January 1, 2012

THE PEOPLE AND PLACES OF CHRISTMAS – THE WISE MEN FROM THE EAST

Scripture – Matthew 2:1-12

As part of our Christmas story, and especially as this story is translated into children’s pageants and crèche scenes, we are introduced over and over to the magi – those wise men from the East who followed a star to a house in Bethlehem where a special baby now resided. We are told that as they wended their way from Persia to Judea, these magi (astronomers and astrologers, scientists and priests…or so we think) stopped in Jerusalem to ask for directions. And the one from whom they sought guidance was the ruler of this relatively small and insignificant “piece of real estate” – King Herod (who, certainly by his own estimation and decree, was to be called “the Great”).

From a historical and factual perspective, we don’t know a whole lot about the magi (and even using that title to identify them is the result of an assumption). Even the bible gives us little to go on when trying to specify who and what they were. It calls them wise men from the East who, after seeing a star, presumably a new star, determined that this somehow indicated the birth of a king of the Jews…and they decided to follow it as they sought the one whose coming had been so announced. That’s it! Whatever else we believe about them depends upon what we can surmise by considering historical data; what we know about that part of the world at that time; what we can read between the lines as we consider the biblical account. So it is that we assume that the magi were men of wealth or they could not have financed such a trek; we assume that they were scientists of some sort because they were studying the heavens; we assume that they might have been Zoroastrian priests because Zoroastrian priests were men of science and men of means who studied the heavens in their role as astronomers and astrologers; we assume that they then came from Persia, which was to the east and which was the “stronghold” of Zoroastrianism. Our Christmas “mythology” portrays three of them, but the bible does not give a number and the “three” comes from the number of gifts which are named. And the idea that they were of different ethnic backgrounds reflects their symbolism as representatives of the diversity of the world into which the Christ was born.

Here we stand on this first day of a new year, 2012, between Christmas and Epiphany…looking back to the birth of Jesus and ahead to the arrival of the wise men in Bethlehem to revere and venerate him. At the same time we look ahead to what this new year will hold for each and all of us, and I cannot help but think that we are in a somewhat similar position to the magi, especially when they left the security and safety of their homes and headed out into the unknown. For isn’t that what each day and each week and each month and each year presents us with…the challenges and opportunities of a future about which we can only speculate and of which we can never be certain until we have entered and experienced it? At this moment in time, we all have hopes and dreams, anticipations and expectations, some of which will be fulfilled and others which won’t. However, we go forward nonetheless, partly because we have no choice and cannot do otherwise, but sometimes with eagerness because, like the magi, we hope to find the wondrous and miraculous at the end of our “pilgrimage”.

Imagine what they must have been thinking, those magi, when they saw a new and bright light in the heavens, assumed it was a star (and it may have been), and determined that it meant something really special – the birth of a king. In their line of work, they were used to exploring the sky and figuring out what they thought what they saw there signified. That’s what made them astrologers. But to be so specific – a newborn king; a newborn Jewish king. And they were sure this star, which seemed to be moving ever so slowly, would lead them to this newborn Jewish king.

Modern astronomers would say that they were a bit wacky (that’s the way astronomers talk). How, without advanced technological equipment, could they discover a star no one, including them, had seen before? How could they think the star would lead them somewhere – stars are suns and suns don’t move? How could they connect what they were seeing with the birth of anyone anywhere…and more particularly, the birth of a specific king to a specific people in a specific place - a king and a people and a place other than their own? But they were so certain that they were willing to “put their money where their mouths were”…and not only their money, but their time, their resources, their lives. The journey they were contemplating in search of this king would not be an easy one…nor a safe one. Bad things happened to people “on the road” with great frequency and even with retainers and bodyguards, they could not be sure they would reach their destination. And expensive? – wow! Additionally, we’re not talking here about a few days or a few weeks or even a few months – it took them at least two years to get where they were going. So their commitment had to be total. Yet they went…because when they reached their goal they were sure, absolutely sure, that it would all be worthwhile.

Is that the way you are looking ahead to the future? Do you see the possible hardships and difficulties, but aren’t afraid to venture forth because you are open to whatever comes along and eager to reach what lies at the end of the “path”? Our faith proclaims that that is the way we should face every aspect of life because we are never alone – the God who came into the world through the baby those magi were seeking travels with us wherever we go.

But it is not always so easy to live such faith. Uncertainty. This morning in our worship we are “jumping” from the beginning of Jesus’ life to the end as we celebrate communion – the Last Supper. Consider the reaction of the disciples as they were told by their leader and friend that he would soon be leaving them – that he would die! They did not believe him…surely this could not be happening. And what about them? How would they get along without him? They, like the magi with their star, had left everything to follow him. Just what kind of a future was he presenting to them? They were afraid…these people who knew Jesus personally and were well aware of what he could do.

Some are entering 2012 thinking that current conditions are so bad they can only get better. Others fear any kind of change, and moving forward entails change…so they’re not particularly enthusiastic. Still others always anticipate bright skies and clear vistas as they look ahead, and so they’re happy to be going regardless of their destinations. And you? And me? How much of ourselves are we willing to risk, like the magi, to see what tomorrow brings and make the most of it? How happy are we determined to be no matter what circumstances we will have to confront? How much do we want to see the new, the wonderful, the awesome? We all have decisions to make as we enter 2012 – decisions concerning our attitudes and outlooks as we pass another chronological milestone. Perhaps we can take to heart the poem by the Rev. Roy Phillips of Unity Church, a Unitarian Universalist congregation in St. Paul, Minnesota, with which I want to close this morning:

Happy New Year.

As happy, as merry, as can be,

as circumstances permit,

as your psyche allows,

as your mastery of events can achieve.

However:

Be wary of thinking you require happiness.

The fabric of life is woven of strands both dark and bright.

This loom seems inexorably to require both.

A pattern is emerging.

Whenever you can choose

do what makes you happy;

do not do what draws you down.

The moment is pregnant.

Be a chooser.

Through, not stopped. Up instead of down.

Then,

A blessed New Year!

Let the light be your blessing;

take it when it comes;

let it work a transformation;

watch to see who you are becoming.

There is no stopping you now.

A blessed New Year!

Rev. Herb Freitag