Although we included them in our Christmas Eve service, the Magi – the wise visitors from the east– get their own festival, which we celebrate today. It’s the ancient festival of the Epiphany, reckoned by the Catholic News Agency to be an older celebration than Christmas itself.
Carols like We Three Kings and The First Nowell assume
that there were three Magi who made the journey to Bethlehem, but Matthew’s
gospel story does not actually tell us how many Magi there were, only that they
brought three gifts with them. In
the Eastern Christian tradition, there are no fewer than twelve magi! Since
it’s quite a fanciful story, I think that it’s safe to assume that much of what
we are reading here is allegorical, illustrating broader truths about the
relationship between Jesus and those who seek him, and taken in that way (a)
there’s not much value in getting bent out of shape about the details and (b) since
a well-told story can be basically ageless, the account of the Magi still has a
LOT to teach us as we engage the next aspects of the Intentional Interim work
that is before us in 2026.
According to Matthew, the physical gifts of the Magi were
Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. The
Biblical Archaeology Society says that Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh “were
standard gifts to honor a king or deity in the ancient world: gold as a
precious metal, frankincense as perfume or incense, and myrrh as anointing oil….
In addition to the honor and status implied by the value of the gifts of the
magi, scholars think that these three were chosen for their special spiritual
symbolism about Jesus himself—gold representing his kingship, frankincense a
symbol of his priestly role, and myrrh a prefiguring of his death and embalming.”
These first three gifts, we might call “gifts
of our sacred heritage.”
But much in the same way that Shannon led off our twenty-two
month Interim Ministry journey by outlining some of the things we might need to
bring in our backpack (signified in an ongoing way by the hiking pole at the
front of the sanctuary), we realize that the Magi would have needed more than
just the gifts they were bringing the newborn King - gold, frankincense and
myrrh. They would, of course, need all
the practical things one needs to survive a journey in the Middle East, and
they would have been experts at that.
Given the religious and political nature of their journey, they would
have needed other qualities as well, such as wisdom, curiosity, humility, and
adaptability, and we expect that God gave them these gifts in abundance. Let’s imagine these, one by one.
We start with the gift of WISDOM. We aren’t 100% sure if the
Magi were astrologers or astronomers or Zoroastrian priests, but one way or
another, they were well versed in their own spiritual/religious tradition. They had studied and trained and had an
innate spiritual wisdom that helped them recognize when they were being called
into the sacred unknown. The way that
Matthew crafts their story indicates that they also had more worldly kinds of
wisdom; that is, they were wise enough to seek the permission of King Herod, in
order to stay on his good side, and in their discussion with him they sussed
out whether or not his interest in the location of the Christ Child was
authentic. (It was not).
One of our assumptions, as your ministers, is that each of
you brings wisdom. You have inner
wisdom, beliefs, a history with this congregation and knowledge of how things
work here in the south Okanagan. You
also bring, as we have found in our first sixteen months here, an openness to
both share your wisdom and have it shaped by the wisdom of others. While
Shannon and I bring our training and experience, your knowledge, wisdom, and
ability to read local trends is crucial to the future shape of this congregation.
Next, is the gift of CURIOSITY: it’s clear to me that these
experts in their own faith were curious to explore the world of their
neighbours. Matthew talks about the Magi
being led by a star to honour Judea’s newborn king but honestly, that doesn’t
strike me as sufficient reason to leave home.
But a healthy curiosity about what’s going on in that neighbouring land,
and its political realities, well, that would get me to load up the camel
caravan and see what happens.
I want to stay with the gift of curiosity for a bit, for it’s
a biggie. 2025 was a year that, in my opinion, did quite a bit to stifle
curiosity, for even saying some things out loud seemed to box you in to one
camp or another. And yet, a healthy
curiosity about how other people see things is going to be crucial if the world
is going to actually move forward in just and humane ways. Here in the south Okanagan, for example, there
is lots for us to be curious about: we have a significant Sikh population, as
well as a huge number of people who would describe themselves as either
“spiritual but not religious” or, “neither spiritual nor religious.” We also have a much larger homeless or
precariously housed population than we might imagine. Could we find new paths
of service and healing, if curiosity could lead us to learn more about these
neighbours? Or, looking at it in a very
different way, how would it change us if neighbours who don’t know US very
well, wandered in to get a sense of what happens here? Might those interactions reshape our approach
and priorities? The curiosity that spurred the Magi toward respectful
engagement of “the other” helped break down barriers; traditionally, the Magi
are understood as the first Gentiles or non-Jews to encounter Jesus and as
such, the forebears of most Christian Churches today. A desire to be curious rather than having
fixed opinions – and fixed ideas of who’s welcome - could change so much in our
communities and our world.
