“We’re on a pilgrimage to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2b)
Years ago, John Denver and the Muppets recorded … on their Christmas CD… “It’s In Every One Of Us”… a great song for a great time of the year. It’s been a favorite song of mine as it can carry anyone into the new year with hope as one considers past, present and the potential and prospect of the life which lies ahead. It’s a simple song with a calm and provocative message…
“It’s in every one of us to be wise; find your heart, open up both your eyes.
We can all know everything without ever knowing why.
It’s in every one of us, by and by…”
Let the words sing to you and let their message sink in…
Longer ago, about 2000 years back, the story was told and written down in Matthew’s gospel about men who came from the east, following a star, looking for a new king. They were called ‘magi’ or as we refer to them now, ‘wise men.’ They seemed to be singled out. Wise men vs. unwise men. Looking for a king, but not totally sure where to go. Wise enough to stop and ask directions. Most men aren’t and most men don’t. But, could the Muppets be right? Is it in every one of us … to be wise?
The details of what transpires is what the late Dr. Bruce Schein labelled, “the tragedy of Epiphany.”
Here’s my take…
While angels were singing ‘glory hallelujah’ to the shepherds out in the fields guarding their flocks by night and being the lowest of the low when it came to public status (shepherds in those days were equal to the guy who waves the flag at a construction site or jumps on and off a garbage truck) but invited into God’s future with open arms… and while Mary and Joseph were being amazed at the prospect of parenting the Son of God, being surrounded by animals in a stable… which was most likely a cave…and the last place a descendant of the House of David would want to spend the night… magi from the East (more likely in modern day Syria or Iraq vs. New York or Boston) were following a bright star in the sky with hope upon hope to find the newborn king of the Jews… they stopped in Jerusalem and had credentials enough to get an audience with King Herod to ask him what was up. After all, in those days… kings hung out with kings…right? … and end scene one.
When King Herod hears their question, at the opening of scene 2, Matthew reports that he becomes afraid… as does all of Jerusalem. Apparently, all kings do not hang out with other kings, and to add injury to insult… King Herod knows little of what the magi inquire. Wise men. Terrified king. This is the part where the scary music begins to play and the sense of something foreshadowed is about to unfold. Think “Jaws” theme here. So, King Herod claps his hands and asks for the chief priests and the scribes to come to his aid. His ‘wise men.’ The people’s brain trust. “What do you know of this king of the Jews? Where is he to be born?” he asks. And like all gifted students, they respond without even raising their hands. The nerd choir starts to sing… “in Bethlehem of Judea… that’s where he’ll be…a shepherd of the nations…to set his people free!” And the second liners chimed in… “Aaaaaaaaa-meeeeeen!” Mystery solved. End scene two.
“Why that’s just 6 miles down the road,” King Herod said. “You are almost there.” So, scene three now begins. The magi go to Bethlehem, bearing some pretty pricey gifts, we’re told, and King Herod goes back and sits on his throne… waiting for the magi to return with good news… even though they never do… and here it is… are you ready for it… the men who knew the answer to the question… the guys who knew the story… went back to their books… they went back to their prayers… they went back to their tables… they went back to their ‘scribing’… and what they didn’t do was go along with the magi… they didn’t listen to voice of God… and there is the tragedy of Epiphany… that the men who knew the story… did not tag along to ‘worship the new-born king…” because that is why the wise men came…to ‘pay him homage’… the magi told King Herod… or as Eugene Peterson translates… “we’re on a pilgrimage to worship him.” (The Message) And the magi left with a whispered message from King Herod and they extended their pilgrimage because Bethlehem, the world and they would never be the same. End scene three.
Ok, maybe John Denver and the Muppets were wrong. Maybe it’s not in every one of us. To be wise.
In high school literature class we learned about tragedy and pathos. In simple terms, a tragic event includes a choice of the person involved. When things are pathetic, the victim never sees the pain coming. The classic example is the pathetic event happening when the old blind dog got hit by the car. It was tragic for the driver of said car who took his eyes off the road to text his boss. And in tragedy, the hero undergoes a change in character. If the hero remains essentially the same throughout his life and dies in part because he never changed, the action is not tragic but pathetic.
What do we say then? Say… about the times… the many times… we who know the story… we who call upon the name of Jesus… go back to our desks, go back to our living rooms, go back to the work shed and neglect taking the extra steps to worship the name above all names? Are we participants in the tragedy of Epiphany? Are we still willing to be wise and follow the star who is Jesus…the fixed ‘north star’ who guides our thoughts and deeds? It is not too early in the year to ‘find our hearts’ and ‘open both our eyes‘…
There is no record of King Herod ever going to look for the magi who never returned with the news of the whereabouts of the newborn king. But, there is record that Herod trusted the news of the story and remained threatened by the power and potential of this new king of the Jews and chose to send soldiers to Bethlehem to kill all the male children under the age of three and not risking the prospect of this new king rising to power. Truth be told, the new king already had the power. Tragic King Herod. Pathetic priests and scribes. Heroic magi who went to worship, offer their gifts and then went back into the world to let others know God is with us. With me. With you. With us. Always.
And as always, I welcome your thoughts and comments as we work and serve together in the name of King Jesus.
One man at a time; no man left behind,
Brian
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