Christmas is over. Well, if you go to any shopping center you’ll be convinced that its over! I was at Target today and saw both Valentines and St. Patricks Day items! A week ago the Christmas section was full and bustling and now it has 75% off signs all over! Christmas is over for the retailers but for those of us who claim the name of Jesus Christmas is not officially over.
The Christian calendar looks at Christmas not as the days leading up to the 25th (that’d be Advent) nor does it look at a single day for the celebration of Christmas. Instead, Christmastide lasts from the 25th till around January 6th – the day that is called Epiphany. We generally celebrate this end of the season on the sunday prior to the 6th (which is this sunday).
Epiphany is ultimately a celebration of the realization of who Jesus is – God’s Son. The days of Christmastide are a time of celebration and a time for joy, but they are also a time to reflect on the incarnation of God. Epiphany celebrates 3 events in the life of Jesus: the arrival of the Magi, the Baptism of Jesus and the first miracle at Cana. These three events are linked in that they are moments when Jesus’ divinity was revealed to humanity. Each of these marked a time change in the life of Jesus, they introduced him to the world at large as someone to pay attention too.
The Story of the Magi is where I’d like to stay for a while in this blog. Despite popular Christmas songs and ideas, it’s most likely that the Magi, these astrologers from the far East, came and visited Jesus not at the manger scene, not when he was an infant. Matthew 2 indicates that when the magi finally came to Jesus, he and the family were already in a home and he was n0 longer called an infant but a child. It’s possible he was anywhere between 1 and 2.
The magi, star gazers, are watching the stars and their orbit and they see a celestial event that demands they research and move. It then took them a while to organize their party and then travel the great distance from as far east as modern day India to get to Jerusalem. As professional star gazers they would have researched the meaning of such a celestial event and undoubtedly there were good Jews still living in Persia from the time of the exile. They would have mention Messiah and his coming as a King of the Jews. The Magi set off for Jerusalem for this is where a king was sure to be born.
Upon arriving at Jerusalem the magi, these learned star gazers, meet with the king. Herod is a jealous and crazed individual. He does not see this as good news but a threat to his order and leadership. He commissions the magi to go and worship but to report back to him. The magi head off to Bethlehem and find the child and they worship Him and they give extravagant gifts of Gold and Myrrh and Frankincense. As the magi finish they quietly set back off for home – ignoring Herod’s desire for information (which of course leads Herod to make all of Bethlehem drown in despair).
I can’t but stay with these two groups of characters – King Herod and the Magi. One who was royalty and lived in grand fashion. One who was so scared of losing power that he had wives and children murdered because he feared their threat. The other(s) had left home and security to venture out and journey a great distance and at great personal cost to meet a mystery. They were not threatened, but wanted to come and see what this amazing event could possibly mean.
The magi were wise and educated. They were wealthy and were well thought of in their home land. They traveled with a great entourage and they brought with them great gifts that would undoubtedly have made them a target to robbers and thieves. When they finally arrive at the home of Mary, Joseph and Jesus, these upper crust, these elite figures bow low and worship. Herod the king of the Jews was looking for a king, but was looking to destroy any threat to his reign. The Magi were looking for the king and when they saw him they were moved to adoration.
Epiphany is the celebration of God being revealed to the nations – to all who are looking and searching for God – through the incarnation! The eastern church calls this day the great Theophany – when God became flesh and was then made known. We’ve been through christmas and we’ve celebrated the birth, but have we spent time with the incarnation? What exactly happens to us when we realize that the creator of the universe became flesh? Does it move us to protect what is ours or does it move us to worship?
What can we learn from the worship of the Magi and how can we celebrate the revealing of the Messiah to the world?