Epiphany with Artaban: By the Waters of Babylon

 Last week we started our journey with Artaban, the Other Magi, based on the book by Henry van Dyke. Artaban saw a sign—a new star, that he along with Casper, Melchoir, and Balthazar determined foretold the rising of a new king in Judea. His friends in Ecbatana, Persia discount the sighting and refuse to join him.

Undeterred, Artaban sets out on his horse Vasda for his meeting with the other three. Van Dyke says, “[he] must ride wisely and well if he would keep the appointed hour with the other Magi.” Even when he passes Babylon he still has three hours to reach the “Temple of the Seven Spheres” by midnight. In the date-palm grove Vasda senses something—or someone. It is a dying man lying in the road. This stranger grasps Artaban’s robe in plea.

Thus, our Magi must decide. “How could he stay here in the darkness to minister to a dying stranger?...If he lingered but for an hour he could hardly reach Borsippa at the appointed time…he would lose his quest.” His compassion wins and he cares for the man “hour after hour” until “the man’s strength returned; he sat up and looked about him.” As Artaban prepares to leave the stranger with food and healing herbs, he is rewarded by information. The man is a Hebrew and tells him, “I can tell you where the Messiah must be sought…in Bethlehem.”

Artaban races toward the meeting with his friends, but indeed arrives too late. He finds a note saying they have departed, “Follow us across the desert.” In despair, Artaban knows he must “return to Babylon, sell my sapphire…only God the merciful knows whether I shall not lose the sight of the King because I tarried to show mercy.”   

Even though he is a Magi, a member of a learned and religious class, Artaban wonders if his actions have ruined his quest. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus applauds the actions of the man who stopped to help a wounded stranger. After telling the story, Jesus asks, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:36-37)

I think it is easy to think we must follow a set series of steps and neat rules to ‘find God.’ We can forget that God is in the stranger, in the lost, in the frightened or forgotten, even in the seemingly detestable; as much as in the holiest of Cathedrals. When we begin to understand that truth, it is an epiphany of sorts. Throughout his journey, we’ll see that Artaban has many epiphanies.

Br. Jim Woodrum notes, “Epiphanies seem to be random, but they are not. They build over time until the last little bit of information is gathered, and the picture comes fully into focus. Epiphany means ‘manifestation’…I would say that our spiritual pilgrimage is about ‘response.’ We do not usually undertake a dangerous and costly journey on our own volition. Rather, it is something we are called to, a mission that has already been set in motion. The wise [men’s] journey was a response to a mission that was set in motion by God.”

Artaban’s quest is just beginning, and so is each of our faith journeys. Br. Woodrum says, we seek in “response to God who has called you out of inertia through your desire—a desire for meaning, a desire for peace, a desire for love, or simply a desire to know God as you are known by God.”

What is your desire?

How do you hope God will be manifest in your life’s Epiphany at this time?

Epiphany: Learn

Welcome to 2019. As I look back, I realize that I have been doing this blog since 2008. There have been a lot of changes in my life, and I’m sure in each of yours over those 10 years. What will 2019 bring? None of us knows. Probably we each have hopes and dreams for living out our ministry (and by ministry, I mean whatever you do in life whether it is a paid position in a church or the work force, or as a stay-at-home mom or retiree).

During Advent we looked closely at how a Rule of Life helps us stay focused on our Christian journey. You can also use a rule of life for a diet or exercise regime. And, often the spiritual, diet, and exercise aspects are intertwined. We may know that taking care of ourselves by eating well and exercising help us deepen our Christian walk. Throughout Advent, we used the Way of Love curriculum as our guide.  

As we head into 2019 and the season of Epiphany, we are going to look at each aspect of the Way of Love and how it might deepen our journey and our ability to be part of the Jesus Movement. The 7 disciplines are: Learn, Go, Pray, Rest, Turn, Bless, Worship. It turns out there are 8 Sundays in the Epiphany season this year. So, we can consider one each week, starting with Learn today.

To Learn is much more than just study of some topic. It’s the life-long process of getting knowledge or a skill. It happens as we read, as we interact, as we live. The week after Christmas, our 2 kittens were spayed. They spent their time Learning how to adapt to life in the ‘buddy collar’. At first, they struggled and tore off the collar. Gradually they learned to walk and even eat and drink while wearing the collar. Rather than ‘collar of shame’, my grandchildren said it was their ‘lion’s mane’. This may not have made the cats feel better about it, but is a more positive way of looking at the device which was for their own good.  

When we Learn, we also may struggle at first. We may say, ‘this is too hard.’ We may want to give up. However, when we persevere, we discover that we CAN learn a new talent, a different way of living, a fascinating bit of information. As we quit struggling with the new thing, we discover that rather than an onerous 'collar of shame', it is a source of pride-a 'lion's mane'. When we Learn, we grow.

Many people think Epiphany is a one day event celebrating the arrival of the wise men or Magi. We learn it is more than that. The word ‘Epiphany’ is based on the Greek word epiphania, which means divine manifestation. We also speak of having an ‘epiphany’ when we understand something important; or have an enlightening moment. When we Learn about anything, we often have a little epiphany when suddenly the algebra equation makes sense, or the new computer program works properly.

The Season of Epiphany celebrates the revelations of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Over the Sundays in Epiphany we Learn of Jesus baptism, the turning of water to wine at the wedding in Cana, and other miracles. These lessons continue our understanding about Jesus as the Light of the World. These lessons help us Learn how we can be part of the light of God in the world.

Traditionally there were 3 wise men, or Magi. They have even been given names, although neither number nor names are noted in the Gospel of Matthew which records their visit. They are assumed to be astrologers, seers, or priests from the Persian empire. The priests of Zoraster worshiped the stars and followed their movements. They would have been logical ones to have seen and understood a new conjunction or new star in the skies.

The Magi who visit the Holy Family (Matthew 2) were learned men. Their intelligence and status didn’t keep them from making mistakes. They decided to depend on logic instead of the Star and ended up in Herod’s court. We, too, can depend too much on what we ‘know’ and forget to trust the One who gives all Learning. When the Magi left Herod’s court, they were probably wiser about him, but not necessarily fully informed about their direction despite the priests citing Isaiah’s prophecy. God doesn’t leave them in the dark. “Lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.” (Matthew 2:9)

Because of the ambiguity of the number of visitors, authors like Henry Van Dyke have added one or more additional travelers. In his 1895 book The Other Wise Man, Van Dyke follows a fourth wise man (Artaban) who is always just a step behind in finding the holy child. The jewels he was going to give the Christ Child are given to help a dying man, save an infant from Herod’s massacre and at the end of his life, free the daughter of a fellow Magi from being sold into slavery. Artaban understands his gifts have been fully accepted by Christ as he dies. The story was made into a movie, The Fourth Wise Man with Martin Sheen as Artaban.

Artaban spends his life being a light in the darkness as he struggles to find the Christ. He thinks he has missed finding the King, but ultimately Learns that his actions served God’s purposes. We might think we are struggling with our own bits of darkness. Perhaps we just need to Learn WHERE we are serving God!

Is God trying to teach you something?

Are you open to Learning, or do you prefer to trust your own knowledge, like the Magi?

Ask God to open your heart to what you need to Learn in 2019.