Observing His Star

Dr. D. William McIvor

January 6, 2008 — Epiphany of the Lord

Presbyterian Church in Sudbury

Matthew 2.1-12 (NRSV)

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Each week after we finish printing the Sunday bulletins, we send an email to the elder or deacon assigned as worship leader for that Sunday with information to help him or her prepare. For the 11:00am service we include the title of the first hymn which the worship leader introduces after the call to worship.

Yesterday as Keith was getting ready for today, he sent me an email asking if the first hymn really was “We Three Kings of Orient Are.” He wondered if that might be a “cut and paste” error, left over in the worship leader’s memo form from before Christmas. It’s a great question. Why would we be singing “We Three Kings” after Christmas?

I know Keith is not alone in wondering why we would sing this song today. Isn’t Christmas over? Yes. The twelfth day of Christmastide was yesterday and with January 6th — Epiphany — we begin a new season. But this gets confusing because of the cultural blending together of different parts of the story of Jesus’ birth. In the popular telling of the Christmas story and its many representations in crèches, artwork, and so forth, the wise men are present along with the shepherds and angels when Jesus was born. But this is a smashing together of Luke’s version of the nativity with Matthew’s version and theologically they are very different stories.

How do we know that the wise men were not present on the night Jesus was born? There are a lot of clues in the text. First, the wise men came to Jerusalem, not Bethlehem “after Jesus was born,” not when Jesus was born. A second clue is the time it would take them to follow the star. If a star really marked Jesus’ birth — I’ll say more about that in a minute — it would take weeks or even months to journey from wherever the “East” was — Persia, Babylon, and Arabia being the usual guesses. We’re given a third clue when the text tells us that Mary and the child were in a “house” not in a stable or cave with a manger or some other place where animals were kept. And the final and best clue is in what Matthew says a few verses after today’s text. The wise men told King Herod that they came to worship the “king of the Jews.” Herod took that as a threat to his own throne. So he ordered his soldiers to slaughter all the children in and around Bethlehem who were under two years of age. For all these reasons it appears that when the wise men arrived in Bethlehem, a good bit of time had passed since Jesus was born.

Why did the wise men even go looking for the one born king of the Jews? They told Herod they did so because they observed his, that is, the king of the Jews’ star, at its rising. They observed and followed the light of a star.

But this was no ordinary star. Every Christmas season some planetariums attempt to identify the star with a planetary conjunction, or a comet, or a supernova, or some other cosmic event. All such attempts are futile. Cosmic objects do not go ahead of people, nor do they stop over a particular place. And that a light high above could precisely guide people below just does not make any sense. Ancient commentators understood this better than some modern ones. For example, John Chrysostom (354-407), who was bishop of Constantinople in the fourth century, wrote “this was not an ordinary star, for no other star has the capacity to guide, not merely to move but to beckon, to ‘go before them,’ drawing and guiding them along their way.… Moreover, the star, when it stood over the child, held still. This itself demonstrates a power greater than any star: first to hide itself, then to appear, then to stand still. From this all who beheld were encouraged to believe.”[1]

So what is going on here? Many ancient writers speak of the star like what we might express in modern terms as a Tinker Bell-like light flying hither and yon.[2] You might be thinking, as I did at first, Wait a minute. That turns the wise men story into a fairy tale. But not really. Remember that the ancients didn’t think about stars as we think about stars. Matthew did not imagine stars to be immense, inanimate, energetic masses billions of light-years from Earth. He and other ancients thought of stars as living beings. In the Bible stars were often spoken of as angels, and angels were often spoken of as stars.[3] In other words, instead of looking for the star of Jesus in the sky, we need to think of it as being in the realm of the Spirit. This is vitally important because it means no one misses out on the star. We don’t have to have been in the ancient middle east to see it. The light of Christ shines on all who are willing to see it and to seek it. Herod was not willing to see or seek. But the wise men were. And wise men and women and wise girls and boys still are to observe his star, to see it and seek it.[4]

There is an ancient Christian legend that connects the wise men seeking the light of the star to the creation story. In an apocryphal book called “Cave of Treasures” we find the story of Adam and Eve, at the beginning of the world and before the fall, living in the Garden of Eden. Adam had many beautiful and precious treasures. After the first parents sinned, but before they were forced to leave Eden, Adam pleaded with God that he might be permitted to take some of his treasure with him. God graciously granted his request. Many years later, when Adam’s soul flew to heaven, his family buried his wealth in a cave. This cave, like the entrance to Paradise, was guarded by an angel, so that no one might enter and take Adam’s treasure. It rested there throughout the ages.

According to the legend, in the fullness of time, a star arose in the East, and three magi observed its light and went on a long journey to find and worship the newborn king. As they were making their way, the star lead them to the ancient, hidden cave of Adam, and the angelic sentry gave up its guard. There, among the riches, the magi found gold and frankincense and myrrh, and they took some of each that they might with those gifts honor the royal child.[5]

Each of us along our journeys in life gathers many things, many of which are the blessings and gifts of others who have gone before us. We may not think of this as treasure, but it is what we have, it is our life. As we see and seek the light of Christ, it is the gift of our individual lives that we can offer to him.

Conclusion

So I want to close today with a little story about how this sermon began. Several weeks ago Matthew and I were talking about hymns and carols that we might sing during Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. We noticed a song called “‘Twas in the Moon of Wintertime,” a hymn written by a man named Jean de Brébeuf (1593-1649).[6] Matthew mentioned that the Catholic school he attended as a young person was named after Brébeuf and they often sang this hymn.

After Brébeuf was ordained as a Jesuit priest he journeyed to Canada as a missionary to the Huron tribes. He learned their customs and language, of which he became an expert. It is claimed that he wrote the first dictionary of the Huron language. Brébeuf was said to have been hugely strong, yet gentle in character. He was known as the “Apostle of the Hurons” and many Jesuit schools and colleges are named after him.[7] I’m sure Matthew could tell you a lot more.

But about 20 years after he began his ministry with the Huron people, the Iroquois attacked the village where Brébeuf was working. He was captured, tortured, mutilated, and burned to death. He was made a saint by the Catholic church in 1930 along with seven other missionaries, known as the Canadian Martyrs. He is the patron saint of Canada.

I tell a bit of his story because regardless of how we feel about Christians evangelizing native persons — along with the good there has been much evil and exploitation done in Christ’s name — or how we feel about missionaries like Brébeuf being martyred, his life is an example of the light of Christ going forth into the world to touch individual lives.

What’s most interesting to me is that Brébeuf’s hymn that we’ll sing in a moment, talks about the light of Christ in images that made sense for his Huron converts. For example, the word for God is a native word for the divine — “Gitchi Manitou.” The baby Jesus was not wrapped in swaddling cloths but in a “ragged robe of rabbit skin.” And the wise men did not bring gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Instead they brought gifts of fox and beaver pelt. Those images made sense in a native culture. For the true light of Christ always shines where individuals can see it.

It isn’t a revelation in general. It’s a revelation in particular. That’s what it means to observe Jesus’ star. My friend, look for him where you are. For if you are wise and seek him, you will surely find him, and then offer him your life. The light of God shines in the Holy Child. And as the hymn will say, “Come kneel before the radiant boy who brings you beauty, peace, and joy.” Thanks be to God.

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