Sermon by Walter G. Edmonds
Damascus United Methodist Church
Isaiah 60:1-6, Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12
Epiphany Sunday - January 4, 2009
An ancient Chinese proverb expresses it well:
If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person,
If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house.
If there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.
These words initiate a pattern that is central in our understanding of the power of Epiphany in our lives. Light is essential. Without light in photosynthesis, there is no growth, no new shoot. Without light, our eyes fail, and we eventually see nothing. Without enlightenment in our thinking we wax and wane, words that come from the turning of the moon into the sun, gaining and losing spiritual energy by our exposure to light giving stimulus. We need light. And the Star of Bethlehem comes to us as it did the magi from the East to lead us to Bethlehem to be with the Child.
What about this Star of Bethlehem? Was it a reality or was it just an enhancement of the ancient story in St. Matthew’s Gospel? Michael R. Molnar, an astronomer from Yale University, in his most recent book The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi, makes the most plausible and confirming case for the veracity of the star and its meaning to the ancient world. I quote his description of the star. “On April 17, in the year 6BC two years before King Herod died Jupiter emerged in the east as a morning star in the (constellation we call Aries the Ram; in those days Aries was the constellation sign for the geographical area where the Jews lived). The account in Matthew refers twice to the Star being in the east with good reasons. When the royal star of Zeus, the planet Jupiter, was in the east this was the most powerful time to confer kingships, (according to the astrological studies of the times). Furthermore, the Sun was in Aires where it is exalted. And the Moon was in very close eclipse. But the Sun’s glare would have hidden that event. Saturn was also present which meant that the three rulers of Aries’ trine (Sun, Jupiter and Saturn) were present in Aries. Saturn and Jupiter were said to be ‘attendants’ on the rising Sun, another regal aspect for astrologers. By modern expectations this is trivial, but for ancient stargazers, (magi), this configuration was truly awesome. Jupiter ‘in the east’ was the Magi’s star.”
“Why didn’t King Herod and the people of Jerusalem see the Star? (Good question) Jews of King Herod’s time did not practice the astrology of their neighbors because it was tied to pagan Greek philosophy. So Jews did not recognize the Star. But they knew the time of the Messiah was at hand, and the Magi’s message confirmed their expectations and hopes. (We must remember that in the book of Numbers in the Torah, Numbers 24:17 to be exact, the prophecy of the coming of the Messiah was to be revealed by a regal star. That piece of information remained in Jewish prophecy for millennia.) (Revealing the Star of Bethlehem; Michael R. Molnar; pp. 3, 4) The star was Yahweh’s sign of conveying the Light of change in power, the new covenant to be cast and made, the absolute new kingdom to be established. The magi new the great meaning in the sky of stars, even if the Jews did not, and they were most eager to have that light shine on them. So they made their way to Jerusalem, “those Zoroastrian priests who were recognized as physician-astrologers who healed the sick, interpreted dreams, and cast horoscopes. Their art included ‘magic’ – a word derived from their name. They were considered to be ‘Wise Men’ who were truly knowledgeable. Most importantly, they were well known for practicing astrology, which in those days was highly enmeshed and almost indistinguishable from astronomy.” (Revealing the Star of Bethlehem: Milnar; 3, 4) What matters for us today is that these learned men of the heavenly hosts went on a campaign to get to the light of the King born to the Jews. They wanted the Light. And they wanted to be in the presence of the Light, which is the real call to us on this Epiphany Sunday.
Why did these non-Jews feel compulsive about being in the Light of a King born in Judea? The answer lies in the intertwining of their study, the stars, philosophy and religion. For the magi, their astrology authored in them the pursuit to find their lives in the order they believed the stars were creating for them. The stars were literally shedding light and life on them and on the world, and they had to seek the direction for themselves and others from what they saw. They were listening to the inner callings of the Spirit and were bound and determined to make sense of the actions they perceived from the vantage they had been given. Like, Firmicus Maternus, an astrologer of Constantine the Great, some three hundred years later in AD 334, would declare, “I have found a world ruler with a divine and immortal nature.” He made that conversion to Jesus Christ as he completed his great work Mathesis on astrology. Like we, the magi at Jesus’ birth were simply following their spiritual instincts that had been drawn for them, for they needed and wanted the Light of the One who had come.
I believe this little story puts this whole issue right into the palm of our hand, or better the minds of our time. “Soon after her brother was born, little Sachi began to ask her parents to leave her alone with the new baby. They worried that like most four-year-year olds, she might feel jealous and want to hit or shake him, so they said no, but she showed no signs of jealousy. She treated the baby with kindness and her pleas to be left alone with him became more urgent. They decided to allow it. Elated, she went into the baby’s room and shut the door, but it opened a crack- enough for her curious parents to peek in and listen. They saw little Sachi walk quietly up to her baby brother, put her face close to his and say quietly, ‘Baby, tell me what God feels like. I’m starting to forget.’” (Dan Millman, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Volume 1; 290)
All people are looking for the Light in this world. Even the magi types who study the stars, and do magic we don’t understand or appreciate, or even believe in. All people are looking for light because without the Light of God, they wither and die. All people know that they need to stay close to God for Light, and that a baby, a newborn baby, is as close to God’s breath, and therefore God’s light, as anything in all creation. Like Sachi, we just want to get close enough to put our face next to the cheek of the child, feel the warmth of the new life, know the Light that is coming from the countenance of the newborn, and utter the simple prayer, “Tell me what God feels like. I don’t want to forget. Give me His light.”
Michael Molnar, the astronomer that we just spoke about, was asked. “Did the Star sit above the infant Jesus?” His response was, “Not unless it was a miraculous star. Matthew reports that the star went before and stood over the child, which is how the Greek interprets into English. But this does not make any realistic sense for any normal object in the sky. However, if the message of this passage is astrological, that is, Matthew did not understand Greek astrological terminology, the intended meaning of these Greek words describes retrograde motion and stationing, respectively. As in turns out, these were important secondary regal conditions (in astrological understandings of planets’ movements) that truly did happen later in 6 BC. (Revealing the Star in Bethlehem; Molnar; p. 5) In the words of Kelly Bratburd, “How cool is that?”
The sermon title, His Star Over Your House, is Matthew-like in its appeal for the day- the day when we remember the regal star over the house in Bethlehem where the wise ones came. In a quasi astrological way I want us to be looking for a little retrograde motion and stationing of the star over our doorways for ourselves in this new year of 2009. Zealous as I am to have us all have Christ’ great Light in our minds and hearts, let me be so bold to ask the Holy Spirit to be “retrograding and stationing” with God’s Light above each of our homes as this year begins. And as God draws closer with Christ’s presence, let us be sure to say. “Now give me more of your sweet light. I don’t want to forget.”
