Jeremiah 31: 7–14; Psalm
84: 1–8; Ephesians
1: 3–6, 15–19a; Matthew
2: 1–12
This is a homily by Fr. Gene
Tucker, given at St.
John’s Church, in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania on Sunday, January 3, 2016.
“WHAT ABOUT THESE MAGI?”
(Homily text: Matthew 2: 1–12)
This morning, we get a bit of a jump start on the season of
Epiphany, which begins this coming Wednesday, January 6th, by
hearing and considering the visit of the Magi to the Christ child. One of the major themes of the Epiphany
season is the coming of non-Jews, that is, Gentiles, to Christ. The Feast of the Epiphany carries a subtitle
which highlights this theme: “The
Manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ to the Gentiles”.
So, this morning, we hear Matthew’s account of the visit of
these mysterious visitors from the east to Jerusalem, and then, guided by the
star that they had seen, on to Bethlehem itself. (It is worth noting that it is Matthew alone
who passes along this information to us.)
But who were these people?
The short answer to that question is: We can’t be totally sure, we can only
ascertain with certainty some aspects of their identity…..there remains – and
will remain – a good bit about these visitors that we cannot know this side of
heaven.
When we consider the visit of the Magi, we have to use words
like “maybe”, “perhaps”, “if” and “might”.
It’s worth saying, right up front, that trying to talk about
the Magi probably involves a fair degree of speculation. Hopefully, what is said in this homily will
be speculation of the sort that is related to the text that Matthew provides
us, for faithful preaching always holds the text in view.
But before we begin by looking at those aspects of their
visit that we can be reasonably sure of, let’s dispel some misconceptions about
these visitors:
- There were three of them: In truth, we can’t know the exact number of
the Magi. It’s possible (maybe) that
popular ideas about the number stem from the number of gifts that were given to
the Christ child. This very popular idea
of the number of the Magi is underscored by the Epiphany carol, “We Three
Kings”.
- Their visit came shortly after (or perhaps during)
the visit of the shepherds: This
idea is underscored by the depictions of the crèche scenes (including our own
here at St. John’s), which show the shepherds and the Magi gathered around the
baby Jesus. But, if we read Matthew’s
account carefully, we see two facts that would lead us away from such an
understanding: First of all, Matthew
tells us that, upon finding Joseph and Mary, they enter the “house” where the
Holy Family was staying, and they present gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh
to the “child”. Notice that Matthew tells
us that the Holy Family was found in a “house”, not in a manger, and that the
gifts were presented to the Christ “child”, not a baby. Furthermore, if we read Matthew’s account a
little further on from the passage we heard this morning, we see that King
Herod (the Great) ordered the slaughter of all the male children in Bethlehem
who were two years old and under[1],
leading us to believe there had been some passage of time from the time when
Jesus was born and when the Magi made their way to Bethlehem.
- The identity of the Magi: Various titles have been assigned to these visitors, including “Kings” and “Wise Men”. The first title is wholly inaccurate, but may stem from a passage in Psalm 72: 10, which reads, “The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall pay tribute, and the kings of Arabia and Saba offer gifts.” Connecting the idea of the gifts that were offered to this passage is one from Isaiah 60: 6, which reads (in part), “All those from Sheba shall come, they shall bring gold and frankincense.” As for the idea that the Magi were “wise men”, that description is – to some extent – probably true (see the note which advances the idea that they were students of different disciplines, below).
Now that we’ve dispelled some of the notions surrounding the
arrival of these visitors from the east, let’s explore what we can know with
some certainty:
- 1. The place(s) from which the Magi came: The term “Magi” suggests that these visitors
(at least some of them) came from Babylon, for this is an area where the term “Magi”
denotes a court astrologer/astronomer.
The gifts that they brought suggest that they may over come (again, some
of them, perhaps) from Arabia, for frankincense and myrrh are gum resins that
originate in that area.
