What would you say if I told you that the legend of the Three Kings is only that... a legend with no biblical basis whatsover? The "wise men" (or magi or astrologers) are only mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew and they are not numbered and are never refered to as kings. They are said to come from the east with three gifts for the newborn king.
In my sermon today I proposed that the tradition of the Three Kings probably grew more out of pairing up this reading from Matthew with Psalm 72 which speaks of kings from three distant lands bringing gifts to a king of Israel. This also explains why so often these three kings in our nativity scenes are often depicted as being African, Oriental, and Hispanic.
More important than all this Biblical trivia and archeology is what the Three Kings represent. The work of God in the world was discerned first not by the wise of Israel, not by those who should be in the know, not by the "righteous," but by foreigners from distant lands with other religions. In this spirit I encourage us to remember that we learn best when we listen to others, even those whose faith backgrounds are different than ours. I hope that 2007 will be a year when we can hear the wisdom of those outside of our own faith and we can better discern God's work in the world.
[Today's Call to Worship can be found on Leiturgia.]
[Image: Three Kings by J. C. Leyendecker]