a sermon for January 6th 2013. Readings Matthew 2:1-12
The Journey of the Magi, by James Tissot (1894)
Matthew the gospel writer tells a story we know automatically as the Three Wise Men – mind you nowhere does Matthew actually tell us how many there were, we are simply told that Magi or Wise Men came from the east.
They came following a light to find the light.
And that’s what this story is about: it is the story of the light shining in the darkness.
As Matthew tells the story there is a foreboding in the air – the Magi sense it and don’t trust Herod, and as events would soon show they were right in their caution because it was not long before a furious Herod attempted to destroy Jesus, and he left little to chance – his orders were explicit and brutal, as he demanded the death of all little boys in and near Bethlehem two years old and younger. Continue reading