Sages in Brockton

Epiphany Jan. 6, 2008 St. Paul’s
Isaiah 60:1-6 Psalm 72 Ephesians 3:1-12 Matthew 2:1-12

They were headed west. They were following a star. It was night. They went to the wrong place. These sages from the East were following the signs in the sky, which they thought, like the prophet Isaiah foretold, led them to Jerusalem. Hundreds of years earlier, Isaiah wrote this message of hope to the Jews living in the East, in captivity in Babylon. Take heart, he told them. The holy city of Jerusalem will be rebuilt. It will be so glorious that kings from all nations will stream to it – the glory of the Lord will shine forth in that place. Isaiah’s was a prophecy of restoration: the good old days would not only return; they would be even more fantastic than ever. But our wise men in today’s reading from Matthew have discovered a different sign. They are looking not for a return to a glorious past, but for a way to a new future. Herod, the king of that restored Jerusalem, is not so keen on their seeking this new reality. No, no, he has his scholars tell the visitors. There is no new king in Jerusalem. Look, the scholars say, the prophecy you want is not from Isaiah but from Micah: But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah . . . from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old . . . Go to Bethlehem, Herod says, and tell me what you find there. Of course, if they find a king, Herod wants to kill him. Like any political establishment, Jerusalem does not want to be upset. This news from these mysterious Eastern visitors could be very destabilizing. So off the wise men go, away from the center of imperial power and wealth, away from the palace of the king, away from the Temple, from the Roman legions, from the court intrigues and the power plays. Off they go, nine miles south down the dusty road to Bethlehem, to a modest, ordinary place. These wise men read the scriptures, and realize that the hope for their future lies not in the city of glitter and achievement, but in some place unnoticed and unpretentious. The king the wise men seek is not one who will triumph by revolutionary power, but by living among the people – a king who brings peace not by the sword but by love. There is no way to know whether this story is “accurate” or not – how many wise men? Were they kings? What did they look like? We imagine their names, their camels, their servants, their fine gifts, their swarthy, oriental complexions. Who knows. We do know that the early church thought their story was very important: their story of coming from a far-off foreign place to find hope in the birth of this child, their story of not finding the true king in Jerusalem, their story that this king would be the one to bring God’s hope and truth and peace and love to the whole world beyond the walls of the old Jerusalem. Read this story, the early Christians said. Our Jesus is sought by the wisest people from afar. Our Jesus, born in modesty and simplicity. Our Jesus, whose name means “he saves,” will reach far and wide with his Good News. See, the early Christians said, see how far this light shines. I don’t think we can pretend that Brockton is Jerusalem. I suppose if those wise men came to Massachusetts, they would head to Boston first. But then they would have to turn around and leave, to head south, maybe, to a much more ordinary and commonplace city like this one. They would be surprised, as we would be surprised, to find the Son of God born in such a place. But it was, in such a place as this, that the Good News began.