The Three Wise Men Legends

Early Christian legends tell of twelve wise men living in the East. Their special treasure was a scroll written by Seth, the son of Adam. On this scroll was written prophecies concerning the Messiah of the Jews and the star which would appear at His birth. This group of wise men devoted themselves to watching for the Messiah's star. From generation to generation, every month, these twelve wise men would ascend into a mountain cave and spend three days purifying themselves in its fountains, searching for the star, and praying to be led to the Messiah. As each man died, his son or other close relative took his place. (According to some, when these men were not being wise men, they were simple farmers and only went up on the mountain for a few days each year after the corn was threshed.)

About the year 6 B.C., the long awaited star appeared. It shone brightly in the shape of a beautiful boy child with a cross glowing behind him. The star-child announced, "The King of the Jews is born in Judea. Go quickly to worship him."

Some say the Christ-Star miraculously enabled the wise men to reach Jerusalem in 12 or 13 days without stopping for food or rest. The journey seemed to last only a day! Others say the journey took about two years during which the Christ-Star taught them the Gospel of Peace and replenished their supplies of food and water so they had no need to stop on the way to Jerusalem. This legend was so popular that Chrysostom included it in his commentaries.

A later legend states that a young shepherdess named Madelon met the wise men journeying to Bethlehem and wept because she had no suitable gift to give a king. Catching the sweet aroma of a lily, Madelon looked up from her tears and found an angel standing before her with a wand made of lilies. As soon as she shared the cause of her sorrow with the angel, it waved its wand, causing the road to Bethlehem to be lined with white Christmas roses. Madelon gathered a bouquet of these flowers as she ran to catch up with the wise men. In Bethlehem, she presented her roses to the Christ Child and His touch caused them to glow with a pink tinge.

In exchange for their expensive gifts, Mary gave the wise men some of the swaddling clothes in which Jesus had been wrapped. She also gave them a little box with a stone in it. The stone was supposed to remind them that their faith ought to be as strong as a rock. Mary must've neglected to tell them that because, thinking this stone was worthless baggage, the wise men tossed it into a well. Whereupon fire from heaven filled the well. The amazed wise men carried the fire back to their own country and built a magnificent cathedral around it so that the people could worship it. Later, they were baptized and, giving all their possessions to the poor, they went about living a life of poverty and preaching the Gospel of Peace until their martyrdom in India

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Bible Study

Matthew 2 – The Visit of the Magi

v. 1 – Magi from the east . . . 

Magicians. The science of the Medes (modern Kurds) and Persians included astrology. Chrysostom speculated that Christ chose to reveal His birth to such men in order to give future sinners hope of forgiveness. 

Deut. 18:12-15 and 18:18 – such practices forbidden. 

Daniel 2:1-49 – wise men also interpreted dreams. 

v. 2 – We saw his star in the east . . . 

Numbers 24:17 – a star shall come out of Jacob. The most likely scientific explanation for the Christmas star is that a triple planetary conjunction occurred in the House of the Hebrews (Pisces) on February 6, 6 B.C. and appeared to be a temporary new star.

v. 11 – On coming to the house . . .presented him with gifts of gold, incense, myrrh.

Isaiah 60:3 – by 6^th century wise men referred to as kings. 

Isaiah 49:7 – kings shall worship. 

Psalm 72:10 – kings offer gifts.

Some even associated them with Shem, Ham and Japheth--the three sons of Noah--and thus with Asia, Africa, and Europe. 

Three Kings – Names, Lands and Gifts

GREEK	HEBREW	LATIN	GIFT	LAND
Apellius	Galgalat	Caspar	Myrrh	Europe
Amerius	Malgalat	Balthasar	Frankincense	Africa
Damascus	Sarachin	Melchior	Gold	Asia

Caspar – from Europe or Tarsus. Myrrh = Signifies Christ’s mortality.

Psalm 45:8, Prov. 7:17 – myrrh. Medicinal: strengthen a child, rid of worms. 

Mark 15:23 – He did not take it. John 19:39-40 – used in burial. 

Balthasar – from Ethiopia, portrayed as black. Frankincense = prayers of the faithful

Song 3:6 – perfumes

Leviticus 2:1-2 – used in worship and prayer. 

Melchior – from Asia or Arabia. Gold = Divinity, kingship

Exodus 25:11; 28:2-30 – gold in temple worship

Exodus 32:2-4 – golden calf. 

The gifts of the wise men were also thought to represent the three items contained in the Ark of the Covenant. Gold symbolized the manna. Frankincense represented the tablets of the Ten Commandments. And myrrh was emblematic of the rod of Aaron.

Their visit is commemorated on the feast of the Epiphany (Twelfth Night or January 6). In Epiphany season, besides the wise men, we celebrate three other great events in the life of Christ 

• Christ's baptism in the river Jordan by John  
• the miracle at Cana where Jesus changed water into wine (Bethany); and 
• the feeding of the 5000 men along with their wives and children with five loaves of bread 

At one time Epiphany was celebrated in the west in much the same way as Christmas is now. It still is in Eastern countries. Even today, in such countries, the wise men or their camels bear Christmas gifts for the children each year. In Czechoslovakia, the initials of the magi's names are written over the entranceways of houses to celebrate Epiphany.

