“…they were overwhelmed with joy” (Luke 2:10)
Matthew 2:1-12 (Year C: The Epiphany, January, 2019)
.. There was a Birth, certainly
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.
(from The Journey of the Magi by T.S. Eliot)
‘Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you’. (Isaiah 60:1)
‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it’. (John 1:5)
These two verses seem very appropriate for all of us at the start of 2019 even if it might seem that our world is sunk in darkness and this darkness has conquered the light for a time in the middle of our Northern winter.
This coming Sunday marks the feast of the ‘epiphany’. This word comes from the Greek word, theophaneia, meaning the appearance of God to human beings.
The story of the first ‘eiphany’ is rich in symbolism and we need to hear and read it in this light without trying to fill in all the gaps. Let’s go with the flow and the larger story which the author of the gospel of Matthew is trying to convey. This requires some imagination on our part.
The journey of the wise ones (the magi as they are called) was not without danger and toil. To make a journey in such circumstances took incredible stamina, hope and trust that something was worth travelling for to see and behold. As in today’s world, there is much danger and threat from power brokers who play with people’s lives and practice deceit and oppression. The pilgrims from the east had to use discretion, courage and perseverance to circumvent Herodian scheming.
Astrology was a popular pastime in ancient times (and is still today among the gullible) and provides a focus for people in search of meaning, assurance and progress through life’s ways. The star that guided, pulled and filled the wise pilgrims was of another kind. It was like an inner star or magnetic force that led strangers over 100s of kilometers of barren desert to a humble place where they found something that exceeded their expectations. They were not just surprised by joy but they were ‘overwhelmed’ with joy, according to Matthew (verse 10). We may note that they travelled not alone but together. On coming to a place of rest where the star shone they joined Joseph, Mary and Jesus. Where two or three are gathered there was the messiah of Israel among them.
On a lighter note, some have commented that ‘three wise women’ would have asked for directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, and brought practical gifts! To be fair to the magi we don’t know if they were all men, how many there were and what exactly they did during their stay! The important point is that they made the difficult journey, found what they were looking for and returned safely. To put it this way:
- They sought love;
- They realised that they were loved;
- They remained in grace-given love; and
- They found love.
- The star within of love seeking love
- The star over and beyond their immediate situation and place
- The star at the end of their journey in Bethlehem.
4. It was when these three ‘stars’ aligned that the pilgrims were ‘overwhelmed with joy’ (verse 10). The alignment of stars took, in all likelihood, years, trial, error, re-trial and more years. But, they got there and it didn’t finish there. Their discovery took them back to where they came to continue their quest. How many stories were told and lives touched by the witness of their journey when they got back home? The magi could make of their own the words of David in Psalm 63:1-4:
O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
Or, they might have anticipated the declaration of Saint Augustine of Hippo centuries after the manifestation of God:
Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. Saint Augustine Confessions, 10.27
And we journey on through life in search of meaning, renewed life and connection. Like the magi we need to pay attention to the stars within and without that guide us. We can find it deep within if we live a more disciplined life of attention and practice based on compassion. ‘Mindfulness’ may seem like a gimmick word or cliché but it remains a key challenge. After all, Mary ‘treasured all these things’ in her heart many times in those early years of Jesus’ time.
Following our inner spark takes discipline and practice. It does not suggest a flight from reality or duty. Rather, it beckons us to become more focussed on what we are doing and experiencing now. It might be as simple as paying attention to eating, walking, waiting for a bus, conversation, non-verbal cues, pain, joy and hope. A new year’s resolution is born!
The story of the epiphany is a story of hope. Let this new calendar year be one of hope and a new beginning for each one of us. Even if we might feel that we are ‘with an alien people clutching their gods’ as T.S. Eliot wrote, we can take courage from the following truth that is as true today as 2,000 years ago and will still be true in years to come when 2019 will be a distant memory:
‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it’. (John 1:5)
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In addition to this coming Sunday’s Gospel reading which is common to most Western Christian churches, the other readings from scripture found in the ‘paired’ Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) of the Church of Ireland for this Sunday are: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-14; and Ephesians 3:1-12. These readings, including the Gospel from St Matthew, are also used in the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church.
