NRSV - ue
A few days before Christmas, I bought myself a Christmas present: a new Bible translation. This one is an updated version of the NRSV, the version we use most often in worship. The National Council of Churches and the Society of Biblical Literature decided that it was time for an updated version, because of the “developments in biblical scholarship, textual criticism, linguistics, and philology,” as well as the newly accessible biblical texts that have been discovered near the Dead Sea.
As I said, this newly updated version is a revision of the New Revised Standard Version, which was an update of the Revised Standard Version, which was an update of the King James Version. I suppose they could have called it the “New New Revised Standard Version,” or the “Revised New Revised Standard Version,” but actually, the name given to it is the “New Revised Standard Version - Updated Edition,” Or, “NRSVue.”
Maybe they should just start naming them the way operating systems or phones are named… “I just updated to ‘Bible 22.’”
Magi
I’ve only just started using this new edition, but already I’ve noticed some of the updates. For example: it no longer mentions “wise men” coming to visit Jesus. Instead, it calls them “magi.”
This term was already used in the Common English Bible, the other English translation I use most often. It is clear that magi is a more accurate way to describe, in English, these travelers from afar.
January 6, this coming Thursday, is the day the church celebrates and honors these magi. Some call it three kings day, based on the tradition that these magi were kings.
But even though tradition says that they were kings or wise men, the Bible doesn’t actually say that. In fact, the Bible doesn’t even say that there were three of them, or that they were all men, even though that is what we assume.
It just says that they brought three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. There may have been two magi bringing three gifts, or four magi bringing three gifts, or a whole entourage of magi bringing three gifts. Or, there may indeed have been three, but again, we have no way of knowing for sure.
What we do know is that they came from some distant location in the east, and that a star in the sky led them.
Herod
At first, it seems the star’s navigation was not very accurate, because they arrived in Jerusalem, and started asking around: “Have you seen the newborn King? Excuse me, we’re looking for the new king… Do you know where we can find him?”
And Herod, who was the old king in that region, heard about these magi and their inquiry, and naturally he became concerned. If there was someone in his realm claiming to be a new king, that was a threat to his power, and he needed to deal with it.
So Herod summoned those magi to the palace. Herod knew from his own priests of a prophecy that said a new king would be born in Bethlehem, so he told those magi to go to Bethlehem, find the new king; and then Herod told them to return and tell Herod where that newborn King is.
Herod said he wanted to know the whereabouts of this new king so that he, too, could go and honor this newborn king, but really, he just wanted to find, and get rid, of his competition.
So the magi left, and wouldn’t you know it: now the star gets more precise in its navigation, and it leads them right to Jesus.
Why didn’t the star lead them right to Jesus in the first place? Why was it initially vague in its directions, so that the magi ended up in Jerusalem when they should have been in Bethlehem?
Well, the story needed to show how Jesus is a threat to the powers and rulers of the world, those who oppress the people. Herod needed to make an appearance in this story, as a reminder of what earthly kings are like, before we arrive at the manger and behold a heavenly king. It’s all about the contrast between these two kings.
Make no mistake: the story of Jesus is a political story.
Another way to say it is that, for the sake of the gospel, a detour was necessary. The star led them first to Jerusalem, and to Herod, before leading them to their destination, so that the full extent of the good news and its implications for the liberation of God’s people could be displayed. You can’t understand the gospel’s power of liberation without understanding Herod’s reign of oppression.
We need each other
A few years ago, I started a tradition here of giving each person a star on the first Sunday in January. Other pastors I know do something similar. And on each star is a word to help guide you through the year to come.
Because: it is so easy to lose our way. It is so easy to be distracted. We are committed to following the way of Jesus, but fears and anxieties get in the way, the news distracts us and sometimes lies to us, advertising and social media pull us in different directions, and life - well, life can be just so overwhelming at times.
And we need something to help us focus on what we really care about, what we really believe is most important… something to help hold us accountable.
We say we are people of love, hope, and peace; we say we want healing and wholeness in our lives and in the world.
Anything that can help us follow Jesus more closely, is something that will help… something that will guide us, something we can keep our eyes on as we travel through life… something like the star that guided those magi long ago.
That’s what the church is supposed to do. The church is a community of people who help us stay on the right path. The church encourages us when we need encouragement, comforts us when we need comfort, and challenges us when we need to be challenged.
It’s very hard to follow the way of Jesus without having a community of people who journey with you.
The magi had each other. Let’s go ahead and imagine that there were, in fact, three of them. Maybe one had bad eyesight; that one had to rely on the others to see the star. Maybe the second grew weary, and wanted to turn back, but the encouragement of the other two kept that one going. Maybe the third thought they should obey Herod and return and tell Herod where the newborn king was (because one should always obey the governing authorities), but the other two convinced that third one that, sometimes, when justice demands it, it’s OK to disobey the governing authorities, that, in those circumstances, it is actually the right thing to do.
A Star to Guide You
For us, we have each other; and we help each other follow the way of Jesus; but we aren’t physically together 24/7, so these stars can serve as a reminder of the community of faith to which we belong, the community that holds us and helps us on the way.
And to further help us, each star has written on it a word - a different word on each star. And you are invited to reflect on that word in the coming year. Let that word speak to you. Let it help guide you.
Because honestly, we need as much help as we can get. It’s not easy to be a follower of Jesus. It’s not easy to keep hope alive. It’s not easy to show love to people; especially to certain people.
So take a star, and let the word that appears on the star guide you in the year to come. How, exactly, you do that, is up to you.
If you want to keep your word a secret, and see if others can notice the change in you as you try to let that word guide and shape you, good.
If you want to share your word and maybe have someone help keep you accountable to that, that’s also good.
If you have small children, and you want to pick out one star that can help guide your whole family, do that.
Whatever you think will work for you.
The stars are given out randomly. All the words are good, and I think all can be helpful to you. That being said, there is nothing magic about them. While it certainly is possible that God could work to somehow give you a particular star with a particular word on it that God wants you to have, the word you end up with is probably the result of chance. But still, it can be a helpful guide to you, if you ponder it, and meditate on it, and pray about it in the coming year.
And as you do so, you might want to ask yourself some questions. Like…
Do I need more of this in my life?
How can I remember to live out this word in love?
Is this something I need to work on, or is it something I am already blessed with but have taken for granted? Is this star a challenge, or an affirmation?
If you are worshiping with us online, I’ll post later today or tomorrow a way for you to get your own word. And the basket of stars will be here in the weeks to come, so if you do come to worship in-person in the weeks to come, there will be a star waiting for you.
I know many of us put our star in a place where we will see it every day. Exactly how to use that star is something that varies from person to person, but who knows? Maybe your star will guide you to something as profound and wonderful as the star that guided those magi all those years ago.
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