In many Christian community celebrations of Christmas, there is the annual pageant with the long parade of all of the characters found in both Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts of the birth of Jesus. Many of us who are gathered here this morning may have first-hand knowledge of being a part of this grand tradition. Some of us may have experienced being angels, shepherds, Mary or Joseph. I have experienced the great honor, both as a child and as an adult, of being one of the wise men.
In this morning’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew (2:1-12) we once again have heard the story of the three “wise men from the East who came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?’’”[1] Now, this may seem to most of us a simple enough question to ask, after all – they are not from the local area and are just looking for directions. But I would like us to consider a few other details this morning during our time of reflection on this story from Matthew’s Gospel.
First, I will ask us to look at the title given to the three principal men of this story – they are called “wise-men” not the “Three Kings.” Actually the title of “Three Kings” is given to these “wise-men” by more modern people. Most likely they are remembering what the prophet Isaiah had written, “Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”[2]
Second, if they really are “wise men” wouldn’t they have known that Jerusalem already had a King – King Herod? Wouldn’t they also have known that the entire area was under the direct control of the Roman Empire? They may have been wise men, but they were also expecting that the “new king” would be an insider.
Now when Herod heard about these men searching all about for a “new king,” he and the rest of the population of Jerusalem became frightened. I can think of at least two good reasons for becoming frightened: (1) If Herod was going to be replaced, then what would happen to Herod himself? And (2) If Herod was going to be replaced, then how would the Romans react to all of Jerusalem over this news?
Those who are in power are never really happy to hear that someone else is going to be coming into power, or usurping their power. They will take actions to stop it!
Well, as our story continues Herod has told them to continue their search, and then to return to him so that he might go and pay homage. I’m guessing that Herod is not feeling that these three men are really wise men after all. Herod is sending them to find the one whom he believes will be the one to overthrow him, and he thinks that they can’t see through this plan.
Okay. So the three wise men continue to follow the star, and they eventually find Mary and the child Jesus. They give him their three gifts: Gold, which has always been a symbol of wealth; Frankincense, which is an incense that was being used during worship in the Jerusalem Temple; and Myrrh, which was used by the ancient Egyptians for the embalming of mummies. Yes, these were very expensive gifts … gifts indeed fit for a king. And so, these men really did believe that Jesus was going to be the new king.
And here comes the hard part ... not the part about three wise men having enough intelligence to follow a message sent to them by the Creator of all that is, but rather what are you going to do about this message? Are you going to pretend in your everyday life that the message of hope and salvation is only for the “chosen” few? Or are you going to answer the call to share your faith with all that you meet?
Yes, I do believe that the three men in this story were wise men. I also believe that they understood that even Herod deserved to hear the true message of hope and salvation that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit call each one of us to share with all of our brothers and sisters.
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