Jeremiah 31:7-14 Ephesians 1:3-6,15-19a Matthew 2:1-12 Psalm 84 or 84:1-8

“On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage.  Then opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” [Mt. 2:11]

Again, we stand in awe of the Magi who come from afar, so reverently and intentionally following the star to the place where Jesus was born.  It is a sweet story and a necessary inclusion in our Nativity celebration.

Yet, Matthew’s account of the visit of the Magi to pay homage to the “child born king of the Jews” is much more; Matthew’s account of the visit of the Magi to pay homage to the “child born king of the Jews” encompasses a radical message – a great breach of tradition.  The concept of pagan foreigners being among the first to be led to pay homage to the “child born king of the Jews” shatters the current religious and political norms of the day.  Why was it not the chief priests?  Why was it not the “great” King Herod who had been summoned, alerted to this cataclysmic event?  News of the arrival of these foreign pagan astrologers, summoned and led from the far corners of the known world by a star that onlythey had observed, stabbed the very hearts of those of the religiously and politically established hierarchy; Herod was deranged with trepidation and fear.  Long-standing tradition had been breached.

Could it be that God has come to earth as the God of all people?  Could it be that even those outside the margins, those cast out by society, those who were not born into the accepted norms and carefully controlled boundaries of “The Religious,” could it be that even these, too, are loved by God and included in God’s kingdom?

Matthew affirms from the very beginning of his Gospel account, throughout, and in his closing words that God, whom we come to know through Jesus Christ, is the God of all people.  Matthew’s first chapter relates the genealogy of Jesus.  Included in that genealogy, which lists the earthly ancestors of Jesus, are foreigners and sinners and those whose earthly history is known only to God – those whose inclusion in the chain of ancestry from the time of Abraham to the birth of Jesus represents significant breaches of acceptable norms.  Matthew sets his stake deeply in the ground of all creation: God is the God of all.

Matthew affirms this message here in the beginning and to end of his Gospel.  We receive this message repeated in the closing verses of Matthew’s Gospel, in what we know as the Great Commission, Jesus’ very last words to the disciples before ascending to the Father: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”  The Magi get the message, and they journey from nations afar to affirm that message.

Furthermore, the Magi understand that the prophecy of the coming of Emmanuel is fulfilled in this child to whom they are being led by the star.  The scripture affirms this message as well from the very beginning of Matthew’s Gospel account – the message that the child, the Messiah, fulfills the age-old prophecy: “Look, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call him Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.” [Mt. 1:23] This, too, is a radical message:  God’s prophecy has been fulfilled in this child born in Bethlehem.  In this tiny child, God has come to earth; in this tiny child, God’s message is affirmed, “God is with us.”

In the first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel we read the account of Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father, hearing these words of affirmation in a dream, as the angel of the Lord appears to Joseph to assure him that the child that Mary, his espoused, has conceived is from the Holy Spirit.  In the words of the angel, Joseph is not to be afraid; he is to take Mary as his wife; he is to name the child Jesus, “for he will save his people from their sins.”

Over and over, Matthew affirms Jesus as the Messiah foretold by the prophets from the earliest generations of the people of God.  Emmanuel, meaning God is with us.  These are Matthew’s beginning and ending words.  We hear these words in the words of the angel appearing to Joseph as God prepares Joseph to commit to the missions of taking Mary as his wife, accompanying and caring for her, and as Jesus’ earthly father.  Matthew affirms these words throughout his Gospel account and in these same last verses of the Great Commission:  Jesus leaves his disciples with the command to carry the Gospel to all people, ending with the assurance of Emmanuel: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” [Mt. 28:20b]

This is the child to whom the Magi were led.  They didn’t come in kingly grandeur with their chests puffed up in a parade of fancy gifts.  They came overwhelmed with joy; they prostrated themselves and paid homage to the child and his mother.  Then, they offered their gifts: gold worthy of a king, frankincense worthy of a divinity, myrrh worthy of one who would die for humankind: the gold of virtue and good deeds, the incense of worship and prayer, and myrrh – the spice of suffering and sacrifice.

“On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage.  The unaccepted non-believers from a foreign land followed the star until it stopped at the place where lay the God of all people; Emmanuel – the God who is with us always.  They paid him homage – this King of kings, this great High Priest, this one who came to be our suffering Redeemer.  Even still, it is a radical message.

The Magi got the message; they followed the star.  Will you?