- They are students of different disciplines: From the comments the Magi make, it is clear
that they’ve been watching the heavens, and that they notice the appearance of
a star. This observation and the
importance they attach to the appearance of the star underscore the idea that
they were astrologers/astronomers. But
beyond that, they also connect the appearance of this heavenly phenomenon to
events in Judea, for the star seems to lead them westward. Perhaps, as has been suggested by some
biblical scholars, the Magi were the compilers and keepers of wisdom from a
number of different sources. Maybe they
were the equivalent of the Wikipedia editors of their day, collecting
information and wisdom from a number of different sources. If this supposition is correct, then perhaps
the Magi made a connection between the appearance of the star and a passage
from the Book of Numbers (24:17a), which reads, “…a star shall come out of
Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.”
Since there had been a significant and continuing Jewish presence in
Babylon since the days of the captivity of the Jews (from 586 – 538 BC), it’s
possible that the Magi had a copy of the Book of Numbers. It’s possible that they had access to the
entire five books of Moses, the Torah, as well.
If the Magi were not only collectors of information and wisdom from a
number of different sources, but if they were also learned scholars who sought
to “connect the dots” between various sources of information and knowledge,
then they may have been the “wise men” of their age.
- They are highly placed members of their society: The gifts that were presented to the Christ child suggest that these visitors were possessed of a considerable degree of wealth, denoting, perhaps, that they were among the upper echelons of their society (perhaps part of a royal court in Babylon or Arabia?). Furthermore, they are possessed of the means to make a journey from wherever they came to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem.
Now what is the meaning of their visit?
As we attempt to make a judgment about the meaning of their
visit, it’s important to remember that every passage of Holy Scripture seeks to
impart some truth about God and about God’s interaction with human beings.
Approaching the visit of the Magi from this perspective, we
can reasonably come to the following conclusions:
- The Magi take notice, while others don’t: I don’t have a better way of stating this
truth, the truth that the Magi saw the star, and made a connection to a royal
birth, perhaps relying on the passage from the Book of Numbers cited a moment
ago. So they come to Jerusalem and ask
King Herod where the “King of the Jews” has been born. This question is an entirely logical one, for
the Magi come to the royal palace and ask – essentially – if the King Herod has
become the father of a new child who will inherit the throne. Of course, Herod’s reaction shows that he takes
the Magi’s question to be an indication that perhaps there is an impostor who’s
been born somewhere in his kingdom. So
he consults the Scribes and asks if there are any predictions about the birth
of a rival to his place on the throne, and – perhaps – reflecting some of the
messianic expectations that some in the Jewish community harbor, Herod asks the
scribes if there is a specific prediction about the birth of the Messiah, the
Christ. They answer with a combination
of a quote from Micah 5: 2 and II Samuel 5: 2, saying that the Messiah will be
born in Bethlehem. Up to the point of
the Magi’s question, no one in the official circles of the Jewish people had
taken notice of the birth of one who would be proclaimed as king…it was these
Gentile visitors who had taken notice.
- The visit of the Magi prefigures the coming of the Gentiles to Christ: As time went along, the Good News (Gospel) of Jesus Christ spread throughout the known world. But in large measure, it was the Gentiles who noticed that Good News and who responded to it. So the pattern begun by the Magi was to become the pattern of response by people generally. Indeed, the Lord’s final comments to His eleven disciples who were gathered together with Him after the resurrection foretell this worldwide focus, as the Lord says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28: 19–20, generally known as the Great Commission)
In the ancient world, religion was – to some extent at least
– a matter of one’s cultural and ethnic identity. The idea that God’s desire to be in
relationship with peoples across cultural and ethnic identities was a fairly
radical one. But that was the message
brought to people everywhere by the coming of Jesus Christ, for God’s Good News
was meant for everyone, everywhere.
Praise to God, whose plan for all humankind includes Jews
and non-Jews, Gentiles like you and me.
AMEN.
[1] This event is remembered in the
commemoration of the Holy Innocents, observed on December 28th each
year.
