I suspect that, despite the Bible being the greatest bestseller ever, we know more about the story of the Wise Men which we celebrate today on the feast of Epiphany from songs, hymns, and popular culture than we do from the short section in St Matthew's Gospel which was read to us.
Nowhere does the Bible passage mention 'Kings'. Neither does it say how many there were. There is no indication of where they came from, their racial characteristics, their names or their mode of transport. Notice also that they did not follow a star to Jerusalem or Bethlehem. They saw the star before their journey; they saw it again just as they approached Bethlehem. The only guiding it did was as they approached Bethlehem. You will also see that there is no mention of a stable or any indication that Jesus was a new-born baby when the Magi arrived.
Various names have been given to the Magi. The Western tradition names them Balthasar, Melchior and Gaspar. These names were first used by an Early Church father, Origen who died in 254 and they become popular from the 6th Century.
In a mosaic in Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, dating from AD 550, Balthasar is middle aged with a black beard, Gaspar is old and has a white beard and Melchior is young and beardless.
By the 9th Century the tradition was firmly established that they represent 3 races. Balthasar was Asian, Gaspar a white European and Melchior was African and therefore black. However the depiction of each often varies from painting to painting and from tale to tale. The ages of each are often transposed and even the races are occasionally interchanged.
The number of the Magi, (not mentioned in the Bible), has also been the subject of Christian imagination.
A 2nd century drawing in the Roman catacombs at Domitilla, Rome, depicts four Wise Men, two on either side, presenting their gifts to Mary and the child. However, it has to be said that most often three Wise Men are shown, one for each gift.
What are Magi?
The Bible uses the Term "Magi" to mean our three, or maybe more, visitors to the Baby Jesus. The term, like a lot of words, has changed it's meaning over a period of time. It was originally associated with the Medes and the Persians and has it's beginning with a man called Zoroaster. Around the year 1000 BC, Zoroaster began to proclaim a religious message based on the principle `Do good, hate evil'. He preached that there was just one god, who was the good force in the world represented by purifying fire and water and was apparently a god that one could talk to. Opposed to the good, taught Zoroaster, was a dark power of evil. This code of belief has survived in one form or other throughout history and even has its followers today. Freddy Mercury of the group Queen was perhaps the most famous, modern Zoroastrian.
The term Magi was originally reserved for a tribe of the Medes who were priests for the Persian empire and the Zoroastrian religion. Having said this the term 'Magi' became popular and eventually by the 1st century AD, it was being used of any mysterious person who had access to knowledge not normally known to most people.
The Magi in Matthew's gospel seem to be quiet, sincere and of admirable conduct. They had apparently come across knowledge through careful research and wished only to respond to it. We know that some Magi at this time were employed by rulers of countries in much the same way as specialists are employed by modern governments today: to keep them up to date on latest developments and to provide advice. Being high up in social circles, but not military people, Magi were sometimes used as envoys to travel to other countries, representing the royal family. They would gather for important events like coronations, funerals or the opening of new cities or harbours. This was particularly so if the Magi were related to the royal family in some way. They would have been interested in time keeping, calendars, tides, medicine, religion, alchemy and many other subjects. They would have been particularly interested in the study of the night sky. It was thought at that time, that what was observed in the sky was reflected in the events upon the earth. Monitoring of events in the heavens, it was believed, gave insight into what was happening, or going to happen upon the earth. A knowledge of the night sky was therefore essential. Is this what our Magi were, religious and scholarly envoys?
Where did they come from?
The
Bible tells us that the Wise Men came from the East. Exactly how far east, and
to what extent that description can be interpreted is largely unknown. Here are
3 main possibilities.
Persia
Did the Wise Men of Matthew's gospel come from Persia, the home of the Zoroastrian Magi? This is possible and it was certainly a main belief of the early Christian Church. In a letter associated with the Synod of Jerusalem in AD. 836 an incident was related to have happened in AD. 614 when Persian armies invaded the Holy Land destroying Christian Churches. Apparently when they came to the Basilica in Bethlehem they refused to destroy it because of a mosaic depicting the adoration of the Magi. It turns out they recognized them because of their dress; they were fellow Persians!
Arabia
Another way of approaching this is to look at the Old
Testament expectations and its idea of 'the East'. The gifts brought by the wise
men mentioned in Matthew are also mentioned in the Old Testament. In Isaiah 60:
6 it says, 'Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and
Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming
the praise of the Lord.' Psalm 72:15 says 'Long may he live! May gold from Sheba
be given to him. May people ever pray for him and bless him all day long.' Sheba
was a country located in south-west Arabia. It was known for its wealth from
trading spices, gold and jewels with Mediterranean countries. At this time Sheba
was ruled by Priest-Kings who oversaw the worship of stars, sun and moon.
In the Old Testament the term 'people of the east' refers to a number of tribes including Midianites, Amalekites, Moabites, Ammonites and Kedarites. All of them roughly in the area known as Arabia. It is also significant that the earliest references to the Magi in Christian thought are that they came from Arabia. Justin, in AD. 160 wrote in his Dialogue, 'Magi from Arabia came to him (that is Herod).' In AD. 96 Clement of Rome wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians that he associated frankincense and myrrh with 'the districts near Arabia.' Arabia then seems to fit in best with Old Testament expectations as the origin of the gospel Magi.
