Who Said the Magi Were Men? Jan 6, 2019 Message on Matthew 2:1-12

Rev. George Miller
Jan 6, 2019
Matthew 2:1-12

Once upon a time in a land far, far away, about 1,000 miles east of Jerusalem, was the kingdom of Persia.

About 600 years before the birth of Jesus, they had slowly, steadily risen into power.

They conquered the much hated Babylonians and established a diverse, thriving community in which Jewish men and women lived amongst them.

These were Jews whose ancestors had been captured by the Babylonians decades before and forced to live as strangers in a strange land.

The Persian leaders had a unique relationship with the Jewish people who lived amongst them.

There was the one time in which Daniel, the faithful Hebrew man, was made one of their 3 presidents.

Another time the king of Persia gave the Jews money so they could buy whatever offerings they needed to go and praise their God- bulls, rams, grain, wine, whatever- and they were even told they could keep the change!

There was the time the king supplied lumber from their forests and exported it to Jerusalem so they could rebuild their Temple.

And of course, it was the King of Persia who married the very beautiful Queen Esther who bravely spoke out, risked her life and saved thousands of her people from total annihilation.

And while the Jewish community worshipped their own God, the Persians had their own set of religious beliefs with spiritual, intellectual leaders named Magi who read stars, discerned dreams, sought truth and performed their acts of magic, healing and prophesying.

So for centuries the Persian and Jewish communities had this interesting, almost symbiotic relationship in which even though they worshipped different gods and had different traditions, they were able to respect one another and extend acts of unselfish generosity.

So perhaps we should not be surprised to discover that when Jesus Christ was born, it was most likely the star gazing, dream discerning, highly empathic Magi from Persia who made the 1,000 mile trip to Bethlehem, extending radical acts of generosity to Mary, Joseph, and their child.

But who exactly are these nameless star gazing, dream discerning individuals, and what could we possibly learn from them today?

Let’s take a real look at this story.

First, how many Magi were there? Note that we are never told. There could be 2, there could be 20.

What are their names? Matthew never says.

What color or shade is their skin? Christian art work has created this narrative of the Magi being dark skinned, from very brown to very black.

It seems like a wonderful nod to cultural diversity, but does it do us any good if the Jesus they are kneeling before and bearing gifts is traditionally being portrayed as Nordic white?

If we do a simple Google search we discover that people from Persia, not to mention Jesus and his family would have run a beautiful variety of skin shades and tones, from olive and tan, to brown and beige, to golden and sun-kissed.

Finally, what was the Magi’s gender?

Think about this for a moment.

Tradition has always taught us they were men, which makes sense that it was mostly men who translated scripture and taught scripture.

And right here, in the NRSV, is uses the words “wise men” not once but twice.

But here’s the thing- the original Greek word that Matthew used was “Magi.”

Magi could denote a specific set of priests. But Magi can also refer to seers, soothsayers, and pranksters.

It was Magi from the east who came to Jerusalem. It was Magi who Herod called to hold a secret meeting.

Note that in the rest of the story, there are no male pronouns. There are the words “we” and “them” and “they.”

The NIV translation calls them “Magi”. The Good News Bible calls them “astrologers.”

Though there is zero research to back this up- a question is presented to us today: is it possible that one, or some, of all of the Magi who came to visit Jesus were women?

Could it be that farfetched?

Look at religions and spiritual communities throughout the world and what do we see?

In the Yoruba culture of Africa there is a group of women called the Iyami-aje or “powerful mothers” who use their gifts for the well-being of community, fertility of the land, healing, political empowerment, and hold onto the principal of “share everything.”

In the ancient Greek world of gods and goddesses, there were women who were priests, who led rituals at homes and in the temple, dealt with issues of soldiers leaving for war, fertility, strengthening family identity, and traveled for festivals and to visit shrines.

In America, we have the indigenous community with women and men called “Two Spirit” people who would fall under today’s LGBTQ umbrella.

They were widely believed to be the result of supernatural intervention in the form of dreams and in many tribes they were the healers, shamans, witch-doctors and ceremonial leaders.

So if those in Greece, Africa and the Americas could have women who were conjurers, priestesses, and healers, how hard can it be to think that there were female Magi who were capable of reading the stars, paying attention to the elements, and willing to make a 1,000 mile journey to honor the birth of a child who was said to be King of the Jews?

Now, does any of this really matter?

Does our faith hang on how many Magi were there, or from where they came from, or what color was their skin or what sex they were?

Maybe not, but our faith can be illuminated by allowing ourselves to ask these questions and revisit the story.

And there is an element of today’s narrative that is perhaps most important- what is the purpose of their visit and what is it they do?

They journey so they can show their respect. They come as an expression of admiration and adulation. They come to revere the Christ-child.

They arrive as a simple, pure act of worship.

They have no known agenda. They begin their journey with no known motive other than to pay homage.

They also come with something else: generous spirits. They come bearing gifts. Gifts from the heart.

The Magi travel from nearly 1,000 miles to worship God with symbols of generosity-

Note how when they arrive at the house which Jesus and Mary are at, they kneel, they give praise, they open their treasures.

They have no special request. They come with no personal plea. There is no quid pro quo. There is no seeking of anything in return.

Note how the spirit of generosity emanates from them, offering aromatic incense, fragrant perfume, and everyone’s favorite- money.

These are not poor-intentioned gifts, or last minute items picked up at the Dollar Tree or Ollie’s Bargain Outlet.

These are gifts chosen, carried, and presented in an act of generosity and worship that says “Gracious Good Shepherd, we have come to give you praise.”

…You know, I have been so thankful for this Advent and Christmas season. The journey we have all made together towards Bethlehem, the chance to come to the manger, and to follow a star.

Part of the joy has been finding the ways in which God truly surprises us, even today.

How every time we read scripture, every time we journey back to our sacred text, every time we step back from what we think we know, or what we’ve been told,

we discover that there can be another way to view things, that there may be another possibility, that things could have happened another way.

We discover that God is still trying to tell us something. God is still surprising us. There is always so much more of the story that can be told.

As the hope-filled glow and generous spirit of Christmas comes to a close today we are thankful that we have had a chance to worship. We have a chance to journey here, bearing heart-felt gifts.

And just like the Magi, we have the chance to journey home, but to leave another way and a little bit different than when we began.

For that we can say “Amen.”