In Christmas pageants, elements of this story are tacked onto Luke’s birth story (2:1-20), but in reality they are very different stories and the visit of the Magi deserves to be known in all its richness.
1st Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6
Light is the primary image of this
feast. In this reading, Isaiah
prophecies that the people themselves are to be a light, a light to all the
nations. This was one of two lines of
thought in post-exilic Israel. The
other, represented by the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, was to strengthen the
barrier between Israel and the nations.
Isaiah imagines the nations being drawn to Israel and Israel’s God. This reading also includes images that appear
in the Gospel story, camels bringing those from far away bearing gifts.
60:1 Arise, shine; for your light
has come, and the glory of the Lord
has risen upon you. 2 For darkness
shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory
will appear over you. 3 Nations
shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4 Lift up your eyes and look around; they all
gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your
daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms. 5
Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and
rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth
of the nations shall come to you. 6 A
multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all
those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall
proclaim the praise of the Lord.
Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
Psalm 72 is a royal psalm, perhaps
from the coronation liturgy. It lays out
the king’ responsibilities, justice and righteousness for all his people. Again there is imagery of peoples from far
away coming to bear gifts. Note they do
so because they are attracted by the king’s extraordinary treatment of those
who are weak, needy, or oppressed.
1 Give the King your justice, O God, *
and your righteousness to the King’s
Son;
2 That he may rule your people righteously *
and the poor with justice;
3 That the mountains may bring prosperity to
the people, *
and the little hills bring
righteousness.
4 He shall defend the needy among the people;
*
he shall rescue the poor and crush
the oppressor.
5 He shall live as long as the sun and moon
endure, *
from one generation to another.
6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown
field, *
like showers that water the earth.
7 In his time shall the righteous flourish; *
there shall be abundance of peace
till the moon shall be no more.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall
pay tribute, *
and the kings of Arabia and Saba
offer gifts.
11 All kings shall bow down before him, *
and all the nations do him service.
12 For he shall deliver the poor who cries out
in distress, *
and the oppressed who has no helper.
13 He shall have pity on the lowly and poor; *
he shall preserve the lives of the
needy.
14 He shall redeem their lives from oppression
and violence,
and dear shall their blood be in his sight.
2nd Reading: Ephesians 3:1-12
Paul speaks eloquently of the plan of
God to reveal himself to the Gentiles, the plan he believes always existed but
was hidden until the coming of Christ and the mission Paul has been given. This radical plan is that Jews and Gentiles
become one.
3:1 This is the reason that I Paul
am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—2 for surely you have already heard of the
commission of God’s grace that was given me for you, 3 and how the mystery was made known to me by
revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, 4 a
reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of
Christ. 5 In former generations
this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to
his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:
6 that is, the Gentiles have
become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in
Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7 Of
this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that
was given me by the working of his power. 8 Although
I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to
the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, 9 and to make everyone see what is the plan of
the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; 10 so that through the church the wisdom of
God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities
in the heavenly places. 11 This was
in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus
our Lord, 12 in whom we have access
to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 2:1-12
In
Christmas pageants, elements of this story are tacked onto Luke’s birth story
(2:1-20), but in reality they are very different stories and the visit of the
Magi deserves to be known in all its richness.
The wise men (magoi in
Greek) were likely astrologers and emissaries of foreign courts. They were not “kings” (a notion that came
from the Isaiah reading and the psalm for today). They also were not necessarily three in
number. The text does not give them a number;
we have implied it from the three gifts.
Those gifts are highly symbolic in nature: gold for a ruler, incense for a priest, myrrh
for one who is to die. Revelation comes
to people in the first two chapters of Matthew’s Gospel via dreams (1:20, 2:12,
2:13, 2:19, 2:22). The prophecy
concerning Bethlehem is from Micah 5:2. That the wise men first went to
Jerusalem to consult the current king was only natural, but the “king” they
seek is of a very different nature.
2:1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born
in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 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.” 3 When King Herod
heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests
and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be
born. 5 They told him, “In
Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6 ‘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.’” 7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men
and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 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.” 9 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. 10 When they saw that
the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 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.
12 And having been warned in a
dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
The
Scripture quotations (except for the psalm) are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ
in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.
All rights reserved. The Psalm
translation is from The Book of Common
Prayer. Commentaries are copyright ©
2019, Epiphany ESources, 67 E. Main St., Hornell, NY 14843, www.epiphanyesources.com. All
rights reserved. Permission is granted
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