TEXT: Matt. 2:1-12
TOPIC: "Balthazar of Baghdad"
AUTHOR: Dr. Bill Groover, East Hill Baptist Church, Tallahassee, Fl.
bill@easthill.net
Copyright 2000.
NOTE: Very little is known about the Magi. The things I have written come from legends (the names and number of the Magi), from history (information about the kings), and straight from my imagination. The healing and attitudes are of my construction. While there is much in this monologue I cannot "prove," I hope there is nothing which can be historically dis-proven. Please feel free to notify me of any inaccuracies. There is, of course, debate over the dating of the death of Herod the Great. Most scholars now date his death prior to the birth of Jesus. I’ve stayed with the traditional. Feel free to change anything you like.
I am Balthazar of Baghdad, seventeenth prince to the throne of Cyrus, Alexander, and Antiochus, master of the stars, advisor to the Arsacid Kings of Parthia, and servant of "El Elyon," the Most High King of Heaven. I have come across many miles, great waters, and thousand of years to tell you my story.
I am a Magi from Persia, once a mighty country where your modern Iran and Iraq now are. Depending on the individual, Magi were what you might call astrologers, astronomers, sorcerers, magicians, priests, or court officials. You get your modern words magician and magistrate from our word Magi.
Persia, in my time, was part of the powerful Parthian Empire, heirs to the ancient Babylonian and Greek Empires of Cyrus, Darius, and Alexander the Great. King Cyrus conquered Assyria around 600 years before I was born. The Assyrians Kings, Tiglath Pileasar and Sennacharib, had conquered the Judeans centuries before my birth, and had moved many of their people to live in my homeland near Bagdad. You may have read of this exile as I have in your holy writings in the scrolls you call Kings and Chronicles. But Kings Cyrus and Darius, were more gracious than the Assyrian Kings, and they allowed the Jews to return to their native home and rebuild their holy Temple.
But some of the Jewish people and some of their holy men stayed in Baghdad with my ancestors. Thus we knew of their religion and their prophecies. We knew one of their ancient holy men had spoken to the people the promises of God:
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9, NIV)
So when I was studying the stars and noticed a new star, the most brilliant in the nighttime sky, had arisen over the land of Judea, I knew! The time must have come!
I petitioned my king, King Phraataces, and he authorized me to go and pay homage to this new monarch, and to determine what threat he may pose to our nation. So I traveled to Jerusalem.
Our caravan consisted of two fellow magi and enough servants to tend to our needs and our animals, and soldiers for security. Melchior was from Arabia, but had been in our court since I was a child. He was well advanced in years, and almost blind. I thought he was far too old to travel, but you couldn’t keep him from going. The other member of our party was a young man, newly admitted to the court, named Gaspar. He was brash and arrogant, and I feared would cause trouble before the journey was over.
We went directly to the Judean capital, Jerusalem. We knew the Roman Governor was the real ruler of the province, but still we went to the Hebrew King, Herod, because the newborn king was to be the "King of the Jews."
The Jews hated Herod because of his successful alliances with Rome, and because they didn’t consider him a true Jew. He was the child of Gentile converts to Judaism. Still he tried to curry the favor of the populace by rebuilding the Temple. He did a magnificent job. Rabbis often said: "He who has not seen the Temple has not seen a beautiful building!" But the people knew he was not building because of his orthodox faith; he made a small fortune off the construction!
We were warned to be careful when we met him and inquired about a new king. He had already killed one wife and two sons whom he thought were trying to take his throne. One saying in Jerusalem was: "It is better to be Herod’s dog than his son!" So when we asked where the new king had been born and Herod was troubled, we thought our lives may be over. Fortunately for us, this schemer devised a plot to use us to help him find the threat to his throne. Herod quickly inquired of his holy men where the king, the Messiah they called him, was to be born. "In Bethlehem," they told him. So he sent us on our way with instructions to return and report to him upon our success, so that he, too, may worship the new king.
Bethlehem was a village of about 4,000 people only 5 miles South West of Jerusalem. Compared to the hundreds of miles we had already traveled, it was a very short distance.
The star I had first seen reappeared in the early evening and seemed to guide us along our way, even to a stable that had been built in a small cave where we found people scurrying about in a beehive of activity.
The first thing to strike us odd was the shepherds. As we approached the cave, four shepherds walked out as though they were in a daze. I couldn’t believe they didn’t notice us, but they walked right past us. They wouldn’t have to recognize our faces and know our names to know we were men of wealth and power. Such commoners always bowed in the presence of people like us. But these shepherds walked by like we were as common as they.
