The Magi

          The story of the Magi, or the Wise Men, coming to see the baby Jesus, is wonderful and mysterious.  The Bible as we know it today consists of two major parts—the Old and New Testaments.  The Old Testament tells the story from creation all the way to the time that ends about four hundred years before the birth of Jesus.  It consists of the history of the Jews, their writings, and their prophecies. 

          But of course, it’s much more than that, because woven throughout that history is the story of God’s revelation of himself to the Jews, or Israelites.  The story of the Israelites begins when God comes to a man named Abram and calls him.  God makes a covenant with Abram that is found at the beginning of Genesis 12:

 ¹ The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.

 ² "I will make you into a great nation
       and I will bless you;
       I will make your name great,
       and you will be a blessing.

 ³ I will bless those who bless you,
       and whoever curses you I will curse;
       and all peoples on earth
       will be blessed through you."

          Abram obeys God, and his descendents become the Israelites, God’s chosen people.  And the entire Old Testament consists of the writings of the Israelites.  It is into that Jewish nation that Jesus is born and it is amongst his fellow Jews that Jesus grows up and ministers.

          The New Testament begins with the birth of Jesus.  One of the things that happens in the New Testament is that those words that were spoken to Abram come to fruition.  The last part of the passage I just read of God’s call to Abram said, “and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

          From the birth of the nation of Israel, it was always God’s intent that his chosen people would not keep their God to themselves, but would share the knowledge of God with the rest of the world.

          So I suppose it should not be so surprising that God would appear to these mysterious Magi from the east and invite them to see this wonderful miracle of the birth of the Messiah.  Still, it seems rather startling for a number of reasons.

          First, our understanding of God comes completely from the Bible, also known as the Judeo-Christian tradition.  It is startling that God spoke to people outside of that tradition.  In other words, to the Jew or the Christian, these Magi were not considered to be God-fearers.  We don’t know what, if anything, their religion was.  By their geography, they would today likely be Muslims.  But the Muslim religion was not yet in existence at that time. 

          Second, they were apparently astrologers, and apparently God spoke to them through a star.  To be honest, this just does not fit with our Judeo-Christian idea of how God communicates with us.  Christianity is not generally seen to be compatible with astrology.  Yet God speaks to these Magi through a star.

          And third, the gifts these Magi bring seem quite inappropriate and it seems downright odd to bring to these lavish gifts to the humble abode of Mary and Joseph.  Although, as we will see in the next episode, those gifts may well have come in useful.  And certainly, over the years, they have added lots of color to our nativity pageants!

          What does all of this mean?  It seems to me that this story of the Magi shows us that God is way, way bigger than we think he is.  God has certainly chosen to reveal himself through the Jews first, and then through Jesus.  But God can and does reveal himself to people who, in our estimation, are outsiders.  I think what this says to us is that we need to be careful about trying to limit God.  Suppose Mary and Joseph had told the Magi to go away?  What if they had said to the Magi, “This child has been born to the Jews, and you are, first of all, not Jewish.  And second, we do not believe in astrology.”

          Thankfully, Mary and Joseph said no such thing.  Instead, they graciously welcomed these strangers, and the world has celebrated them ever since.  This is the story of the Magi as Matthew tells it.

¹After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi (or Wise Men) 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 (or the Messiah) 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.

          As you can tell from the story, Herod is a crafty character.  The Magi come to him asking, "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." Herod calls on all of his advisors to figure out what this is about.        Herod’s advisors confirm that there are indeed prophecies that such a child would be born.  Herod acts as if he is interested in this newborn king and says he also wants to go and worship the child.  After the Magi find the child and worship him and present their gifts, they prepare to return home.  But they are warned in a dream not to go back to Herod.  So they return to their country by another route, thereby foiling Herod’s plan, which we later discover is to destroy the child, Jesus.

          Besides being a fascinating story, there is a message here for us.  First, God does not always—perhaps, in fact rarely—do great things according to our expectations.  The entire Christmas story is certainly way beyond anyone’s wildest expectations. 

          Our place is not to question God’s ways, but to respond with obedience to God’s call.

          Second, if we ignore God’s call, we will never know what God might have done in and through us.  Just imagine if the Magi had looked at that star and said to each other, “Well, he’s certainly not our king, and besides it’s a long and dangerous journey.  Let’s just forget about it.”

