The Shrine of the Three Kings

This past Sunday, I began my sermon with the observation that there were three options offered for the gospel reading on the 2^nd Sunday of the Christmas Season. (Yes, the celebration of Christmas does not end on December 26^th.) I noted that I had chosen Matthew 2:1-12 which is the story of the wise men following the star in the east to the place where Jesus was born and then giving him their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We all know the story! I told the congregation that I had made this choice because it was a special favorite of mine, and that I felt a special affinity for the wise men. Several years ago, I had visited their final resting place. Now completely alert, the congregation stared at me. Then I said, “Of course, you all know where that is!” Suddenly I had everyone’s undivided attention. People spoke up and said, “No, we don’t know where that is” and “This is news to us” and “We’ve never heard of that, tell us.”

I then proceeded to relate the story of how I had been called up to active duty in the US Army in 1997 and subsequently stationed in Babenhausen, Germany near Frankfurt. It was not far from the Rhine River valley. One weekend, I had the opportunity to visit the famous cathedral in Cologne which sits on the east bank of the Rhine. By some miracle, it was spared during the bombing of the city in WWII. What surprised me the first time I was there was the discovery  that, hanging over the high altar, there is a large gold reliquary in which it is believed are the bones of the three kings. I told the people that I stood there looking at it in awe, wondering, is that possible? The Wise Men? The Three Kings? Really! Here! It was an epiphany! 

Following a Star

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea

in the days of Herod the King, behold there

came wise men from the east to Jerusalem saying,

Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we

have seen his star in the east , and are come to worship him.

                                   

                                        Matthew 2:1-2

            All that we know of the wise men is found in twelve verses in the second chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. Their story begins very simply with a star. They follow it first to Jerusalem where they talk to King Herod.  The chief priests and scribes direct them to Bethlehem. They go, see the child, present their gifts and then depart, returning home by “another way,” to avoid a second meeting with Herod.

Interestingly, the Matthean account does not tell us how many of them there were and it omits any mention of their names. It certainly doesn’t describe them as kings. Legend and other sources such as the History of the Three Kings by John of Hildesheim (1310-1375) have filled in the details of the story and given them names: Gaspard (Jasper), Melchior, and Balthazar.  The wise men appear on the stage of history for a brief moment and then they disappear. And yet their story continues to be told and acted out yearly in countless Christmas and Epiphany pageants. I can remember being dressed up as one of the wise men for a Feast of Lights service back in the mid-1950’s.

            There is more to this story than initially meets the eye! The contribution which the three kings make should not be diminished. God presents His Son Jesus to the world, and they are there at the beginning to receive Him and pay homage. They fulfill the ancient prophecy. They follow the star and find what they have been seeking.

The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall pay tribute,*

                           and the kings of Arabia and Saba offer gifts.

                     All kings shall bow down before him; *

   and all the nations do him service.

                                                                        Psalm 72:10-11

Epiphany

            The Three Kings are an important part of a mysterious process which Paul talks about it in his letter to the Ephesians: “For he [God] has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, . . .”

            The Church uses the wise men and the star as symbols of the Epiphany, the “showing forth” of Jesus to the world. “Joy to the world, the Lord is come, let earth receive her king.” The wise men are the initial receivers. They come to see and believe! But they are more than that! They represent a feeling, an intuition, an inner spiritual certainty that there is more going on in this world than what we see on the surface. Remember my fellow North Dakotan Peggy Lee singing, “Is that all there is?” No, it is not all there is! The Three Kings came to Bethlehem bearing their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But they brought more than that. They carried a gift for each of us, a contagious inner certainty that there was a compassionate God who was going to reveal a great truth incarnate in an infant. They were “romantics” who were pushing the boundaries of orthodox knowledge. And they were right!

            I had someone not long ago tell me in all seriousness that we needed to put our trust in science. I laughed! This clever technological self-absorbed world may appear to be a much more sophisticated place than that world of simple shepherds and romantic wise men. That is a superficial assessment. It still needs to hear the simple message of the birth of Jesus. It needs to stand in awe at the Shrine of the Three Kings in homage to a great faith in the promise of salvation which is enshrined there.

            The blunt message which needs to be communicated to people today as another Christmas Season quickly transitions into the past is: Don’t let the story go! Keep the message alive in you minds! Begin your own journey!

Put A Star In Your Life

            So here again is the Star. Keep following it to your goal of a conviction of the truth of the promises of God! Here is the Christmas story. Keep retelling it! Here we all are. Will our lives become epiphanies (manifestations) of the grand design/plan of God laid before the world on Christmas morning?

            Christianity is made up of simple truths, deceptively simple truths. But in that simplicity, great power for life and love resides. The Wise Men knew it! That is why they traveled so far to see for themselves. How far are we willing to go? Here is the Star. Who will follow it?

Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?

For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

Epilogue

            After I preached the sermon from which these remarks are an abridgement, I was approached by a number of people in the congregation who wanted to talk more about the Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne and what it means. That indicates any number of things to me, uppermost of which is the hunger of people to hear about the mystery of creation which has been revealed in Jesus. They are also interested in the possibilities of the quest for truth which is what for me the journey of the wise men represents. During the medieval period, it was called the Quest for the Holy Grail. A more modern representation of this can be found in the work of the German romantic poet Friedrich von Hardenberg (1772-1801) who wrote under the name of Novalis. He called this quest the Search for the Blue Flower. For him it was the point at which finitude and infinity intersected, a place where hopes and deep desiring became reality. It was a romantic quest which led between “inspiration and common life.” We don’t have enough people today willing to make this journey. One stepping off point for me is the Shrine of the Three Kings. Each of us must find their own beginning and the Church is there to point the way.