Today’s Readings
Context
"We Three Kings of Orient Are..."
There are several problems with this carol - one which I actually love. The Magi weren't kings. They were from Persia, which isn't really the Orient, and there were likely more than three. The myth that there were three roots in the fact that they brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh. In the same mythologies, they generally represent the three branches of the human race (Shem, Ham, and Japheth) and are a racial mixture.
What do we actually know about them? Not much. Here are the facts and educated guesses.
There are several problems with this carol - one which I actually love. The Magi weren't kings. They were from Persia, which isn't really the Orient, and there were likely more than three. The myth that there were three roots in the fact that they brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh. In the same mythologies, they generally represent the three branches of the human race (Shem, Ham, and Japheth) and are a racial mixture.
What do we actually know about them? Not much. Here are the facts and educated guesses.
- Magi were Parthian astrologers who had important places of influence in the Persian Empire. They were king-makers, known for discerning the stars to decide who the next king should be when a transition was taking place.
- When Daniel was a servant of the Persian empire he would have had contact with this group. This is likely where their knowledge of the meaning of the sign in the sky.
- The star appeared when Jesus was born and they began their travels. They arrived at a house and Jesus was described as a little boy, not a baby. It is likely they were over a year in their travels and Jesus was a toddler when they arrived.
- The star remains mysterious - was it celestial or was it some kind of angelic appearance? It appeared and moved in a way that no natural star would, so I believe it was likely an angelic or other supernatural appearance.
The story of the Magi is about 2 things.
- First, it speaks of the fact that Christ came to reach the world, not just the Jews. Even from afar the Magi came to worship him, as one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess Jesus.
- Second, the hard-heartedness and cruelty of Herod and the powerful people of Jerusalem shows how those with influence often rejected Jesus.
Devotional -They Did Nothing
There are many reactions to the birth of Christ in this story that baffle and amaze us.
But there is another reaction in this story that is mind-boggling, infuriating, and also all too typical. The magi showed up and began asking around Jerusalem to find out where the Messiah was to have been born and they explained the signs they had seen in the sky. The city was abuzz with the news. It reached Herod and he sent for the scribes - those who were experts in the Jewish Scriptures and they searched to find out that the Messiah was prophesied to be born in Bethlehem.
And they did nothing.
Not a thing. The religious leaders who had searched the scrolls to find out where Messiah was to be born never even bothered to go out there to see if the stories were true. Bethlehem was a 6-mile walk from Jerusalem - it would have taken a couple of hours to get there. For hundreds of years Israel awaited the Messiah and now there were rumors that he had come and they could not be bothered to spend a couple of hours to walk to Bethlehem and find out.
- We honor the Magi who traveled hundreds upon hundreds of miles to see a little boy and to worship him.
- We are horrified at the evil and dark heart of Herod who sought to kill Jesus because he saw him as a threat to his throne. Rather than rejoicing that the Messiah had been born he tried to do away with him to maintain his own position.
But there is another reaction in this story that is mind-boggling, infuriating, and also all too typical. The magi showed up and began asking around Jerusalem to find out where the Messiah was to have been born and they explained the signs they had seen in the sky. The city was abuzz with the news. It reached Herod and he sent for the scribes - those who were experts in the Jewish Scriptures and they searched to find out that the Messiah was prophesied to be born in Bethlehem.
And they did nothing.
Not a thing. The religious leaders who had searched the scrolls to find out where Messiah was to be born never even bothered to go out there to see if the stories were true. Bethlehem was a 6-mile walk from Jerusalem - it would have taken a couple of hours to get there. For hundreds of years Israel awaited the Messiah and now there were rumors that he had come and they could not be bothered to spend a couple of hours to walk to Bethlehem and find out.
Dead, empty religion is like that. It allows a person to go through the motions of faith - to attend church, work, perform rituals, and to feel that he is "okay with God" because of all of that. But he never has to truly seek God. He can be satisfied that his religious rituals and activities are enough and he need never die to self to follow Christ or seem the living God with all his heart.
But it is only those who truly seek Jesus who have the joy of knowing him and walking with him. Empty religion can do nothing more than give us anesthesia to dull the pain of life, but it can never cure our hearts. Only Christ can do that.
Seek him!
Father, may I never be like the scribes who were too busy with their lives to seek Christ.
Think and Pray
Do you seek after Jesus or are you practicing a dead religion?
No comments:
Post a Comment