Our assistant priest, Rev. Kate, gave a great sermon about the magi Sunday. I won't recap the whole thing, but her main point was to talk about why Matthew included the magi in his gospel. The point, she said, is that these men were not Jews. They were pagans. Yet, God accepted their gifts and their worship. Why is this important? Well, most of us who are members of the Christian church are not Jews.
Furthermore, not only were the magi Gentiles and pagans, they were the scholars of their day. These were very learned men, experts in the subjects of astronomy and astrology, which was a respected branch of knowledge in most of the ancient world. And it was their very learning that led them to follow the star (whatever it was) and find Jesus.
In our culture, too often all we see of Christianity in the media is an emotionally based, non-intellectual religion, one that is suspicious of worldly learning. It's good to know that God has room at his table for all of us, including those who take a more scholarly, intellectual path.
Happy Epiphany to all of you.
P.S. Come back tomorrow for T.S. Eliot's poem "Journey of the Magi."
17 comments:
Once again the use of the outsider, it is brilliant.
Thank you for this reminder.
A good reminder Ruth.
Yup, those Magi will be there in heaven too. Though there are many PreMillenial Evangelical Fundamental Church of the Righteous Holy Ghosters best not be told of this lest there trouble.
Well said, Ruth.
So true. I'm reading C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy, right now. He seems to take a more academic approach to God, which is something I appreciate. Have a great day.
Righteous Gentiles, the guy on the right hand (?) of Jesus when he was at the cross, Belle in "Gone with the Wind".....protectors, supporters, outside the fold.
"The kindness of strangers"?
I never thought about the Magi much, except that they knew enough NOT to tell Herod, that something told them not to do that.
Now that would also be a good follow up book, Ruth. What happened to the Magi when they went home. They probably went back to pagan faiths....did they go to heaven?
Nice post!
Outside the Biblical recounting of the visit of the three wise men, my favorite wise man story is "The Other Wise Man," by Henry Van Dyke. I highly recommend it to anyone who has not yet read it.
Yes, Christianity is definitely a thinking man's religion. When you are dealing with the truth, you don't have to fear facts! I think the media often portrays Christianity as a fear-based, ignorant belief system that isn't representative of it at all. (Kind of like they used to represent home schooling, showing the whole family sitting closely together with the Mom practically guiding the child's hand while they did their work! Cracked me up - it's not like that at all!) But the Magi, even if they were from a pagan society, were obviously seeking the Truth, and they found Him!
Ruth, I wish everyone had your open mind. We deal with some family members who fall into the fear-based, closed mindset and it's very frustrating. Some of them won't come see our daughter dance because she is performing Middle Eastern dance, among other silly beliefs. At times I don't even know how to react to that kind of thinking...
Happy Epiphany/"Old Christmas" -
Very good point made. Isn't it wonderful to know that God loves all of his children, wherever they are, and is always accepting of a humble, worshipful heart.
There is so much to connect us all, if we would just look for that.
Blessings,
Elizabeth
I agree that US culture has done Christianity no favors. Christianity has a deep, rich and beautiful metaphysical and mystical side which is not discussed or taught often enough.
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Well said - AMEN!
Happy Epiphany. Amen. Amen.
Yes, the media certainly presents a skewed view...
I love the photo of the star and the reflection in it!
Amen and Happy Epiphany!
Much to ponder here in your few paragraphs. The Magi had knowledge, and through that knowledge they determined that they wanted to come and worship. Their world view must have been so large, to desire to worship the Christ Child, the King of a people to which they did not even belong. Cool.
Great Epiphany post, Ruth!
Great post, very interesting. And I hadn't thought about the Magi being pagans or for that matter, scholars, before. I like the thought that Christianity includes learned men - just goes to show that the way many Christian sects shun knowledge and science is not something that is necessary to be a Christian!
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