Today, January 6^th, is the day that the church has set forth as the celebration of Epiphany. This is the twelfth day of Christmas and this year, we have this celebratory day falling on a Sunday. I must admit that I don’t really have any strong memories of Epiphany celebrations growing up. But the celebration of Epiphany predates the celebration of Christmas. Epiphany and Easter were the major celebrations of the early church.

The word Epiphany means "appearance." The celebration of Epiphany therefore looks at the appearance of the Messiah into the world. We hear about the light coming into the world. The appointed gospel story for the celebration of Epiphany is the story of the coming of the magi to worship the child Jesus.

The magi or wise men as they are also known, have been mysterious figures throughout history. Much legend and folklore has grown up around these figures. There is very little solid information about them in the actual biblical text. First of all, we need to dispel a few of the myths we have about the magi. First, we don’t know how many there were. There are three gifts named and this is most likely where the traditional number of three magi came from. Later in history a saint gave them names, which seem to have no basis in history. According to the biblical text we can only tell that there was more than one magi and no names are given.

Secondly, the magi were not kings. Though we sing of the three kings from the Orient, there is no indication within Matthew’s gospel that the magi were royalty in any way. Some legends have grown up saying that magi served the king of Persia and therefore, the magi that came to visit the child Jesus may have been advisors to a king but hey were not kings themselves.

Third, the nativity scene that we display which places the magi next to the shepherds is also not reflected in what Matthew tells us about the scene. First, Matthew doesn’t even include a description of shepherds at the birth of Christ in his gospel. The magi also come to visit the child long after the child was born, perhaps up to two years later.

So now that we have cleared up a few things that we don’t know about the magi, what do we know about them? The word magi can be translated as magician or astrologer. The magi, as astrologers, were not well respected in Jewish society. The Jewish people may have looked upon them with the same skepticism that we might look at our daily horoscope in the newspaper. These magi would have looked to the stars and tried to see how their movements foretold events that were taking place or were about to take place in the world.

The magi were also Gentiles. They were not a part of the so-called chosen people of the Jews. As Gentiles, they would have been unwelcome guests in most Jewish households. They were Gentiles and foreigners. Matthew’s story about the birth of Christ becomes more and more unusual.

Matthew began his gospel with a genealogy that traced Joseph’s lineage from David. But in the midst of this genealogy, Matthew placed references to four women: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Uriah’s wife, whom we know as Bathsheba. These women’s stories in the Old Testament are not stories of your average everyday situations. Two of these women are Gentiles. So from the very beginning of his gospel, Matthew is indicating to his readers that things are going to be a little different. The appearance of Gentiles from the east would have just been one more way Matthew was dispelling conceptions within his community about the place of Gentiles among God’s chosen people.

The magi, as observers of the stars, have been able to discern that a king has been born. They are also able to discern that this king has been born in the area of Jerusalem. So they logically go to the royal palace thinking that this is where a king would have been born. It is through the events at the palace that we see three different reactions to the news about the birth of Christ.

First, we have the reaction of Herod. When Herod discovers that the magi have come looking for the one who would be king of the Jews, a title which Herod himself held, he sees a rival to his place of power. Last week, we looked at the passage that follows this one in which Herod orders the killing of all the children around Bethlehem in hopes of eliminating this threat to his power. So Herod’s reaction to the birth of Christ is anger and murderous intentions.

In order to figure out where exactly the new king has been born, Herod consults with the chief priests and teachers of the law. This is a group of men who would have been a part of the religious hierarchy of Jerusalem. They hear about the star that the magi have seen and then examine what they know about the scriptures in light of this news. From that they discern that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem, about nine miles away from Jerusalem.

So the chief priests and teachers of the law know where the Messiah will be born and they have heard from the magi that they have observed something in the stars that indicates that the Messiah has been born and yet there is nothing telling about the chief priests and teachers of the law going to see the child. They can’t be bothered to travel just nine miles to see this child about which scripture has foretold. They simply go about their business as though nothing has changed.

The last reaction that we see in this story to the birth of the Messiah is the reaction of the magi themselves. The magi traveled a long distance, determined to see the one who the stars have told them about. After traveling long distances and telling others about what they have observed, they find the child, worship him, and give him gifts fit for a king. But the reaction of the magi doesn’t end there.

The last verse of the passage reads, "And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route." Throughout the nativity story in Matthew Joseph has been visited by angels in dreams, which guide him along the path of God’s choosing. Now in this passage, God comes to this group of Gentiles in a dream and guides them in the way of God’s choosing.

This idea that the magi left for their country by another way is telling more about how the magi are reacting to seeing the Messiah. These Gentiles from a far off place journeyed a long way to see the king whose birth had been foretold in the stars and then, having seen him, they are guided by God and leave for their home by another way. They are changed from their experience of seeing the Christ child.

So we have three different reactions to the birth of the Messiah in this passage. (1) Herod reacts in fear and anger. (2) The chief priests and teachers of the law react with seemingly indifference. (3) The magi react with faith and leave Bethlehem changed.

Isn’t it interesting that the representative of faithful witness in this passage comes from foreigners? But look back at the genealogy at the beginning of Matthew’s gospel. Ruth, who is listed as an ancestor of Jesus was a foreigner who came to live in Bethlehem from Moab. Ruth was a widow who was determined to look after her mother-in-law even if it meant traveling far from all she knew. And yet, God used Ruth and made her an ancestor of Christ. Matthew seems to be pointing out in his gospel how God is able to use different people, including foreigners and Gentiles, to work for God’s purposes.

With the celebration of Epiphany and throughout the season of Advent there has been a great deal of talk about light coming into the world. We put lights in the windows of the church and our homes. We put lights on our Christmas trees and we light candles on the Advent wreath. We read earlier the words of Isaiah calling to the people, arise your light has come." The magi have followed a star, a source of light, which lead them to the true light that has come into the world.

As we follow along in Matthew’s gospel throughout the coming year, we will hear of other Gentiles who will be witnesses to the coming of God’s light into the world. After Jesus dies, Matthew tells of the whole world becoming dark. Out of that darkness, we hear a Roman centurion, another Gentile, say, "Surely he was the Son of God!"

God is able to make witnesses out of various people from various backgrounds. From Ruth, an outsider from Moab, to magi/astrologers from the East, God makes witnesses of all kinds of people. Surely, God can make witnesses out of us. We need only to open our eyes, see the light, and not be afraid to leave the encounter changed by what we have seen and experienced.