams and 2. treasure: giving, receiving, buying, selling, finding, losing. Treasure that may be physical, material and here on earth or spiritual, holy and heavenly.
Let’s looks those two: The word “dream” occurs 8 times in the New Testament; six of those 8 are in Matthew’s gospel. In the Bible and esp. in Matthew, God speaks in and through people’s dreams. People go to sleep, and in their sleep they have a dream and in that dream God says something or shows something that he wants to communicate. The people then wake up and remember the dream and, hopefully, act upon it. Now this has never happened to me, but I know people that it has happened to. Maybe it has happened to you, maybe not. But be aware that it can happen and be open to the possibility of God speaking to you in or through a dream.
In Matthew chapter 2 God speaks through scriptures and through dreams: it’s the scriptures that tell Herod and the Magi where the Messiah will be born and it’s the dreams that warn and inform God’s allies of dangers and opportunities.
The Scriptures are the main and most dependable way that God speaks, and anything else that God might say can be checked and judged and weighed against the Scriptures, but God also speaks in a “live” or “living” way – through prophecy, signs, hints, hunches and . . . dreams. Perhaps God can speak to you through the scriptures and/or your own intuition or dreams. God has certainly spoken to me in vision or a picture in my mind’s eye or a small still voice in my head. Be open to him speaking to you in dreams or through your imagination or intuition.
Second, treasure. I love that word: treasure. Pirate gold, metal detectors, crown jewels, the Antiques Roadshow. “Treasure.” I love that word and all it stands for. Roll it around on your tongue. Riches! Gold! Ancient art! Hidden hoard! Finders keepers! Someone stop me, I’m getting carried away.
Back to our reading: Matthew 2: 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. Later on in Matthew’s gospel Jesus will say: Matthew 6: 19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
And then he’ll go on top say:
Matthew 13: 44"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
Finally Jesus will tell a rich young man who is dissatisfied with his life: Matthew 19: 21Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect [or “complete”], go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
Dreams and treasures. Finally, the problem of the murdered children. Why does God let this happen? In fact, why does God let any bad thing happen?
The answer is (and listen carefully I’ll say this only once) I don’t know, but maybe we’re asking the wrong question. Try changing the question to “why does JESUS let bad things happen?” Ask the question of him, by all means, but look to his own life. Did Jesus live a charmed, lucky, successful life? Was he healthy, wealthy and happy? Did he reach a rip old age and die peacefully surrounded by friends and family? Did he have a happy home life and a large family? We suffer, but we hope and pray that God is with us in our suffering and we look to the cross and see God suffering with us and for us and because of us. Jesus suffers and dies “with us” as the ultimate act of solidarity, empathy and indentification. Jesus suffers and dies “for us” as our substitute and representative, in our place. Jesus suffers and dies “because of us” – we killed the Him, it was our sin that caused him to suffer and die.
Why does Jesus allow bad things to happen? I don’t know, but I know that he offers to be with us through everything that life and death can throw at us. |
Amen |
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Matthew 2 : 1 - 23 |
1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." 3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5"In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 6 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.']"
7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."
9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
The Escape to Egypt
13When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." 14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."
16When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 18"A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."
The Return to Nazareth
19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead."
21So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."
Footnotes:
. Matthew 2:1 Traditionally Wise Men
. Matthew 2:2 Or star when it rose
. Matthew 2:4 Or Messiah
. Matthew 2:6 Micah 5:2
. Matthew 2:9 Or seen when it rose
. Matthew 2:15 Hosea 11:1
. Matthew 2:18 Jer. 31:15
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