Matthew 2:1-12
“Jesus Found!”
January 3, 2021 Epiphany Sunday
“Ablaze, Southeast Australia Faces Even Worse: ‘A Blast Furnace’ (NYT, 1/3/20)
“Unrivaled Job Losses Accelerate Across U.S.” (NYT, 4/3/20)
“Expect a Fourth with More Fizzle Than Bang” (NYT, 7/3/20)
“President in Hospital as He Battles COVID” (NYT, 10/3/20)
These were The New York Times headlines this year just completed on January 3rd, April 3rd, July 3rd, and October 3rd. During this past year packed full of devastation and death and loss, there are probably few other things that we would find universal agreement on than our wish of good riddance to 2020.
As a whole new year opens with the hope and promise that a vaccine will find its way into enough arms over the coming months, we recognize from headlines that historically significant events made this past year one that will be the stuff that our children will tell their grandchildren of surviving.
When we share, through journal entries or songs written or books penned about the terrible toll that 2020 took in the form of lives lost, attention focused on long-held injustices, forced new ways of communicating and interacting, we will hopefully also recognize the vital role of our shared stories and heritage.
On this Epiphany Sunday when we reflect on the familiar story of
three wise men who followed a star determined to honor the Messiah, we know that this account has been passed down to us and, over time, details have been filled in.
Thinking that King Herod would be a great source of information, these travelers followed the star and landed in Jerusalem, stopping on their journey to get more specific directions.
This stop along the way was harmless in its intention but held potentially deadly consequences. Herod was then able to send them out as his scouts to Bethlehem once he knew that these magi were searching for the King of the Jews.
It was Herod’s advisors who knew their scripture well enough and could tell him that the one these magi were looking for was the king who came from the lineage of David. After this detour they were back on the trail with a star in the night sky as their guide.
They didn’t arrive empty-handed. They came bearing gifts that were fit for a king. We often refer to these men as kings but most likely they were astrologers from Persia. We always have three of them adorning our nativity scenes because of the three gifts but we don’t know how many there were other than more than one since they’re referred to as wise men.
We have a story here where the ones who had seen the sign did not have enough data to interpret it while the ones who had the information and background, King Herod and his advisors, did not see the sign, the star.
The magi had something that made up for their lack of information. They had a willingness to continue to seek answers. They trusted the sign from God and followed it.
They went seeking this new kind of king and they went with all of the honor and respect due any royalty – their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh held meaning and power regarding the life of Christ.
The gold is for the crown that a king wears.
The frankincense stood for Christ’s ministry.
And the myrrh was a foreshadowing of his death and resurrection.
Ultimately University of Vermont graduate and ordained Episcopal priest and writer John Henry Hopkins, Jr. captured the journey of these three wise men in his Epiphany gift for his nieces and nephews. In 1857, he wrote the carol we started our service with today and which has been an integral part of pageants worldwide, including ours, “We Three Kings.”
This is a story filled with light and the lengths to which some will go to honor the one that God has sent. We hear in it how God used Gentiles to honor the King of the Jews. It also speaks of power and the ends to which someone would go to hold onto that power. And ultimately it is the story of how God became part of our story by coming in human form to show us how we are to love.
With so many hard headlines pointing to stories of pain and suffering this past year, we may have missed some of these headlines that drew attention to stories that speak to the power of love:
“Over 900 Cars Paid for Each other’s Meals at a Dairy Queen Drive-thru in Minnesota’ (CNN)
“Police Officer Receives a Life-Saving Transplant from the Woman He Put in Jail Eight Years Ago” (Fox 11)
“Literally a Miracle’: Rival Gangs in South Africa Call Truce to Help People During Pandemic” (CBS)
In the end, the best stories are love stories. Let’s lead with love this year. Steve Garnaas-Holmes put it this way:
The king of the Jews?
Why would they care about someone
from a different nation, culture, and religion?
Maybe in their wisdom they knew love when they saw it.
Nothing could make Jesus king of everybody
but being the king of love.
And so he was.
He was not king of power or might,
king of influence or success,
social standing or privilege,
king of being right or righteous.
He was king of justice and mercy,
of compassion and healing,
of gentleness and reverence.
And wise ones knew:
Love is the greatest power in the world.
They were willing to kneel to a higher power.
This is the epiphany, the revelation:
Your culture or nationality or religion don’t matter.
Your doctrine doesn’t matter.
Your religion is simply how you treat people.
Wise ones know love when they see it.
Pray for wisdom.
Pray for love.
Pray to be ruled
by the Prince of Peace,
the King of Love.
Amen.