Matthew 2:1-12
Today we begin the season of ephiphany. It’s not a word we often use in everyday language. It means a “manifestation, a revelation, sudden insight, or enlightenment.” Within our faith context, it refers to the time when Jesus, born as a human baby, is recognized as God’s Son, as a Savior, as a King.
Three new testament texts are often read and used during this season.
- The first is our text for today – the story of the Magi. These wise men from the east, although they are not Jews or perhaps even familiar with the Jewish prophecy of a coming Messiah, nevertheless leave their home country to follow a star and search for one who would be born a “king of the Jews”.
- A second epiphany text is the account of Jesus’ baptism. When Jesus is baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit descends on him in the form of a dove, while a voice from heaven is heard to say “This is my Son, whom I love…”
- A final text that is often read is the account of Jesus’ first recorded miracle, the turning of water into wine at a wedding party in Cana.
In today’s account, the wise men, thought to be Zoroastrian astronomers from Persia – present day Iran – come to Jerusalem in search of a baby who would become a king of the Jewish people. They say it has been “shown to them by a star”. While they begin with that star…it requires the Jewish scholars in Jerusalem to help them get the rest of the clues….as to where a Messiah King would be born. And that turns out to be Bethlehem.
A worried and jealous King Herod tells them to go and check things out… but to keep him informed, because he would like to worship the new king as well. Of course, we know from later in the text that he has no such plans but instead wishes to do away with this threat to his throne as quickly as possible.
The wisemen continue on their way to Bethlehem, and according to the text are once again led by the star which appears and directs them to the exact location where Joseph, Mary, and the child are. Upon arriving, they offer the baby gifts and worship. We can only imagine how Joseph and Mary would think and feel about the arrival of these foreign dignitaries. We are left with this final detail: that the wisemen have a dream which warns them about returning to Herod, and so return to their homeland by a different route which avoids Jerusalem.
This story is told simply, and with few details so we are left to imagine a great deal ourselves. A few thoughts that we may consider:
- God’s Spirit leads and communicates with people and nations in ways that often surprise us! Why would this clear message of a “king who has been born” been given to “foreigners” in a faraway land….rather than to someone right in the Jewish nation itself?
- I’ve always been interested in the ending of the story….”home by another way” as a phrase that describes a new journey, a different road, a realization that their lives have been changed forever….after meeting the King!
I’ve had what could be described as several “mini-epiphanies” in my own life. One of them happened between 1979 and 1984.
Following college, I went back to Japan where my folks were still working, for what I thought would be a short visit. Instead of just staying for the summer, I took a job teaching music at the Christian Academy, the same school where I had attended as a child. Following that year, I had an opportunity to work at three small churches in rural Japan to help a missionary family who were in the United States that year. Then my folks invited me to come and join them in their ministry. At first, I turned them down, thinking that after two years I really needed to get back to the U.S. and get on “with my own life”. However, I ended up going to Odawara to work with them….and within just a few months of my arrival, my father died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 56.
The Odawara Christian Center, where I was working, was just beginning an ambitious building project, and the board of directors asked if I would be willing to stay on, at least until the project could be completed. It seemed clear to me that a “yes” was the appropriate and obvious answer, so I stayed. That turned into three additional years during which the Lord changed my heart….. little by little. While I had never considered returning to Japan as a missionary, those three years opened my eyes to the possibility that God was calling me to serve there. I can clearly remember listening to a cassette tape of the gospel singer, Keith Green. The album was called “No Compromise” and the song that reached me was “Awake in the Light”.
The end result was that a short summer trip….had turned into 5 years….during which God had patiently and gently led me to the desire to serve Him in Japan. Having experienced those years following my father’s death…and having seen how clearly Jesus was leading me, and recognizing powerfully that he was the King of my life…I, too, decided to “head home by another way”, by a path that I had never ever considered prior to that. And I am so grateful that I did!
How about you? And how about JCC, our church family?
How do we recognize God today as our King and Lord?
How does that affect the road that we choose?
(the above is a summary of the message shared during worship on January 5, 2025.)
Japanese Congregational Church 