          Abram also could have ignored God’s call.  He could have said, “No, God, I really like it where I am and I don’t think going off to some unknown land is a very good idea.”  And if he had, God would not have changed Abram’s name to Abraham and built a nation out of his heirs that would become the people to whom God would send his son, Jesus.

          Do you ever wonder how many people down through the ages have ignored God’s call in their lives because they were just too busy or too afraid?

          There is an old folk tale that is told that illustrates this truth—that when God calls us, we must drop whatever we are doing and follow him.

          Once upon a time there lived in Bethlehem a woman named Babushka. She kept the cleanest and neatest house in town and was also the best cook. She heard rumors of three kings coming across the desert but paid no attention to them because she had so much work to do.

          Then she heard the sounds of drums and pipes and a cavalcade of riders. She looked out the window and there were three richly dressed kings coming towards her house. They told her that they had come to honor the little prince who had been born in Bethlehem and they needed food and lodging.

          Babushka cooked a wonderful meal for them, remade all the beds, and wore herself out. The next morning the kings begged her to come with them so she too might see the little prince.

          Babushka said she would follow after them as soon as she finished the dishes. She cleaned the house again and then took out of a cabinet the toys of her own little prince who had died so long ago. She had no more need of them and would give them to the new little prince.

          She put them in a basket and sat down for a moment's rest before she followed the wise men. Hours later she woke up, grabbed the basket, and rushed into town.

          But the kings were gone and so was the little prince and his parents.

          Ever after, it is said, Babushka has followed after them. Whenever she finds a new born babe, she looks to see if he is the little prince. Even if he (or in our days she too) is not there, Babushka leaves a toy for the child.

          Some say she probably found the prince.  But there is something we all should learn from her lesson: we should never let the important interfere with the essential.

          Yes, it is important to clean the house and make the beds.  These things are important.  But the essential sometimes comes to us as a surprise.  The essential comes at those moments when God calls us, usually in a very still, small voice, and asks us to move out of our place of comfort.

          Sometimes, it is a big call, like the one Abram received, to leave his homeland and go to a new place where God was calling him to be.  Other times, it’s just a quiet little nudge to do something.

          I don’t know how this happens for you, but this is what often happens to me.  I’m very busy, I have lots of things to do, and suddenly God puts before me a need.  I’m probably a lot like Babushka.  I like my house clean.  Mine is certainly not the cleanest house in town, and I’m certainly not the best cook.  But I do like things pretty orderly, and I’m a person who always, always has an agenda with lots to do.  And I like to get things done.

          So when God interrupts my agenda with someone who needs me, it can be quite annoying.  Like Babushka, my tendency is to think it’s more important for me to just keep working away at my “to do” list.

          But like Babushka, I will always regret the times I stuck to my list rather than listening to God’s call.

          God’s call is rarely convenient.  Often, God’s call is not easy.  As he did to Abram, he calls us to move out of our comfort zones. 

          How do we hear God’s call?  I firmly believe that God speaks to each of us in some way or another.  There is something in us that somehow knows God’s voice.  Often, it’s difficult to explain to someone else how it is that we know this is God speaking to us, but we know in our hearts that we have heard the voice of God.

          Most of the time for most of us, it’s not a big huge thing God asks of us, but often it is inconvenient.  I think God tells us little things like, “Go and speak a word of kindness to this person.”  Or, “Offer to babysit for that couple so they can get away for a while.”  Or, “Instead of just spending time with your friends, notice the ones who have no friends, and make room for them in your life.”  Or maybe even, “You need to clean out your closet and give some of your clothes away.”

          As we learn to listen for God’s voice and we practice obedience, God is able to use us.  We never know what we might miss if we ignore God’s call.  And we never know what we might be able to do for him if we obey his voice.

          As we begin this New Year, determine that you will listen for God’s still small voice in your ear, and that when you hear it, you will respond with obedience.

Prayer:

          Lord, we are confident that you still speak to us today, and that if we listen, we will hear your voice.  Soften our hearts towards you, so that we might hear your voice and obey you.  Help us not to be too busy to answer your call like Babushka was.  Instead, may we follow you, just as the Magi followed that star so long ago.  May we be faithful in the small things so that you can also trust us in greater things.   Amen