Wise Men Follow the Star

 

Wise Men Follow the Star


The Collect



O GOD, who by the leading of a star didst manifest thy only-begotten Son to the Gentiles; Mercifully grant that we, who know thee now by faith, may after this life have the fruition of thy glorious Godhead; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Isaiah 60:1-9   Old Testament Reading for Epiphany:

 

1Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. 2For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. 3And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. 4Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. 5Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. 6The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD. 7All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory. 8Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? 9Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.”

 

The Epistle
Ephesians iii. 1.

FOR this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which is given me to you-ward: how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.



 

The Gospel
St. Matthew ii. 1.

WHEN Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

Wise Men Follow -Matthew 2


Many things stand out in these few verses. Note what is said by one famous theologian, "

Søren Kierkegaard
Although the scribes could explain where the Messiah should be born, they remained quite unperturbed in Jerusalem. They did not accompany the Wise Men to seek him. Similarly we may be able to explain every article of our faith, yet remain spiritually motionless. The power that moved heaven and earth leaves us completely unmoved.
What a contrast! The three kings had only a rumor to go by. But it spurred them to set out on a long, hard journey. The scribes, meanwhile, were much better informed, much better versed. They had sat and studied the scriptures for years, like so many dons. But it didn’t make any difference. Who had the more truth? Those who followed a rumor, or those who remained sitting, satisfied with all their knowledge?"


Source: Watch for the Light

I had never thought about this so much until I read this. It exhorts us as well to not be complacent, but active in our Bible reading and thoughts. Many are called but few are chosen Matthew 22:14. Those who sit and fail to act are like the well -versed scribes. We do well to find ourselves somewhere here in this story. A preacher in town put this on his sign, " Wise Men follow". Perhaps that is what we forget. ...the main thing. Examine ourselves on this festival Epiphany.

2. I cannot but think that this Epiphany, appearing, of the Star is meant to tell us something about God's reach. He can reach all the way at least we hear they may have been from Egypt, Greece , and India possibly. "The Kingdom of God is larger and more glorious from the inside than you could have ever imagined by looking at it from the outside." - Sinclair Ferguson
How we limit God. We do it every day. Human we are as Yoda would say, but we are human, the sun sets and we wait for another to repair our mistakes and sins from the day before. How thankful I am that God does not give up on us.
Of course the prayer for today says it too, " O GOD, who by the leading of a star didst manifest thy only-begotten Son to Gentiles..." The Epistle reading has it too, ..." That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel."

The action is not to limit God in our actions, thoughts and prayers. He has a glorious plan to reach out.

3. We see really the antagonism of Herod here. He was not to be believed, or trusted even though he said he would worship Him . How many are wandering which is not always a bad thing , seeking, yet this type of person ( Herod) knows his reign is being threatened ; so he lies and then murders later in the reading of Matthew 2.

I have no difficulty with people that are searching and claim to be spiritual but have not settled on a religion if they are honest in their wandering. " Not all those who wander are lost." J. R. R. Tolkien


This is the key to be honest about our doubts, fears and wanderings...and one day if we continue to follow the Star we shall too be like the Wise men who fell down and worshipped the Christ child vs 9-12. " They saw the young child with Mary his mother; and they fell down and worshipped Him; and opening their treasures they offered unto Him gifts.."

Perhaps you are not there. I encourage you to be honest about your doubts and fears and uncertainties, and bring them to God who alone can remove these in His time.
This is what I like about the Christmas and later Epiphany story. It is full of so much familiar truth but rings true in our hearts when we re look and think and meditate on it. Praise be to God that in His time He sent His Son to be born of a woman, under the law to redeem us.

 

TS Eliot the famous English poet although born in the US was converted to Christianity, baptized and confirmed in the Anglican Church 1927 by thinking about the Wise Men as he wrote in his poem, “ The Journey of the Magi”--- ( he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948)

 

“All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death. (32-44)”

 

“ The unique touch Eliot puts into this poem, apart from making it indirectly about himself, is that he makes the Magi’s journey into the journey of the Christian convert who, after experiencing a life-changing moment, is forced to go back to his old life—never the same again.” In “ The Imaginative Conservative” by Riano


I am in wonder at how He is working in your life and mine as well as our families,  and in this place and for all eternity?

 

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