As we gather this morning to celebrate the Epiphany of our Lord, we do so amidst a fair amount of ambiguity. There is always a tension between knowing what is historically true and what is theological truth. We know very little of what is historically true about Epiphany. What are magi? Where are they from? How many of them were there? How long did they travel? When did they arrive? Many theories abound. Some say they were kings. Some that they were wealthy and highly educated philosophers. Some say they were diviners in the dark arts. Some say they were complete frauds. Some try to isolate an area of their origin such as Arabia, Persia, or some other eastern nation. Some say there were three, while some say there were a multitude traveling together with safety in numbers. Most agree that their journey was a long one, but when they arrived is much debated. Most think it was a few years after Jesus’ birth, but some maintain a nearly immediate arrival. We really do know very little of what is historically true about this incident.
It’s a good thing for us then, that we are concerned not with what is historically true. Our concern is to discern the theological truth of the story. That truth starts with the name given to our celebration. Epiphany. Epiphany means revelation or illumination. When one has an epiphany, one has a revelation. I love watching people when you tell a joke. You can always see on their face when the get it. That getting it is an epiphany. Perhaps it could be better understood as that moment of illumination – when the light bulb comes on in your mind. When the truth sinks in and you have that “Aha” moment. That “aha” is an epiphany.
Let’s turn to our Gospel reading as we read of that first Epiphany and try to glean a little theological truth as we close out our Christmas season. Matthew 2.1-2. Hear the Word of the Lord.
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In the story there are several characters. The obvious ones are the Holy Family, the King Herod, and the Three Magi. We can think about the truth of Epiphany from a number of different perspectives. We could compare the two Kings of the Jews: Herod and Jesus. We could compare the responses of Herod and the Magi. But those are a little too obvious for me. There is another set of characters that are only secondary in appearance, but which have thoroughly captured my imagination this week and which I believe to be of utmost importance to the truth of Epiphany.
The magi, quite naturally, come to Jerusalem looking for a newborn King of the Jews. It is likely that they would have been searching out Herod as a new king would naturally be his son. When Herod heard news of these foreign dignitaries poking around town asking about a new King of the Jews (and knowing that he hadn’t recently given birth) was quite concerned. And so our characters enter the story. King Herod usually has no use for the Jewish religious leaders, but this day he had.
He assembled all the chief-priests and all the scribes. He asked them, “Where is the Messiah to be born?” Like the good religious leaders they were, they rattled off the appropriate memory verse. “And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.”
Herod immediately hatched a plot. He sent for the magi. He told them he too wanted to worship this newborn Messiah. He sent them to Bethlehem to find this newborn. And he only asked that they return to give him news of who the Messiah is and where he can be found. So the magi turned their aim toward Bethlehem, the little town just a few miles outside Jerusalem. The rest of the story is quite familiar to us. The magi find Jesus; bow down and worship; and present him with gifts. A series of dreams warns both the magi and the Holy Family, and everyone escapes safely from Herod’s treacherous scheming.
So here is my question: what happened to the Chief-Priests and Scribes? On the one hand are the magi. They are gentiles. They are not Jews. They are not looking for a Messiah. They are not looking for God. They are not looking for a Savior or for anything other than a new born king. And yet, they seek out this child. They look upon his face, and they see the light. They have an epiphany. They get it. They realize this is no ordinary baby they are seeing, but they are in the presence of God Almighty. They fall flat on their faces and they worship the Christ-child.
I ask again, what happened to the Chief-Priests and the Scribes? Unlike the magi, they know the Hebrew Scriptures inside out. They have devoted their lives to learning the sacred texts and the sacred tradition. They know their faith inside out. They even know the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem. Unlike the Magi, they are looking for a Messiah. They are looking for God. They are looking for a savior, a redeemer, and for one who will restore them and their people. If anyone should have seen the signs … if anyone should have sought out the child … if anyone should have bowed down and worshipped God incarnate in the little child it was these religious leaders. And so I ask again, what happened to the Chief-Priests and Scribes?
You all remember Andre Agassi. He was a very popular tennis star in the late 80’s and early 90’s. He had long hair and was known as the “Rebel.” He was the rock star of the tennis world. He became one of the greatest ever. Then something strange happened. He started gaining a little weight, he battled with injuries, his game slipped noticeably. He took some time off, got back in shape, and returned to the game – playing at the level he was used to. When asked about the turn of events he reflected. He noted how he got out of shape. “Playing at the top levels requires you,” he said, “to be light on your feet so you can change and react to the ball.”
What does that have to do with the Chief-Priests and the Scribes? I suspect they became out of shape. They became comfortable and content with their faith. They rested on their knowledge of text and tradition. They got spiritually fat and inflexible. The Messiah did not come as they expected, and they were too fat, too inflexible, and too planted in their ways to adjust to the change thrown at them.
Isn’t it strange how the church seems to spread the fasted in places we least expect? We would expect the church to be growing like wildfire here in America where we all know Christianity so well… where we know the sacred texts and the traditions of the faith so well. We don’t expect the church to grow so rapidly where no one has every heard of it, or Christ, or Christianity before. We don’t expect it to be growing in third world countries where no one has ever read or even heard the Bible. And yet quite the opposite is happening. Here in America and in Europe, where Christianity was the norm, churches are decreasing, but in Africa, Asia, and South America…what is called the global south, the church is raging on. Why?
I suspect the American church has gotten comfortable and content. We know this stuff. We know our Bibles, we’ve been going to church forever it seems. As is usually the case comfortability and contentment have led us to quit growing and to quit learning and to quit stretching ourselves. We have found our place and we like it here. We have become fat. We are no longer light on our feet. We are no longer able to change enough to keep up in a fast changing world. In the story of the Magi, both Herod and the Magi see Christ for who he is. Both respond differently, but both have an epiphany. Strangely, the only ones who do not share in the epiphany are the Priests and Scribes… the religious establishment… the church.
The Christmas story tells us that Christ is born into the world. The Epiphany story tells us that some will see him and some will not. Some will embrace him and some will not. Some will bow and worship and some will not. Some will partner with him in mission and some will not. The question for us is are we fit enough to recognize him when he comes? And are we light enough on our feet to change enough to respond when his coming is not as we expect?
I am always excited about New Years. It is a chance for new starts, for new dreams and for new goals. Since coming here I have been a part of many conversations – in this church, with other pastors, with community members in general – about why churches in Toronto seem to have such a tough time growing. I haven’t been here long enough to have a real clear answer, but I do know the problem is not with God. God is revealing himself today in our community just as he did that Christmas night and just as he did back in “the good old days.” This year will be a very good year. It will be a very tough year, but a very good year. This year we have to decide if we will cast our lot with the Priest and Scribe who are too set in their ways to recognize the work of God in the world, or if we will join the Magi in seeing him, recognizing him, and bowing to worship him. We have to decide how important it is to us to do the work of Christ. We have to decide how flexible we are willing to be to work where he is working. We have to decide how light on our feet we can be, changing in response to the needs of our community and the working of God therein. The good news of Christmas is: God is alive! God is here! And God is working! The challenge of Epiphany is: See Him! Recognize Him! Respond with Him! To the glory of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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