Visit of the Magi

Robert E. Hall
Tarrytown United Methodist Church

January 9, 2011

Matthew 2:1-12

Who is the most powerful person in this story?

Reading it for the first time, you would think it must be Herod.

He makes us shudder! He is a Saddam Hussein figure. Ruthless, killing off anyone who did, or he suspected might, oppose him: one of his wives, his brother in law. His sons. His friends (one he drowned while frolicking in a lake.) “It is better to be Herod’s dog than his son” was what was said about him. Though there is no independent evidence that he ordered the massacre of the infant,  ( see  Matthew 2:16-18) Herod’s barbarity as a ruler is well documented.

Put in power by Roman emperors Anthony and Octavian, Herod, though a Jew, Carefully courted Roman favor and protection. He instituted Roman games in honor of Caesar; built royal palaces, and a harbor city. He had the power of the Roman army behind him. He sent his two sons to Rome to enjoy the company of Caesar. He placed an Eagle, symbol of Roman power, over the gate leading to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Herod, it was said, was “wily---tricky, shrewd.

Magi come to him, asking, “Where will the King of Jews be born?”

Herod says, “ When you find him, come and tell me where so that I, too, can come to worship him.”

You can imagine the Magi looking at each other: a king coming to worship another king? I don’t think so.

No, Herod is not the most powerful character in the story, though most, including Herod, would have thought so.

What about Mary and Joseph and Jesus? Certainly not strong or powerful as the world gauges it. They were at risk. No place to lodge, according to Luke.

What a contrast between Herod and this poor family.

The Magi, the wise men?

Were the Magi, the Wise Men, powerful?

 They were first century gurus with followers and clients. They were astrologers, magicians, interpreters of dreams, fortune tellers: perhaps like the Medicine Men of native American culture. The wise men knew there was a  world of mysterious forces out there and they were considered experts in discovering them and using them. They apparently had studied the history and wisdom of the Hebrew people.

But in this story, they are being led by a star to find a king, so that they might worship him.  They were being guided not by their own wisdom but by One who is greater than the stars.

They paid homage to Jesus which would have put them on their knees or faces, in awe and respect.  The closest we may come to this homage is when, for Holy Communion, we come and kneel before the altar-table who, in the tradition of the Hebrews--- and the Christians after them--- was the place where the invisible God abided.

Who is the most powerful? Not Herod, not the Magi, and not the Holy Family---yet!

The One infinitely more powerful, directing this dramatic event was none other than the Creator of all things.

As with story of Moses Jesus was rescued by God through the agency of Mary and Joseph, obeying God’s direction.  God  is not directing all event, especially not those as horrific as the killing of infants. It would be blasphemous to attribute such cruelty to God!  But in, under and through free choices, God’s hand was at work to bring a Savior Shepherd---for the people of the Covenant and for the whole world.

I was intrigued this past week to come across this verse: “With the forthright you show yourself forthright. With the crooked, you [God] are wily!” (Psalm 18:26-27, The New English Translation)

Wily Herod has met his match! “You think you are in charge? Sit back and watch!”

Stars? They obey God. (We humans are not fated by the constellations, as was widely believed.)

Wise men? The were seekers after truths they did not as yet know.

 Herod? Unable even to get the wise men to do what he commanded.

Joseph?  He is strong in jusr this way: he was receptive to this powerful God, the God of dreams: 5 times in 2 chapters Joseph. Listened to God in dreams, protecting, instructing, inspiring, directing him.

From this story, this enduring wisdom comes to the fore:

***Power is not where we sometimes think it is. Jewish leaders were those who “knew everything and found nothing, in contrast with  those who knew nothing and found everything.” (Source lost)

Disciple? Paul tells us that not many were wise or of noble birth, (Paul in I Corinthians 1:26-31). Look for God’s hand among the little ones, the humble servants. Ruthless power carries the seeds of its own destruction. Servant leaders, at whatever level are God-sends, literally. 

Herod? Not all rulers were like Herod.

There were kings who were just and righteous. They had integrity. They used power for the health and well-being of the people. They sought the common good. They were not puffed up. They could not be bought by powerful interests to give them favored treatment. They used power to build good-people systems. They cared for the most vulnerable citizens. Yes, Kings were savvy and would use force when necessary, but they used force not to dominate but to serve the larger good.

And so it is now with our leaders. Leaders are wanted and longed for, men and women in politics, business, education, religion who are persons of integrity, wisdom and compassion. God sets a high bar for leaders of the world.

****God’s good news is for everyone. Surprises: outsiders get it even when those of us familiar with the story miss it. A man or woman in a hotel room pick up a Bible and their lives are transformed. People in China  are entranced by the Gospel of Mark and their lives are re-directed.

Magi? Matthew tells us that “having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.” What happens next for them? We do not know. And yet, when Jesus taught and healed, he very often found faith among people like them, those who were not versed in the ancient wisdom of the Jewish people.

 At Pentecost? We learn that he attractiveness of Jesus speaks to everyone in their own language.

Whosoever will can respond to the good news----people of all, nations and races.

*****Missions? The light still shines in the darkness. We sing that we are to “Go and tell it on the mountain.”

 Much mischief has been done when missionaries of many churches took along cultural, national, economic interests that were not central to the Christian message. The gospel has been high by Crusader who, in capturing the Holy Land, slaughtered the infidels; On our continent, native Americans were.

Nevertheless, many missionaries got it right . And so, following thei example, are called to love our neighbors through word and deed,  to sow the seed of the gospel. Then plant again. And respect peoples’ resistance and doubt, and their own ways, even when we are met with hostility. Many are recovering from bad religion.

And God is wily! Bishop Desmond Tutu said that, “when the missionaries came to South Africa, we had the land that they had the gospel. They said, ‘let us pray,’ and when we opened our eyes, they had the land and power, but we had the gospel. We received the best part.”

Slaves in this country? They read the story of Moses and the words of Jesus: “set my people free!” God does not direct history, but God works in spite of and through the actions of human being to bring about redemption and new life.

There will be resistance as with Herod: the ruthless powerful do not easily relinquish power and are often corrupted by the basest instincts and money which flows to them for their decisions.

And so, what are our marching orders?

******Worship such a God, who has made himself known in the life of one who was born the natural way and walked the earth. Catch the winds of the Spirit in our sails.  Real power is here, in this One, against all odds. Bet our lives on this truth.

******And know that the door to where Christ dwells is never locked. What the world does not need is another ingrown church, whose light is covered over with a bushel basket!  

We who share his presence must be butlers in Jesus’ house, opening the door to people of all ages, nations and races, and people whop are different from the majority of us—all of the ones who are led to God. We are farmers gardeners, soldiers, called to be gentle as doves, wily as foxes.

If we do not obscure, Jesus can still be seen, and embraced.