Iranian Intersection

Matthew 2:1-12

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem...
I would like to show you a view from Iran that you may have never seen before. If you happen to find yourself in the beautiful city of Isfahan, Iran drive on down to the historic Jolfa district. There at the intersection Khaghani street and Alered are three corners. On one corner you will find the Khan Gostar Restaurant (a Persian food cafeteria with a four star rating on tripadvisor.com. On the second corner you will find Zhoan Mexican Fast Food (because everyone goes to Iran for their authentic Mexican cuisine, right?). On the third corner you will find Jesus (along with the Three Wise Men). Yes, the cultural heart of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a great place to discover our Lord and Saviour (along with fresh fish tacos. bean burritos and carne asadas, apparently). This spiritual oasis is the Vank Cathedral. The cathedral, which may look Eastern Orthodox or Roman Catholic to some, is actually an Armenian Apostolic Church, which is part of Oriental Orthodoxy (whose most recognized member being the Coptic Church). The Armenian Apostolic Church as a whole is historically significant to Christianity in that it was the first national church. According to Wikipedia "Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in AD 301." This was three years before Constantine issued the Edict of Milan ending Christian persecution in the Roman Empire and decades before Theodosius I made Christianity the official state religion of Rome. But what's with all of this talk of the Armenian church (or the Roman one)? Aren't we discussing a church in Iran? Well, yes we are. But this intertwining of the stories of different nations and peoples is deeply imbedded in the story of this cathedral and the story of the baby Jesus and the Wise Men. Right above the church's north door is where we find the image of the Adoration of the Magi. This door opens up the narrative of Matthew 2:1-12. You see, in art we depict these mysterious visitors three kings due to the three costly treasures that they brought to Jesus. It's just convenient for pictorial storytelling purposes to illustrate them that way. There is also a lot of legendary stories about the three kings that have come about over the millennia to fill in the gaps in the story. However, the biblical text never limits them to being three or refers to them as kings. Most English translations (like the New King James Version that I employ for this blog) call the visitors "wise men." It carries a connotation that they are some sort of advisors to a foreign court. While this is mostly accurate, it is also a sanitized version of their full identity. The fullness of thir true identity not only tells us more about them but also about God. The word used to describe the Wise Men in the original Greek version of the New Testament is magos (μάγος), or as we call them in English Magi. The Magi were part of a Persian (old school for Iranian) tribe of priests (akin to what the Levites were for the Israelites). They were caste of the Medes, who themselves are believed by some to be the ancestors of the Kurds of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey (the accuracy of this is contested). So the Vank Cathedral is not just important for it's painting of the Magi but for the fact that it lays on the same national terrain that the Magi came from. All of these interlaced national identities, cross-cultural stories and transchronological references may be a bit confusing at times but they are a picture of the pursuit of faith. Sometimes find God at the crossroads of seeming opposites. It is at this three corner, Iranian intersection that we seek to understand the Magi and why they sought to find Jesus.

Finding Jesus in Public Opinion

...wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born....

The walls of the Vank Cathedral mix the aesthetics of Western, Church frescoes, intricate Mosque style linear designs and Persian miniatures. The Eastern, Islamic influence continues upward as you gaze at the great dome  of the church. Two different artistic traditions are used to illustrate this cathedral. Likewise if you took two residents of  Isfahan, Iran, one an Armenian Christian and the other a Persian Muslim, and asked them about Jesus they would both respond by telling you how high they regard him. That is because both religious traditions, Christianity and Islam, have their traditions about Jesus. Both believe in John the Baptist (Yahya ibn Zakariyya in the Quran) as his forerunner (and his own miraculous birth to aged parents). Both believe that the angel Gabriel (Jibrail in the Quran) announced his birth to his mother Mary (Maryam in the Quran). Both believe in his virgin birth. Both consider him a great preacher and prophetic figure of the Monotheistic God. Both believe that he was the Messiah. Both believe that he revealed the Gospel. Both believe that he ascended into Heaven. Both believe in the resurrection of the dead. Both believe that he will return at the end of time to judge the living and the dead. These similarities are because Jesus (Isa Ibn Maryam in the Quran) appears as a character in both the New Testament and the Quran. But before we celebrate the theological unity of Christians and Muslims, let us remember that there are quite a few important differences in our understanding of Jesus. Only Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross and in doing so redeemed man from Sin and separation from God. Only Christians believe that Jesus was the Son of God and very God Himself. There are scores of other differences (Jesus says and believes different things in the New Testament and Quran) but these two are so humongous that they are definite theological agreement deal breakers. It leaves those who hold Jesus in high esteem to wonder which Jesus tradition to follow: the Jesus who is worthy of reverence or the Jesus who is also worthy of worship. Which brings us back to the problem that the Magi faced in Matthew 2:1-12. They were seeking to find Jesus in public opinion. They naturally went to find the Jewish Messiah amongst those who followed the Jewish traditions that spoke of the Messiah. The Magi went to Herod, who had rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped and he could not help them find Christ. So then Herod asked the temple priests and biblical scholars... but shouldn't it concern us that in all of their studying and expertise that they weren't looking for the Messiah already? So maybe you find yourself at the same intersection as the Magi. You may live in a place that has its own traditions about Jesus. They may be Muslim, Christian or secular... but you still find yourself wondering who this Jesus was. Maybe you don't know Jesus as the one who died on the cross for your sins. Maybe you don't know Jesus as your God. It is at the crossroads of the story of Jesus and our own story that God weaves us into His own story. It is at this three corner, Iranian intersection that God shows the Magi (and us) where to find Jesus.

