506 No Pastors In The Manger
“Hey Clothman,” Stevo said to me recently, “ever notice who is and isn’t in the manger?”
“What kind of a goofy question is that?”
“Just think about it awhile; you’ll get it.”
Like not thinking about pink rhinoceroses or trying to name all of Santa’s reindeer, I simply couldn’t stop chewing on Stevo’s question.
I kept re-taking a census of the lighted outdoor manger scene our family put up every year when I was a kid. There was Jesus, Mary and Joseph; a cow and a camel; some sheep and I think a donkey. There were a couple of angels we used to put on snow piles so it looked like they were flying. Then there were a couple of shepherds and the three wise men. That’s it.
So who’s there and who’s not? Everyone was a shoe in – except the three wise men. I did some detective work and discovered some things I didn’t know about these dudes.
The verses about them say: “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him’” (Matthew 2:1-2).
The wise men were actually Magi (from which we get our word “magic”) and I learned there were as many as 12 of them. Their religion, Zoroastrianism, was founded around the 6th century BC by a fellow named Zoroaster. They were considered highly educated scientists and scholars who also interpreted dreams and even controlled demons. Today, they’d probably be known as astrologers – believing the stars influence human events.
Finally, I got what Stevo wanted me to get. The religious representatives in the manger (aside from angels) were pagans, not priests. I suppose it would be like having an astrologer lead the Christmas Eve service because there’s not a pastor or priest to be found.
There are some other crazy twists were. Not the least of which is that the Magi’s astrological practices got it right while the priests didn’t have a clue. In fact, God apparently used the stars to specifically attract folks like the Magi to Jesus – much like he used that bizarre choir of angels to draw the shepherds to Jesus. Both of these people groups were unpopular among the religious purist of Jesus’ time, but they obviously weren’t with God.
All of this then raises some crazy questions. Did God send a sign to the priests too? If so, why weren’t they at the manger? Does God still reach out to folks outside of the official/orthodox faith to draw them to Jesus? As it was at Jesus' birth, are those like me with the most biblical and doctrinal training still behind on the learning curve when it comes to realizing what God is up to?
Thanks to Stevo, I’ll never look at a manger scene the same. Indeed, how true was the angel’s declaration to the shepherds: “I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide” (Luke 2:10).
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