St. Peter Lutheran Church
2929 F.M 972 (at F.M. 1105)
Walburg, Texas 78626

Office: (512) 863-5600
Worship Services - each Sunday 10:15 a.m.
Holy Communion - 1st & 3rd Sundays

Contact
Webmaster

Last Updated:
Jan. 6, 2025

St. Peter Lutheran Church at Walburg, Texas
2025 - All Rights Reserved

Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ Texas District

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the East came to Jerusalem and said: "Where is the king of the Jews who was born? For we have seen his star at its rising and came to pay homage to him."

- Matthew 2:1-2           .

  All of us would like to have John Henry Hopkins Jr.'s problem. In 1857, while serving as the rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Hopkins wrote "We Three Kings" for a Christmas pageant in New York City. The song was such a hit, that he felt obliged to later on include it in his book "Carols, Hymns, and Songs" published in 1863. The carol is taken from the tradition that had grown up around the biblical magi found in the 2nd chapter of Matthew's gospel. It focuses in on how the rulers of the world laid treasure at the infant Messiah's feet.

 All of this popular commentary however, runs the risk of obscuring who the magi were and what God's purposes were for calling them. We do run into magi in ancient literature and in the Old Testament. In the former case, they were a group of Persian priests tasked with interpreting dreams and maintaining the religious rituals especially of the royal household. In some documents, they were responsible for helping to select the new king of Persia. However, when the Greeks got around to describing them, they lumped them in with all practitioners of worldly magic, especially astrologers. They don't come across any better in the Old Testament. Daniel 2, for instance, imagines them to be sorcerers at best and charlatans at worst. With such a bad pedigree, is it any wonder that people wished to reimagine them as wise men or kings?

 A better question before us though, is why God would choose to reveal the Messiah to these guys? Firstly, God chose to meet these gentiles where they were. He did not wait until they brushed up on their biblical prophecy, as is evidenced by the fact that they had to go and ask Herod's court theologians where to find the infant king. Secondly, God marshalled their passions for his purpose. If these would-be-wizards were so fixated on following heavenly bodies in the sky, God would lead them to a heavenly body come down to earth. The wise men bring gifts to honor the young Jesus as their knowledge leads them to believe this really is the new king of the Jews.

 When we read the story of the magi, we encounter high-status outsiders who have reached worldly wisdom's end and faithfully stepped out. Their story is about God seeking us out, not special people seeking God. Rev. Hopkins' carol beautifully summarizes this: Glorious now behold Him arise, King, and God, and Sacrifice; Heav'n sings Hallelujah: Hallelujah the earth replies.

In Christ,
Pastor Phil

The Magi