Can you name the movie, the following line is from….
Every time a bell rings, an angels gets its wings
Life is like a box of chocolates.
We’re gonna need a bigger boat.
Phone home…
Frankly my dear…
Do you ever hear a string of words and go? “Those are song lyrics.” Well hold on to that thought. During Epiphany we think of the Magi. We Three Kings of Orient Are….
Helping to fulfill a prophecy
Not really kings, but wise men, seers, magicians, and/or astrologers
We are Gentiles from east of the Holy Land
We three kings come with gifts to give to the King of Jews
We three kings come to contrast the kingdoms of the world
We three kings come to give Jews hope of the Messiah
We three kings- real or fictional are a literary device meant to remind you of the greatest prophet Moses and his amazing birth narrative.
The story of the wise men is only told in Matthew’s Gospel. That’s it. It never mentions how many wise men there were, and it never mentions their names. We added all that later. Because this story only appears in Matthew’s gospel we need to know just a little about Matthew. First he is both Jewish and Christian. This gospel may have been written around the year 90- maybe 60 years after the death of Jesus. Matthew has a command of the Greek language, and clearly rabbinic training. Matthew’s gospel is not a straight up biography of Jesus- it is a theologically sophisticated story of the life and ministry of Jesus.
In the passage Matthew 2:1-12, Matthew cites both Micah and Isaiah- two Hebrew prophets that we know from the Old Testament. Okay, maybe we don’t know them as well as we should- but first century Jews would. Micah and Isaiah would be a part of their heritage. We might read those prophets and their words in passing—but first century Jews knew them and cherished them.
If we think of the gospels as the story of Jesus told by four different writers, with four different audiences in mind- we might think of Matthew’s gospel as being written for first century Jews. His gospel is filled with references from the Hebrew prophets- which they would get. Like song lyrics or lines from famous movies to us—they were ingrained in their culture and encoded in their DNA.
When they heard or read the story of Jesus told through Matthew’s lens—they read it through the Jewish filter—because that seemed to be Matthew’s target audience.
But there is something else going on there. Matthew is bringing us back to Moses and his birth narrative. There is a direct parallel. Pharaoh and Herod wants to kill all the newborn males. Moses and Jesus escapes death as an infant. To accentuate the point—an angel of the Lord appears to Jesus’ parents and tells them to flee to Egypt. “Stay there–Egypt–until the evil leader dies and it is safe to return. Moses was the savior for the Jews in the time of Exodus. Jesus is the savior now. Moses gave them the Law. Jesus gives them the new Law. Moses gives them the commandments. Jesus gives them New Commandments.
Why the Wise Men? Why insert the story of the Magi? Matthew is the only source for this story. What is the significance of the Magi in the nativity?
The Magi went to Jerusalem—that makes sense, it the capital of the Jewish world. The Magi know that the “King of the Jews” has been born. King Herod hears of it and is frightened—and because he is scared—everyone else is scared too. King Herod is a Jew—and was named by the Romans as the King of the Jews—and he doesn’t know where the prophets believe the Messiah will be born. King Herod doesn’t know the passage from Micah! King Herod doesn’t know the Law or Prophets. King Herod seeks an audience with the wise men. Great juxtaposition there. King Herod tries to pull a fast one on the Magi, but after all they are wise men. They know it. They figure out what Herod is up to. The final line says, “They left for their own country by another road.” The wise men or magi were not subject to Herod. He was not their King! They were not his subjects, and they didn’t have to do what he said.
They could have complied. They could have colluded. They could have been complicit, but they chose a different road. They followed their own path, and maybe that is what made them so wise after all. We follow the same star. That star is to light your path. It will give you wisdom on your journey in the coming year.
Should you choose the path of least resistance, the road less traveled, or carve out your own path—know that you are guided by the star, the light of the world. Your star will guide you beyond the kingdom of the Herods to the kingdom where justice and peace rule the day. The kingdom where Jesus isn’t just a savior, but where Jesus is Lord as well. Amen.
