All the signs pointed in one
direction:
the
words of the prophets of old,
the
genealogical records,
the dream
of Joseph,
the voices
of the angels from heaven,
the
paranoia of a puppet ruler,
and
even the stars themselves,
sang together in a glorious
symphony of the baby born to be King – the one called Jesus, because he will
save his people from their sins.
In the ancient world, it was
not unusual to think that occurrences in the natural world were telling us
about the lives of human beings.
If you were going on a
journey, or embarking on a business venture, then it was vital to read the
signs.
You
might get a soothsayer to say some sooth – to perhaps slaughter an animal and
make a reading from its entrails ; or to watch in the sky for the flight
patterns of geese.
But what happened on the
black canvas of the heavens held particular fascination for ancient people.
And heavenly events were
associated with Kings and rulers.
When
Julius Caesar was backstabbed by Brutus and the boys in 44BC, the ancient
writer Suetonius said that “a comet shone for seven successive days... and was
believed to be the soul of Caesar”.
It
became known in Rome as “Caesar’s star”.
At Christmas we recall an
even more famous star : the star not of vast Rome and mighty Caesar, but of tiny
Bethlehem and its baby in a manger.
Matthew
tells us that
“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”.
Who were these most
unexpected visitors intruding into this thoroughly Jewish scene?
We call them ‘wise men’, but
the word the text uses is ‘Magi’, which is word we get ‘magic’ from.
These
were the star-gazers : the astrologers. Perhaps they’d come from as far away as
Persia, or Babylon, places well known for their star-gazers.
How
many were there? Matthew doesn’t tell us – we always picture three because
there are three gifts, but they must have had an entourage to be able to travel
safely with such treasures.
Reading
the heavens like an ancient sat-nav, they made their way to the court of King
Herod in Jerusalem.
I say they are unexpected
visitors, because the Bible is for the most part quite critical of astrologers
and astrology.
In
the Old Testament, the wise men of Egypt and of Babylon are shown to be
incompetent at best and in league with evil at worst.
In
the book of Daniel, we are supposed to laugh at their foolish efforts to
interpret dreams and tell the future.
The
Bible gives us no hint that their methods of interpreting the stars, or dreams,
or other portents are anything but empty. They simply don’t work.
This
fits with our modern view: that the appearance of omens in the skies are not
omens, but merely coincidences. Caesar’s star was nothing but a beautiful
collision of history and astronomy.
But in this case, the
foreign star-gazers of the East with all their elaborate but fanciful astrological
calculations appear to have found – or maybe stumbled across - the truth :
that
a king is to be born of the Jews.
There do appear to be
records of extraordinary astronomical events that the Wise Men could easily
have read as heralding a King of the Jews.
The
recent work of Dr Michael Molnar, an astronomer of Rutgers University in New
Jersey, provides some fascinating background. Using astronomical calculations
and historical accounts, Molnar shows that in the year 6BC the planet Jupiter –
which appears like a star to the naked eye – appeared in the constellation of
Aries. Jupiter was the planet associated with kings, and Aries was linked to
the Jews. On April 17th of 6BC, Jupiter was eclipsed by the moon in
Aries. Later that year in August, it appeared to change direction and move: before
becoming stationary on December 19th. This pattern seems to match
very well what we read in Matthew’s account: that the star rose, and then,
after their interview with King Herod, went ‘ahead of them’, “until it stopped
over the place where the child was”.
There
seems then, good reason to think that on this occasion, extra-terrestrial
events pointed to terrestrial ones.
The
birth of the Messiah was announced to those who were listening to the old
prophecies : but it was also announced to those who were peering into the
heavens.
And
should perhaps not be as surprising to us as it is. Should we not expect that,
in this one instant around which the whole universe turns, the creator of all
that is, seen and unseen, could arrange the massive rotating wheels of space
and matter and time to reveal his purposes to those on earth who happened to be
watching?
And so the Magi came to see
a King, and pay him homage.
The
word is perhaps even stronger than that : they came to worship him – they ‘knelt down’ before him, and they gave him
precious gifts, the gifts due to a ruler and a deity.
This year has seen the birth
of another future king – England’s Prince George.
And
he was given some gifts, too : apparently the Northern Territory gave him a
crocodile named after him.
Kanye
West and Kim Kardashian gifted him some little hoodies and skinny jeans.
The
Samburu community of Kenya present George with a black bull and a goat.
He
was also given a monogrammed mini-motorbike.
The wise men, however,
weren’t giving their gifts to a recognised prince, whose baby photos were in
all the papers.
They
were giving their royal gifts to the baby who was born in a manger : gold, frankincense,
and myrrh, the gifts you give to a king in order show that you recognise that
they are the king – or to a divine being, in order show that you recognise that
they are God.
The stars do not ordinarily
point to anything. But in this case, they pointed to the appearance of God as
man with man to dwell.
Even
these pagans – these outsiders - could see it.
We shouldn’t fail to notice
the contrast that they make with King Herod – a man notorious for murdering
members of his own family because of his fear that they were plotting against
him.
Of
all people, he should have been prepared for the coming of the true King. He
had the chief priests and teachers of the law come and tell him that the
Messiah of Israel was to be born in Bethlehem.
He
had all the insider knowledge he could want.
At
this news, he should have been rejoicing, and adding his adoration to that of
the wise men.
But how does he react?
First,
he is greatly frightened when he hears about the birth of the Messiah.
And
secondly: he tricks the wise men into becoming his agents on the pretext that
he intends, like them, to ‘pay him homage’.
Really,
as we later discover, he means to add another murder to his tally. He does not
want to bend the knee to another, not even the one sent from above to be the
true King of Israel. He does all he can to destroy him.
All the signs still point in
one direction.
They
point to Bethlehem, and they say: here was the one human being in whom God was
pleased to live.
Here
was the one born to be the true King not just of Israel, but of the whole
world.
Here
is the one who will save his people from their sin, by his death on the cross.
Here
is the one who will triumph over the grave.
Here
was born the one who now reigns over all, and to whom every knee should bow.
How will you respond to the
signs?
It is easy to paint Herod as
a sideshow villain : but his refusal to see the signs can be our refusal, too.
His
determination not to submit to another King can be ours, as we cling to our own
independence.
We
all know that Herod cannot succeed in terminating the Son of God : even he
knows it, really, you suspect.
Yet
his self-defeat can also be our self-defeat, if we refuse the true King.
But the wise thing to do is to do what the wise men from the East did: to
worship him : to give to him the things that are his due.
To offer
to him not simply gold, frankincense and myrrh, but the sweet-smelling
sacrifice of our whole selves.
The invitation then comes to
you and me today to gather with these wise men not merely around the cradle at
Bethlehem, but around the heavenly throne on which Jesus, one born King of the
Jews now sits, and whose glory the whole universe itself declares.
