A major distinctive of Christianity is the conviction that God knows our situation because God poured himself into Jesus of Nazareth and lived the life of a human being.  We worship a God who knows what suffering is because God suffered.  God knows our situation because God is willing to pour himself into our lives, willing to put as much of God’s self into our lives as we are willing to receive.  God does not live in some far away city called Heaven or the New Jerusalem.  God does not dwell in a castle or fortress surrounded by secret service agents.  God became vulnerable by asking to be permitted to dwell in our lives.  This is how God is revealed to the world, through people like you and me.  That’s risky, isn’t it?  
           
One of the places where God's vulnerability becomes evident is in the story of the Magi.  The Magi came looking for Jesus but they came late, perhaps as much as two years after his birth.  There is nothing in Matthew's account of the story that tells how many Magi there were or that they were kings although earlier the choir sang a setting of “We Three Kings of Orient Are.”      
           
Magi originally were a priestly caste among the Medes.  They served the same function for the Medes that the Levites did for the Israelites.  Later the Magi were recognized as teachers of religion and science among the Medo‑Persians with special interest in astrology and medicine.  Through their roles as teachers the Magi came to be identified as wise men.

With the passing of time and the continued interest in the stories about the life of Jesus, an increasing emphasis was placed on the significance, circumstances, and events surrounding his birth.  These factors had an impact on Matthew as he sought to write his record of the account of the Good News, the life of Jesus Christ. According to Matthew's Gospel, some time after Jesus' birth, "Magi from the East" (possibly Arabia, Babylon or Persia) come to Jerusalem seeking the new born "king of the Jews." Magi and astrologers were widely regarded in the Graeco-Roman world as able to discern the signs of the times and foretell events of world importance, including the rise of kings.
            I am indebted to Charles Queen, a pastor in Frankfort, KY for several insights about the Magi. (Many of the ideas in the next five or six paragraphs came from an article by Charles Queen.) The Magi are not familiar with Israel's scriptures; they do not know the prophecy of the Messiah's birth. They are not Jewish in faith. Being astrologers they recognize the truth in the appearance of a star that points them toward Palestine. Perhaps they sense that "the one who has been born king of the Jews" is destined to be more than the king of the Jews; that he is one whose influence will transcend earthly kingdoms, borders and cultures.
           
But whatever their religion they are open to truth wherever the truth may be found. They were able to take their heads out of their own sacred writings long enough to gaze up and out and see signs of truth elsewhere. The Magi are "wise men" in the sense that they have the wisdom to recognize that truth is not limited to their own religious system.
           
They go to Israel for the single purpose of paying homage to the Christ child. They bring treasures of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They have no intention, or need apparently, to import their belief system. They do not pass out any religious tracts.
    
What if the religions of the world, including our own, took a similar approach and got over the need to convert everyone to our own belief system? What would it mean for Christians to make the long journey across cultural and religious landscapes bearing only gifts of respect for that which is sacred and good in other religious traditions? What if we could meet adherents of other faiths as friends and pilgrims on a journey, rather than as underlings who need to be converted to our superior way of believing?
           
I’ve discovered that the more seriously I take my own faith, the more I study the Bible, and the more aware I become of God’s love demonstrated in the life of Jesus, the greater respect I have for people of other religious traditions who seek truth and the good of all people.
           
Unfortunately, too often when we encounter a faith different from our own, our insecurities rise, and we project our fear onto those of other faiths by making disparaging comments and accusations suggesting they are wrong, evil, even demon possessed.  The closer we get to the compassionate God who loves all people unconditionally, the more we are shaped by values of diversity, acceptance and love for others who seek the truth in their own religious systems. (The previous six paragraphs with slight modifications are from “December 28, 2007 – A Lesson from the Magi,” by Charles Queen, Senior Pastor, published on the website of Immanuel Baptist Church, Frankfort, KY.)
           
The early church found in Matthew's record some aspects about the life of Jesus that it felt should be emphasized.  Thus Eastern Christianity developed a strong emphasis on the birth of Jesus and highlighted the visit of the Magi as an event rich with symbolism.  It came to be called the celebration of Epiphany. By the fourth century Epiphany had come to rank with Easter and Pentecost as one of the three great festivals of the Eastern Church and its vigil was a day commonly chosen for the baptism of converts.  Indeed, Epiphany meant the good news of God's love was for everybody. 

The word Epiphany comes from the Greek word for "manifestation" and means to show or reveal.  Epiphany became the festival celebrated to commemorate the coming of God in Christ to the Gentiles and thus to all people.  Epiphany became the festival in the life of the Church to celebrate the universality of the Gospel.  By sharing in worship in the season of Epiphany we are joining ourselves with Disciples of Christ all over the world who are offering thanks and gratitude to God for dwelling among and with human beings so clearly in the life of Jesus.  The celebration of Epiphany is older than the celebration of Christmas and originally was celebrated to commemorate the baptism of Jesus as the sign of God dwelling completely as a human being.  January 6 was designated centuries ago as the day when these men from the East journeyed to Bethlehem in Judea in search of one whose star they claimed to have seen rising on the horizon.  There is no way to determine the exact date that these men saw Jesus just as there is no way to determine the exact date when Jesus was born.  Actually, from studies that have been done regarding the routine of shepherds in Palestine, it is more likely that Jesus was born in March than in December.  However, it has been helpful to us to have a date designated as the birth of Christ.  This designation has helped us focus on the importance and significance of Jesus' birth regardless of when it actually occurred.
           
