Fans from the East

First Lesson: Isaiah 60: 1-6
Responsive Reading: Psalm 72: 1-7, 10-14
Second Lesson: Ephesians 3: 1-12
​Gospel Lesson: Matthew 2: 1-12

---

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
A few weeks ago, I was watching the Vikings play the Cincinnati Bengals.  What you need to know about the Bengals is this; they weren’t having a good season (5-8) heading into the game, having lost their most recent game 33-7 to the 3-9 Chicago Bears.  Driving from Cincinnati to Minneapolis would take 10 ½ hours.  So because of all these things, you hardly saw much of the Bengals colors of orange and black in a sea of purple on this day.  As My Dad and I looked around, we saw the occasional Bengal fan often sitting alone.  The Bengal followers didn’t have much to cheer about on this day; the Vikings won 34-7.  I couldn’t help but admire the Bengal fans for coming into such a foreign environment because they wanted to do nothing more than support their favorite football team regardless of the odds.
 
Now as we hear the tale of the Cincinnati Bengals fans, our Gospel lesson tells us the tale of another group of foreigners coming to a strange land in the Biblical Magi. 
 
We often misunderstand the Magi as Biblical characters.  In spite of the song “We Three Kings.”, The Magi probably weren’t kings.  The Greek word for King (Va-see-lias) is not used here, whereas (Va-see-lias) is used other places within the New Testament[1].  There is no evidence within the story that Magi are Kings of any kind.  Describing the Magi as wise is probably not the best description for reasons, we’ll get into in a little bit.   
 
So if they weren’t Kings or Wise Men, who then were the Biblical Magi who came to visit Jesus bearing gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.  Magi comes from the Greek term for Magician[2].  Magi appear a few other places in the New Testament both with negative contexts.  Simon the Magi appears in Acts 8, Simon is noted for opposing the apostle before converting.  Elymas the Magi appear in Acts 13 opposes Paul and Barnabas.  Magi in Jesus’ day were known for engaging in things like fortune-telling, and astrology[3].  Even in a story involving an unwed mother, and wandering shepherds, the Magi are the most unique characters within the story of Jesus’ birth.
 
The reason why has everything to do with the Magi’s backgrounds.  From where do the Magi come?  The roots of the word Magi are Persian which would be in modern day Iran.  Magi were traditionally the Priestly class of Zoroastrianism[4].  Magi as a key part of their religious practice would pay attention to the stars as a way of interpreting the astrological significance. 
 
So how do the Magi fit into our Gospel story?  One night while looking at the sky, they see a star rising.  Now in the Magi’s world a rising star that such a sign would speak to the birth of a world-changing leader, so they proceed to travel a thousand plus miles to see the newly born Christ child.
So remember when I said earlier that the Magi weren’t all that wise?  They lacked what some might call “political-savvy[5]?”  As soon as they arrive in Judea, they visit King Herod.  Here’s what you need to know about King Herod as pointed out by Jan Schnell Rippentrop[6].
 
Herod’s career had been building to this moment.  He began his career as a Governor, was promoted to tetrarch then eventually becomes King.  The Magi show up to Herod’s palace then ask Herod “Where can your replacement be found so that we may follow him?”  Herod was a jealous type. Herod had been rising in the political world for years perhaps even decades by this point.   Herod hoped the Magi would return with any information they found so that Herod may kill any potential threat to his throne.  The Magi not being very wise agreed to return to Herod giving descriptions where this child was.  So the Magi not being very wise could have quickly ended the story?  Yet God had other plans. 
 
So the Magi kept following the rising star until it came to rest over the place where the child was.  The Magi bow down and worship the child.  They then proceed to present their gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. Whether there were just three Magi or three gifts isn’t entirely clear. 
So as the Magi are ready to leave the Christ’s child presence to return to Herod, something happens.  In these days, dreams were considered a way that God communicates with his people[7].  Similar to Mary and Joseph learn in a dream of the need to flee Herod to Egypt; the Magi learn in a dream to avoid the presence of Herod by returning home via a different road. 
So what do we learn from the story of the Biblical Magi Today??
 
The Main point of their presence is that God does not intend to work in the future as he has in the past.  The Magi were probably not Jews.  They were not working in a respectable Jewish profession[8].  What we do know though is they were willing to travel to the ends of the earth, into hostile territory like Cincinnati Bengal fans only their purpose was to worship and honor the birth of a king like the world had never known.  The Magi had been looking at the stars for generations trying to find answers until God knew the time was right to bring them to the presence of the Christ child. 
 
Once upon a time, there was a little boy who ran away from home[9].  His father watched him run out of the house and wasn’t going to stand idle.  So the Father decided that he would follow the boy at a distance so that he could see the boy, but the boy could not see him.  Pretty soon the night falls, pretty soon the sky grows so dark that the boy could barely see.  The Father sees his boy is now terrified with fear.  The boy soon turns to get home, when he realizes that he’s lost, the boy then begins to cry.  It was at this moment though when his father came and embraced him.  The little boy shouts for joy “Daddy, I found you?”  As we hear the story of the Magi, we ponder the question is “Who really found who?”  The Magi didn’t so much find the Christ child, as the Christ child found the Magi. 
 
