They saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and worshipped him.
Matthew 2.11

The Lutheran Pastor Mark Powell points us to the adoration of Jesus by the Magi: “they knelt down and paid him homage”. This is not merely the homage one give to a king or some other honourable person. When we read further in Matthew’s Gospel we see that they worshiped Jesus. In Chapter 8 the leper kneels before Jesus and seeks healing. Healing of leprosy is like being raised from the dead. In chapter 9 the leader of the Synagogue comes and kneels before Jesus. “my Daughter has just died, come and lay hands on her and she will live” he says to Jesus.

In the boat after Peter had tried to walk to Jesus on the water those in the boat worship Jesus. That is chapter 14. Finally in chapter 28 when the disciples see Jesus they worship him, even though some doubted.

So at the very beginning of Matthew’s Gospel we are told that people come and worship Jesus.

But who are these people? We know don’t we who the Magi are. We sing “we three kings of orient are”. We talk about the wise men from the east. Who are the Magi? “Wise kings from the east” is the obvious answer. But may be the legends, songs and pictures have got in the way of our understanding of this Passage. Even the NRSV has Wise men as a translation of Magi.

Let’s look more closely at the story. The kings in the story are Herod and Jesus. They are in stark contrast with each other. The contrast here reminds us of Matthew chapter 20. You know the story of the mother of James and John coming to Jesus seeking places of honour in his coming Kingdom. Jesus asks if they are willing to drink the cup he will drink. He is referring to the crucifixion. Real leadership and honour in the Kingdom come from servant hood and sacrificial love. On the other hand Kings like Herod, the “great ones” in this world Lord it over their people. They are tyrants. The baby Jesus whom the Magi worship is weak and vulnerable. As Paul puts it in Philippians Jesus emptied himself taking the form of a slave being born in human likeness. (Phill 2:8) When Jesus enters Jerusalem as the King he does so mounted on a donkey.

What about wise men? Are our visitors wise? Their most foolish mistake was to go to Jerusalem asking for the one who has been born King of the Jews. In no time King Herod has heard of this envoy and he is frightened. Indeed all of Jerusalem is frightened. Kings don’t come and go with a polite handshake. Herod puts on a show of his willingness to pay homage also to the new King. But his only desire is to crush the infant. The scene has been set for the slaughter of the innocents. Herod kills all the children in Bethlehem 2 years old and younger. The magi have enough wit not to return to Herod but the damage has been done.

This story reminds me of another sad story I heard recently. I have only heard this story second hand but I have no reason to doubt it’s veracity. A group of Australian soldiers came upon a man savagely beating his daughter. They intervened in spite of orders not to. They prevented the father of the girl from beating her. The next time they entered that village the father appeared with the daughter and he slit her throat while they were watching. Innocent children always suffer where tyrants rule even if it is in their own home.

So if the Magi are not necessarily wise who are the wise in our story? Herod made enquiries of the Chief Priests and the Scribes of the people. They were wise enough to point to Bethlehem as the place of the birth of the messiah. Perhaps we could easily say they were foolish too. But may be they were happy to become involved in a plot to kill Jesus. Certainly in chapter 27 it is the chief priests and the elders of the people who seek away to have Jesus put to death.

The Magi in their naivety are more like children. In Matthew’s Gospel we see that children are contrasted with the wise. They are the ones to whom God reveals that which is hidden, the mystery of Christ’s birth. They are the ones who come to worship Jesus. As Pastor Mark Powell puts it, If Jesus as a literal infant is contrasted here with Herod, the magi as metaphorical infants may be contrasted with Herod’s advisors, the wise men of Israel.

So where are we in this story? What are the implications for us? We are not kings, unless you have an avatar that roams around as a tyrant on some computer game. We need to be on guard not to seek the power of a ruler in our own little worlds. There are temptations for people to seek power and control on committees, in the work place or just in their own family. We are not to be tyrants but to be servants willing to give of ourselves sacrificially.

May be some of us have gained wisdom over the years. We need to be careful not to equate learning with wisdom. We are called to come to Jesus with a childlike simplicity. The truly wise response is to kneel and to bring forward the gifts that recognize who Jesus is.

Again let’s turn to pastor Mark Powell. He says:
The lessons appointed for this day encourage humble admission that God’s glory may be manifested where we least expect it. Sometimes God’s people become light for others (Isa. 60:3; Eph. 3:10); sometimes they appear blind to the light others can see (Matt. 2:1-6). But always, the light is there, as God graciously, mysteriously, and defiantly breaks into human lives.

Let us also turn one more time to Matthew’s Gospel for deeper insight. The Magi came to worship and then went home anther road. In the final chapter of Matthew the disciples see the risen Jesus. They too worship. Jesus tells them to go and make disciples of all nations and to baptise them. I told the awful story of the afghan murder not just because of it’s similarity to the slaughter of the innocents. But hopefully it reignites in us a desire to bring the Gospel to all people so that the day of tyrants will come to an end. Let us come with the Magi to worship Jesus. Let us also leave with the disciples to bring Good News of great joy to all the world.

Eternal God,
who by a star led Magi to the worship of your Son:
guide the nations of the earth by your light,
that the whole world may see your glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen.