The Duality of January 6th
Matthew 2:1-12 - After Jesus was born in Bethlehem
in the territory of Judea during the rule of King Herod, magi came from the
east to Jerusalem. They asked, “Where is
the newborn king of the Jews? We’ve seen his star in the east, and we’ve come
to honor him.”
When King Herod
heard this, he was troubled, and everyone in Jerusalem was troubled with him. He gathered all the chief priests and the
legal experts and asked them where the Christ was to be born. They said, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is
what the prophet wrote:
You, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
by no means
are you least among the rulers of Judah,
because
from you will come one who governs,
who
will shepherd my people Israel.”
Then Herod secretly called for the magi and found out
from them the time when the star had first appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and
search carefully for the child. When you’ve found him, report to me so that I
too may go and honor him.” When they
heard the king, they went; and look, the star they had seen in the east went
ahead of them until it stood over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with
joy. They entered the house and saw the
child with Mary his mother. Falling to their knees, they honored him. Then they
opened their treasure chests and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense,
and myrrh. Because they were warned in a
dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another
route.
Today is January 6, which brings
together two remembrances that on the surface, seem like they could not be more
unrelated. Today is the church’s
designated day for the observance of Epiphany.
It’s a day when we remember the story of the Magi/Wise men traveling to
visit the child Jesus and pay Him homage.
They went to acknowledge and worship the one who had been revealed to
them as a divinely ordained king. It is
our invitation to do the same each year in response to Christmas.
January 6 is now also a day of
American infamy – a day when a crowd who was gathered at the Capitol Building
in Washington DC turned violent and destroyed property and caused needless loss
of life. The crowd was attempting to convince
lawmakers to reverse results of a national election. It was an effort to retain the power of one
leader as a new leader was destined to take over the former leader’s role. Wait… maybe these two occasions are not so
unrelated.
The January 6th
Insurrection in 2021 was not the first time monumental efforts were made to try
and reverse the results of an election.
The 2000 election was challenged all the way to the supreme court. Fortuantely, it did not come to violence, but
we are told by historians that we came really close. The truth is there have
been court challenges to many US elections.
Whenever a new power emerges, the current power is threatened. Bringing this back to our text for today, when
Jesus is born, Herod feels threatened and takes action to retain power.
I realize that is a fundamental difference
of perception and opinion among all those who read this devotional about what
happened at the Capitol in 2021. I’m not
seeking to change anyone’s mind about that event as if I thought I could. My reminder today is that the heart of Epiphany
is even more important than who sits in the Oval Office “throne” and whether or
not their position is legitimate by human standards. There is a King who has
been born whose power and position should be acknowledged by all, but after over
2000 years, He is still not getting His due.
That King’s name is Jesus.
The wise men were probably not
kings, but their gifts to Jesus suggest that they were powerful men. These powerful men, instead of acting to
protect their power, travel across the known world at the time to defer to a power
that they knew was infinitely greater.
And they refused to take part in Herod’s plot to take action against the
newborn King. The ironic thing about
that humble decision is that history only remembers them for that decision. We remember these men every January 6th
because they submitted their power (and some of their wealth) to Jesus. In a very real way, their significance is enlarged,
not diminished, by their decision to submit.
We need more leaders like that these days.
Back in August, at the beginning of
our study of the book of Matthew, our scripture text was this same story. Back then, my encouragement to you all was to
look at the ways that, we, like Herod, sometimes act in less than noble ways
when we feel our power and position is threatened by another. Certainly, I still encourage us to do that
and I strive to do the same. But today,
the exhortation I would add is, to the extent we can, look for and demand the
wise men’s humility in the people we allow to lead us whenever possible. You are reading a Christian devotional
because, on some level, you believe that the real and supreme power in this
world is God. God exercised unmatched and
unassailable power by laying down that power and becoming one of us. Humble and Servant Leadership is the
leadership God chose. It should be the
leadership that God’s people should choose as well.
Question: What
character traits do you look for in leaders you choose to follow?
Prayer: God, help us
to recognize your Spirit and character in those who we choose to support and follow. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray for our country today as our divisions will
most likely be on full display.
Song: We Three Kings –
Nathan Cole
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