Risk, joy, hope and five Kings

2012-01-09T13:34:00.000+01:00

A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year for a journey,
and such a journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.'
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted----
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.

Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty and charging high prices:
A hard time we had of it.

At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.

With these words TSElliot began his account of the journey of the Magi- the wise men from theEast. Their journey to Bethlehem is the last act in our Christmas storyand is the last time that we will visit the stable.

These Magi orastrologers find Jesus by interpreting Scripture and following a star. Their journey from an unnamed eastern Kingdomfulfils the prophecy we hear in Isaiah that all of the nations, the peoples whohave lived in darkness will come from far away to worship the one true God,offering gifts fit for a King.

These exoticindividuals have fired the imagination of many great artists down the centuries. And as the Church has reflected on this story,traditions have developed around it. Sothe three gifts were carried by three individuals. And these individuals were thought of asKings, fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah and the Psalms. And as early as the year 500 there aretraditions that the Kings were named Capsar, Melchior and Balthasar. Eastern names that have their roots in Babylon, Persiaand Arabia.

However many Magi therewere and whatever their names, there are several things that Matthew makesclear about them. Firstly these Magi arerisk takers. To travel across desertsand borders was a dangerous activity. Noairports and travel agents for them, they chose to go it alone risking robberyand exposure to the harsh desert climate. The second thing weknow about them is that they were hopeful. You don’t decide on a whim or vague hunch to leave everythingbehind. You need to have commitment andhope to sustain you through such a pilgrimage. And lastly, we knowthey were joyful. For we read that theywere filled with joy, and probably hugely relieved, when the star eventually stoppedover Bethlehem.

I think that such joyful,hopeful risk-takers, would make for good travelling companions. But they are notthe only Kings in our story, for there is also Herod.

Herod the Great wasa very different King. He had been installedby the Rome as ‘Kingof the Jews’ to keep the peace in this troublesome corner of the Empire. According to historians He was a paranoid andmurderous tyrant who killed his wife and two of his children in order to securehis throne. To display his power andwealth he built huge palaces and an even bigger Templein Jerusalem.

This is the Kingthat Matthew tells us feared the birth of Christ, who quizzed the wise men andslaughtered the innocents. Unlike theMagi, Herod took no risks. Rather he enjoyedthe luxuries of his Palaces and ruled by the exercise of cruel power. He was everything the Magi were not. Which is why he could never find his way tothe stable.

But there is ofcourse one more King in our story. TheKing whom the Magi came to worship. Thetrue King of the Jews born into poverty, in a small provincial village. In His Kingdom the hungry are fed, thestranger welcomed and the oppressed go free. His is a Kingdom ruled by love and not by fear.

So maybe thismorning we should be singing not of three Kings but of five? One hiding in hispalace a prisoner of his fears, three heading west following their dreams andone born in a stable to save the world.

Now I’m not verywise and I’m certainly no King but I am heading west- following a call. And this morning as I set out on that journeyand as you here look forward to all that 2012 will bring, I would like tocommend to you the example of the Magi;

May you take risks and break rules.

May you travel hopefully and with joy.

May you be generous in the gifts which you offer.
So that, come the end of your days,

you may find your way to Christ
To kneel with the wise men before the King of Kings.

Amen.

Stumbling Sacrament

Risk, joy, hope and five Kings