The journey of the Magi begins with a visit to Jerusalem. To understand what the scriptures might be teaching us in the story of the Epiphany, it’s important to be aware of how the story is actually told, which starts with remembering why it was they traveled to the holy city. The Magi had observed a star in the East, and for reasons they did not share, they interpreted the appearance of this star as a sign that a king of the Jews had been born. We don’t know why precisely this piece of news was of interest to the Magi, who were not Jewish; but that doesn’t matter. Jerusalem was the center of the Jewish world, and the location of the Temple, so, when they thought a new Jewish king had been born, it was to Jerusalem that the Magi went.
News of these noticeable strangers’ visit reached Herod, along with the reason for their visit, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?” the Magi came asking. But Herod, who was a lackey of the Roman Empire, thought that he was the king of the Jews, and he was not about to let anyone steal his crown. And so, Herod devised a plan to eliminate any possible threat to his power. He secretly called the Magi to him and tasked them with finding this mysterious, newborn king. “Look,” he said to the Magi, “I just want to come and worship him too; nobody’s saying anything bad is going to happen. All I’m asking you to do is find me that kid.” But of course we know that what he really wanted was to prevent the possibility that any other authority might certify the legitimacy of a rival to his power.
For most of my life, I have seen the story of the Epiphany as just what the church says it is: a story of revelation, of manifestation; an opening up of truth of the Incarnation of the Word of God to the whole world; an expansion of God’s work of salvation beyond the boundaries the chosen people of Israel; a point of profound sharing of God’s grace and favor with all humanity. And I have no doubt that the message of this feast is, indeed, a message of such revelation, such manifestation, such an opening of the truth, and expansion of salvation, and sharing of grace and favor. But I see now, that there is another very obvious message to be found in the story of the Epiphany, since it is also a story of power. At its functional level, the story of the Epiphany is the story of a struggle for power. Well, that’s partly true; for although the story is about power, only one party in the story sees it as a struggle - and that’s Herod. The other party is an infant child, whose only struggle is to find his mother’s breast.
In his telling of the Epiphany, Saint Matthew is inviting us to see how God uses God’s power, and to notice how different are God’s methods of using his power from the methods of an earthly ruler - even an earthly ruler who counts himself among the chosen people of God (Herod was ethnically Arab, but raised in a Jewish household and counted himself a Jew.). In the Epiphany, like the whole Christmas story, God’s incarnation is made manifest literally as an embodiment of non-violence, since Jesus is as helpless as any human infant. But Herod schemed secretly, and then ordered an act of terrorism on his own people when he feared he had been outsmarted.
For most of my life, I have seen the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and the generosity in their gift-giving and their veneration as the most important attributes of the Magi. But now, I see that perhaps their most important attribute is that they saw things for what they were - or more importantly, that they saw people for who they were. The Magi saw Herod for who he was, and so they did not give him what he wanted. And they also saw Jesus for who he is, and so they gave him what he never asked for.
The New York Times this morning reports on the political influence of Christian nationalists in America. The story mentions some of the most prominent names in leadership in the conservative evangelical movement, who seem to me to be deeply confused about the nature of God’s power and the way God asks us to follow the One who is non-violence incarnate.* The burden of the Times story is to examine the way such Christian nationalists misunderstand and disrupt American democracy, a perspective with which I happen to agree. But more to the point, American Christian nationalists misunderstand and disrupt the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Christian faith, and the ministry of the church, doing violence to them all, and making it very difficult indeed to proclaim the true Gospel of love and peace.
Jesus has not called us to make America a Christian nation. Jesus has called all Christians to live lives of peace and love with a deep concern for their neighbors.
I am a Christian and a patriot, in that order. Sometimes, what order things come in matters. And if you want to be a Christian and a patriot, it seems clear that if you don’t get the order right, you won’t do well at being either a Christian or a patriot.
The Feast of the Epiphany offers us this triple reflection on power and the way it’s used. We see Herod’s cruel and jealous use of power that stems from his insecurity. We see Christ’s soft power of love, which is the power of non-violence incarnate. And, most particularly to this feast, we see the power of seeing things and people for who and what they are, which is the greatest gift of the Magi, and which makes the lessons of the Epiphany matters of crucial importance for those of us who wish to be both Christians and patriots.
Preached by Fr. Sean Mullen
The Feast of the Epiphany 2022
Saint Mark’s, Locust Street, Philadelphia
* “Christian Nationalism Is One of Trump’s Most Powerful Weapons,” by Katherine Stewart, in the NY Times, 6 Jan 2022
