Sermon preached at St. Alban's, Spirit Lake, on January 6, 2007
(Year C, The Epiphany, BCP Lectionary)
by the Rev. Carl D. Mann

Texts:   Isaiah 60:1-6,9
Ephesians 3:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12
Psalm 72 or 72:1-2,10-17

Recently I went to see the movie “The Nativity Story” and I was very impressed with how well it was filmed. The screenwriter did an excellent job in getting the focus of the story across to the viewing public. However, there were several problems biblically, which will always occur when one tries to conflate two or more Gospels together with the idea of getting more of a complete picture. You see, the Bible in general and the Gospels in particular are like photo albums. Each scene is a snapshot of ongoing events taken from the point of view of the particular author or Evangelist. In the case of the Nativity, you have snapshots taken from the perspectives of Matthew and Luke who are the only two Evangelists to tell us of Jesus’ birth. Both of their photo albums show us the truth but from different angles or even with different pictures. The film makers have gathered these individual snapshots from their respective photo albums and have merged the two perspectives together. But there were still gaps in the story. So with a little artistic license mixed with oral tradition they have imagined what took place in between the snapshots, or have altered the timeline in order to smooth through the gaps. But with said, I still say that overall they did an outstanding job.

An example of one of these problems was that film had the Magi, or Wise Men as we have been raised to call them, show up on the night of Jesus’ birth, which, according to scripture, we know isn’t true. If we look closely in the photo album according to Matthew, which is the only photo album that has pictures of the Magi, there are several snapshots that show us why we know this.

The first picture is from the verse preceding today’s Gospel, which says, “and he [Joseph] called his name Jesus.” Now, if you all remember last Monday, the 1st of January, when we all gathered here for the Feast of His Most Holy Name, we learned that Jewish male babies were not named until the eighth day at which time they were presented in the local synagogue for circumcision, which is the sign of the Covenant made between God and Abraham, and all of his descendents. So even though Joseph was told by the angel of the Lord that the baby boy that Mary carried was conceived of the Holy Spirit and would be called Jesus, Joseph wouldn’t have named him out loud until the day in which he was presented.

The second set of photos can be viewed in the first two verses of today’s Gospel, it says that when Jesus was born ... behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” The wise men have been following the star to find the child, and know that that he has already been born. The star has led them from the East, from Persia, which is modern day Iran, and since all roads lead up to Jerusalem, the capital city of Judea, it would only seem natural for them to stop and inquire of the whereabouts of the infant king. Now this is another small gap that the photos don’t specifically detail. Did the Magi stop in Jerusalem because they assumed that the king of the Jews would be born in the royal family? Or did they stop because Jerusalem was the religious center of Judaism and they assumed that the High Priest would know about the birth of one so sacred and awaited? The fact is, Matthew doesn’t say but perhaps it’s a bit of both because the next verse says that Herod was troubled, and all of Jerusalem with him. Herod was troubled because a king of the Jews, other than himself was a threat to his own position, and all of Jerusalem was troubled because they obviously didn’t have a clue that the long awaited Messiah had arrived, let alone that he was manifesting himself as an infant. So Herod, based on the ancient prophecies, sent the Magi on to Bethlehem to search out the baby asking them to report back to him so he could go and worship him, too.

The third set of photos shows us the Magi once again following the Star, which has not only led them to Bethlehem but has come “to rest over the place where the child was.” Now let me interject my personal opinion here. They may have been wise men but they were still men. Instead of wasting time in Jerusalem, which was a man-made beacon on the hill, maybe they should have kept their focus on the Star, a God-made beacon in the sky, which up to this point had not failed them along their journey. Had they done so, Herod may not have found out about the birth of the Messiah and the lives of many innocent children would have been saved. Of course, that is an insight based solely on hindsight. But let’s get back to the album. The star has rested over the place of the child and in verse 11, the Magi go into the house where they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him, and presented him their gifts. So by this picture, we know for sure they didn’t arrive on the night of his birth because according to Luke’s photo album, Jesus appeared to be born in a stable or its equivalent because he was laid in a manger due to the lack of vacancies at the local Super 8. But according to Matthew’s photo album, the Magi arrived and went into the house where the child was with Mary, his mother. So enough time had passed since the birth of Jesus that appropriate accommodations had been found for the Holy family.

So what’s the point of all of this technical talk and close reading of the scripture? Remember in the beginning, I said that the film did an excellent job in getting the focus of the story across to the viewing public? They did because the focus of the film and the point of Matthew’s Gospel is not when or where the Magi found the baby Jesus, but that the baby Jesus was made manifest to them! Just as the shepherds were symbolic of the lowest stratum of people in contrast to Herod the King and the High Priest of Jerusalem according to Luke’s Gospel, the Magi are symbolic of the Gentiles. According to Matthew’s Gospel. The Magi were not of God’s chosen people from within the Jewish community or from Jerusalem. They were called by God from beyond the acceptable boundaries in order to witness to the whole world that God became Incarnate for all of mankind if only they will seek Him out. The Magi can also be in contrast to Herod, because ironically Herod wasn’t Jewish by race but rather converted to Judaism in order to marry into the royal family. Regardless of that fact, both Herod and the Magi knew and believed in the ancient prophecies. But, whereas Herod wished only to pay lip service to the infant king, and have him killed, the Magi truly wished to worship God in the flesh. This was the pinnacle of their mission. And I would suggest that the Magi knew the purpose of this Epiphany, this manifestation, this revelation of the One True Light that came into the world: Jesus, the infant King, God Incarnate was born in order to release all of humanity from the bondage of sin, to overcome the sting of death, and to reconcile all of us to God. That is the choice before us. It is the same today as it was back then. Do we choose to follow the light of Christ as did the Magi or do we choose to follow the way of darkness as did Herod?

In closing, I would call your attention to one last snapshot from today’s Gospel. In the final verse, Matthew says, “And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.” At the risk of using artistic license such as the screenwriter did in “The Nativity Story”, I would suggest that the words, “to return to Herod” would be symbolic of the Magi returning to their previous form of worship prior to following the Star. But once they have seen the Light of Christ they have been changed and return to their country by following another way, a new way, the Way of Cross.

May Jesus Christ, the Son of God, be manifest in us, that our lives may be a light to the rest of the world so that all may choose to follow the Way of the Cross.

Gloria Patri