Epiphany 2012. Upsizing For Light

Matthew 2: 1-12
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. 

Wise men. Magi. Magicians. Astrologers. If these wise men were alive today they would most likely be called New Age practitioners and be looked upon with suspicion and perhaps even fear by Christians. At the very least they would be dismissed. It is interesting to note that at the time of Christ's birth, the people who should have been aware of the significant signs accompanying the coming of the Messiah, people like the scribes and Pharisees who studied the prophetic writings endlessly, had no idea that the Light had come. They were completely in the dark, blinded by their preconceptions of what the 'brightness of the dawn' would look like. Thick darkness had covered the people. God manifested his signs to all but the ones who saw and responded to these signs were either social outcasts or strangers with strange practices who, according to the Jewish belief, should have been the last ones to be led to the light.

This should make us sit up and take notice. It should make us examine our expectations of what we think it will look like when Christ manifests his light in our lives. If we have set ideas about what is light and what is not or where the light will come from or how it will reveal itself, we may find ourselves groping in the darkness of skewed preconceived ideas. We all search for the light every day of our lives. We all hope, like the Israelites, that Christ will manifest himself in the midst of our sufferings and challenges to lead us to freedom. When he doesn't come the way we think he should we become terribly discouraged and end up blaming ourselves for lack of faith or blaming God for not paying attention to our needs. In the meantime, he is very present, attentive and active but he is unrecognized because we are looking for something entirely different.

Everything about the birth of Christ was an antithesis of all the common expectations of the Jewish people. Because they thought they knew exactly what the story should look like, they could not see the unfolding of an astounding Kingdom narrative in which God planted the Light deep within the ordinary night. The glory of the Lord rose upon them but their eyes could not see it. “Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice...” wrote Isaiah. But it wasn't the Israelites who noted the star, followed it over a huge distance, saw where it stopped and were filled with joy. It was magi from a foreign nation. They were open to mystery however it manifested itself. “When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.” Overwhelmed with joy. That's a strong phrase. It's a little disconcerting to realize that in all the gospels, a respectable Israelite being absolutely overwhelmed with joy because of Jesus was relatively rare. Samaritans, Roman soldiers, lepers, prostitutes and those on the outer edge of acceptability were the ones likely to be overwhelmed by joy. For those who were educated about the Messianic prophecies, his presence was more likely to cause consternation, confusion, resentment, anger, fear and indignation. Joy seemed to come most easily to those who didn't really know who or what Jesus was supposed to be.

The first Epiphany – the manifestation of the Light to the Gentiles – was not an event designed to fire the intellect or affirm traditional expectations. This Light that reached out beyond the prescribed and acceptable borders was a visceral light, a light that moved those magi in their guts. Something far beyond them called to them and whispered of ancient yearnings fulfilled. It spoke to them about kingship, priesthood and death. The voice was irresistible. The voice of light was so magnetic and so consistent that even being led to a poor child with poor parents in a poor shelter didn't quench their joy; they understood that their minds could not define all the mysteries of heaven and earth and they knew they had no right to create definitions of the Light and keep those definitions in a well guarded box. All they could do was offer their gifts and weep for a people who could not see the glory that was right in front of them. Gold for kingship and Frankincense for priesthood were the gifts that Isaiah spoke of but perhaps those magi had an intuition that the darkness over Christ's people had only one possible outcome. Myrrh for death. Myrrh for burial. Myrrh for the journey beyond the grave.

We live in a dark world where it isn't always easy to discern the light but it does us no good to cling to our black and white talismans against the night. Like the magi, we need to be able to recognize God's pinpoints of light in the dark universe and be willing to strike out across a wilderness terrain without all our theological comforts around us. We need to be fully aware that the light can be a star, a child, a dream, a long arduous journey, a dangerous proposition, a diligent search, an overwhelming joy or a flight back into the wilderness. It is rarely what we expect.

We need to allow the Spirit to expand and open our hearts so that we, like the magi, can perceive and recognize the light. We often keep our expectations too small, too enclosed, too safe and too rigid to play host to a light that knows no boundaries and is always on the move, changing everything in its path. Isaiah said, “Enlarge the site of your tent and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;” (Isaiah 54.2-17) He was telling the Israelites that the Light was on its way and the light was bigger than anyone could conceive.

The light has come. The light is coming. The light will always be coming. It's still on its way.

Enlarge your expectations. Widen up.