Geneva Presbyterian Church

Weekly Sermon

January 6, 2002 - "Were They Wise Men or Kings?"

The Reverend Anne Benefield

Geneva Presbyterian Church

Matthew 2:1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'" Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and then knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. Prayer: Gracious God, may your light shine on us as we explore this passage, illuminating it in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. I have a friend named Buddy Ennus who retired a few years ago after being the long-term pastor of the Bronxville Reformed Church, a big and lovely church. He loved telling how every Christmas Eve they had an elaborate live nativity with donkeys, sheep, and a camel, along with a full cast of Mary, Joseph, a real baby, and all the other people who came to Bethlehem. One year there was a small accident. A wise man knocked over a candle and a fire broke out. The fire was quickly put out, but in the meantime, a fire alarm notified the fire station which summoned a fire engine with a full cast of firefighters. When the firefighters arrived one of them angrily said, "You wise men have been causing problems all over town tonight!" Yes, the wise men do cause lots of problems. One of the problems they cause for ministers is that their story is so familiar that when the story is read most people tune out. We start thinking about lunch and all the things we need to get done today. We don't listen because we are sure we know the story. I wonder, though, do we really know this story, as Matthew tells it? Maybe, maybe not. We may be more familiar with the legends than the story itself. For example, how many magi were there? Most of us think there were three. We always see and sing about three kings, but the biblical account does not give a number. The legends say there were three. What are the names of the magi? The Bible doesn't give names to them, but legends have named them Melchoir, Gaspar, and Balthasar. Where they kings? We sing, "We three kings of Orient are…" The Bible never says that they were kings. It calls them "magi." The story of the magi is one of the most powerful and memorable in the Bible. It has grown through legend, but it was a very powerful story before the legends took hold. Let's take a look beneath the legends to the original story. Let's start with the question of the magi. Many English Bibles translate the Greek word "magi" as "wise men." That is not accurate. Brian P. Stoffregen in Exegetical Notes at Crossmarks writes: "Perhaps because these visitors from the East are such good models of faith, we have been afraid to really present them for what they were. Originally in Persia, magi were dream interpreters. By Jesus' time, the term referred to astronomers, fortunetellers, or stargazers. In fact, the words 'magic' and 'magician' come from the word 'magi'. They were not so much respectable 'wise men' or 'kings' but horoscope fanatics-a practice condemned by Jewish standards. We might compare them to people in fortune-teller booths, or people on the 'psychic hotline' or other 'occupations' that fore-tell the future by stars, tea leaves, Tarot cards, etc." In essence, to the early Jewish reader, the magi would be the epitome of Gentile idolatry and religious hocus-pocus. For us, they might best be described as seekers. They were looking for God; they had a hunger for the Spirit; they were searching for meaning. Why did they follow the star? Because the magi understood stars. Magi looked for and understood signs in the sky. A special star made sense to them. The passage tells us that they came from the east and that they saw the star in the east at its rising. The sign came to them. God got their attention in a way that they understood and in the place where they were. So if the magi were searching and the star led them, what does this story have to do with us today? I think it raises some important issues. First, the story tells us that God is concerned with the searchers, the unchurched. I remember a mystifying problem that we had when I was working in a church in New Jersey. We began getting phone bills for calls made to a psychic hotline. The situation was so uncomfortable because it meant that someone in our church was calling a psychic hotline. I was embarrassed that one of our parishioners was relying on psychics instead of faith. It took a long time to find out who was making the calls. When I found out I talked to the persons and over time that person paid the bills. After thinking about the story of the magi, I realize that my attitude was not at all like God's attitude. I wanted to shun the parishioner-who was essentially a magi, but God wants to bring the magi-the searcher-into the church. God is searching for the searching. Look at how God works with the unchurched. God sent a star to attract the attention of the magi. The magi only followed the star so far. The star didn't actually lead them to Jerusalem. They went to Jerusalem because that is where they thought they would find a baby king. They made a false assumption. It is interesting to me how they got back on track. They went to Herod and he called in the chief priests and scribes and they went to the scriptures for the answer. The message is that the searcher can only get so far. At some point the searcher needs the Bible and someone to guide him in the faith. As we think about this story, I believe we can hear God's calling. God calls us to look for the searchers. Where are the unchurched? There are plenty of searchers right here in Potomac. Your neighbor may be a searcher. Your co-worker could be a searcher. Do your friends and family know what your faith means to you? We Presbyterians get a little self conscious when we talk about faith, but that is because we have the idea that we have to convince everyone to believe just like we do. We don't. All we are called to do is to speak from the heart. The Spirit does the rest. The important thing is to be looking for the searchers and open to them. God used the star to attract the magi. What will attract searchers today? The events of the past few months have brought clarity to this question. People are looking for meaning in their lives. They are looking for a context for life that helps them be stronger, finer people. They are looking for something to believe in that calls them beyond themselves. They are looking for faith and that is what we have to share with them. They aren't sure where to look, but we can help. There once was a king named Ebrahim bin Adam. He was wealthy according to every earthly measure, but he sincerely and restlessly strove to be wealthy spiritually, too. "One night the king was roused from sleep by a fearful stumping on the roof above his bed. Alarmed, he shouted, 'Who's there?' 'A friend,' came the rely from the roof. 'I've lost my camel.' Perturbed by such stupidity, Ebrahim screamed, 'You fool! Are you looking for a camel on the roof?' 'You fool!' the voice from the roof answered. 'Are you looking for God in silk clothing, and lying on a golden bed?'" The story goes on to tell how these simple words filled the king with such terror that he arose from his sleep to become a most remarkable saint. [Walter G. Burghardt, Still Proclaiming Your Wonders: Homilies for the Eighties (New York: Paulist Press, 1984), 55] Until very recently it was quite possible for us to fool ourselves into thinking that we could find God in silk clothing and luxurious offices, but we were reminded on September 11, that God is not found in things. We have been blessed with faith, so we always knew deep down that God is found in the baby born in Bethlehem. The searchers, like the magi, need help getting to God. We must help them. The power of this story comes down to being willing to invite searchers into our homes and our church. We have been given faith not to guard it, but to share it. In a few minutes we will share in communion. At the table we are fed not just for our own edification. We are fed that we would have the strength to go out on the highways and byways and bring home the searchers. Let us bring light to them .