Sermon by the Rev. N. Jean Rogers
St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal
Church
Tucson, Arizona
My husband, John, and I moved to the
Santa Cruz River Valley in 1994. We live
on a ridge on the east side of the river, overlooking the Tubac area. Living where we do provides us with
spectacular views. At night, if we look
toward the west, we see the lights of Tubac and the cars on I 19. If we look to the east, we see only wide open
spaces, no lights except the wonderful light show God has provided us. When the sky is clear and moon is just a
sliver, it seems the stars and planets are close enough to touch. When I look up at those twinkling stars, it’s
not hard for me to imagine, the magi so long ago, looking up into the nighttime
skies and plotting a course to find “…the child (who was) born (to be the) king
of the Jews.”
Matthew is the only gospel writer
that mentions the coming of the magi -- those wise men who have become so much
a part of the Christmas story, that they are included in crèches, in nativity
plays and on Christmas cards. If I asked
you how many wise men visited the baby Jesus, most of you would probably answer
3. But were there only three? Matthew doesn’t tell us there were 3; he only
mentions the 3 gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh. So perhaps, all these years, we’ve assumed
there were 3 kings and perhaps there were many more.
Just before Christmas, I read an
article on the internet that was titled, “Forget the Three Wise Men…Dozens
flocked to see Jesus.” The article told
about an eighth century document which has been translated for the first time
into English and throws an incredible new light on the Christmas story. The translation describes how there were
actually over a dozen wise men who followed the star from a faraway land which
was possibly China.
Brent Landau, a Harvard student of
religion, discovered the document in the Vatican Library and spent almost a
decade on his translation. No one knows
who wrote the document but it was probably originally written in the late
second or early third century. So how
many wise men were there? Were there 3
who followed the star to Bethlehem or dozens?
We’ll probably never know for sure, but it’s easy to imagine more than 3
magi making that long and arduous journey.
I read a story several years ago
about a fourth wise man who started the journey to Bethlehem. Just as the three wise men who are thought to
have brought gifts to Jesus, in the story, Artaban, the fourth wise man also
had gifts. Artaban’s gifts were
expensive jewels, a sapphire, a ruby and an exquisite pearl.
As Artaban rode to meet the other
three wise men, he saw a man lying half dead by the roadside. He reined in his horse and dismounted. Artaban was a skilled doctor but it took time
to revive the man -- so much time he missed the rendezvous point where he was
to meet his friends. Artaban, in an
attempt to catch up with the other wise men, was forced to sell the sapphire to
buy a camel and equipment for the trip across the desert.
When Artaban finally reached
Bethlehem, a woman with a baby told him that the other wise men had been there
and left and the child he was looking for and his parents had suddenly left for
Egypt. While Artaban was in the woman’s
home, Herod’s soldiers came looking for infant boys they had been ordered to
kill. Artaban used his ruby to bribe the
soldiers to spare the life of the woman’s son.
From Bethlehem, Artaban went to
Egypt in search of the special baby but all he found were people who needed help. Finally 33 years later, Artaban found himself
once again in Jerusalem. He was old and
gray, but he still had one remaining gift, the precious pearl. Artaban heard that a man who had been called,
“King of the Jews” was to be crucified and he realized that this was the king
he had been looking for. Artaban hurried
towards Golgotha, thinking that perhaps the pearl could be traded for the
king’s life. But on the way, he passed a
terrified young girl who was being sold into slavery. Making an agonizing
decision, Artaban gave the pearl to the slave trader to buy the girl’s freedom.
It was then that a great earthquake
hurled Artaban to the ground and he heard a soft voice, seemingly out of
nowhere. Artaban knew at once it was the
king’s voice that said to him, “All these years you have been giving me great
gifts.” Artaban replied, “But I never
found you, my King. For 33 years I have
looked for you but I have never seen you.”
The soft voice spoke again, “Inasmuch as you have given your gifts to
the least of these, you have given your gifts to me. By reaching out to those who needed to be
touched, you have touched me.” Artaban’s
journey had ended. By using his gifts
and his talents to help others, the fourth wise man had given his gifts to the
King.
So what does this all mean to us as
we begin a new year? This story about
the 3 wise men, or was it 4, or maybe it was dozens – who followed a star –
looking for the Christ child? What does
it mean to us in 2012?
I
believe that all of us are once again being called, just as the wise men were,
to follow the star, the light of God. We
are being called, young and old, rich or poor, regardless of what race or
ethnic group we may belong to, to find God’s light. We are being called to find Jesus the Christ,
not in a manger, but here in the world we live in.
Each one
of us have God’s light within our very being.
This light is our guide in every decision we make. Sometimes because we are human, we don’t let
God’s light shine as bright as it should.
I know because of my actions and thought processes, the light that I
carry around inside, has sputtered at times.
But God has seen that the light has never been completely extinguished
and the brightness has always returned to lead me on my journey.
Our
job as light bearers is to look for God’s light in others and in all that is
ordinary in our world. We are called to
make our world a better place by doing what is ordinary with grace and love,
letting God’s light shine through us. No
matter where we find ourselves tomorrow, next week or the months ahead, each of
us need to remember that it is through what is common and ordinary that we
carry out Christ’s work in the world.
When
was the last time you thanked the cashier at the grocery store or held a door
open for someone? Those of you who are
students – when was the last time you thanked one of your teachers for helping
you learn something new or asked you mom if you could help her clean up the
kitchen after supper? When was the last
time you thanked your partner or spouse for just being who they are? If you drive a car – do you make a habit of
showing courtesy to other drivers? And
those of you who work in an office – when was the last time you told a
co-worker “thanks.” It is through the
ordinary that God works through us in the world.
Matthew’s
gospel tells us the wise men “…left for their own country by another
road.” Matthew probably meant this
literally. The magi did take a different
route home. They didn’t go back through
Jerusalem. But I don’t think it was only
the route home that changed. Whether it
was 3 wise men or 4 or dozens, the experience they had as they worshiped a
child in a manger gave them more than a lump in their throats and feelings of
being “…overwhelmed with joy.” They had a life changing experience. The wise men had seen God in the light
emanating from the baby. They were now
carriers of the Christ’s light into the world.
Every Christmas season, we also have the opportunity for a life changing
experience as we celebrate the coming of God’s light. As we begin this Epiphany season, we are now
the carriers of Christ’s light into the world, just as the wise men were so
many years ago.
No
matter what may be happening in our lives or where we may be on our spiritual
journey, God and Jesus are all around us – to be seen, to be felt and to give
us the courage and strength to live our lives so we can lovingly make a
difference in our world. I have a
recommendation for all of us. When we
sometimes forget how God is here with us and not out there someplace – and when
we forget about the mystery of God sending his son to live among us – we need
to take time on a clear night to look up at the skies at the beauty and mystery
of God’s universe. We may feel humbled
as we look at that “…vast expanse of interstellar space…” but it will help us
to remember, we’re not alone. Thanks be
to God.