Jan. 4, 2004

Pastor Marcia Sietstra

There’s a delightful commentary going around on the internet these days that says, ‘If the three wise men had been three wise women, they would have asked for directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, made a casserole and brought more practical gifts.’

Like so many stories in the Bible, the visit of the magi is meant to symbolize much more than a simple literal reading suggests. Notice first of all that Matthew is basing his story on an old testament reading, our text from Isaiah today, which reads in part:

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you’And nations shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising’A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord. (Isa.60:1,3,6)

Some scholars, writing about today’s te’t, remind us that the story of the visit to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba (I Kings 1)) included the themes of exotic visitors bring gold, spices and precious stones to honor Israel’s divinely blessed ruler. It was a common literary motif, meant to suggest that this person was no ordinary person, but someone with divine significance. Some people insist the story of the wise men’s visit is factually accurate; others say it was a commonly accepted way for Matthew to suggest Jesus’ unique relationship to God.

Scholars widely agree that Matthew painted a picture of Christ as the fulfillment of ancient Jewish hopes. It’s fascinating to see how each of the gospel writers accentuates different things, but for Matthew there is little doubt that his agenda was to show Jesus’ connection to the religion of the ancestral temple and the scriptures they had—which was what we now call the Old Testament. Here in our text today, he is intentionally picking up pieces of Old Testament story to tell a new story. Matthew, by the way, is the only gospel writer who tells the story of the magi. Mark, the earliest gospel writer has no birth narratives; he starts out with Jesus as an adult. Later, Matthew and Luke wrote their gospels and they each recount pieces of what had most likely been circulating as oral stories about Jesus for 30-50 years before before being written down.

A purely literal reading is the simplest level on which to read anything. Great literature, and much sacred literature in particular, is richly symbolic. Scholars have long suggested that the gifts of the magi are symbols. Many say they represent the universal gifts that should be given to every child—gold stands for material security, incense represents a strong spiritual life, and myrrh (a perfume used at the time of death) stands for the dignity that every person deserves.

Have you ever noticed that there was a fourth gift that usually goes unnoticed? It was the gift of justice. In the story, they found this baby that Herod wanted to destroy, but they refused to collaborate in Herod’s plan to kill the baby. They could have said, ‘It’s none of our business what the government does.’ But you may recall that they went home by another way, refusing to participate in King Herod’s ploy to find the baby. At some risk to themselves, the magi chose to protect the innocent child born to two peasants, who were soon to become political refugees, even though the family was powerless and poor—a great gift of justice was the fourth gift the wise men gave to the Christ child.

There is a poem by Howard Thurman that I always think of when I hear this story of the wise men. It’s called ‘The Work of Christmas Begins:’

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flock,

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner;

To rebuild the nations,

To bring peace among all,

To make music in the heart.

This story is a timeless one, and it relates to contemporary issues. Like the wise men, who had to return by another road because of the political implications of what was revealed to them, so what we learn from the Christ child may result in future paths that are dangerous and difficult. Last year we had a young college-age couple attending here for awhile named Dustin and Ky. Ky had been to South America and while there she interacted with people who were poor and politically powerless; she was so sensitized to their needs while she was there, that I think she will never again be able to ignore injustice. I got a Christmas card from them; they’re in the Pacific Northwest now, getting ready for graduate school, but presently she’s working in a clinic that supports women’s reproductive rights. She will likely choose roads that are less safe and easy, because she realizes she can help give the gift of justice.

Besides that fourth gift of justice, there’s another thing readers often miss when we read this story. Nathan Baxter, Dean of the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., points out that, though the magi were traditionally supposed to have traveled from Iran, ‘we do not know their language, culture or religion, and there is no evidence that they ever became either Jewish converts or followers of the infant Christ to whom they came to pay homage.’

I think it’s very likely that Matthew also intended to suggest that the Christ light attracts men and women regardless of religion. Christ came to bring the light of peace to the world, to teach us how to get along with one another, and that is the wisdom that transcends boundaries of religion.

Wise men and women from many faiths recognize the light of peace, the Christ consciousness that was born into this world. This is why so many great spiritual leaders from many different faiths revere Jesus. Mahatma Gandhi, a Hindu, studied the gospels and greatly admired Jesus. Much of Gandhi’s thinking reflects the teachings of Jesus that he learned when he studied in England. In these times, when the world is suffering at the hands of religious extremists, I think it’s good to remember that good people in many religions recognize truth. This is not to suggest that they believe in a religion ABOUT Jesus; this is to suggest that many accept the teachings OF Jesus, i.e. the truths that lead to peace. And the difference is the subject of another sermon.

Rev. Dr. Baxter recalls his first interfaith worship at the national Cathedral. His Christian sensibilities were disturbed as he heard Buddhist chant, watched gyrating Hindu dancers, and other unusual worship styles of various groups during the service. But then all the people assembled sang ‘Joyful, joyful, we adore thee’God our Father, Christ our brother’help us learn to love each other, fill us with the joy divine.’

He said that it was then that he recognized the dream of God—that all God’s children learn to love each other. Ba’ter says, ‘The most Christian thing we can do is to line up on the side of peace and justice for all. Jesus said, ‘Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God’—whether they call God Adonai, Atman, Allah, Great Spirit, Jehovah or ‘Our Father who art in heaven.’’

Dr. Baxter also asks, ‘Can we honestly distinguish between the Christian Desmond Tutu, the Buddhist Dalai Lama, the Christian Mother Teresa and the Hindu Sister Dodi; the religiously eclectic Nelson Mandela or the El Salvadoran martyr Catholic Archbishop Oscar Romero; the Hindu Mahatma Gandhi or the Baptist Martin Luther King, Jr.?’

We live in dangerous times. But at the start of a new year, I am encouraged by the growing understanding between religions. I pray that we will regard people of other faiths with respect so that we might recognize the parts of them that are true—the parts that reflect justice, peace, and love, the parts that reflect the light of Christ.

May we all be inspired by the gifts of wise men and women in that first Christmas story. They brought gifts of gold, symbolizing every family’s need for material security, frankincense symbolizing every family’s need for a rich spiritual life, myyrh symbolizing every family’s need for dignity, and justice symbolizing every family’s right to be safe. May we be inspired to bring these gifts to a world in need of peace. Amen.