The birth and manifestation of Jesus are significant aspects of the incarnation, a vital teaching in Christianity.  This teaching deals with the in‑fleshment of God, or how God came to dwell as completely as possible in a human being.   
           
Several scholars suggest that because the Magi requested to see the child born king of the Jews that the Magi were Gentiles.  Therefore, their visit to see Jesus represented that the God dwelling in the human flesh of Jesus was a God for all people and that there was to be neither Greek nor Jew.  God made no distinctions between people on the basis of pedigree.  Whether or not that is implied in the question of the Magi, certainly in all that we know about God from what was revealed throughout the life of Jesus this equality of all people before God is true.  Jesus truly was a man full of God, a man for all seasons, and a man for all reasons who portrayed the love of God.  Thus the worship season of Epiphany developed within the life of the Christian Church to highlight the revelation of God through Jesus of Nazareth.  The biblical story that served as the focal point for this was the visit of the Magi to Jerusalem and Bethlehem in search of the one born king.  

The early church leaders recognized and affirmed that gift giving was as old as God.  God began giving when God created the world.  It is part of the nature of God to keep on giving by continuing to create more and more life and to give the gift of creativity, the gift that keeps on giving.  Early in biblical religion is the expression of gift giving to God as sign and symbol of the worship of God.
           
The story of the Magi or the wise men which only Matthew records became a highly significant story in the early Church.  In the context of the birth of Jesus, gift giving is associated most often with the wise men, and I think it is significant that the early Church leaders focused on this story before they focused and emphasized the birth of Jesus. 

The Magi did two things that illustrate for us how we can keep from being distracted by the hoopla that has encroached on the Christmas season and how we can keep the giving spirit alive throughout the year.  The first thing the Magi did was to give themselves in worship of God.  The second thing the Magi did was to present tangible gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  These gifts represented the Magi giving themselves.
           
Here is great truth for us.  God dwells in us calling us to give the big gift every year.  The big gift is not a video camera, not the latest game system, not even a diamond.  The big gift that keeps on giving is ourselves.  The symbols we have of giving ourselves are to give our money, our time, and our abilities.   
The big gift that God gives is God’s self and we are invited to give ourselves to God in kind.  To invite God to dwell in our lives is to give the gift of p‑r‑e‑s‑e‑n‑c‑e. 
           
Epiphany is a time for being present to God, a time to worship God.  Epiphany is the time to continue and carry through the Christian year what we began in Advent.  With eager anticipation we awaited the greatest gift, the coming of God to us.  God has acted.  We are invited to respond.  We are the big gifts that matter.  We are to offer ourselves to God to become God's representatives in the world. 
           
Epiphany and the beginning of the New Year is an excellent time to give ourselves to other people.  The irony of what happens to so many of us during the Christmas season is that we busy ourselves so much with shopping, buying, wrapping, and decorating that we give little or no time and energy to our relationships.  We neglect the very people we claim to be remembering. 
           
Several years ago there was a beautiful little girl in the hospital at Vanderbilt University.  She came from a wealthy family, and her family showered her with expensive gifts while she was in the hospital.  There were great overstuffed toys, including a giraffe that was six feet tall, dolls, a doll house, and games of every description.  The mother, who was well known in social circles, brought something new every time she came to see her daughter.  She never stayed long when she came, because she was due at a luncheon or party, but she never failed to bring a gift.  The nurses complained about the abundance of toys that made it difficult for them to get about in the room.  One day the little girl was particularly unhappy in the midst of all her fine gifts, and held desperately to her mother as the mother was attempting to leave and not be late to a bazaar.  The mother tried to divert the daughter’s attention by interesting her in the new toy she had brought that day.  "Mommy," cried the little girl, "I want you."  Surrounded by gifts, she wanted the most important thing of all, her mother's presence. 
 
This is a sobering story because it contains a nugget of truth about many of us.  I wonder what would happen in our lives if we committed ourselves this Epiphany Sunday and the beginning of a new year that we would strive each day throughout this year to give the most basic gift of all‑‑the love and devotion of our lives. 
           
To whom do we need to be giving our presence?  It may be to our children that we need to give ourselves rather than substituting things for ourselves.  It may be to our spouses who often are taken for granted and who may have everything except a relationship with the persons to whom they committed their lives.  It may be we need to give ourselves to our friends and acquaintances that we have permitted to see and know us only superficially but no strong bond has occurred.  We may need to give ourselves to those we know who are in prisons of one kind or another, places of confinement because of misdeeds, or certain types of jobs, or ill heath. . . .  There are many people with whom we can share ourselves.  The simple gift of ourselves, our undivided time and presence, is the finest thing we have to give.  And when we give ourselves in love for the benefit of another, we will indeed be manifesting the presence of God in the world.  Truly, that is good news for everybody!