The Visit of the Magi
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him."
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.'"
Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him."
After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. and having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.
Everyone knows about the three wise guys coming from the east to bring gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the Christ child. No surprise there. We all imagine them singing a thousand verses of "We Three Kings of Orient Are" as their entourage comes on their camels packing presents. Why these gifts for this birth? Gold is the gift for a king. At the time of Christ, the custom was almost universal. You never approach the king without gold, the king of metals. And Christ is the king of kings. Frankincense is the gift for a priest. It was dedicated for worship. At the Temple that the sweet perfume of frankincense was utilized. A priest provides a bridge between people and God, opening the way between the holy & humanity. Scripture describes Jesus as the Great High Priest, sitting at the right hand of the Father. Finally, Myrrh is the gift for one who is to die. Myrrh was used to embalm the bodies of the dead. Jesus came into the world to die. Jesus came into the world to live for us & to die on the cross for us. He gave both his life & his death for us.
Today we have Epiphany, where it is all about light. In the church year it functions as a bridge between Christmas, the birth of Christ, and Lent, the passion of Christ. During the next seven weeks or so we are going to hear much about Jesus' public ministry. We are also going to explore the eight stewardships or ministries of Vinland. With a new leadership configuration, some of you may not know how our governance works, what are the priorities, or maybe you are not worried about it. Our hope is to have the stewards that are currently serving (today- education) on council share about what they do, why they believe God has called them to serve. Epiphany means coming to light. Sudden dawning of meaning or essence or truth. To have an epiphany means a new grasp of reality that comes by the ordinary; a person, a place, a talk. Sadly, the light may never go on. People stay in the dark.
Tyrus Raymond Cobb is one of those characters who you highly admire and hold in contempt at the same time. The all-time baseball great hit .367 still a record, was a pitiful father, a shrewd investor, an abusive person, a determined spirit, raging alcoholic, devoted son, and a diabolical personality all in one. There's the time he whipped his son for flunking out of Princeton, when he supported impoverished retired ballplayers, bullied umpires, & beat up Babe Ruth. Reading his biography, I kept waiting for the light to go on. I found myself alternating between cheering for him and just being repulsed by the guy. Even to his death in 1960, the Georgia Peach was such an extreme racist. Yet, there were moments in the end when he was prayerful even repentant. I don't know if he ever got religion or anything on his relationship to God. In the end, he was isolated, near suicidal, & mad at society. Apparently, when he went to the hospital for the last time he brought with him his big, black gun and a bag full of one million dollars in securities, bonds, and cash. Those two things probably symbolize his personal securities; a weapon & wealth.
Ty Cobb is so engaging because he is so extreme. Extremely athletic, extremely offensive, extremely wealthy, extremely smart, extremely dense, and extremely dark. Larger-than-life characters like him have a way of helping see the blind spots in our lives. Flannery O'Connor was asked why her literary characters were so exaggerated. Her response was when you are trying to warn about a looming catastrophe you don't use polite language or subtle gestures to get the message across to people. How else will the light go on? How else can an epiphany occur? For Cobb, on one hand, he had it all. But, on the other hand, in the end, all he had was his bag of treasure and the gun he toted everywhere. We have crossed the threshold into the New Year. Some of us may still be sorting out 2008 but 2009 is upon us. Today it's timely to ponder how we can grasp, where to be, when the light goes on.
In our Epiphany gospel, we meet an evil king who even makes Cobb look good, King Herod. Compared to Herod, even Hitler may not look that bad. Herod was the Bill Gates of the ancient world, built mostly on his personal perfume empire. That is right, he sold frankincense and myrrh, and had plenty of his own gold. Herod had more palaces and money than even Caesar. He was king for the fun of it. But, he was so very paranoid about potential threats to his kingdom. He murdered most of his own family to protect his throne. So it is not surprising when he meets these wise men from the east that he is sniffing around for information. Herod's in-house prophets tell the king his rival is located in the proximity of Bethlehem. Pretending to be a pilgrim, too, "Go and search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him". When Herod doesn't hear from the wise men he sends out his death squads to Bethlehem that results in the Slaughter of the Innocents. The magi follow a star that leads them to the true king. God gives them the vision to go to dusty, backwater Bethlehem to meet a poor, peasant king. Was the star a comet or nova? The light leads them to Christ, the light of the world.