Babylon
The final possibility for the home of our Magi is Babylon. This is based upon the facts that we have concerning the Babylonians. They had apparently studied the night sky to a most excellent degree. Their meticulous research and extensive records of astronomical phenomenon were unmatched in the western world. In addition to this was the widespread Jewish influence in Babylon due to the large numbers of Jews who stayed in Babylon after the Exile in the 6th Century BC. Babylon was in a unique position then of having well informed Magi, both regarding astronomical events and Jewish Messianic expectations. In addition the book of Daniel frequently mentions Magi in the Babylonian Court. Despite all this the early Christian writers seem not to have heard that the Magi came from Babylon. The theory never occurred to the early Christian writers; at least none of the writings we have mention the possibility of the Magi being Babylonian. It is strange therefore that it seems to have the backing of most modern scholars. Many of them take it as established fact that the Magi were Babylonian.
But the simple answer is that we don't know. All we do know is that the Magi were not Jewish.
So What About the Three Gifts?
Thankfully we do know a bit more about the three gifts the Magi brought with them.
Gold
Very little gold can be found in Israel itself but it was imported from Eastern Egypt, Western Arabia, Armenia and Persia. Any king would have quantites of personal gold to send with his magi so it mustn't be supposed that the Wise Men must have come from the area where it was mined. Gold was often shaped into objects or coins. It is not known in what form the gold took when it was given to Mary. Neither do we know how much gold was given to her nor what happened to the gold afterwards.
Gold was a gift fit for a king. It spoke of riches and power - then and now. It is a gift showing the Magi recognised something of Jesus royal regal authority.
Frankincense
This yellow gum is collected by peeling back the bark of the frankincense tree. The local source of this was from the plant Boswellia Sacra, found in South Arabia. When the wood is cut it oozes a yellow drop which hardens. These drops are then pulled off the wood. The resulting resin gives off a sweet scent when heated or burned.
It was one of elements used in the Jewish holy anointing oil mentioned in Exodus and was also burnt with other substances during the cereal-offering mentioned in Leviticus.
The earliest recorded use of frankincense in the ancient world is found in an inscription on the tomb of a 15th century BC Egyptian queen named Hathsepsut. Ancient Egyptians burned frankincense as incense and ground the charred resin into a powder called kohl. Kohl was used to make the distinctive black eyeliner seen on so many figures in Egyptian art.
Frankincense was one of the most prized and costly substances in the ancient world, worth more than its weight in gold. Thanks to the domestication of the camel, a complex trade network evolved to transport the priceless resins from the remote valleys, where the trees grew, to the markets where kings and emperors vied for the finest grades.
Frankincense was used in the worship of God in the Jewish Temple and is still used in many churches for the worship of God today - particularly in the Orthodox and Catholic traditions. The smoke represents the prayers of God's people rising to Heaven. As you know, and as you can smell, our friends at St John Chrysostom's use quite a lot of it each week in their worship.
Today frankincense is mainly used in incenses and pastilles although the essential oils are often used in aromatherapy. Frankincense is still used today to treat a number of conditions including ulcers, bronchitis, snakebites and jaundice.
Frankincense was a gift fit for a priest. The magi discerned something of Jesus's priesthood and holiness and presented him with an appropriate gift. The frankincense speaks of Jesus as a priest, a bridge-builder between God and humanity.
Myrrh
Like frankincense, myrrh is extracted by cutting and collecting the hardened sap from the stems and branches of the prickly shrub, Commiphora Myrrha. This oozes an oily yellow/brown resin. This plant is native to South Arabia and adjacent parts of Africa. Myrrh was another ingredient of the holy anointing oil mentioned in Exodus. It was used basically as a deodorant, along with aloes, to anoint a dead body. Egyptians also used myrrh resin as incense and as an important ingredient in the embalming process, sometimes placing the crude resin in the eviscerated body cavities of mummies.
Myrrh, therefore, is a grisly gift to give and one which speaks of death. It is as though the Magi saw Jesus's death, and possibly discerned him as some form of sacrifice. One cannot imagine what Joseph and Mary thought of such a gift!
So What Can We learn from Epiphany?
For me there are three main themes of Epiphany which we see in the midst of all this discussion about the magi and their gifts.
The first is to realise that the Magi were not Jewish. Non-Jews and outsiders were the first to discern who Jesus is - as the words of our next hymn put it "King and God and Sacrifice". The central message of the Church is that all can be included - indeed this is what we mean when we say we believe in a Catholic Church - not that we like the smell of incense - but that we think that Church is open to all. The Wise Men show us that outsiders get the point too!
Secondly the wise men searched for Jesus. We need to remind ourselves to seek him too - and often to seek him earnestly and eagerly. We who are familiar with holy things can become immune to them. We can become a little complacent and we need to seek Jesus every day of our lives.
Thirdly, the wise men brought gifts for Jesus, we too need to bring our gifts, our lives, our gifts, our skills and abilities as well as our gold to Jesus.
This Epiphany we remember the Wise Men coming to Jesus, we wonder about who they were and we commit ourselves to following their example and perseverance.
Amen.
This sermon was first preached in the Metropolitan Community Church of Manchester. Click here for further information.