“Light Shines”
“Light Shines”
Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:1-12, John 1:1-14, Matthew 2:1-12
Second Sunday after Christmas and Epiphany Observed, Year C
January 5, 2025
First Presbyterian Church, Sandpoint, Idaho
Andy Kennaly, Pastor
Each week the crèche figures representing the wise travelers from the east who arrive in Bethlehem to give Jesus some gifts, each week they’ve gotten a little closer. Notice they’ve finally arrived in the Manger scene, after all through Advent just a bit closer each week. Most manger scenes, or crèches, have these astrologers incorporated somehow, but really, they probably were not there, at a manger scene, at Jesus’ birth, for it says, “On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother.” They were in a house. We also see Herod ordering the slaughter of all children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or younger. So, the family probably stayed in Bethlehem for a while, up to two years. Then the Wise travelers come because they had seen the star, interpreted that light as a sign, and followed it.
What about these three wise guys? Even though our songs say they were kings, nothing in the Bible says they are kings, so even though their gifts are fit for royalty, they are not kings! Probably from Persia, most likely astrologers or astronomers who scanned the skies to look for signs of divine intent. They come to honor Jesus as a new king, a priestly figure with divine connections, and a future that would involve so much.
What they give as they present traditional gifts is meant for royalty.
The Hebrew Scripture book of Isaiah is often Christianized, where Christians look to what they call The Old Testament through the lens of the life of Jesus, in this case regarding the visit of the Three Wise Men from the East giving gifts to young Jesus. But the Hebrew Scriptures share God’s grace in a different context, in Isaiah’s case, this regards the destruction of Jerusalem, and Isaiah anticipates it’s glorious rebuilding. Isaiah is about God’s faithfulness to the people, God’s deliverance even through struggle.
This prophetic text in its specific context gave the people back then tremendous hope and vision in a time when those were lacking, and their circumstances would even contradict hope and vision. We can debate whether or how to link this passage from Isaiah with Christian New Testament stories of Jesus, but rather than get pulled into the depths of scholarly research, let’s simply recognize this morning that there is a specific link in the passages we read, something both Isaiah and Matthew mention in their stories. There are two gifts found in both passages, Isaiah and Matthew. These gifts are gold and frankincense. In Matthew, Myrrh is also added.
Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. Gold is amazing. Gold is a precious metal, very valuable, and people tend to link the spiritual significance of this gift to honor Jesus as royalty, a king. Frankincense is a resin from a tree, and it has a connection to worship. It shows, symbolically, the Priestly role of Jesus, even the link of divinity present in this child. Frankincense also has medicinal qualities and helps ease inflammation or the effects of arthritis.
Myrrh, that one more thing which Matthew adds, is another resin derived from trees in the ancient near east and it is used to anoint, especially at the time of death. In that sense, it honors the unique role of Jesus as chosen, but also foreshadows his death. Three gifts, each of them very valuable, all of them customary to the times as something worthy of royalty. No wonder Herod, in his insecurities, becomes irrational and everyone is afraid.
The travelers from east were wealthy and if they carried such items, they were not alone. It is likely they were in a rather large caravan, with guards, servants, and multiple astrologers. That we settle on three kings is absurd, and has more to do with how many types of gifts are mentioned in Matthew. Gold. Frankincense. Myrr. Precious gifts worthy of royal status. It is no wonder that they can secure an audience with King Herod. He is obviously shaken enough by their display and presence that his paranoia is triggered, and like most political systems that defend and justify themselves, we see that state-sponsored, violent tyranny is the result.
As we look at Epiphany, which means, God with us, and celebrate the Incarnation, the holy within creation, the Christ embodied, divinity made flesh, we have this image of people who come to honor Jesus, who open their treasure chests, offer him gifts, and this gets us thinking about our own interactions with Jesus.
How do we engage our spirit with the many ways God is revealed in our lives every day? How does Jesus become real for us? And if Jesus is real to us, then what do we present as gifts to honor the one who shows us the unity of heaven and Earth and how to live without fear? What do you give, what do you lay at the feet of Jesus?
As we come alongside those wise travelers from the east who seek Jesus, as we become explorers of royal divinity and discover what it is that we present in honor of Christ in our lives, we too can recognize this involves a journey, a process, a relational undertaking that needs hints along the way. Rather than stumble in the dark, we do have light.
Did you notice that thread? What is it that the travelers from the east follow? The light of a star. What are the words that encourage the Jewish people even during the destruction of Jerusalem? Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. Even Paul’s letter to the Ephesians tells of God’s grace, hidden mysteries now made known. God creates all things, and God’s wisdom in rich variety might now be made known. These passages echo what John reminds us, that All things came into being through the Word […] and the life was the light of all people.
Light. In life, light does what light does. Light shines. Light illuminates. Light fills. Light exists in relation to everything, and even shadows cannot exist without light. The stronger the light, the deeper the shadow. Even in the darkest dark, a small flicker is all it takes for light to shine.
Maybe this Christmas season can give us the gift of enlightenment. Perhaps the season of Epiphany, that celebrates God with us, can teach us Wisdom to illuminate our soul, heart, and mind in ways that change not only our lives, but change world, the same world Jesus enters.
As we journey from one season to another, as manger scenes are put in boxes and stored away, lets carry with us unseen mysteries made known as we give and receive blessings of awareness. As light shines let’s live alert to Christ at work in the world in everyday life. Let’s present ourselves along with other gifts worthy of divinity, all which honor God in our midst. Amen.