Gaspar reached for his sword and said something about teaching them some manners, but Melchoir, moving with speed and agility that amazed me, grabbed his arm with strength I would have thought had fled him years ago, and said: "No. Not here. Not now."
We proceeded in with our gifts and beheld the newborn babe.
My knees buckled and I feel without thinking. Gaspar was disturbed and just stood there. He would have bowed to any king, but it seemed to him this child’s own people didn’t know he was a king. He wasn’t in a castle. He wasn’t clothed in fine lines or silk. There was nothing to suggest royalty in the house. And Gaspar wasn’t going to be the first to bow to anyone.
But I wish you could have seen old Melchoir; his story is the most exciting. The clouds on his eyes dissolved and he could see! He started singing praise to God in hymns he had learned from the Hebrew holy men and dancing like a commoner!
Gaspar simply set down his gift of gold and retreated. "Come," he ordered us--us who were his Seniors!--"This ’king’ will be no threat to our King Phraataces. Our work here is done."
Melchoir opened his box of fragrant myrrh and gave it to the child’s father.
I had brought frankincense, an incense people in my day, both Hebrew and Zoroastrian, burned in worship to our gods. I had hoped this knew king could offer it in worship to his god. But I felt the strangest urge to burn it in offering to him. For some unknown reason I suddenly remembered every bad thing I had ever done: every lie I had told, every hateful thing I had said, every sin I had committed, and I wept. I wept in sorrow until as if by magic my tears turned to joy. It wasn’t for many years that I finally understood both my sorrow and my joy.
We learned later our gifts had been sold and the money given to the poor. We thought these people were poor! But it didn’t matter.
Melchoir and I stayed for what seemed like minutes but must have been hours, for it was day light when we left. We were exhausted from being up all night and we immediately feel into a deep sleep. It was then that we had dreams warning us not to return to Herod but to travel home another route.
Gaspar never really accepted this baby as a king. He continued to be an arrogant and bitter man all his life. But Melchoir and I devoted our selves to the study of the Hebrew Scriptures for the rest of our lives. But I must admit, old Melchoir continued to be a showoff for the rest of his life. Always saying things like: "Do you see that fly over there about twenty yards--the one holding two crumbs of bread?"
And we both listened eagerly to every bit of news we got from Judea, always expecting to hear of a new king who had taken power. We never did.
What we did hear was stories of a holy man who taught the people to love and to forgive one another, a man who promised God would forgive them. We heard stories of miracles, of him feeding thousands with very small amounts of food, of him calming a raging storm at sea, and our course, of him healing the sick--especially the blind. And we heard some of his stories, parables you call them. Then . . .
We learned he was killed on a cross, and some how his death opened the way for all people to come to the God of the Hebrews and be forgiven. It was then I understood both the shame and the happiness I felt in his presence. He came to give his life for me, I had intended only to give a token. As one of your wise men has said, "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all." It was only in giving all that I found peace and happiness. I hope as you celebrate the birth of the King, you may be able to worship as I did, and you, too, may be able to give your all.
INVITATION (I had our Minister of Music give the Invitation):
Balthazar’s story, as you can tell, is not just the story of one person. It is also the story of how different people responded to the Hebrew prophecies and to the new king. Herod tried to use the prophecies to his own design, and failed. Gaspar would only accept the babe as a king if he proved it. Others accepted him as someone else’s king, but not theirs. These people seem to have no shortage of spiritual descendants today. But Balthazar, at least in our story today, made him King, and he, too, has no shortage of spiritual descendants. I hope you will, too.
LITANY OF COMMITMENT
LEADER: Who among us will celebrate Christmas right?
PEOPLE: Those who finally lay down all their power, honor, and prestige,
LEADER: All their vanity, pride, and self will . . .
PEOPLE: At the manger.
LEADER: Those who stand by the lowly . . .
PEOPLE: And let God alone be exalted.
LEADER: Those who see in the child in the manger the glory of God precisely in this lowliness.
PEOPLE: Those who say along with the shepherds, . . .
LEADER: "Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened."
ALL: THOSE WHO ARE DRAWN BY THE MANGER.
--Taken from the poem, "Celebrating Christmas" (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Mystery of the Holy Night, New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1996, p. 17), by Rev. Candace McKibben, East Hill Baptist Church.