The next gift I imagine is HUMILITY. Kendall
Batten-Kalantzis is a Christian Chaplain now living in Denver, who has
extensive experience in elder care and also with L’Arche communities. Considering
the 2nd chapter of Matthew, she wonders if the wise men felt foolish
as they handed over a rare ointment when that which the poor holy family needed
most of all was proper accommodations. Kendall continues: “I think the greatest
parallel between [our journeys] and the journey of the magi is discovering the
deep mystery of God present in the most unexpected way, in the lives of the
most vulnerable.” Much like the gift of
curiosity, humility opens us not only to what we do know, but what we don’t
know. Humility gives us the freedom to
make mistakes, to perceive what’s missing in our own knowledge or our own
practice, to admit that we have much to learn.
As we continue to take steps toward our Anglican neighbours in Oliver,
as we imagine what mission might be served by the Osoyoos Church and the
undeveloped piece of property behind it, we are sure to make some flubs, but
they must not stop us from trying new things. Amidst such uncertainty, a little
humility, to help put things in their proper perspective, goes a long way.
And finally, I cannot imagine the journey of the Magi
without ADAPTABILITY. As I mentioned earlier, we know that the Magi were wise: I
mean, when I was growing up we never used the term Magi, it was always “the wise
men”. These travelers were knowledgeable, savvy, and open to learning. When they met with King Herod, it seems that
they sensed his evil intent, and their hunches were confirmed by God. Matthew
2, verse 12 states, “having been warned in a dream not to go back to
Herod, they returned to their country by another route.” Herod wanted a report back, but the Magi changed
course, for God was committed to getting them back home, safely, without
exposing the vulnerable family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph to further danger. The Magi did not just follow known and
predictable steps back home, they were open to have fresh information change
their route. (And as an aside: were there alternate safe routes home, or were the Magi needing to take new risks to avoid the wrath of Herod??) That adaptability, which got
us through the pandemic five-nearly-six years ago, and which helped our
forebears in Oliver and Osoyoos keep on keeping on as Church even when
resources were meagre, will continue to get a workout as we work toward our
Interim goals.
There’s no question about it: 2026 is going to be a big year
for the Osoyoos-Oliver United Church Pastoral Charge. With the guidance of the Transition Team in
Osoyoos and Oliver, the Joint Anglican-United Exploration Team in Oliver, the
support of our Pacific Mountain Region and whatever Shannon and I are able to
bring, you will be discerning the path to which God is calling you, and that is
going to take all these gifts that equipped the Magi. Perhaps not so much Myrrh and Frankincense,
though gold would be nice - but the rest of them, Wisdom, Curiosity, Humility
and Adaptability, are all going to be crucial. The gifts we need for our journey are gifts
that the world needs us to have, to find God’s future for these communities of
faith, a future in which we relate to one another and the communities around us
with the love that God has placed within each person, a love bound together in
service by Christ our Lord.
Friends: even amidst uncertainty, enjoy the journey. Enjoy one another’s company. Enjoy the new friends you meet along the
way. Enjoy the new things we learn. And enjoy the presence of Christ, and the
fullness of God’s love. Amen.
References cited:
Batten-Kalantzis, Kendall. https://larchechicago.org/about-larche/news/larche-and-the-journey-of-the-magi/
Biblical Archaeology Society. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/jesus-historical-jesus/why-did-the-magi-bring-gold-frankincense-and-myrrh/
Olivares,
Carlos. https://adventistreview.org/magazine-article/two-or-three-or-12-wise-men/
© 2025/2026, Rev Greg Wooley, Osoyoos-Oliver United Church
Pastoral Charge.
No comments:
Post a Comment