The celebration of Epiphany is the celebration of the Messiah being revealed to the magi (or you may know them as the wise men). Epiphany is an old celebration. If fact, it is even older than the celebration of Christmas. And, to accompany this ancient celebration, is a multitude of art depicting the magi bringing their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to Jesus.
When going through the oldest artistic depictions of the magi, you cannot help but notice that the magi all kind of look like old white guys. Even some newer depictions prefer to have old white guys. And, there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, if you are an old white guy, it is nice to see these fellow travelers in the journey of life who feel drawn toward the Messiah. It is nice to know that you are welcomed to enter into the life of Jesus Christ, and welcomed to step through the door of his holy family. Our world could use a star that would lead more of these men to bring their gifts to the Christ Child rather than the bar or their rooms of loneliness. Would that not be wonderful to have more men drawn to Christ’s family?
Back to Epiphany art, after 500 years you start to see Epiphany art making a shift. You start to see different complexions of skin tone as the magi start to be identified with certain ethnicities. This is evidenced quite strikingly in Joseph Christian Leyendecker’s painting, “Three Wise Men.” Joseph was a successful artist who, at the turn of the century, sold paintings to publications such as the Saturday Evening Post for their cover. If the Saturday Evening Post seems to ring a bell it is because the cover of that magazine was famously graced with the paintings of one of Joseph’s most devoted artistic disciples, Norman Rockwell, who painted realistic portraits of American life.
Let us put our focus back on Joseph though. His depiction of the magi is stunning and includes a brown skinned magi who clearly looks Egyptian, along with a man who is even darker, with an African complexion, and the image is balanced by none other than an old white guy. I tend not to identify as an old white guys, but my children clearly think that I do, so, I guess that it is nice that once again I am included amongst those who are invited to bear witness to the Christ Child. But, others are included too. That is the whole point of the painting. Not only was different people’s inclusion in the life of Christ important for Joseph the artist, but it was also important for Matthew, who wrote the source material.
Matthew tells us that a star appeared to these wise men from the east, signaling the birth of a king. Now, understand that the star could have appeared to some devoted followers of God. But, God did not choose to do that. The star could have appeared to the high priest in the temple of the Almighty. But, God did not choose to do that. The star could have appeared to any number of important Hebrew people who had been waiting for the day that the Messiah would come, but God did not choose to do that. Instead, God chose some foreigners to bear witness to the birth of the Messiah.
The scripture that Matthew is using as an outline as he tells his story is Isaiah 60 which says, “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you” (Isaiah 60:1). The light has come, but guess to who Isaiah says the light comes?
“Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you;” (Isaiah 60:3-4). As much as we need all of the promises of God for our own lives, we see in Isaiah that God’s intentions are much, much bigger. God wants to shine a light on “the nations.” God wants to shine a light of love and grace on all of those people “out there” who have fallen into darkness. God’s promises are for you and me, yes, but they are also clearly for everyone else out there also.
And Isaiah truly believes that those “other” people who God draws near will be overjoyed that they too are a part of God’s promise. Isaiah says that those who God draws near “shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord” (Isaiah 60:6). And, just a few more sentences later, these foreign people will start to offer fragrant sacrifices to the Lord (just like the Israelites) in gratitude and worship.
The fragrance on the altar of sacrifice is where the myrrh comes in, just in case you were keeping track.
In other words, these foreigners will be welcomed as God’s people also. They will be drawn into God’s family of grace and love. That is what the heart of God is all about; reaching out to those who dwell in the dark so that they might have lives filled with God’s light.
So, drawing from this dripping well of welcoming promise to “the nations” in Isaiah, Matthew tells the story of the magi who are drawn to the Messiah by a star. They see God’s light and that sends them on their quest. Not unsurprisingly, these wise men first show up in Jerusalem, the center of Hebrew worship, and they go to the palace of Herod, in search of the newborn king. Where else would you find a king after-all?
That seems like such a natural thing to do. You go where you would expect a new king to be born; in the palace. You go where you would expect that God’s blessing shines down.
We are not too different. Our lives too tend to revolve around the powerful and the rich. We are employed by them. We watch them on our screens and talk about them around the water cooler. We rejoice when they give birth and cry when they die. It is such a natural, human thing to do.
But, the star was not leading the magi to the rich and powerful. The star was not leading them to Jerusalem. The star was not leading the magi to follow Herod, or anyone else in that city of blessing. Instead, scripture says, “there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was,” in Bethlehem. “When [the magi] saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2:9-11).
So, here is the picture. These foreign people were drawn by God to see and worship the Messiah, who was found in a humble town, and was found in a very small and humble body. This is a message that I think is worth hearing.
After-all, I think all of us at one point or another feels like the outsider, feels small, or feels unworthy to be included. All of us have had that moment where we wondered if we are welcomed? And, preaching to that internal insecurity, we have a story of unlikely foreigners being drawn by God’s light to see God’s fulfillment of a promise; to send the one who will love, forgive, and save. It is a story that says, “God cares about you too. You too are included in all that God has in store, even if you feel like the outsider.”
This is Matthew’s message. And, it is a great message as long as it is for me and my people. But, I have to admit, that I am not always as enthused that it is a message for others. I have to admit that there are people out there who I would prefer not be invited into our family. There are those who dwell in the darkness, and I am just fine with them staying right there. I must admit that I do not always appreciate a painting that includes those who are not like me.
But, Joseph Leyendecker’s painting did truly capture the heart of the Bible. His painting, showing those foreigners being drawn to worship the Christ child, next to the old white guy, directs me back to the truths of Jesus Christ. From the beginning of his life, Jesus’ light drew in the most unlikely and diverse people. And, throughout his life he confronts us with teachings like, “Love your enemies,” and “pray for those who persecute you.” From the start of Jesus’ story we learn that we are indeed included in his story, but so are a whole bunch of other people who may not be as wonderful, righteous, hard working, and faithful as I.
The promise is that the nations will stream to him. The promise is that Christ will open his arms and all will be drawn into his embrace. This is the message of the Epiphany. And, it was the message that Joseph Leyendecker so brilliantly was able to get across through paint and canvas when he painted those wise men from the nations gathering with the Christ child.
There was another painter who not only paid close attention to Joseph’s painting style, but also Joseph’s grasp of Jesus’ holy truth. In the United Nations hangs a painting by Norman Rockwell, one of Joseph’s apprentices. It is a painting that includes people of every part of the globe (as does the United Nations), and it is titled, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” It is a painting where all the nations are brought together with the words of Jesus. It is a painting that reminds us that Christ “so loved the world,” and not just me. It is a painting that reveals that Jesus is there for us all, and therefore, we should be there for everyone as well. And that is a fine reminder for Epiphany.
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