"By Another Way"
Scripture readings: Isaiah 60:1-6; Matthew 2:1-12
Rev. Ross A. Aalgaard
Sermon on Sunday, January 4, 2004
One of my favorite trivia questions that I like to toss out at this time of year is "How many kings went to the stable to visit baby Jesus in Bethlehem?" This question is something I often ask at holiday parties or as an introduction to teaching the Christmas story. Invariably people get it wrong. If you answered three, you got it wrong too! The answer is none. There were no kings who visited Jesus. They were wise men. Tradition has made them kings but the Bible says they were wise men. We don't know how many wise men there were either, only that there were three gifts. And Jesus was no longer a baby but a toddler. We know Jesus was a toddler because when King Herod inquired as to the time of the appearance of the star so as to determine who he was going to kill, he decided to kill all male children two and under. Furthermore, the story says the wise men went to the house, not the manger. It's just a bit of Bible trivia. Such knowledge won't really change your life or affect your spiritual journey.
Today we observe Epiphany. This is Epiphany Sunday according to the Revised Common Lectionary. Epiphany is actually January 6. The Epiphany, or Manifestation of the Lord, is an even more ancient celebration among Christians than Christmas. It could be regarded as the original Christmas, focusing on the nativity, incarnation, and baptism of Christ.
Epiphany celebrates the coming of the three wise men or magi, who brought gifts to the Christ child. For this reason, in many Latin American countries this day is observed as Three Kings Day (Dia de Los Reyes). It marks the end of the Christmas Cycle. In much of Latin culture, within the church service, this day is celebrated with plays and special songs emphasizing the coming of the wise men and their gifts for the Christ child. In the home the children are told to place boxes filled with hay under their beds so that the camels will eat the hay and the wise travelers will leave presents for the children.
Who were the wise men and what is the significance of this story? These men came from an area around the River Euphrates where Babylon once was and Iraq now stands. They were a religious caste -- scholars trained in philosophy, astronomy, astrology, medicine, and the natural sciences.
The wise men were aware of the promise of a special King. A number of prophecies had been given and passed on with which they would be familiar. One example is that of Balaam, a wizard who lived along the River Euphrates. Balaam had been asked by the King of Moab to curse Israel. His donkey, having more sense than he, tried to prevent him. It’s kind of a fun story with Balaam’s donkey talking long before Mr. Ed. But Balaam was a stubborn one and went ahead anyway. However instead of a curse coming out of his mouth, a blessing did. A part of this blessing, according to the story, was the coming of a star. In Numbers 24:17 we read, "A star will come out of Jacob, and a scepter will rise out of Israel." A star in that part of the world would signify a special person and a scepter, a person who would rule with authority.
Another story is from the time of Israel's captivity in Babylon. Daniel, a Hebrew, had been made part of the order of the wise men belonging to the court of King Nebuchanezzar. King Nebuchanezzar had a dream and called his wise men to interpret it for him. Daniel then prophesied of a coming kingdom that would be different than all others. Daniel predicted that after a succession of kingdoms, which we know as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, the Kingdom of God would come and supplant all others.
We might assume that the wise men simply counted the succession of kingdoms and based on Daniel’s prophecy they knew they were in the right time for the king to come. Being religious people the wise men were anticipating the coming Messiah. Therefore, knowing they were within the general time frame they looked for a specific sign. Being astronomers and astrologers they would watch the heavens. As they waited something happened -- a star appeared. They remembered, "A star will come out of Jacob" and made the connection.
With this sign the wise men loaded their camels and began the journey to find the newborn king. Our traditional stories have the wise men following the star but actually they only saw it at the birth of Jesus and then it disappeared. Most likely they would not have ended up at Herod’s palace if the star had been leading them. It is as they are leaving Herod that the star "which they had seen" reappeared. Matthew reports they were overjoyed at seeing the star. You don't get overjoyed about something that you have been watching for months. No, the star reappeared and led them specifically to the house where they found Jesus with Mary his mother.
It's fun to examine this gospel reading and to poke at folklore and traditions, but what is the significance of this story? There is significance. Look at the great effort God has gone to in expanding the Holy Community to the entire world – to all people. Through prophecies, dreams, Israel's captivity in Babylon, and the glory of divine revelation, God reached out to gather every nation and all people into one kingdom of peace.
William Willimon, chapel pastor at Duke University, drives home the concept that Jesus brought God’s kingdom of peace, God’s holy community, to every culture, every nation, every race, and all people with a story.