 

 

Finding Jesus in Scripture

..So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also”...

Vank Cathedral has certain key features like any other historic church. Unless your local church is extremely avant garde, simplistic or reactionary against the traditional trappings of the historical church, then it probably has these furnishings as well. They all center around the practices and beliefs of the church. There is a cross in some form. There is a seating area for the parishioners. There is an area, table or equipment for the Eucharist/Communion. There is a baptismal. There is a place to house the Bible or places to store the Bibles. Then there is the pulpit, lectern and/or reading podium. This is the elevated platform where the Scripture is shared with the congregants and explained through preaching. Some churches, like Vank Cathedral, also have a chair on the platform that is by itself. This chair is usually for the local bishop and symbolizes their teaching authority. This tradition goes back to the synagogue of ancient Judaism. In it rabbis, like Jesus, would stand while reading the Scripture but would sit down to teach and preach. Hence, when referring to the Pharisees authority to teach doctrinal matters Jesus referred to them "sitting inthe seat of Moses." Jesus disagreed with the Pharisees on many matters but he expressed his disagreement by sharing Scripture with them. They disagreed with Jesus and reasoned their arguments by sharing Scripture. I am not stating this to recast Jesus as unwitting allies. I am however stating that in the end the truth is revealed in the sharing if Scripture...even when it is between those who are different. That is   what happened when the Median priest of Persia, known as the Magi, encountered the Levitical priests of Israel in Herod's court. The Magi inquired about the birth of the Messiah and the Israelite priests and scribes shared the prophecy of the book of Micah. So the question still begs, if the religious caste of Israel had these messianic prophecies at their disposal why weren't they the ones looking for Jesus in Bethlehem? Why were these astrologers the ones pursuing the birthplace of the Messiah? Well I believe it is because they also had been seeking to find Jesus in Scripture as well. Remember, this was not the first encounter between the Persians and Jews. Ever since their Babylonian captivity, the Children of Israel had engaged in a few episodes in the Iraq and Iran regions of the Middle East. The book of Esther's two main characters are a Jewish woman and her husband the Persian king. After the Babylonians conquered the divided Jewish kingdoms of Israel and Judah, they took the best and brightest back with them to serve in the courts of Babylon. One of these captured youths was the prophet Daniel. The book of Daniel tells of both his courtly service and prophetic dreams. Later the Babylonians themselves would be conquered by the Persians under the rule of Darius the Mede (of the same tribe as the Magi). Darius would place Daniel as an administrative authority over all of his kingdoms. While exercising his role in the governments of two empires Daniel would receive visions from God concerning the age of empires. He would symbolically picture the crushing rule of nations that Daniel had seen and those that were yet to come. Then he would also see the Lord's coming redemption. The Lord would one day set up His own empire and His kingdom would be greater than any others. These were prophecies of the book of Daniel. The prophecies that were proclaimed in Persia. The prophecies of vision that were seen while Daniel worked in the court of a Mede alongside Magi priests. The prophecies written down in a book that alternates between Hebrew (the language of Israel) and Aramaic (then, the Imperial language of the Persian conquerors).  This was the message that was that was delivered hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus and his Magi visitors. Yet it appears to have been the impetus for their stargazing. It was the inspiration that sent them out in pursuit of a new King of a new kind of kingdom. This is the Scripture that the Magi shared with Herod's priests. The Israelite priests also had this Scripture in their cannon but the Persian priests understood its meaning. It is a lesson for all of those brethren who bear the name Christian yet are divided by theological, traditional and organizational differences. In spite of whatever may divide us if we can stand together for Scripture and sit down with each other to reason together on its meaning and application, then through the sharing of Scripture truth will eventually emerge. It is the crossroads of biblical literacy, biblical comprehension and Divine, providential, illumination. It is at this three corner, Iranian intersection that God shows Israel (and us) how to find Jesus. 

