A Clash of Kings – January 5, 2025, Epiphany!
Isaiah 60:1-3, Matthew 2:1-12
January 5, 2025
So, this is the day we remember the coming of the Magi – the Wise Men – to visit the Christ child. This is Epiphany. This is the “sudden realization,” the “Aha moment,” the moment people realized that the angel’s words to the shepherds were true. The “Good tidings of great joy shall be to all people!” (Well, Epiphany is tomorrow, actually. But this is the Sunday we’re celebrating it!)
So yes, this is the story where the angel’s words are finally realized. Or if not realized fully, at least demonstrated. For here we have these men from another country, and another , coming to worship he who was born king of the Jews. We can only imagine what those people were thinking when these guys showed up! Or, maybe we can’t! Just picture it!
Well, I got to thinking this week that there are a lot of kings in this story! Aren’t there? You have these Magi, who we also call kings – we sang about them earlier. And they were coming to Herod the king, asking about the King of the Jews! Think about it. How many kings does that make?
Now, before you answer that, let me say that it’s a trick question. Does anybody know why? Because we don’t really know how many Wise Men – how many “Kings of Orient” – there were! We do know they brought three gifts, gold, frankincense, and Myrrh. So we have a tradition that says there were three of them. Some traditions even give them names! Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. Did you ever hear those names? The problem is, the Bible doesn’t say any of that!
In fact, given the value of the gifts they carried, Bible scholars have told us that there certainly would have been more than three people in their caravan, if not simply for protection! They were traveling through lands that were not always safe, and there was the possibility of encountering robbers along the way. And keep in mind that, for part of the journey, they didn’t know exactly where they were going, or what lands they would be going through. Because they weren’t following a road map, they were following a celestial map. They were following a star!
It did make sense, though, that if they were seeking the “King of the Jews,” it would be good to inquire in their capital city. And that’s what they did. But they didn’t know where else they might be going, or if it was safe. So, it’s very likely that they would have had an entourage of more than just three. And the number of “kings” among them may also have been more than three. We just don’t know.
So, going back to my question, I think it’s safe to say that there were a lot of kings in this story. And yes, one might even say there was a “plethora” of kings! And you know that word always makes me happy!
So, these “Kings” come to a “King” to seek a “King.” And I believe this is truly “A Clash of Kings!” That’s my title for this sermon. Because there’s tension here in this story. There’s intrigue. There’s subterfuge. And that’s another great word! It means “deception” or even “trickery.”
And it all ends up in the part of this story that we don’t read all too often. When the Wise Men left, they were warned not to go back to Herod. And in the part we didn’t read, Herod perceives that he’s been tricked! And Matthew tells us that he went into “a furious rage!” And he sent his soldiers to Bethlehem, ordering them to kill all the male children in that region who were two years old or under. That’s the sad part of the story. But it shows the intensity of this “Clash of kings” I’m asking you to think about today.
Now, fortunately for Jesus, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream – again! And he told him to take the child and his mother to Egypt. And in that way, he escaped what Herod was about to do. But what we can see in this, is that this story is deadly serious!
The other thing I might mention here is the timing of that two years. That was Herod’s order. All the male children two years and under. Because of that, Bible scholars believe that this visit of the Wise Men, was likely to have happened later – possibly between one and two years later. And I know we often picture the Wise Men at the manger with Mary and Joseph and the shepherds, on the night he was born. But, like Kari did with the place Jesus was born – likely a cave, she said, I’m “tweaking” your mental image here, too. (Sorry! She started it!)
Of course the other part of the tweaking I’m doing here today is adding that word “Clash.” Because this is not just a sweet idyllic scene with these guys kneeling before the Christ child – the king – and worshipping. This is a clash! This is Herod getting wind of a threat to his power, and doing what he could to eliminate it, even something so drastic as the slaughter of the innocents! Herod was that kind of guy! It was said that he had members of his own family put to death if he perceived them as being a threat to his power! Some said it was better to be Herod’s dog than his son!
His reaction to these Wise Men seems to hint of all that. When the Wise Men, came to Jerusalem asking for the King of the Jews, Matthew tells us that Herod “was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him!” Do you get that? If Herod was troubled, it was not going to be a good thing for the people! They didn’t know what he might do!
