Sermon for January 5, 2025: We Would Like to See the Baby based upon Matthew 2:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12: The Visit of the Wise Men

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.

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​Today is the last Sunday of the Christmas season and tomorrow is the celebration of Epiphany, so we have some important business to finish. First, I think we should make sure that the creche is finished. Will someone come and look? Who all is in there now (baby Jesus, his parents, shepherds, animals, an angel)? Is there anyone missing who you think should be there? Yes! The Magi and their camels. Will someone go get them in the back of the church for me? It might take two people.

OK, you all can go back and sit down. Does anyone remember what Magi means? Yes! It is a Greek word that means “wise men” or even “wise ones” because we don’t actually know many details about the group that came. How many Magi do we have in our creche? Three! Christian tradition talks about three, but the Bible never says that there are three. Because we understand God as three-in-one, Christians like threes, so we decided there were three at some point. The Wise Ones weren’t just regular smart people. In his notes on today’s readings, Andrew Overman describes the Magi as scholars and political advisors to the royalty in the area that we now call Iran, or maybe Armenia. It’s not totally clear. But, what the Bible is clear about is that they were experts in astrology, which is paying attention to the stars to learn more about what is happening all around you.

Does anyone remember why they came to see Jesus, who was probably a toddler by the time they got there? He wasn’t a rich and fancy toddler. People who work for kings and queens don’t usually show up at poor people’s homes for a visit. Do you remember what they saw? Using all of what they learned about the stars, they were paying attention to the stars on the night that he was born. The stars showed them that he was special, a leader even! And, these scholars did what they would do to celebrate the birth of any new leader: they showed up with presents! 

They went to the current king, a mean-spirited and weak-willed man named Herod. Herod cared more about protecting his power than leading his people. He would always make the choice that protected his power rather than what would help others. When representatives of another country showed up talking about a new king, he knew immediately that he wanted to hurt the child so the child could never replace him as king. Remember: some grown-ups will hurt kids on purpose. It isn’t right and it’s our responsibility when we know that could happen to protect the kids. The Magi make the choice to protect the toddler.

In 2019, two days before Christmas, I finished this cross-stitch. Does anyone know who this is? 

It’s a baby... well, a toddler named Grogu. Before people knew his name, they called him “Baby Yoda.” He was a character in a tv show called The Mandalorian. The Mandalorian is a man who so committed to his spiritual community that he wears a special mask and helmet so that people can tell he is a member of that community. He never takes his face-covering off. On the other hand, he has a job where people hire him to do things that are kind of sketchy sometimes. In season 1 of the show, he takes a job where he ends up taking care of a baby and is supposed to take the baby to a powerful man. The Mandalorian realizes that the man who hired him will harm the baby. Rather than give the powerful man the baby, the Mandalorian chooses to save him. That choice will have repercussions across the whole empire.

Sometimes stories that aren’t in the Bible can help us learn more about stories that are in the Bible. I don’t know if the people who wrote The Mandalorian were thinking about the Magi when they wrote their tv show. To be fair, the Mandalorian and the Magi aren’t very much alike other than that they are people with a measure of power, who, inspired by their faith, opt to take care of a child who has an adult who wants to hurt them. When we remember the bravery, wisdom, and kindness of the Magi, it helps to have another example to hold up beside them that reminds us that we can be brave like that, too. We don’t have to be scholars in a queen’s court to take care a child that needs it. We can just be a faithful guy with a job who realizes that the job isn’t more important that the child that is right in front of him.
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The Magi do make it to Jesus’ family home and pay him homage. They give him three gifts. Do you remember what they are? Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Some people make jokes that the frankincense and myrrh, which are perfumed spices and sticky sap from trees that are used as incense, aren’t very good gifts for toddlers, though Jesus’ family could definitely use the gold. Dr. Overman reminds us in his notes on this story that expensive perfumes and gold are the kind of fancy gifts that you give a king or queen. These gifts show us that the Magi were serious about believing that Jesus was a leader. And, I wonder if they came in handy in the next part of the story.

First, the Magi learned through a dream that Herod planned to hurt the child. So, they went home a different way so has not to alert him to the little family’s whereabouts. Then, an angel showed up to talk to Joseph, saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him.” That’s in the verse immediately after today’s reading. Joseph, Mary, and the toddler left. If you’ve ever heard the testimony of modern refugees, you know that they often need cash or things they can sell to survive, and they often need them quickly. The Magi may have ended up financially sponsoring Jesus’ family as they became refugees in Egypt.

While I don’t want to give away more details about the toddler named Grogu, I will note that his is a story of escape, as well. Sometimes you have to leave a place to find safety and family. Jesus and his family would return home eventually when God lets them know that Herod has died is no longer a threat, though Herod’s son was in power. God would lead the family to settle in Galilee, in Nazareth. Important things will happen in Nazareth. They can only happen wisdom of the Magi, who chose to stand with the vulnerable one who was full of promise. May we follow them, first to Jesus, and then in protecting those who need it the most. 
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Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
J. Andrew Overman's notes on Matthew in The New Oxford Annotated Bible: The New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha, ed. Michael Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001)