Wonder [Christmas 2 - Matthew 2:1-12]
The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 2:1-12 Wonder St. Mark’s, Hoosick Falls As a child, I knew this story through the song. We Three Kings is the only hymn from the Epiphany section of Hymnal 1982 that even Pentecostals sing. And while I could not have pinpointed the Orient on a map or defined a moor, the song made sense to me; I could sense that there was something true about it. Because it captured the very heart of this story from Matthew’s Gospel. At the heart of this story is wonder. While these travelers are described as wise, I don’t think it was wisdom that disjoined them from the comforts of home. In fact, traditional wisdom might discourage one from chasing an untethered star through the pitfalls of strange lands and unknown territories, all while carrying expensive, and very stealable, cargo. I think they were enticed by wonder. This story is riddled with mystery; and it is ...