Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;

For out of you shall come a Ruler

Who will shepherd My people Israel.' "

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

- Matthew 2:1-12

In yesterday's reading, we read the end of the gospel of Mark. Three women -- Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome (the mother of James and John Zebedee) -- come to the tomb after the Sabbath is over, in order to anoint Jesus' body. But the stone is rolled away, and inside is a man! The young man, an angel, said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples--and Peter--that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you." The women were frightened, and said nothing. But when Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostles. She told the disciples, but they didn't believe her. Neither did they believe the two disciples to whom He appeared as they walked on the road. Finally, Jesus appeared to the eleven as they ate together, and rebuked them for their unbelief. And He gave them their great mission -- "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." And Mark's gospel ends: So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?" Today the lectionary takes us to the beginning of readings (starting with Chapter 2) in the Gospel of Matthew. And it is a wonderful continuation from yesterday's reading, the end of Mark. In the ending of Mark's gospel, Jesus sends His disciples out on their world mission to the Gentiles and to all the world, to "every creature" or all of creation. And here, in our first reading from Matthew, we have a prefiguring of this mission! My study bible notes, "Matthew anticipates Jesus' mission to the Gentiles. The wise men, or Magi, who come from the East, that is, outside of Israel (perhaps from Persia), are the scholars of their time. In the Old Testament, Balaam (Num. 23; 24) was one of their predecessors, a Gentile who also anticipated the Messiah. The worship of the Lord by the Magi is symbolic of the Church, the true Israel, in which membership is determined by faith, not by ethnic lineage." We recall also from recent readings in Mark, the words on the Cross at His crucifixion, the political charge against Jesus as prisoner, "The King of the Jews." They are echoed both at His birth and at His death.

"For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him." A star in ancient times signified a god, a deified king (Num. 24:17), says my study bible. It adds, "This star is a sign of the Messiah Himself, signifying the light He will shed upon the world."

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.' " The quotation here is from Micah 5:2. Herod consults the experts -- the temple leaders, the chief priests and the scribes. All that Herod cares about is his rule as king. Herod the Great rebuilt the temple at Jerusalem and was known for his ambitious building projects. He was also known for his cruelty and oppressive rule. He is representative of the Roman government, an agent (or underling, as my study bible puts it) of Rome. My study bible says, "He was a great builder but a cruel ruler." It also points out a compliment to the understanding that Gentiles, wise men from the East, seek the Child -- that the experts in prophecy and understanding about the Messiah (the chief priests and scribes) have no clue that He has been born. A note reads, "They have no revelation that He has come. God reveals His truth to those with 'a noble and good heart' (Luke 8:15)."

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. My study bible notes here: "Matthew, writing for Jewish Christians, cites Gentiles as the first worshipers of Jesus. Luke, writing for Gentile Christians, cites as the fist worshipers the Jewish poor -- shepherds from surrounding fields (Luke 2:8-17). The Magi, firstfruits of the Gentiles, come to Christ bearing gifts: gold, for a King; frankincense, for God; and myrrh, for a Man who is to suffer and die." We cite the echoes of yesterday's reading, in which the women faithful bring spices to the tomb for anointing Jesus' body. They are also known as the Myrrhbearers. The note continues, "The wise men have received some knowledge about the newborn King through their observation of the star, but when they see Him, they recognize Him as the Sun of righteousness (Mal. 4:2), the Orient (the rising sun) from on high (Is. 59:19), the Bright and Morning Star (Rev. 22:16)."

Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. As we have seen from the preceding verses, the "wise men" are truly wise through the wisdom of revelation from God. They have eyes to see and ears to hear; their hearts are not hardened, as Jesus will warn so many in His preaching. This includes the revelation to them of the Christ, their understanding to worship Him -- even as He is but a babe -- and the divine warning in the dream. As my study bible puts it, they are the "firstfruits of the Gentiles." They are those capable of faith, of receiving understanding. Nothing stands in the way of God's grace; it will go where it will. And so, as so often happens with inspired writing, the Scriptures tie together -- yesterday's reading in which Jesus taught the disciples their great mission to all of creation, and today's in which we read about the wise men from the East.

Nothing stands in the way of God's grace -- in this unlikely story of the child born under difficult circumstances, outside of the watchful eye of the authorities (although they have come to Bethlehem for the Roman census), out of the knowledge of the religious leadership of the temple who are experts in the knowledge of the Messiah, we see those who do come from the outside, and understand. So, we have this great contrast of those, who "seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand" (as Jesus will quote from Isaiah), and those who come from outside, and yet perceive. How can God's grace be thwarted or stopped? Can we know what the holy will look like? Can we say where it cannot be? Let us remember that God's grace will work as it wishes, as Jesus will teach: "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit" (John 3:8). In the beginning of Matthew, the light of the star shines, and the light of the Babe reaches into the hearts and understanding, in faith and worship, of the wise men who come from the East. Let us remember God's love and grace, and that nothing we can say or do can stop it or control it. It will go where it wishes, as it chooses. We can but try to be prepared as best we can to know it, and accept it -- to have the ears to hear and eyes to see. We watch and pray.