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Today is Epiphany.
It is the day the wider church celebrates the appearing of Jesus to the
Gentile world (through the Magi), or the time of remembering the baptism
of Jesus. In either case, the reality is that it is the remembering of God’s
revelation and identification with humanity in the person of His one and
only Son, Jesus.
An epiphany is
also a sudden insight or understanding of the essential nature or meaning
of something (e.g. "truth"). It is my hope and prayer that each
of us will have an epiphany regarding God’s nature this day. This is
possible for all people today no matter what relationship, or lack
thereof, that you have with the Creator of all things. However, I will say
that the primary epiphany that we share today is a deeper understanding
regarding God’s love revealed through His Son, Jesus.
Last week, I
asked, "How HOT is your love for God?" I know that some people
gave this significant thought during the week. HOT is the acronym that I
used for HOPE, OBEDIENCE, and THANKSGIVING. Does our faith show our love
for God as HOT?
This week, we
remember that the Magi came to Bethlehem to honor Jesus with gifts. Many
people have depicted the scene with the Magi coming to the stable on the
night of Jesus’, but that is not likely accurate. As we read the text we
note that the Magi come to the "house" where the child was with
his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. It was here that
they presented their gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh. This event likely
took place between the time of Jesus’ birth and two years old.
In remembering the
Magi coming to honor and worship Jesus, I took advantage of the
misperception with some "literary license". "What do you
bring to the (s) table?" We use the idiom, "What do you bring to
the table?" when asking what a person has to offer to a conversation,
or a relationship. I added the "s" to the beginning of table as
a play on words to get us thinking about the shepherds (who did come to
the stable) and the Magi. I ask this in light of last week’s question
because it is the answers to that question of your love for God, which
will determine what you bring to the Table of the Lord.
Let’s look at
this in light of the three types of people that are mentioned in the text.
The two primary characters, or group of characters, are Herod the Great
and the Magi. The other group mentioned is the people of Jerusalem.
First, the Magi
come from an undetermined area from the east – most likely, Babylon.
Their name suggests that they were astrologers (they studied the stars to
understand the mysteries of the universe and how they applied daily life)
and they were wealthy. Tradition suggests that there were three Magi, but
only because of the three gifts. There is no indication as to how many, or
who they were. We are only given that the Magi traveled from the east and
we deduce that they would have traveled with a larger contingent of people
(e.g. a caravan). We note that the star was "in the east",
according to the translations. This however, might be better understood
"when the star arose". If the Magi traveled from the east then
they would have traveled west to come to Jerusalem, and later Bethlehem.
More interesting
than learning that some of our traditions are not accurate, and certainly
more important, is the attitude of the Magi and the way God reached the
non-Jewish world. God’s word to Israel was that they were not to
determine their fate through astrology. Yet, in this story we find that
God spoke to these astrologers in a way that is condemned by God. Does
this mean that God condones sinful action? No, for in this we see the
loving hand of God reaching into the world at a level that they can
understand in order to move them to a knowledge of the truth – so that
they could have an epiphany. Our Lord will always reach out to people at
the level of their need so that they can be saved.
The reaction of
the Magi to God’s leading was one of wonder that led to honoring and
worshipping the Savior and Lord of the world. They rejoiced. They were
brought to a point where they met the God of creation in Jesus and they
response for Him was marked by Hope, Obedience,
and Thanksgiving.
Second, we look at
Herod the Great. Herod was an extremely insecure man. One of the
commentaries noted that Herod killed one of his wives and her two brothers
because he felt they were plotting treason. In addition, he was a man that
married at least nine times to satisfy his lusts and political ambitions.
Herod jealously guarded his position, which had been given to him because
of his relationship with Mark Antony. Herod was the "king of the
Jews" and he would not share that designation with another. Herod was
only half Jewish. This also caused him some insecurity when it came to
dealing with the people in the land. The other half of his ancestry was
descended from Esau, the brother of Jacob (who later was renamed Israel).
When Herod heard
that the Magi came to pay homage to the newborn "king of the
Jews", Herod knew that it had nothing to do with him. Matthew tells
us that the news disturbed him. We read, later, that it disturbed him to
such a degree that he killed all those two years old and younger. As much
as the Magi embraced Jesus, Herod sought his destruction. When Herod had
the Scriptures searched to discover the time and place for the birth of
the Messiah, he did it for the sole purpose of planning a murder. We could
mark Herod’s attitude with Hatred, Obstinate,
and Traitorous. Herod had a HATRED for the truth of God’s
love for His people; he had an OBSTINATE nature when it came to following
God’s word; and, he was a TRAITOR to his people (he was of mixed
heritage, but part of that was Jewish).
Third, we have the
people of Jerusalem. The priests and laity alike were unsettled with the
arrival of the Magi. We’re not given any decisive indicators as to their
being disturbed. Were they disturbed because they were fearful of Herod’s
response to the situation, knowing that a period of political unrest might
unfold? Were they worried about a large caravan of people coming in to pay
homage to one born the king of the Jews? Were they worried about the
potential for revolution against Rome’s tyranny if a descendant of David
was to ascend the throne? More important than the reason for their being
disturbed is the fact that they were troubled and the indication that this
anxiety was not eager expectation is present. Just as Herod was upset by
this turn of events, the people of Jerusalem were also upset.
Let’s look at
the people of Jerusalem as a people filled with Horror, Obsequious,
and Treacherous. They were filled with HORROR over the
things that Herod was going to do (Herod did have all the children two
years old and younger murdered in Bethlehem). They were OBSEQUIOUS –
that is, they were compliant to Herod or fawning over him for fear of
making him angry. They were TREACHEROUS because they were willing to sell
out their heritage as the chosen people of God for the relative peace and
comfort they experienced (better the devil you know than the Savior you
could know) under Herod.
How HOT is your
love for God? What do you bring to the (S) table? Are we like the Magi,
Herod, or the people of Jerusalem?
What our Lord
wants from each of us this day is a faith that is filled with Hope,
Obedience, and Thanksgiving. All that He wants us to bring to the Table is
ourselves. We bring non greater gift to our Lord than to lay down our
lives at the foot of the Cross. He does not desire gold or silver, incense
or myrrh. He wants us to bring ourselves into His presence with confession
of our neediness for His love and forgiveness. What will we bring this
day?
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