One of the great things about being a priest associated with a university is learning about, even in cursory ways, some of the great research being done here. Whenever I talk with our students or professors, I always find it fascinating to hear about what new studies, experiments, and projects they are undertaking. I like to imagine that each of them is perhaps on the brink of making a great discovery, some breakthrough that would greatly advance our knowledge of the world around us. Not every researcher, of course, is blessed to experience a true breakthrough; they are pretty rare. But when they do happen, their impact can be profound.
Recently, I was reading about some of the advancements in physics that happened over the past 100 years. You might recall many of them, as I did: Einstein’s theory of relativity; the discovery of atomic fission; the discovery of dark matter. One breakthrough that I was less familiar with was the advancements made by Edwin Hubble, who in the early 1920s settled a debate among astronomers and physicist about the size of the universe. The details perhaps aren’t worth getting into. Suffice to say though that, using a telescope to gaze at the stars of the sky, Hubble was able to determine that our galaxy is not the only one visible in the night sky and that our universe is vastly greater than anyone before had previously known. Thanks to Edwin Hubble, we are able to peer into the depths of time and space to a much greater degree than before.
Messier 66 galaxy, Leo triplet (image from the Hubble Telescope)
In the Gospel today, we hear about another discovery by men who study the stars, and one with an even more profound impact. The story of the Magi is something of a strange episode in the Bethlehem story. We don’t know who precisely the Magi were; only that they were wise men – scientists or philosophers – who come from the East, likely from Persia. We don’t know how long they have been journeying or how exactly they knew were to come; only that they have tracked a star. But they state clearly the purpose of their visit: they have come to pay homage to the newborn king of the Jews.
After the miraculous prophecy of the angel Gabriel, and the visit from an angel to Joseph in a dream, and the heavenly announcement of the birth by the angels to the shepherds in the fields – if after all of that, there were still any lingering doubt as to the identity of this newborn child in Bethlehem, this visit from the Magi is intended to settle the issue. When we might be tempted to see Jesus as merely a moralist, a prophet of social change, a man wiser than his day about how to live peaceably and altruistically, we can recall this scene – wise men visiting him in the manger, bearing gifts for a king. The Magi know the one to whom they have journeyed far to see: the heir of David, the true king of the Jews, and the one in whom all nations will see God’s favor for his people.
The irony of the story is that it is the Magi, the non-Jews, who are clued into what is happening rather than Jesus’s own people. The chief priests and the scribes know about the prophecy that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem, but they don’t seem to realize that it is being fulfilled at that very moment. Herod, who claimed to be the king of the Jews and even made overtures about being the Messiah himself, doesn’t even know the prophecy. And all of them are disturbed by the Magi’s arrival – they are “greatly troubled,” the Gospel says. What should bring joy, praise, awe – the fulfillment of God’s promise to his people by the birth of their rightful king – instead causes dismay.
The Star of Bethlehem (1891), Edward Burne-Jones
As the Christmas season draws to a close this week, we have a chance to reflect upon some aspects of this story that have relevance for us today. First, we are reminded that our God is a God of surprises. Rarely does God act in just the way that we expect; even less often perhaps in the way we might want. But that doesn’t mean that he is against us; rather he is for us to such a degree we could not have imagined. The Magi came to worship the king of the Jews, and Herod feared the same, but surely neither of them anticipated that this child would be God himself, in the flesh. It can be disorienting when God upends what we had expected, but it is always for the better.
Second, when God does surprise us, when our worldviews are challenged in some way, we must remember the right way to respond. Herod and his counselors are filled with fear, and the rest of Jerusalem with them. Likely, they recognize that they are not ready for what God is doing; that they have been caught off guard. But the Magi respond correctly; they go humbly to give praise and worship to the Christ child. In the same way, we can be frustrated and even threatened if we find ourselves caught off guard for what God is doing. But if we are surprised, rather than respond with dismay, we should be reminded about who really is in charge, and respond with gratitude, with adoration, and with humility.
Finally, the Epiphany story reminds us of how God has shown his love for us in a definitive way. Jesus’s birth at Bethlehem is quiet and humble, but it is anything other than passive. Rather it is God’s definitive breakthrough into our world, the revelation of his true purpose and the manifestation of his power. In Christ, God has shown that the Lord of heaven and earth has made his home with us. With his coming, God has pronounced his desire to gather together all of the peoples of the world in praise and adoration of his Son. What he did for the Magi, and the people of their era, he can do for us, inviting us, leading us, drawing us to a new encounter with Jesus, the One for whom our hearts have been searching.
Friends, human beings have been gazing at the stars in the sky for eons. We have learned a lot about time and space thanks to men like Edwin Hubble, and no doubt we still have much to learn. But as Christians, we celebrate on this Epiphany Day that the greatest breakthrough in our understanding of the world is not the result of our searching, but one given by God himself. We don't have to peer into the depths of time and space to find God; he has come to us. In the Christ Child born in the manger, God has revealed himself, made himself manifest and visible, pronouncing his love and redemption for all peoples. Our God is a God of surprises and this is the best one of all. Jesus was born long ago in Bethlehem, but even today the Lord of heaven and earth wishes to come to us anew, to draw us to his Son in ways that we may not expect or even understand, but which are always for our good. May his coming never cause us dismay or fear but inspire us, like the Magi, to offer gifts of praise, trust, and humble service. May we look for the rising of his star, not in the heavens, but within our hearts, and journey anew to worship him.
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