Sunday Sermon - 5 January
Today we celebrate Epiphany (which is actually tomorrow, January 6). In our western Christian tradition the Epiphany is considered the end of the Christmas festival season, the 12th day of Christmas. I don’t know about you, but it doesn’t feel like Christmas was already 11 days ago.
The Epiphany is the day when we hear about the visit of the three Kings, or more appropriately, the three Magi, to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. The reason I say these three men are more appropriately referred to as Magi is because the word Matthew used was ‘Magoi’ which refers to a class of priests, likely Persian followers of Zoroastrianism, who were astrologers and dream interpreters. They were learned men from the East who had the gift of wisdom and, it was believed, had the capacity to predict or foretell the future. They weren’t kings but in the telling of the story throughout history and in reference to the ancient prophecies of ‘kings’ honouring the baby Messiah, this title became attributed to them.
The story that we are most familiar with is that these Magi followed a bright shining star that led them to the site of the birth of the “King of the Jews.” This miraculous event is celebrated because it is the first acknowledgement that Jesus is the Messiah, not just for the Jews but for the Gentiles (the non-Jews) and the three Magi are the first recipients of this revelation. That’s why the day is called the Epiphany, from the original Greek word, to reveal. On this day, Christ is revealed to the Magi as the Messiah for all peoples. It is indeed a special day.
I can’t think of the story of the Magi without also thinking about the song Carol of the Drum, or most popularly known as The Little Drummer Boy. I’m sure you all know the song, about a poor little shepherd boy who is summoned by the Magi to honour the ‘newborn King’ but has nothing to give but the beat of his drum and a song. It’s a touching song that was turned into a movie in the late 1960’s.
The reason the song and the movie are so touching is because we have three great and wise high priests with their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, gifts of extravagance and wealth, while the little boy is poor. He has nothing but the beat of his drum, which he plays to Mary’s satisfaction and the baby smiles in appreciation of this kind gift. The Little Drummer Boy highlights that the real wealth is in the gift of love. I’d also like to contend that, like the Drummer Boy, the greatest gift the Magi gave to Jesus was not their tokens of wealth and prosperity but an act of kindness.
A lot of the story we read in Matthew gets overlooked because, well, it’s not very nice, but in my opinion it should absolutely be discussed and highlighted as an important part of the Epiphany account.
Let’s start at the beginning.
The Magi don’t follow the star directly to Bethlehem. In fact, they saw the great star rising and it brought them to Jerusalem first. When they arrive in Jerusalem they begin to ask around, looking for the newborn baby who is to be “King of the Jews”. Herod, King of Judea, gets wind of this. Herod has a reputation of being both a paranoid and tyrannical king, who even killed his own sons and other family members because he was threatened by them. King Herod secretly summons the Magi and tasks them to find the baby and report back to him about Jesus’ whereabouts so he can go and “pay homage” to this newborn king - but we know he really wants to kill Jesus, as Herod sees him as a future threat to his throne.
So what do the Magi do?
Once they see that the star has stopped, they go and visit the baby, honouring him with gifts from their treasure chest.
What don’t the Magi do?
They don’t go and report back to Herod, because they were tipped off in a dream, as Magi often are. They go home discreetly another way and ‘poof’ they’re gone. We don’t hear about them at any other point in Matthew who, by the way, is the only one who even mentions the Magi in his Gospel.
It’s important to note that Herod was a pretty powerful king with a lot of influence and, even though it isn’t mentioned, it was definitely in the Magi’s best interest to do what Herod asked and report back to him about Jesus’ location as he requested. Doing Herod’s bidding would have helped them both financially and politically, but they chose otherwise. This is why I believe that the greatest gift the Magi gave to Jesus wasn’t their gold, frankincense or myrrh. The greatest gift the Magi gave to Jesus was their silence, their choice of selfless kindness.
Like the story of the Little Drummer Boy, we are reminded that the most important and impactful gifts we bring to life are not riches, but selfless acts of kindness. The Magi’s memorable greatness wasn’t in their roles as so-called kings, their greatness comes from making the right choice at the right moment and for the right reason. Regardless of the consequences the choice may have for them.
There are a variety of definitions for the word Epiphany. Yes, it is the day when Christians celebrate the arrival of the Magi at the stable of Jesus’ birth. It also means the revelation of Jesus as saviour to all peoples, Gentiles and Jews, as Paul speaks about in his letter to the Ephesians. It also means “a moment of sudden revelation or insight.” The Magi had an epiphany that night, they became aware that if they go back and report to Herod, Jesus was doomed to die and that just can’t happen, Jesus had to live. Jesus has to live.
The question I ask myself is: when they made this decision, did they know that Herod was going to order the death of all babies in Bethlehem? If they did, how much more challenging did that make their choice - the life of Jesus for the life of the innocents?
For the record, the historical accuracy of Herod’s slaughter of the innocents is in question as it is not mentioned anywhere else in either the Gospels or other historical factual accounts concerning Herod’s reign, but this is not the point. The point is that the Magi were faced with a challenging ethical choice and they did the right thing.
Like the Magi, we too are faced with choices in life. Ethical choices that pit financial or social success against that which is moral, that which is just and right. Like the Magi, we are reminded to stop, think, pray, and listen for God to come to us, just as God came to the Magi in their dream.
Today, on this feast of the Epiphany, we read the story of three great men who are revered as kings throughout history. As we read of their place in the story of Christ we are reminded that their greatness didn’t come from their gifts of wealth but rather from their gift of selfless kindness, of doing the right thing even if it may not have been in their own best interest.
Today, on this feast of Epiphany, I ask you what gifts you bring Christ? To the Christ we see everyday in those around us and even to the Christ that exists in ourselves?
In our world today, when we see so-called leaders stop at nothing to achieve greatness, to gain financial wealth and political power, we are reminded what true greatness really is. That humble saviour baby in the manger showed us true greatness. Those wealthy Magi also showed us the real meaning of greatness. They knew that their wealth was not the source of their power. They gave their gifts, but the greatest gift of all, the real source of their greatness, was in their kindness. It was in their act of goodness.
If one is searching for greatness, they are lost. God does not call us to greatness. God calls us to goodness. It is in our acts of goodness that we may be seen as great to others, but being seen as great isn’t the reason we do good things. We do good things because that is God’s purpose for us, to be selflessly kind and loving.
Epiphany is the celebration of God’s revelation of salvation to all people. Jesus is God’s gift to us.
Epiphany is the celebration of the Magi whose kindness saved Jesus’ life so that he may save ours. Kindness is the Magi’s gift to us.
Epiphany is also the celebration that God’s purpose for us is goodness. Goodness is our gift to share.
Amen.