Well, the first thing he did was to look into it. He called together all the priests and scribes and asked them where the Christ was to be born. And he said, “The Christ,” in other words, “The Messiah.” He knew that’s what this was all about! The wise men didn’t say that word. But Herod knew it. I’m sure he had heard rumors of a Messiah who would come! And that would definitely be a threat to his power.
So, he called the Wise men into a secret meeting, and he asked them what time the star appeared. Then he gave them this secret task. He said, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, send me word, that I too may come and worship him.” But we know what that meant! Right? It was bad! It was diabolical! It was Herod’s fiendish attempt to eliminate this threat. Because that’s where the true “Clash of Kings” took place! It was the clash between Herod and Jesus! And it would have dire consequences!
That’s one of the terrible things about war. War doesn’t just affect the combatants. It’s often the innocents that suffer the most. We see that in our world today! Just turn on the news! And that’s what we find here at the beginning of the story of Jesus. The suffering of innocents.
It’s also interesting how this story is similar to the story of Moses! Do you remember that? As a baby, Moses was hidden in the bullrushes in a basket. And why? Because Pharaoh was trying to eliminate the Hebrew children. He feared that the number of Hebrews living in his country was becoming too great. And he feared that, if he were to be attacked by an enemy, the Hebrews might rise up and join in overthrowing him. And the great irony in that story is that the baby Moses was saved by the daughter of Pharoah! And the great irony in the story of Jesus is that it was to that same land of Egypt that the family fled! But of course the tragedy in both stories is that they both contain that heartbreaking element of the suffering of the innocent!
I was also thinking this week, that, when the kings of our world clash, when we see the innocent suffering, it can be hard to see God anywhere in it. Can’t it? It was the same for the people in the Bible. Sometimes when things got tough for them, they felt like God had abandoned them. Sometimes they would cry out with the words like those of the psalmist, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” That’s from Psalm 22, and if you remember those were the words quoted by Jesus on the cross. I’m sure many in Israel felt that way in the aftermath of Herod’s terrible actions.
Sometimes we feel that way in our lives, too. Sometimes we feel like we’re at the mercy of the kings of this world. Or like the innocents in this story, we’re caught in the middle of the clash of those kings. And when we do, we might find ourselves wondering, “Where is God in all this?”
When we feel like that, I believe our faith calls us to remember two words – two words that the Jewish people held on to throughout their writings, and throughout their history. And they suffered a lot throughout their history! The first is “steadfast love” – which was expressed in one word in Hebrew, the word “Hesed.” (And that’s akin to our word “Grace.”) And the other word is “Faithfulness.” You hear those two things together in many, many places in the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms. The steadfast love and faithfulness of God.
The Psalms are all about pouring out one’s heart before God, whether that be a heart of praise, or a heart of anguish. David cried out in that same psalm, Psalm 22, “O my God I cry by day, but thou dost not answer, by night, but I find no rest.” He poured out his heart! But the important thing is, David always came back! He always remembered God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. “Yet thou art holy, O Lord,” he said, “enthroned on the praises of Israel. In thee our fathers trusted.”
Now, it’s not easy to remember those things. It’s not easy to trust in God, when kings are clashing all around us. But like the people of old – like David – we can strive to remember God’s steadfast love and faithfulness, and we can reach out to him. We can lay our lives before him. And we can trust him. I’m sure to those people in this story, this baby seemed to be no match for the power and the anger of Herod. But what power was really in control here? It was the power of God!
So, here we are, at the beginning of a new year! A quarter of the way through the 21st century! And does that make any sense to you at all? Well, we are! And I’d like to suggest to you that a New Years’ resolution for 2025. And that would be, to trust God more. I invite you to join me in that resolution. Trust God more. Because the more we trust God, the more we are able to trust God! That’s how it often works. Trust leads to more trust.
As you think about that, I’ll close with a quote I have up on the sign out here. It says this. “Those who leave everything in God’s hands will eventually see God’s hand in everything.”
Prayer
Eternal God, your steadfast love and faithfulness is beyond our comprehension! Help us to trust that. Help us to reach out to you when kings clash in our world. Help us to find our peace in the Prince of Peace. And we pray in the name of the king of kings, Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.