They seek – and they find – Wisdom
by Jeremiah Bartram on 28/12/09 at 11:53 am
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.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘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.’” Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 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.” When they had heard the king, they went 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. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary its mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. Matthew 2, 1-12; reading for Sunday, January 3, 2010.
Commentators
The NRSV tells us that “In the time of King Herod” places Jesus’ birth “within a fixed time period and set of political realities.” Herod [the Great] was King of Judea from 37-4 BCE, and the Emperor Augustus was his patron.
In a footnote, the NRSV calls the three wise men “astrologers”. It also notes that “wise men” (Greek “magoi”) were “literate, political officials in the courts of Parthia, Armenia, or regions east of Judea. Foreign regimes often sent emissaries to greet and give gifts to new kings or rulers. The visit highlights the conflict between the king of Israel chosen by God, Jesus, and the king of Israel chosen by the Romans, Herod.” Also: precious metals and costly spices and resins were appropriate gifts for a king.
Hardy comments that this familiar story now reads like a legend – but that “the story – at least in broad outline – is by no means incredible.” The visitors’ knowledge of astrology convinced them that a change was pending in the west, and they “felt sure enough of their interpretation to put to Herod a specific question, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?’ Herod, who doubtless intended to make his own arrangements about the succession to his throne, preferred to regard the star as a presage of that other ‘king’ whom the Jews were awaiting, the Messiah.”
Gospel for gays
We see the wisdom of the ages in these mysterious strangers, who have come from afar. They are learned, they are astute – but they are not calculating and corrupt, like Herod. They do not dissemble. There is a purity to their mission – as there is to any dedicated intellectual or scientific project.
Why are they making this voyage? We don’t know, precisely.
They naturally go first to the court, as the expected place where a new king would be born. But they take the change of venue in stride; they recognize the kingship of Jesus in very humble surroundings – and they offer their royal gifts, without any apparent expectation of return.
Emissaries from a foreign court seek a return. They are there to curry favor, to cement an alliance of mutual self-interest, for the purpose of trade or defence.
Not these strangers: they are “overwhelmed with joy”; they enter the house; they see the child with his mother; and they kneel down and pay him homage.
Thus, they are no ordinary emissaries: whatever the original intention of their mission may have been, they surrender to the Grace that lies before them, in the form of a helpless baby.
The story shows us human wisdom saluting Wisdom incarnate, and paying homage to it.
And then, warned of Herod’s true intentions in a dream, they avoid the court with its glamour and its danger, and return home obscurely by another road: anonymous, without drawing attention to themselves, prudent. No need for outward show or ceremony, no need to call on the aging tyrant, now in his final, violent years; and certainly no desire for the reward that he might have offered for information leading to the child.
People of wisdom: they protect, they do not betray.
**
I take this – and all these stories – at face value. Are they literally, historically true? We don’t know. For the purposes of these reflections, it isn’t important. What matters is the story, and what it tells us: how the story speaks to us here and now, as it has spoken over so many generations, to people of so many classes, races, languages, cultures over the centuries.
As it speaks to us gay people too.
So these are men who come “from away”. Unlike the shepherds – those first recipients of the angels’ message, the first visitors to the baby king. The shepherds lived close by, they were neighbors. These men are foreigners, and not just any foreigners: men of learning, dignity, culture, wisdom. Presumably not Jews.
In thinking of them, I think of my many gay friends and acquaintances who are not Christian, and feel they cannot be Christian. And I think that’s OK, because this vulnerable and beautiful little child can still see them, still accept them, still love them, still be Grace-among-us for them.
And they can still experience the joy of meeting him, and can still give their royal gifts to him – even if they then go on their ways, without officially becoming his followers.
They (we) don’t have to be afraid of him.
Herod was afraid of him, unnecessarily. Herod – violent and vengeful – was afraid of truth.
The wise men, in contrast, can be free.
And can still love him, in their own way.
