Brief synopsis of the readings: Today we commemorate the Epiphany of the Lord. In our first reading from Isaiah God commanded Jerusalem to rise up for “your light has come.” Even though clouds cover the earth the Lord will shine and all his followers will be radiant. Caravans will come bearing gold and frankincense. Matthew’s Gospel recounts the time shortly after Jesus’ birth when the magi visited. They were from the east and witnessed a rising star. They followed the star and came to do homage. On their way they visited with Herod in Jerusalem who was troubled by their news. Herod learned that this may be the “ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel” and asked the magi to visit this child and report back. They found Jesus in Bethlehem and did homage, giving him gold, frankincense and myrrh. But because of a dream they left by another route and avoided Herod.

If this Gospel sounds familiar, it should. It comes directly before the Gospel from last week. There we read about Herod’s attempt to kill Jesus by ordering the death of all boys, 2 years old or younger, who lived in or near Bethlehem.

Here we read that the “magi from the east” arrived in Jerusalem asking for the newborn king of the Jews, whose star they saw rising. We’re all familiar with this story and you can even buy a bumper sticker for your car that says: “Wise Men Still Seek Him.” We love this so much we’ve added to the story. Matthew doesn’t tell us how many there were but since they brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh we normally assume there were three; after all you wouldn’t want to visit Jesus empty handed. We’ve also given them names: Melchoi, Caspar and Balthassar. But there’s no mention of names before about the year 500. “Magi” are often translated to astrologers; they can also be priests, or magicians or wise men.

That’s about all we know. We don’t know where they are from or what happened to them after they left, and we don’t know what they told people about what they saw. That’s interesting because, in a way, they were Jesus’ first disciples. Other than the shepherds described in Luke’s Gospel, these magi were the first people outside of Joseph and Mary who laid eyes on Jesus. Still an infant, Jesus provided no teaching, guidance or direction.

We also don’t know how far they traveled to see Jesus but we do know they followed a star. Modern scientists have tied themselves into knots trying to come up with an explanation for what they saw, largely to no avail. Some think it was the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, or maybe a supernova or a comet. In the end it doesn’t matter because it was something that caught their eye and attracted them. It was light. It was something that called them to believe that they should follow it to the king of the Jews and pay homage.

It’s pretty amazing, really. One point of light in the night sky was enough for them to journey, first to Jerusalem and Herod, and then to Bethlehem. It was enough to recognize that an infant in a barn was worthy of gold, frankincense (incense) and myrrh (perfume), gifts normally reserved for kings. Frankly my hat is off to them.

So much of what we’ve learned from this infant is that we are called to limitless imagination. We are called to look beyond what we see and what we are told to what we know to be true. It’s what called them to avoid Herod’s darkness and go home by another route. So what happened after that?

There’s no mention of them anywhere else in Scripture nor are there accounts from that time. The cathedral in Cologne, Germany claims to have the bones of the magi. I’ll let you chose your own level of skepticism. But I like to think that whatever happened to them they did spread the word about this infant and decades later Jesus’ disciples found willing audiences. But I also like to think that every time these magi looked in the eyes of an infant they remembered Jesus. More to the point they ignored the clothing, the location or the social standing. Or their immigration status or any other artificial label.

Ironically, so did Herod. As I said last week, you have admire the chutzpah of Herod believing he could order the death of the Holy Innocents and outsmart God’s plan for salvation by executive order. Herod reminds us that while one point of light can dispel the darkness there are still those who need the darkness so much that they are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to extinguish all the light.

But we, like the magi, are people of the light. It’s worth noting that all we need provide (or recognize) is one point of light, even if the rest is darkness. Alas, oftentimes we are challenged by the allure of darkness, not because the darkness is attractive but out of fear that the light will not prevail.

Discipleship calls us to see what is not obvious but it also calls us to courage. Shortly after the magi left, Jesus and his parents fled into exile and the smart money would believe that the star that attracted the magi would be extinguished. The smart money would have sided with Herod. But courageous money knows that the light, no matter how small, comes from God and will not be extinguished.

Frankly we live in times when it’s easy to succumb to discouragement and believe that we need to settle for what we can get. We are told that we need to choose leaders who lack a moral compass because they can “get things done.” They will protect us, they will ensure our future. But, like Herod, they can only do this by embracing the darkness. They will not deliver the light, only falsely convince people that there is safety in darkness.

There isn’t. We find salvation only when we follow the light of that same star, even if it is faint.