What did they come to see? I can imagine this was the
question that Herod asked these three strangers from the East. What could have
brought them from their far-off places and far-off cultures so distant and
other, to come to Israel?
Matthew’s
Gospel, of course tells us a star led them. And while they knew that they were
travelling to pay homage to a king—the fact that they were apparently kings
themselves makes me wonder why it would matter at all.
Honestly, most
of what we know about these men comes from tradition. As we’ve just read,
Matthew’s Gospel really doesn’t tell us much about them. However, what becomes
evident from the text (and perhaps the most important thing about this story)
is that these men were not from Israel. All the same, they understood that the
birth of Jesus was something extraordinary and something for the world.
It’s an
interesting story but it appropriately marks the beginning of the season of
Epiphany—this season of Light and revelation. It makes this very nice
transition from the birth narrative of Christmas, and draws us into the
miracles and mysteries of Christ.
Epiphany, as you probably know is the
season when we recall the revelations of God (also called theophanies)—God’s
in-breaking into our reality. We also read about these manifestations in the
miracles and signs that Jesus did. Of course the most profound of these
theophanies is the birth of Jesus himself, the Incarnation of God.
But what did these wise men come to
see? It’s not as if they could have guessed all that Jesus would become or what
he would do, much less what he would mean for all of Creation… Then again, even
those of us who know the stories can’t really fathom all that Jesus is.
So, perhaps we could ask ourselves
the question: What have we come to see? What brings us from our homes to be
here every Sunday? I mean, sure we know that church attendance is one of the
items on the checklist for being a good Christian. But a checklist really isn’t
a very good reason to waste a perfectly good Sunday…
Instead, I believe it’s something far
deeper. In fact, I would say that we come here for the same reason that the
Wise Men followed the star. There was a profound mystery that called out to them
and drew them deeper into the greater mysteries of God.
The thing about mysteries and signs
is that they call us out of our places of comfort. They also call us inward, to
a deeper place to try to understand what it is that compels us. But the
mysteries of God call us to come together to share our experiences of God, and
together try to understand their greater significance. It’s like the old Indian
proverb about the blind men experiencing an elephant. Each of them feels a
different part—ears, tusks, legs, tail. When they later compare notes, they
find their in complete disagreement about what the elephant is like. The point
being, that if they would have shared their collective experience, a fuller
picture of what the elephant is would have emerged.
This, I think, is where the idea of
being spiritual but not religious fails. Because outside of religious
tradition, we can easily mistake our spiritual experiences with the divine as
something for ourselves only. Whereas religious tradition calls us to
relationship and responsibility for one another. It gives us a place to come
together to try to figure out just what our experiences with God in Jesus
Christ really mean. And in this way, by sharing our experiences and revelations
of God, we get a fuller understanding of who God is—and inevitably draws us
closer together as a community of faith.
We really only have Church tradition
and legend to tell us what might have happened to the Wise Men after they
returned to their respective countries. We can’t say for sure whether or not
they ever really understood who Jesus is. But their willingness to be called
out to follow a star to find out the meaning and significance of a divine mystery
should inspire us. What mysteries have
called us here? How can we share them for the benefit of the whole Church?
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