Mt. 2 2011

The visit of the Magi is a story of doing the right thing for the wrong reasons and the wrong thing for the right reason. It shows that in spiritual matters one needs careful discernment. Even knowing the Bible is insufficient. God can use us when we are unwitting or if we are clear about what we must do.Matthew even plays with the ambiguity as the word can mean either homage or worship. We are not sure if they were of this feared group Parthians, or if they were representatives of the dualism of Persian religion with Zoroaster  Daniel was called chief magi. The Magi themselves occupied religious positions but were actively involved in counselling the rich and members of government. For those of a certain age, think of Jafar in the Aladdin moves. Their gifts were appropriate for a king, but all of them appear at the altar in Exodus. All of the gifts have both a secular and religious character. Gold is obvious, both as a gift for a king but also in its use in the Temple.  frankincense was prized for its aroma and expense, but recall that it was an important par of the worship in the temple. Not only is the odor pleasing but its slow rise to the sky makes one think about prayers ascending. Myrrh is bitter, as life itself can be. It also heals and smells good, It was an item for worship. It was also used to make anointing oils for important events during life and in anointing a body at death. In other words, we can read much significance into the gifts of the sages, far beyond their capacity to realize what and to whom they were giving them. They followed the starlight as gentiles. Maybe it was out of astrology or some tenet of their religious beliefs, but they went to Bethlehem. In doing the right thing for the wrong reason, they then did the proper thing: to visit Herod the king of the region.  Now this gesture would turn murderous as we were so terribly reminded last week. They were right that Jesus was to be a king, but wrong about the type of kingdom his would demonstrate. Even though they we sages, it was but a partial epiphany.

 

Matthew ends his gospel with end time, apocalyptic signs at the crucifixion and of course the resurrection itself. He starts with it too, in a world of dreams and heavenly bodies changing course. Celestial bodies don't move about like the star of the Magi.  The ancients thought that celestial objects were connected to the earth. In the time of Jesus a lot of emphasis was placed on the  star of Jacob. they Magi may have believed that the object in the sky had a human counterpart. they would be joined only at death.

Matthew's story is journalistic in a way, as it asks basic questions such as,where.Mic. 5 and 2 S 5:2 give the Scriptural expectation for the birthplace of the Davidic messiah. The religious experts knew the right passages and could cite them. They did not apply it to their life and times. Even though the passage from Micah was messianic at this time but they missed the messiah.

It speaks of when and how.The dream motif In this early part of Matthew have dreams as vehicles of direct revelation. Both Joseph and the Wise Men have them and heed them.  

 

Isaiah speaks of the light rising on us.That light shines on everyone. What attracts me about our passage is that it speaks of lifting up the head, opening the eyes, and embracing the light. When we are downcast we don;t notice the light shining thorough. Think of the old charlie Chaplin song smile, smile and maybe tomorrow, you'll see the sun coming shining through." Even if we do not perceive the light fully, we open our eyes and see more clearly. We enter into the new year clear-eyed after New Year's Eve revels: cleared eyed because we enter the year with worship.