Message 12-10-06
Series: 4 Christmas Carols
Scripture: Matthew 2:1-11
Title: Where’s the King?
I love finding out where things come from. That’s why I get into the history of words and songs and names. I like to know how we got here and why we speak the way we do. So I read things like the history of Christmas carols and their authors. And so I invite you along with me as I do this exploration.
Some times I learn more than you need to know, more than I need to know and today’s song “We Three Kings” has connections that are so fascinating that it would take me an hour, maybe more, just to fill you in. The author is John Henry Hopkins, Jr. Rev. Hopkins was an accomplished author and musician, but so was the rest of his family it seems.
From his father on down to his brothers and sisters they were “firsts”: first Episcopal Bishop of Vermont, founder of the first insurance company on the west coast, founder of magazines, first director of a protestant choir in CA, first person to train children to sing Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus”, first person to do a complete geological survey of Louisiana, first one to discover a way to kill tuberculosis and bacilli. These people did amazing things as well as being surgeons, sailors, traders, painters, musicians, writers, but I bet you’ve never heard of them. The one that’s truly remembered by most people is John Henry Hopkins, Jr. and that’s because he wrote the song “We Three Kings”. And he wrote it for a Christmas pageant at his seminary in NYC.
And what’s kind of funny to me is that this song is a mixture of things that are absolutely true and things that are probably not true. At the same time this is a song that can provide you with clear insight into the work of Jesus and make you think things happened that probably didn’t happen.
What’s probably not true is that the “kings” were probably not kings and we have no idea whether there were three or 19 or any other number. They probably came from the east. Now, we’re looking at the kings out of order also. I put it here in our series because most people will see the kings as part of the little manger scenes or nativities that are put up. The shepherds and the kings have been part of these little scenes for hundreds of years, but they probably weren’t true. We’ll come back to the kings in January when we celebrate Epiphany but studying them now will help us get prepared for who they are and what they actually did.
As far as the Bible tells us the people who came to visit Jesus were not kings but magi. “Magi” was a name for a tribe of people and members of a somewhat religious organization. We’re clear from the Bible that there were three gifts – gold, frankincense and myrrh, and that’s where we get the idea for three people, but this could have been a collection of gifts, two or three or more people could have brought gold while others brought the fragrances. The Magi came and they brought gifts, but they weren’t kings. They were rich astronomers or astrologers – people who studied the stars and constellations. They were the wise men who were consulted for guidance by rulers and people of different countries.
It’s also clear that they came from the east somewhere, but we have retold this story and embellished it that at this time we know the names of the three wise men, we’re told they were baptized in India by the Apostle Thomas and went into the world to evangelize for Jesus, staying together until they died. You can visit their tomb in Cologne, Germany. You will see three little crowns on the crests or flags of European families and countries and those little crowns represent the three wise men and carry the suggestion that they lived in that place or at least visited.
The reason we think of them as kings is like the reason we think of them as three. In the Bible we read – as the Taulbees read earlier – that “kings” will come to bring gifts to the leader of Israel. We read that in the Psalms and in Isaiah where it specifically mentions Sheba [like the Queen of Sheba]. Christians reading these passages and noting the gifts of gold and frankincense connected them with the story of Jesus. And so the wise men just started to be referred to as kings.
But as far as we know from the Bible the wise men never showed up at the manger or stable where Jesus was born. We’re told that they came to a house and so Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem long enough it seems to move to their own place. Then after they went home King Herod sent in his troops to Bethlehem to slaughter the baby boys and he orders that all those as old as 2 be killed. The assumption there is that Jesus was no longer a newborn.
So that’s what doesn’t happen, but we mustn’t dismiss the song because of that. John Henry Hopkins, Jr. did a poet’s work of interpreting the work and gifts of the wise men. He gave us a pocket-sized packet of truth of the theological work of Jesus. If you taught this song to your children you could always help them understand what the Bible teaches about the effectiveness of Jesus.
Hopkins took the gifts and uses them as simple guides. Jesus is king. Jesus is God. Jesus is a sacrifice on our behalf. Jesus rose again. Hopkins moves us from Christmas to Easter – here’s the life of Jesus and the role of Jesus in God’s plan. When we sing the first and last verses of this song we lose all that. The fullness of this song is the fullness of the life of Jesus including his resurrection.
Glorious now behold Him arise
King and God and sacrifice
Alleluia, Alleluia
Sound through the earth and skies
The reason this song has stuck for so long is not just because it has this catchy refrain about the star, but because it carries this truth so simply.
Now I’m not going to get into the star – you can watch National Geographic or the History channels to see all the speculations about the star. I personally don’t need it explained, but I don’t want us to leave the wise men before we are clear on what else they teach us.
The song gives us the great theology behind the work of Jesus in a nutshell, but the actual story of the wise men from the Bible gives us practical guidance for finding God. If you’re a Christ follower someday someone will ask you about God. It may be your children or it may be a friend or it may be someone you work with but when it happens the story of the wise men gives us and them a simple map on how to find God.
If you want to know about God or to get to know God, first, go to the people who should know.
The wise men show up in Jerusalem and ask the leaders for guidance.
The come and ask about the king. This is the basic question for people who want God. “Take me to your leader”. Where’s the king? If you seem to have a leader, if you’re a Christ follower, people will ask “where’s the king?” And there’s nothing wrong with asking for help when that happens. Herod asked for help. If you need help, just ask – ask Roger or Jeff Jinks or one of these other guys whose wife is making him read the Bible or… how many women here attend the Community Bible Study [CBS]? Ask any of them. Ask me.
Second – make sure the answers come from the Bible.
People who want God don’t really want Dr. Phil. They really don’t want Oprah. That’s why God sent Jesus – so we’d get it from the horse’s mouth. If you’re wondering about God and Jesus then you want people to talk about God and Jesus and not their opinions. When you say “this is what the Bible says…” that let’s people make up their own minds.
Third – follow the directions of the people you talk to even if you don’t follow their examples. Jesus told his followers to listen to the scribes and the Pharisees, the teachers of the law, to do what they say but not to do what they do. We have enough bad examples of people who claim Jesus to know this is a good idea. We need to head toward God and not fall in line behind someone else. You’re not called to follow John DeBevoise or Geoff Kohler or Nicole Partin. You’re called to follow Jesus.
Then – when you get close to Jesus start to worship. Go to a place where you believe God is ready to meet you. Go and worship. Bow your head, say prayers and tell God exactly what’s going on in your heart and mind. Give yourself over to the songs that say that God is great and that God loves us. Go and worship. You’re not going to meet God or Jesus until you get into God’s presence and one of the best ways to do that is to show up with other people who are seeking the same thing. When you get there admit that God is bigger and more powerful and wonderful than you.
Then – sacrifice – give up something in honor of God. Some times this is something financial, but whatever it is it should cost you something. Let go of things that grip your heart so that you can reach out to God.
Finally – listen for God’s voice and follow its guidance. Listen to hear God’s voice and pay attention. If you’re looking to find God, God will find you and will talk to your heart. Pay attention and God will start telling you how to live. Then go and you’ll find that you’re going home. You may be going home a different way than you expected, but you’ll be going home, home to God.
