Hello,
Sunday was the
celebration of the Day of Epiphany in our church and in churches around the
world. The day of Epiphany, 12 days after Christmas, marks the
traditional day of the arrival of the Wisemen in Bethlehem. I am not sure
why centuries ago Christians decided to count twelve days as the passage of
time for the Wisemen’s visit, but so it has been for years and years and
years. It is where the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” (…on the
first day of Christmas my true love gave to me) has its roots.
Over the centuries there
has been a fascination with these Wisemen. In truth, the Bible really
does not say much about them. They only appear in Matthew’s telling of
the Christmas story, and Matthew calls them “Magi”. This name seems to
indicate that they were connected in some way with non-Jewish spiritual
life. Most likely they were like medicine men in African tribes who
through their “ability” to read the skies they could give guidance to people’s
lives.
Other than that, we
really don’t know much about them. Where exactly did they come
from? Somewhere from the east, but exactly where, we don’t know.
How many of them were there? Other than the Bible telling us that there
was more than one of them, we don’t know. How they travelled to
Bethlehem? We don’t know. How they were able to discern the star’s
direction? We don’t know. They brought gifts of gold, frankincense,
and myrrh, but how much of each and what Mary and Joseph did with those gifts,
we don’t know.
A lot of tradition has
been built up around these Wisemen, most of it having no Biblical
foundation. In truth, the only thing that we know about them is that they
were drawn by God to Jesus’ side, and they were welcome at Jesus side.
Although the focus of Epiphany is meant to be on the revelation of Jesus to be
not just the king of the Jews, but much greater: the Lord of the nations…..I
find great hope in taking a good look at these Wisemen and seeing what the Bible
actually tells us about them: they were drawn by God to Jesus’ side and
they were welcome there (repeated…for emphasis).
Just like all the
tradition that we have slapped on the Wisemen, a lot of stuff has been slapped
on people about who they should be before they come to Jesus side. Are
you welcome if you find some or a lot of the Christian faith hard to believe?….so
it was with the Wisemen, and they were welcome…SO ARE YOU! Are you
welcome if your lifestyle doesn’t match the lifestyle that you have been told
is expected of Christians?....the Magi’s lifestyle was far from what was
expected of the Jews and they were welcome….SO ARE YOU! Are you welcome
if your customs and dress are unusual?.... so it was with the Wisemen compared
to the rest of the people in Bethlehem, and they were welcome….SO ARE
YOU! Are you welcome if you have many things tugging on you and focusing
your life on other interests?....so it was with the wisemen, but God didn’t
count them out. God drew them to Jesus side and they were welcome…..SO
ARE YOU!
So, the truth is that
you and I don’t really know much about the Wisemen….the truth is that you and I
don’t really know much about each other….but this we know about the
wisemen….and this we know about you and me…..God is at work drawing all people
into the love and mercy of Jesus, and all whom God has drawn in is welcome!
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace,
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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