Do you know it? The story is of a boy and his mother living in Biblical times, not too far from Bethlehem. It's just the two of them. Their circumstances are not very good. The boy has to use a crutch to get around. The mother seems on the verge of exhaustion.
Late one night, there's a knock at the door.
What happens next is the substance of the first opera ever written for television in America. It was written in English for broadcast on the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). When it debuted, it was viewed by the largest audience to ever see a televised opera. Amahl and the Night Visitors was the first network television Christmas special to become an annual tradition.
In time, Amahl and his mother discover that their visitors are kings. They had traveled far and were tired. They asked for permission to rest in the home of Amahl and his mother. As the story unfolds, we learn, along with Amahl and his mother, that these kings are on their way to Bethlehem where they believe they will find a very special child, one that "the heavens" had identified as the "King off the Jews."
I can't recommend this strongly enough. It is a performance that is both endearing and mesmerizing. It captured my attention, fully.
Maybe that's because it is part of my childhood. Or maybe it's because it was the first time I was made to think of the "wise men" as actual people, people who interacted with other people. In any case, it was certainly the first time I recall thinking of a Biblical "character" as a real person, someone who did all the things I do; eat, sleep, have feelings, hurt, have infirmities, be protective of others, be tired, desire things, care about other real people, want to connect with God.
There have been many books, plays, and electronic productions about the Magi who visited the young Jesus. Sometimes they are referred to as kings, sometimes as wise men, sometimes as stargazers; but regardless of their title, people tend to think of them as being three in number. Scripture doesn't speak to this, so we don't know how many there were, only that "they" were plural and that they came later, not the night of Jesus' birth.
That "later" bit is part of the reason we have Epiphany on the church calendar at a later date than Christmas. Epiphany is the day set aside to recognize and celebrate the visitation of the Magi. Epiphany Eve is celebrated on January 5th, the "Twelfth Day of Christmas" of song fame (Drummers drumming, for those of you keeping score), with the observance of Epiphany falling on the 6th (or often on the nearest Sunday).
And, though you might not know it, Epiphany is one of the most important dates to us modern christians. While Christmas, with its announcement to those rowdy shepherds, represents when Christ was introduced to the Jewish people, Epiphany, with its Magi visitation, represents when Christ was first revealed to non-Jews.
Watching Amahl and the Night Visitors made the story of Jesus' birth come to life for me ... though Jesus is not in it. Neither are Mary and Joseph. Because it is the story of rather ordinary people encountering the extraordinary (in the form of Magi), it is the story of all of us. It portrays what it might have been like for us if we had been there.
Just some folks showing hospitality (with the little they possessed) to people on their way to an encounter with the Lord ... and then joining them on the journey.
Sound familiar?
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Epiphany of the Lord (January 6, 2017)
First reading
Isaiah 60:1-6
Psalm
Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
Second reading
Ephesians 3:1-12
Gospel
Matthew 2:1-12
Here is the link to the table of readings for this Epiphany Season, including Sunday, January 8th (January 6 - February 26, 2017): http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/lections.php?year=A&season=Epiphany
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Join us Friday morning at Lectionary Breakfast as we begin a new year. We still meet at the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant, start at 8:00 and wrap up around 9:00.
Visitors always welcome.
Blessings,
Steve
