Matthew 2:1-11
Today we celebrate the Epiphany of our Lord, which means ‘revelation.’ God revealed to people who were not Jews, whom we call the Wise Men, that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, the Son of God who would reconcile all people to God, Jews and Gentiles.
This is because God so loved the whole world (not just Jews), that he gave his only son so that all who believe in him could be brought back to their loving Father and not perish, but have eternal life.
So the big revelation of this season of Revelation is that God loves you and me in and through this Jesus, this Son of Man and Son of God, whether Jew or non-Jew.
There are many ways to look at this morning’s gospel from about the Wise Men, it is easy to focus on the gifts, but today I want to look at the Wise Men themselves and what happened to them.
So many characters in the Bible remind us of our own strengths and weaknesses. And that is no less true in the Christmas story too. I think we may see ourselves mirrored in the Wise Men.
There are some ideas I want to briefly explore that I think follow on from one another and describe our own stories of faith and God’s revelation to us that Jesus is Lord and God.
Firstly, like the wise men, we are lost without God. Now, we call them wise men but that’s not what the word ‘Magi’ really means. The word ‘Magi’ can mean astrologers or even sorcerers.
But from what we know about these Magi is that they were probably astrologers rather than sorcerers because they knew the stars in the sky so well that they were able to tell when a new one had appeared.
We always assume there were three of them because they had three different gifts, but Scripture doesn’t say that; there might have been two, or ten.
But however many there were, they were lost without God because they believed that people’s personalities and destinies were governed by star signs and the alignment of stars in the sky.
We still see this belief today in horoscopes, and many people sort of have a belief in horoscopes and star signs. But of course, this is incompatible with the Christian faith because as Christians we believe that we are intimately created by God and that it is he who has made us how we are, not a random alignment of stars.
And as Christians, we believe that our destiny is intimately held in God’s hands, not in whether or the moon and the sun and Mercury and Venus are moving in one direction or another.
These Magi were lost in a false system of belief: they were in spiritual darkness. Now many of us at some point believed in something other than God. One of the biggest false beliefs is secular humanism.
We are born and formed not so much due to the collation of planets and stars, but the collation of genes and the society into which we are born. We succeed in this life by making money and creating whatever we want in this life by our own power.
This belief sees humans as capable of anything at all, including the gene to live forever, and do not need an imaginary friend called ‘God.’
But this too is a place of deep spiritual blindness, even worse than the Magi because it filles the believer in it with the most dangerous of all sins – the most dangerous way to separate oneself from God, pride!
But the Magi show us that this spiritual darkness was not the end of the story for them, and neither is it for anyone else.
This is my second point. Because, just like the Magi we have been called by God. The Magi didn’t initiate the journey towards Jesus. It was initiated by God through the star in the sky.
They saw the sign and they followed it: they could have observed it and discussed it and then gone back to their business. But they decided to follow where they were led without really knowing where it was they were heading towards. Isn’t that like us?
God calls us, God draws us out of spiritual darkness towards Jesus and we set out on a spiritual journey towards him that lasts the rest of our lives. We don’t initiate it – it is God’s grace that draws us towards him.
But like the Magi, we need to read the signs for what they are and make a conscious decision to step out on the journey of discipleship.
We don’t know where it is going to lead, we don’t know what adventures God has in store for us, but if we sense that God is drawing us to Jesus then we need to respond and follow.
The Magi were lost in spiritual darkness, but God called them onto a spiritual journey that would lead them to Christ.
Finally, the Magi were really committed to that quest. We don’t know exactly where the Magi came from, probably Persia, modern day Iran or Turkmenistan – culturally and physically remote from the eastern fringes of the Roman Empire where the Christ child was.
But it’s likely that their journey took many months and that it was a hazardous and dangerous journey. They had to cross deserts and harsh country – modern day Iraq certainly, so preparations would have to be made.
Not only water and food for themselves but also their camels, it was not a trip for the fait-hearted.
But such was their commitment, that they kept going and, despite all the odds, their journey led them to the child Jesus, their Saviour.
We are embarking on a brand-new year. When we get to the end of it, I wonder what will be the hallmarks of this year for us?
Will it be a year where we can look back and say, ‘I can’t believe how much God has caused be to grow in my life as a disciple. What a remarkable life I have! I can’t believe God has transformed my life so much!’
Every day of their long journey, the Magi were getting closer and closer to Jesus, let’s do that too this year.
No-one can make that decision for us. The Magi made a decision to go and see. First step was to organise the Camels. What’s our first step? How do we get there? Like the Magi, we make a simple decision for Christ this very day.
The letter to the Hebrews puts it this way; “God has named a day to do this, and he called it ‘today!’” I love that. There is no better time to decide that this next period of our lives will be devoted to getting to know God better, getting to know Jesus better, and allowing him to transform our lives with his grace, peace and healing.
In many ways, the Magi act as a mirror for us this morning. Like us, they were lost in spiritual darkness. Like us, they were called by God and drawn to Jesus Christ and were committed to it.
What a wonderful way to start this New Year, by recommitting as a parish to this great and holy task. Seeking Jesus with one heart and mind bring our precious gifts just as the magi did.
We bring the most precious gift of all, the gift that God will truly love to receive. The unique gift that in the giving of it, we receive it back in its perfect form. The gift all of heaven will shout with delight at receiving; our very own selves. What a year to come. Let me pray ...