Perhaps the main point of our lesson is God can move even stars within our life when he needs to.  The most important thing to move stars for is so that the lost get found by the presence of the savior. 
 
Today, we celebrate the first Sunday of Epiphany.  Epiphany is a celebration of Christ revealing himself to all the nations in the presence of the Magi.
 
“There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”-Galatians 3:28. 
 
Epiphany serves as a great reminder to us as Christian people that God is continually using extraordinary means (such as rising stars) to bring all kinds of different people like the Magi into his presence. 
 
Let me close with one final story as we complete Christmas’ twelve days and journey into Epiphany.
 
September 1995, Caryl and Charlie Harvey hear the doorbell ring[10], it was two policeman to tell them that their 20-year-old son Chad had been murdered.
 
Caryl and Charlie in a grief-stricken haze went through the funeral and life in the months after.  Caryl though day by day kept getting angrier at God for how her prayers for Chad’s safety had failed.
 
Caryl one day sits down to pray. “God, if you care about me, I need a miracle[11].  Otherwise, I think I’ll probably die[12].”  Caryl thought not much would happen with this prayer, but pretty soon one night the doorbell rings once again.
 
Caryl’s daughter finds an anonymous gift as she answers the door.  The gift was odd it was a tree branch with apples and a plastic bluebird perched on top. Attached was a note that read the following. 
 
“On the first day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
A partridge in a pear tree.
We couldn’t find a partridge,
And our pear tree died,
So you have to settle for a
Bluebird in an apple tree[13].”
 
Attached to Caryl’s gift was a card with a Bible verse describing the birth of John the Baptist. 
The very next night, the doorbell rings again, but no one is quick enough to answer in time.
The gift the next day was too turtle brand lollipops, and two dove chocolate bars underneath read a note.
 
“On the second day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Two turtledoves[14]”
Attached once again was a Bible verse of Gabriel appearing to Mary[15]. 
 
For the next ten days, the same routine followed[16].  On the third day, with French hens unavailable appeared Cornish hens.  On the fourth day, a cassette tape filled with songs about birds “four calling birds.” On the fifth day, the five golden rings were “five” fresh donuts. On the sixth day, the six geese a laying decided to lay pastel chalk eggs.  On the seventh day, seven swans decided to swim on top of a cake.  On the eight day, the eight maids a milking were a new cow candle.  On the ninth day, the nine dancing ladies had become nine gingerbread women who looked like they enjoy to boogey.  On the tenth day, the ten leaping lords were ten wooden leaping puppets. On the eleventh day, came a tape of music from eleven pied pipers.  On the twelfth day, were twelve drums made out of biscuits for the Harvey family to enjoy.  Each of these gifts was presented with an accompanying Bible verse.
 
Each day, each new gift brought a new smile to Caryl Harvey’s face[17].  For the first time since Chad’s death, Caryl Harvey began anticipating the day to come[18].  Caryl Harvey inspite of how unlikely it was for her to see God’s presence in her life, had just encountered God in the most unexpected and unusual of ways.  The following story is no different than one night a group of Magi from a land far, far away from Bethlehem looked out over the sky, they seemed to not fit into the story in any way, no different than Cincinnati Bengal fans looked at a Vikings game.  What the Magi’s story reminds us is that God’s plan includes all sorts of unexpected people coming into our lives.  Just as one unknown gift-giver gave Caryl Harvey hope for the first time in months after the death of her son.  While we might not encounter any rising stars like the Magi, it never hurts to stand and take a look out upon God’s night sky.   Amen


[1] Stier, Leon. “The Wise Men (part one of two)?” Email Mediations. 27.Dec.2014. Web. Jan.2.2018. 
[2] Stier, Leon. “The Wise Men (part one of two)?”
[3] Stier, Leon. “The Wise Men (part one of two)?”
[4] “Biblical Magi.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 4.Jan.2018. Web. Jan.2.2018. 
[5] Stier, Leon. “The Wise Men (part one of two)?”
[6] Rippentrop, Jan Schnell. “Commentary on Matthew 2:1-12.” Working Preacher. Luther Seminary. 06.Jan.2018. Web. Jan.2.2018.
[7] Rippentrop, Jan Schnell. “Commentary on Matthew 2:1-12.”
[8] Stier, Leon. “The Wise Men (part one of two)?”
[9] Stier, Leon. “The Wise Men (part two of two)?”Email Mediations. 28.Dec.2014. Web. Jan.2.2018. 
[10] Higgins, Scott. “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Stories for Preaching. Web. Jan.2.2018.  The following is taken from Christianity Today, Vol 39, No.6, 2001. 
[11] Higgins, Scott. “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
[12] Higgins, Scott. “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
[13] Higgins, Scott. “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
[14] Higgins, Scott. “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
[15][15] Higgins, Scott. “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
[16] Higgins, Scott. “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
[17] Higgins, Scott. “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
[18] Higgins, Scott. “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”