Matthew 2:1-12
January 4, 2026
It was Christmastime and our
daughter, Phoebe, was two. I had taken Phoebe to have her picture professionally
taken and we were given a Rudolph the Reindeer statue as a gift from the
photography company. This was not a fancy statue, but it was cute. Rudolph’s
antlers were meant to hold Christmas cards. But it wasn’t very effective as a
card holder simply because if you tried to put more than one or two cards into
the antlers, it would fall over. But Phoebe loved it, so I used it in our
Christmas decorations.
Our Christmas decorations also
included a nativity. Like the one we have here in church, it came with
shepherds and sheep, a couple of barn animals, an angel, Joseph, Mary, Baby
Jesus, and the wise men. I put it together carefully and set it on a little
table near the Christmas tree.
Not long after doing this, I
happened to look at the nativity set and saw that a certain red-nosed reindeer
had joined those gathered around the manger where Jesus lay. I realized Phoebe
must have moved him there, and I smiled, and then I moved it back to where I’d
originally placed him. I don’t think a day had passed when I looked at the
nativity and Rudolph was there again. I returned him to his original spot once
more. The next day, Rudoph was back at the manger, and I realized I was
fighting a losing battle. Without ever saying a word, Phoebe made it clear to
me that Rudolph belonged at the side of Baby Jesus along with all the other
characters in the story. So, that became his rightful place on that Christmas
and for several Christmases after.
Looking back at it now, I think
Phoebe had it right. She probably didn’t realize the theological statement she
was making when she first toddled Rudolph over to the nativity. Technically, a
reindeer with a red nose who could fly in a story that included Santa Claus
didn’t belong in the nativity scene depicting the birth of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. But for that matter, considering the divine importance of that
birth and the full nature of that child, he also should not have been lying a
trough used for feeding animals, nor should he have been surrounded by those animals
or shepherds either. And even though I admit it’s taken me many years to even
consider questioning it, the wise men’s presence by Jesus’ side should be
suspect as well.
Who
were these wise men? Tradition may call them kings, but scripture does not.
Matthew refers to them as wise men who came to pay homage to the new king.
Paying homage meant that they willingly knelt before this young king, which is
a big deal especially if they were actual kings. We also know them as magi,
which is connected to the word magic. It has been speculated that rather than
kings, they were Eastern astrologers, who studied the stars and planets.
Whatever and whoever they were, they
were not Jewish. They were not from Israel. They were
outsiders. They were foreigners. They were strangers. They were
not from those parts, and their people were not from around there. But these
outsiders traveled for who knows how long to see this child, because the star
they witnessed at its rising revealed to them that a king had been born. And they
must have realized that this was an extraordinary king, because why else would
they have followed the star to find him?
There are many layers to this
familiar story. But one question about it has plagued me for a long time. If
these wise men were so wise, why, WHY, did they go to Herod’s court and ask
about this new king? As one commentator I studied wrote, King Herod was well
known in the ancient world for being both paranoid and brutal. He killed at
least one of his wives and a few of his sons because he thought they were
plotting against him. One story says that Caesar, the Roman emperor, said of
Herod that it was safer to be his pig than his son. Considering Herod was
Jewish and did not consume pork, any pig in his court would have been safe. But
his sons were not.
It’s no surprise then that when the
news got out that a new king had been born, that Jerusalem was afraid right
along with Herod. The people of Jerusalem may not have been afraid of this new
king, but they were smart enough to know that if Herod was afraid, anything
could happen. And if we were to continue reading this story after the wise men
return home by another way, we would know that the people were right to be
terrified. Herod would seek to stop this infant king in the most brutal way
possible.
And what about this star that the
wise men saw? The nature of what it might have been has been under debate for a
long, long time. It has been depicted as being much larger than any other star
in the heavens. Some scholars conjecture that it was two planets that crossed
paths at just the right moment, making them appear to be one extra large star.
Or perhaps it was a star that was imploding, again giving the appearing of
being much larger than it was. Maybe the wise men saw a comet blazing a trail
across the night sky and they followed it.
Yet whatever it was that the wise
men witnessed, they recognized it as a sign. They recognized it as a revelation
of something new happening in the world. They understood it as a sign that a
new king had been born. So they followed this sign. They followed this star,
and what I believe Matthew is trying to make clear is that the light of that
star shone not just for the people of Israel, but for the whole world. It shone
for all people. It was a sign for all people that God was Immanuel – God with
us, God with them, God with all.
Maybe this was another reason why
the people were afraid. If you have been taught your whole life that God was
only with you and your kind, your people, then seeing outsiders coming to
worship a king that you believed would be born only for you and yours, would
have been disconcerting to say the least. If you are a leader who wields power
with seeming impunity, then the last thing you want is to find out that others,
that strangers and outsiders, have seen and recognized a sign telling of a new
king, a new leader. Not only are your power and leadership threatened, but that
light that reveals this new king is also a light that will shine into every
dark corner revealing every dark deed.
It wasn’t only this baby king that
was a threat to Herod. It was also the light that led the wise men to seek him.
That star, that glowing light in the sky, revealed that the Light of the World
had been born. The Light of God was now shining in their midst. And nothing can
be hidden when the Light of God shines.
Epiphany means revelation. So what
is revealed in this story of wise men following an eastern star to the side of
a baby? What is revealed? What is made manifest? Although we don’t normally
associate fear with Epiphany, I think that fears are revealed. The fear of
Herod is certainly revealed, but the fear of the people as well. They weren’t
just afraid of Herod’s response, although they were right to be afraid of
Herod’s response. They also were afraid of the unknown. Whatever the
expectations of the Messiah were, I doubt anyone expected that he would come as
a baby born in the humblest of circumstances, and that he would be recognized
by the “others” even before he was recognized by his own.
What does Epiphany reveal for us?
What fears come to light? Are we equally afraid of the unknown, the other, the
outsider, the stranger? It seems to me that our greatest fear comes from the
unknown. I suspect that if we’re honest with ourselves, we are as afraid of
these things as the people of the ancient world were. I know that I am eager to
proclaim that God is Immanuel, God with us, but am I equally as happy that God
might be with them as well? Do I want God to be Immanuel for those I dislike
and disagree with, for those I consider to be not just other but enemy? Do I
want God to be Immanuel with people who have hurt and dismissed me? If I’m
honest, no, but that’s the thing about Epiphany. The Light shines for all, not
just me, not just the people I love, but all. The Light shines for all. The
Light of God is the Light of the World. And that is wonderful but it is also
kind of scary.
It seems to me that Epiphany is more
than just a familiar story that we tell and celebrate around January 6 each
year. Epiphany is meant to shake us up. Epiphany is Rudoph gathered at the side
of the manger. Epiphany is strangers coming from a strange land because they
recognize that a child has been born for us. Epiphany is light shining in the
darkness. Epiphany is the revelation that the good news is not just good news
for some, but for all. Epiphany is the light that reveals the ugly and the
cruel and the evil as well as the good. Epiphany is meant to shake us up and to
disorient us and to turn all that we think we know upside down. Epiphany
reveals our deepest fears. But it also reveals our greatest hopes and desires.
Epiphany reveals that God is still working, still calling, still seeking, still
with us.
So let this Light reveal our fears,
because when we can see them we can also let them go. Let this Light reveal all
that darkness conceals, because then we can work for what is good and right and
just. Let the Light shine into every place where violence exists because then
we can work to live in peace instead. We have been walking in darkness for so
long, but the Light of the World is shining. May our lives be shaken up and
turned around and changed forever more. Because that is what happens when God
is with us. Thanks be to God.
Let all of God’s children say,
“Alleluia!”
The Light has come.