The Importance Of Rituals In Our Daily Lives

I am writing this post on the final day of the year. How do you celebrate the old and bring in the new year? I found one site listing what is done in various countries. Here's a sample:

SPAIN At midnight, it's customary to quickly eat 12 grapes, one at each stroke of the clock. Each one signifies good luck for one month of the coming year. FINLAND Folks predict their fortunes for the coming year by casting molten tin into a container of water and interpreting the shape the metal takes after it hardens. A heart or ring shape means a wedding, a ship signifies travel. a pig means lots of good food. BELARUSUnmarried women play games to predict who will get hitched in the new year. In one game a pile of corn is put in front of each woman and a rooster is let loose. Whatever pile he approaches first shows which woman will be the first to marry. PHILIPPINES Round shapes, which represent coins, symbolize prosperity. There are heaps of round fruits on dining tables. Some folks eat precisely a dozen fruits at midnight. Polka dots also are thought to bring good luck, being round and all, and are quite prominent.

But how important are such rituals on the other days of the year? R. Alan Culpepper, commenting on The Gospel of Luke in The New Interpreter's Bible, reflects on the importance of rituals:

... The observance of religious requirements and rituals has fallen on hard times. Essential to Judaism is the praise of God in all of life. The Jewish law taught that God was to be honored in one's rising up and lying down, in going out and coming in, in how one dressed and what one ate. . . .

The pressures of modern life have reduced the importance of rituals in our everyday lives. How many of us even have prayer before meals any longer? Very few take any time to study the Bible together. Some reading this will have to admit that they only attend church on holidays like Christmas or Easter or when requested to attend a wedding or a funeral. The marking of daily events with a ritual that recognizes God's presence in our lives is practically extinct. So we end up assuming that we will only find God in certain sacred places or in observances led by holy people. 

Are we living in a world from which God has departed? Will your day to day experiences in this new year have no meaning beyond themselves? Is there no longer room for mystery and wonder in this world of high tech and science fiction? 

Here is a challenge for the new year : Make a special point to celebrate God's presence and goodness in the wonder of family and friends at meals, special events like birthdays and anniversaries, the discovery of a place you've never visited before, moving into a new home or upon recovering from a serious illness or accident. 

For instance, Anglican priest, Rev. Bosco Peters, offers a chalk house blessing on Epiphany, January 6.   Epiphany is the day that the western church remembers the visit of the Magi, the wise men from the east who came to worship the Christ Child. So we may ask God to bless the visit of all who enter our house in this new year. 

Martin Luther's commentary on the First Article of the Apostles Creed reminds us of this. 

I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my limbs, my reason, and all my senses, and still preserves them; in addition thereto, clothing and shoes, meat and drink, house and homestead, wife and children, fields, cattle, and all my goods; that He provides me richly and daily with all that I need to support this body and life, protects me from all danger, and guards me and preserves me from all evil; and all this out of pure, fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me; for all which I owe it to Him to thank, praise, serve, and obey Him. 

This is most certainly true.

[The Book of Concord: The Small Catechism]

May our LORD bless each and every day of your new year. 

Reporting Again For Active Duty

Today brings us an entire week into a new year. A week before the new year began my grandson and I were discussing the calendar. I pointed out to him that we operate with the Gregorian calendar rather than the Julian. He had never heard of this. So I told him to Google it. He immediately grabbed his iPhone, went to the Net and came up with some kind of answer. When I pushed him, he indicated he was not that interested in the topic and we left it for another.

We Christians have also entered the wonderful season of Epiphany, that time when we remember the coming of the Magi from the east to worship the infant Jesus. Thus, at the very beginning of the Gospel of Matthew and the New Testament, we are reminded that the Good News of Jesus is for all men. It is not reserved merely for the Israelites, as important as they are in the history of God's grace.

So I personally find it significant that tomorrow I will be meeting with a group of leaders from a new congregation of Lutheran Christians in Montgomery, Texas. We will be discussing my role as a temporary or interim pastor in assisting them with the task of spreading the Gospel in that part of this vast world.

Yes, you heard me right. I'm temporarily moving back into more active pastoral ministry after being retired, if you will, for the past eight years. Like the world around us, we pastors (presbyters, priests, clergy) have adopted the term retirement. It is not a Biblical term. There's no Biblical record of prophets, priests, apostles or pastors ever retiring. What does the term mean then? Here are a few current definitions:

• retire - go into retirement; stop performing one's work or withdraw from one's position; "He retired at age 68"
• retire - withdraw: pull back or move away or backward; "The enemy withdrew"; "The limo pulled away from the curb"
• retire - withdraw from circulation or from the market, as of bills, shares, and bonds
• retire - adjourn: break from a meeting or gathering; "We adjourned for lunch"; "The men retired to the library"
• make (someone) retire; "The director was retired after the scandal"
• retire - dispose of (something no longer useful or needed); "She finally retired that old coat"
• retire - lose interest; "he retired from life when his wife died"
• retire - put out: cause to be out on a fielding play
• retire - cause to get out; "The pitcher retired three batters"; "the runner was put out at third base"
• retire - go to bed: prepare for sleep; "I usually turn in at midnight"; "He goes to bed at the crack of dawn"

I haven't been put out at third or even second base during this time. I'm too old for baseball anyway. I haven't been sleeping. I haven't withdrawn completely from the battle. I certainly was not forced to retire. I did retire from full-time, remunerated ministry at the age of 67. Sylvia and I did begin to draw from funds set aside for both of us by the organizations we served and by the U.S. government (e.g. Social Security). Consequently, I did not spend all my time in the service of a local or national church. I began to pursue other interests, like writing this Blog. But now I'm returning to a more active role in a local congregation. Does that mean I'm "un-retiring"? You decide.

So check in from time to time. In this new year I plan to chronicle what that means for me, for Sylvia and our family, and for the people I'll be serving. Perhaps we can all learn some things together.