A new young associate pastor found it his responsibility to do the Children’s Sermon one Sunday morning. It just so happened to be Epiphany Sunday. This young associate pastor, though, was unsure exactly what the purpose of the children’s sermon was supposed to be – and on top of that he was unprepared – so he decided to just wing it. He gathered up a map of the Holy Land and when it came time for the Children’s moment he called the children down and began asking them about Epiphany. He asked them if they knew what was the story of Epiphany. One boy said, "It is the story of the three kings from the East. The young pastor asked where the East was. None of the children knew. He showed them the map of the Holy Land and asked if any of the children could point out where the three kings had come from. One boy said that he thought the kings were from Persia. The associate pastor smiled and said, "Yes – you’re right – now where is Persia here on the map?" But the children were unable to find it. The associate pastor went on to say that Persia is not on this map because Persia is no longer around. But its capital city would now be found in Iraq. One child said, "Iraq is where the war is. That’s where our soldiers are and where people are getting killed." The associate pastor said yes. Then he asked his final question. "Children," he said, "Do you know what Epiphany is really all about?" The children shook their heads unsure about where he was going with this. The associate pastor said, "Epiphany is the day that we thank God for sending three Iraqis to visit the baby Jesus. We thank God for sending the three magi – magi is short for magician – and being that there was a star over the manger – we also know that they were star watchers – or astrologers. We thank God that God sent us these pagan, magicians who came from Iraq and visited the baby Jesus – because without them we wouldn’t have known that Jesus had been born. Now, I want you to go back to your seats." The parents in the congregation shifted uncomfortably in their pews as the children came back – shocked at what the associate had said – shocked about what had been said in church.
The arrival of the instigator of the Community of God, Jesus, was announced by the angels, celebrated by Shepherds, and spread throughout the world by pagan evangelists. God didn’t proclaim the birth of Jesus in one way. God used a variety of messengers in various ways. The kingdom of peace, the Community of God, reaches beyond boundaries, to those of other cultures, races, nations, and even religions.
God used a star to lead the magi to Jesus and in their travels they announced the arrival of this special child. The magi continued to follow God’s direction and spread the news of the arrival of God’s new Community and it’s infant king even further traveling home by another way. That’s easy for us to accept, because we are somewhat removed from it. We are excited about diversity and accepting cultural and racial differences. So the story of the magi is a comfortable story.
But remember the magi were used of God because they were willing to follow God’s leading in their travels even as far as being lead by another way. These magi take us even further. They take us by another way.
God may lead us by another way. In fact, each of us may be lead by God by another way. To limit God’s approach to our traditions and ideals or our nation and region or our race or orientation is to miss out on the fullness of God and the vastness of God’s design. The magi were not Judean Jews but Babylonian Pagans. They weren’t Israelis or citizens of the United States instead they were Iraqis. And yet, God used them. They were willing to be used of God, to be lead by God, to go by another way.
Baptist tradition declares that Jesus is the head of the church. No individual has sole authority. Instead, we all have a voice under Jesus the Christ who is the only authority. It is Jesus who is the leader of the church, the unifying factor for Christians in their spiritual journeys. However, how God leads us in our journeys with Jesus is as unique as the snowflakes that fall during our winters or as our fingerprints. The leading of God may lead us in our journey with Jesus by another way.
Imagine that the shepherds and the magi of the Christmas story met. What if the shepherds had said, "Well, you’re too late. You really didn’t experience the depth of joy that comes from God because Jesus is too old now. You needed to be here sooner. You didn’t make it to the real place of worship – the manger. Besides, you’re not Jewish. Did angels appear to you? If you don’t have angels appear to you, then your worship is not true and you really don’t have the joy of Jesus in your life." Or how about the magi making demands of the shepherds like giving gifts of great value to Jesus. We know that this is ridiculous. Both experiences, though different, are valid.
The shepherds were poor, working class individuals. They were not well respected in their culture. They were Jewish. The magi were philosophers, astronomers, and magicians. They were from Iraq and were educated and esteemed. They possessed great wealth. Yet, both experienced joy and worshipped Jesus. They traveled by another way, but came to the same king who is the prince of peace, the deliverer of the oppressed, and the founder of a new society.
By trying to make everyone’s journey with Jesus look the same, we not only limit the vastness of God, but we make God too small. We miss the message that God leads by another way. The magi going by another way and spreading the good news of Jesus beyond borders is not the only significant aspect of this lesson. The sharing of the Gospel is done in many ways is not all there is to this story. For us, at Judson, it challenges us even further. As we struggle with the value and meaning of journeying with Jesus, the magi in the Christmas story remind us that there is not just one way to approach Jesus, but Jesus can be approached by another way. It may not be your way, but it is a valid way.
One pattern is not for everyone on the journey. Your journey with Jesus may be very different from someone else’s, because you have traveled by another way. Your journey doesn’t have to look like anybody else’s journey, but it is valid and important. Your travels by another way can give our faith community a bigger picture of God and help us in becoming the diverse people God wants us to be.
Epiphany is the proclamation to the world that Jesus has arrived, hope has come to the hopeless and light into the darkness. On this Epiphany Sunday are we willing to travel our spiritual journeys by another way? Are we willing to accept that each of us has already taken our journeys with Jesus by another way? Isn’t that what makes us different from any place else? Amen.