Finding a new Path
January 7th , 2024
Feast of the Epiphany observed, Year B
Isaiah 60: 1-6
Psalm 72: 1-7, 10-14
Matthew 2: 1-12
Matthew 2:1-12
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." 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.'"
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.
Homily by Rev Megan Limburg
Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our
hearts be acceptable in your sight,
O God, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, recalling the arrival of the Wise Men to visit the baby Jesus. We remember the lengthy journey they took, following that brilliant star that had captured their attention and hearts. The Wise Men are believed to have come from the East, called Persia then, today likely the area roughly encompassed by Iraq and Iran. They had a long journey to Bethlehem, and thus symbolically we celebrate their arrival not on Christmas, but 12 days later on Epiphany, that 12th day being yesterday, January 6th.
The Wise Men came with their strange gifts for Jesus, not, of course practical, but deeply symbolic and recognizing the holiness of the child. They gave gold for his kingship, they gave frankincense, which was incense burned on the altar in the Temple, to recognize his priesthood, and they gave myrrh, the spice used to prepare a body for burial, foreshadowing the death Jesus would suffer on the cross.
And then, after finally finding the child, and presenting their gifts, the Wise Men pack up and prepare for their long journey back home.
But just before they leave, they are warned in a dream by God not to go back through Jerusalem to King Herod and tell him about where they had found the child.
Herod had spoken with silken tones when the Wise Men arrived asking about the new king of the Jews. But Herod was king and would tolerate no other, even a tiny baby.
So, Herod calls those wise men, and dripping with false sincerity said to them:
"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."
Herod lies through his teeth, as he does not intend to worship Jesus, but to kill him.
I always wonder if the Wise Men, those astronomers, were paying enough attention to get a bad feeling about Herod, or were their minds only in the stars?
I think the latter, that they had missed the clues that Herod was lying and hate-filled.
So, God nudges them in a dream not to go back to Herod, but to go home, by another road, by a new path.
The dream must have been troubling! After all the distance they came, now they must head home, not on the now familiar road they took to get there, but on an unknown and strange path, unfamiliar and maybe even a bit scary.
And so, we might be surprised on this Epiphany Sunday to find that the Wise Men are like all of us. We journey all the days of our lives, and we often prefer to take the familiar road. But God keeps nudging us too, on to new roads, different paths, unexpected byways.
Because God has not loved us all our lives, to just let us stick to what we know.
No, God sends us forth on new paths, unexpected ones! We are sent on those different paths to find the lost, the shivering, the outcast, the hungry, and invite them toward the light that shines so brilliantly in this season of Epiphany.
We are called always to share the light that shines in the darkness, that light that the darkness will never put out.
Amen.