Texts: Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:41-52
This past Monday was the Feast of the Epiphany, beginning our Epiphanytide season. The term Epiphany comes from the Greek word for “manifestation” or “appearing,” as we see in the subtitle of the Feast: “the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.” The feast began in Egypt in the 2nd century as a celebration of the Lord’s Baptism and eventually came to include the visitation of the Magi, the first miracle at the Wedding of Cana, and other early manifestations of Jesus’ lordship and power in the Gospels. Eventually, these events came to be spread out over the weeks between Epiphany and Lent, giving us a whole season of the Lord’s Manifestations. That is, Epiphanytide is more than the “Ordinary Time” between Christmas and Let; it has become a distinct season with a unified focus. A couple of the hymns in the Epiphany section of our hymnal do an excellent job of pointing to this unifying theme from our Gospel readings. Particularly, I’d encourage you to look at number 87, “On this Clear Night” and number 91, “Songs of Thankfulness and Praise.”
As is our local custom (and a common practice among some of the early medieval communities), we read the Gospel and Epistle from the Feast of the Epiphany today, as the Sunday within the Octave of the Feast. However, I don’t want to neglect the actual Gospel reading assigned for the First Sunday after the Epiphany. So we’ll look at both of the Gospel readings, the Visitation of the Magi from St. Matthew’s account (as we just read a few minutes ago) and our Lord as a boy in the Temple from St. Luke’s account (the Gospel actually assigned for today). In both passages, I want us to see how the Lord is manifested, what that meant within the greater Gospel texts, and what that means for us. So please open your bibles to Matthew 2:1, which can also be found in your Prayer Book on Page 108:
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is to be born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts: gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
You may recall that St. Matthew’s primary audience are his fellow Jews. That is, Matthew’s Gospel was written to convince other Jews that Jesus is the Messiah, and to encourage the Jewish believers in Jesus. As we talked about last week, among the main features of St. Matthew’s Gospel are the numerous allusions to the Old Testament and to Jewish practices. There’s some irony, then, that Matthew is the one who presents the Lord Jesus as being manifested to the Gentiles! No one else includes the story of the Wise Men in the Gospels.
So, who were the Wise Men? The Greek term, Magi, is indeed properly translated as Wise Men, and it usually signifies magicians, or wizards, or astrologers. That is, the Magi were probably pagans. Being from “the east,” probably signifies that they are from Babylon or Persia, two of the nations in which the Jewish people were exiled prior to the Second Temple. Indeed, there remained large Jewish communities in these areas, including the most prominent school of the Pharisees. That’s why the main extra-biblical holy text in Judaism to this day is called the Babylonian Talmud. So, though they were pagans, the Magi may have been exposed to biblical prophecy or Jewish wisdom literature back home. One of the typical features of paganism of the day was to incorporate beliefs and traditions from a wide range of religions and cultures, not unlike what you see among the “Spiritual but not religious” folks of today. It was very much a cafeteria approach to religion.
This is where the irony of our passage comes into play. Notice the response of the Jewish authorities to the Magi’s visit: “When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.” Herod, the scribes, the priests, and indeed all Jerusalem knew what the Magi’s questions meant: the Messiah had finally come. The one who had been promised was finally here. Yet, rather than rejoicing and leading the Magi to the place of the Messiah’s birth as foretold by the prophets, they were “troubled” and sent these pagans on their way alone. Indeed, Herod goes on to try and use the Magi in his plot to kill the promised Messiah!
By contrast, what do the pagan magicians, the wizards and astrologers do? “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts: gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” The Magi worshiped the Jewish Messiah, while Jerusalem fretted and plotted.
Indeed, when we look at the Magi’s gifts, we see symbolism that was itself a manifestation of the Lord to the Gentiles. Gold is the gift for a king. The Magi recognized Jesus as both the King of the Jews and their King. Frankincense is the basis for all the incense used in worship. In offering frankincense to the Lord, the Magi recognize him as divine. Myrrh is used in preparation of bodies for burial. In giving Jesus myrrh, the Magi recognized that Jesus would die for our sins.
The story of the Magi has always been beloved by the church. Not only does it give us a glimpse of who Jesus is, but it also reminds us of God’s goodness to us gentiles in reaching out to us and incorporating us into his family. As we discussed last week, in the Messiah, God expands his people to include all those who have been nited to the Lord Jesus. Indeed, while we don’t have time to go into details about this right now, this is a constant theme in the Old Testament. Though God chose Abraham’s family to be his people, he would use that family to bring all nations to himself. This is something that we as Christians can be extremely thankful for. As we say in the general thanksgiving at Morning and Evening prayer, we thank God “above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ.”
At the same time, Jerusalem’s rejection of her own rightful King should be a warning to us. As Herod’s consultation with the Scribes and Priests showed, they knew better. They had the Scriptures and knew what was foretold. They knew the truth, but didn’t want their lives overturned by the coming of the promised King. Those of us who have been raised in the Church and in a generally Christian culture also know better. Let us not spurn God’s gifts and the Lord’s coming. Let us be mindful to put the worship of the King of Kings first and foremost in our lives.
Our second Gospel is from Luke 2:41, and can be found on page 110 in your Prayer Book:
Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year for the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the chid Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And, when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
Here we have Christ’s manifestation to the Teachers of Israel. This is the only episode any of the Gospels give us of Jesus’ youth; everything else is from his infancy or manhood. Yet we see in this story a pattern that would continue throughout the Gospel narratives: our Lord astonishing people with his teachings. I can’t help but wonder if any of the Doctors present in this story were among the Scribes and Priests consulted by Herod a decade or more prior. I can’t help but wonder if any of these Doctors encountered Jesus twenty years later when he was teaching the multitudes. And if so, did anything change for them? Did they come to see that their astonishment pointed to someone who was greater than a teacher, greater than an itinerant rabbi? Did any of them come to be like Nicodemus or Joseph of Aramathea, and recognize him as the promised Messiah? Or did they harden their hearts like Herod and the rest of Jerusalem? Did they resist the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking through this remarkable youth?
Similar to the lesson from the visitation of the Magi, this is the main lesson for us in the story of Jesus in the Temple as a youth: we can rejoice and be thankful that we have been the recipients of Jesus’ teachings. We can rejoice that we recognize him to be not just our teacher, but our Lord and our God. And we can also be warned not to harden our hearts like so many of the teachers in Israel who were astonished, but never converted. Let the Lord’s person and teachings change your heart; let him change you as you follow him.
We also see something very important about our Lord in this story: we see that he knew who he was even at a young age. When his mother says, “thy father and I have sought thee,” he subtly corrects her: “wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” Jesus knew that God was his true Father, even though Joseph had raised him. Jesus knew that his mission was to be about God’s business even at a young age.
Sometimes you’ll hear folks speculate as to how Jesus came to know he was the Messiah, or how he came to know that he was the Son of God. In fact, there is evidence that the reason why the Baptism was the first element of Epiphany to be celebrated was because those Egyptians were gnostics who believed that his baptism was when God adopted Jesus! Both the Adoration of the Magi and Christ as a youth with the Doctors in the Temple show that those Egyptian gnostics were mistaken. Jesus was always God incarnate. Jesus always knew his mission. Yes, on a human level he “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man,” but he was always who he is.
This is another thing we can rejoice in. Our Lord is unlike any other teacher or religious leader in human history. Our Lord is unique as God incarnate. Our Lord is the unique Word-Made-Flesh who manifested himself to the Gentiles, to the Teachers of the Law, and to our own hearts. So let us follow in the footsteps of the Magi and worship him as our King and God who died for our sins.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