Readers may find just some of the following resources and links of use:
A good online bible in many languages and versions. For the purposes of this blog, I usually stick with the New Revised Standard Version (Anglicised). However, I often switch to the Grail Psalter for the psalms due to my fondness for, and familiarity with, it.
A very convenient and quick cross reference for biblical verses.
This is the best online source for direct comparison of Gospels and New Testament passages.
A useful biblical commentary from the Carmelites. It follows the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar.
A solid and comprehensive biblical commentary from classical Reformed sources. It has good explanations of underlying Greek text.
This is an excellent source by Rev Patrick Comerford adapted for Church of Ireland uses which contains, among other things, suggested hymns for the Sunday or feast day (always useful when panicking the night before a service!)
It is hard to beat the great classic of William Barclay’s commentaries. This particular link is to Luke’s Gospel which provides for most Sundays of Year C. Commentaries on Mark, Matthew and John are also available.
(A good online US Lutheran source with lots of concise sermon ideas for the weary preacher!)
This is a week by week guide packed with useful resources.
The above are just a few sources that I draw on from time to time. The choice is yours. But, let’s remember that the best source is the Holy Spirit working through tradition, reason and lived experience! If you know of other good online sources let me know.
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Further reading: notes and questions, verse by verse
Preliminaries
There is something of a mystery about the story of the visit by the magi to Bethlehem – literally the House of Bread in Hebrew. They came from the ‘East’. Whatever its historical origins, the story has captured the imagination of generations as a type of climax for the story of Christ’s birth (and yet, Christmastide is not over until the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple on 2 February). The story of the visit is unique – among the Gospels – to Matthew. It draws attention to the appearance of God’s love in a troubled and divided world – a love that draws all peoples to God-who-is-love. That all are called no matter who they are and where they come from is a theme in all the Gospels. It may very well be that Matthew wanted to draw particular attention to the way that the ‘gentiles’ – those outside the specially chosen Jewish people – are called to see and experience the amazing love that has been born into this world.
v. 1-2: The quest
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’
The passage opens up in Jerusalem. However, the journey starts in the heart. It is there that our desire to meet the Other is born. We must go out from ourselves towards the Other in others.
In the story, we are given a time (the reign of Herod and a specific place, Bethlehem). In this case, the ones seeing the child-king came from the East where the sun rises and where wisdom flows. East meets west, however, not in Jerusalem but in a little known place in the hills.
v.3-6 Kings are shaken
When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
The prophecy is taken directly from Micah 5:2. Herod is ‘frightened’ because for him power is everything. Anything or anyone who challenges his power is a threat and must be extinguished. The priests and scribes make excellent interpreters of the scripture but know not its meaning in their day. When the one who was foretold came they missed the opportunity. Are we blind too?
v.7-12 Overwhelming joy
Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
The story recounts a symbolic giving of ‘gold, frankincense and myrrh’. There is a parallel, here, to Psalm 72:10-11 (NRSVA):
May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. May all kings fall down before him, all nations give him service.
But, this Psalm goes on immediately to say (verses 12-14):
For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight.
Ancient interpreters of this text see, here, a symbol of Christ’s royalty, priesthood and death. The origin of the gifts of ‘gold, frankincense and myrrh’ might suggest a possible geographical source of what is today Saudi Arabia. Who knows? It doesn’t matter. The Magi came from afar and they were not members of the ‘In-group’. Matthew is trying to tell us that those ‘far away’ from the promised and chosen people are invited in to see, to believe and to worship. The barriers between Jew and Gentile were already crumbling in the second chapter of the first book of the Christian New Testament.
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