We wake up and it's barely light. We come home from work, its already dark. It is winter in the Northwest. The rain, the clouds, the darkness can make us all cranky and sluggish. We even miss the snow some days. About ten percent of the Seattle population is affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Remedy is caffeine. Some of us drink caffeine like it is the answer. But, the antidote to SAD is light. Doctors prescribe you get some kind of light therapy. They advise thirty minutes outside, exposure to light. The bottom line is we need light. If we don't get light, our bodies become out of sync, our minds drift, our emotions are impacted. There are products on the market that help. I helped a friend from California move & she had this nuclear-like tanning bed. That is one option, extreme option. Or you can purchase a light box. They provide low-intensity light that you can absorb while eating your cornflakes, reading the paper, doing yoga, or watching the Rose Bowl.
Interestingly, we take in light through our eyes, not our skin. Your eyes must be open. Light must be received through the lens of your eyes. Sleeping in front of a light box is no good. Plus, you don't just binge on sunlight and you are cured. Otherwise, we could all take a turn on my friend's tanning bed for a Trynobil tan. No, you need a daily light, to keep mind sharp, body in sync, emotions balanced. Light therapy is a good image for Christian education. God has created us so we need exposure to the light. Without immersion in the Word, contact with the Light of Christ, the body of Christ is out of sync, our priorities drift, and our service is impacted. Bible studies, small groups, Read-the-bible-in-a-year, SS, WOV, youth group, lectionary lunch, are where you're in position when the light goes on. Vinland has a rich diversity of studies, times, topics, leaders, & perspectives. People try to read the bible in a weekend, all alone, or insist on the old King James. This is like biblical binging. Jesus says when two or more are gathered in my name, I am there also. Personally and pastorally, I am convinced we learn better together. Light therapy is really group therapy. The Spirit has a way of stirring personalities, Scripture, & stories. Christ calls us to be involved & invested in a regular prayer, study, and worship. What if you only brushed your teeth once a week? Then, why do we worship once a quarter or open Scripture once in a while. We need daily dosages of God's light. This is God's way of lifting the darkness.
The movie "The Visitor" is about a melancholy professor, sixty-something Walter Vale, who is not engaged with his students, is indifferent about academics, and half-heartedly tries piano lessons in an effort to stay close to his deceased wife. Walter Vale is a visitor in his own life. This changes when he goes to Manhattan for a conference. His plan is to stay in his apartment but he discovers a young Syrian "Tarek" and his African girlfriend staying there. Surprisingly, he doesn't force them to vacate but becomes intertwined in their lives. Tarek teaches gloomy Walter to play the African drum, passion awakes. Tarek tries to twist Walter's arm to join him in a jam session in Central Park. He says, "No, I'll just watch". But, soon the rhythm has Walter. He is rocking with the street band. It is an epiphany for Walter. The music has moved him. Tarek has coaxed him out of his cave. Tarek faces possible deportation and Walter is immersed in their struggle. Final scene, Walter has his tie off, sleeves rolled up, soloing on his drum in the subway.
We can be driven into the darkness, hiding in our respective caves. It may be grief like Walter. It may be greed, fear, hurt, busyness, or self-gratification. We need the light to go on. We need an epiphany. The truth is life is a series of epiphanies, ordinary moments that help us grasp and regrasp and regroup around the truth. That we are the people of God, forgiven, and graced. We need constant exposure to this light, the people of the light, in Word & worship, so we can be alive & aware.