Finding Jesus in Worship

...When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh...
I was watching a travel and tourism video about Isfahan, Iran hosted by a young Muslim woman from New York in perpetration for this blog post. When she made it to the Vank Cathedral she described it with peculiar words that made me chuckle. In detailing the features of this church she described it as having a large outside courtyard and a main prayer room. There was no verbal description of its main place of worship, the altar or any of the other religious details. I laughed because it was obviously description from an outsider. Yes, it is true that the Vank Cathedral has an outside courtyard and it's inner sanctuary is in effect a prayer room, but these are words that are normally used to describe the features if a mosque. But then this was appropriate because it was a Muslim host describing the church to (assumed) Muslim viewers. Then I looked at the cathedral again with fresh eyes and it looks exactly like a church that a Muslim benefactor would build for Christians. That is because it is a church that a Muslim benefactor built for Christians. The great Persian ruler of the 17th century, Shah Abbas I, built this very church for the thousands of Armenian immigrants that he welcomed into his country. So with that change in perspective, let's take another look at the Magi in their worship of Jesus. At first glance it all seems like worship elements that are familiar to the Vank Cathedral: priests offering incense to God while surrounded with gold ornamentation. Indeed this was also familiar imagery to what occurred in the Temple in Jerusalem and the Tabernacle in the wilderness before it. Also Christian homiletical tradition informs us of the theological significance. We see it best displayed in the hymnology of John Henry Hopkins, Jr's We Three Kings

On the royal gift of gold he writes

"Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain
Gold I bring to crown Him again,
King forever, ceasing never,
Over us all to reign."
On the liturgical, worship tool of frankincense he writes:

"Frankincense to offer have I;
Incense owns a Deity nigh;
Prayer and praising, voices raising,
Worshipping God on high."

On the ritual, embalming agent of Myrrh he writes:

"Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes a life of gathering gloom;
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone cold tomb."

I don't contest any of that. But here's the problem with only considering it from a Judeo-Christian perspective: The Magi were in no way Persian Jews. They were also not Gentile converts to Judaism. In fact, Strong's Concordance  defines the word magos as such:

1. the name given by the Babylonians (Chaldeans), Medes, Persians, and others, to the wise men, teachers, priests, physicians, astrologers, seers, interpreters of dreams, augers, soothsayers, sorcerers etc.  

2. the oriental wise men (astrologers) who, having discovered by the rising of a remarkable star that the Messiah had just been born, came to Jerusalem to worship him  

3. a false prophet and sorcerer  

The Magi were Zoroastrians. They did not follow the God of Abraham but rather that preached by Zoroaster (or Zarathustra). They were priests of a Persian religion that practices worship by praying to fire or another light source. Yet, just as in with Islam there are curious similarities between Zoroastrianism and Christianity (and it's Jewish roots). Both believe in a Monotheistic God and just like Abraham, Zoroaster abandoned his cultural background of polytheism to worship one deity. Both believe that the one God is the Creator and the force of good in the universe in a cosmic battle against evil. Both believe in a resurrection of the dead. Both believe in a final judgment where evil is destroyed and the world is renewed. Both believe in a messianic, salvific figure who will do the end times judgment and renewal. Once again, before we celebrate the theological unity of Christians and Zoroastrians, let us remember that there are quite a few important differences in our understanding of Jesus. As with Islam, only Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross and in doing so redeemed man from Sin and separation from God. As with Islam, only Christians believe that Jesus was the Son of God and very God Himself. Unlike Islam, Jesus or any of the specific biblical figures never figure into the Zoroastrian theological cosmology. So if there are these many differences between the Judeo-Christian tradition and Zoroastrianism why would I even bring them up? Could God have even used the Magi's spiritual background to lead them to Christ? Well, yes if we consider the concept of Progressive revelation. It is the idea that God reveals His Word in increments. When the fullness of time comes. He explains the whole story and His intentions to us. Now I am not saying that God inspired the prophets of Zoroastrianism or Islam. What I am saying is that people come with their own notions about life, reality and the universe before they meet God.  Then God meets them where they are and uses communicates to them through their own language... even if it is a theological language. Eventually. bit by bit, He brings us (in the corporate sense of humanity) where He wants us to be. Consider this: Abraham had his own theological notions before He became friends with God. This is the patient, slow process by which God reveals the fullness of His loving identity (as seen in Christ Jesus). So God humored the theological musings of these Persian priests of a false god. He brought Daniel and the children of Israel on a missionary trip to Persia under the guise of captivity. Little did the Persians know that the Kingdom of God was slowly taking them captive. He set a fiery light in the sky for them to follow to Bethlehem, knowing that they came from a religion that prayed to light sources and lived by the astrological signs of the stars. Little did the Persians know that this sign in the sky was the Shekhinah glory of the Lord drawing them to God's manifest presence in human form. I wish that I could give you a neat and clean conclusion right here in the story. I wish that I could tell you that the Magi converted to Judaism or became the first disciples of Jesus. I can't do that because the text doesn't give those details. What I can tell you is that these priests of a Persian, monotheistic, pagan religion decided to give the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the Jewish, infant Jesus as an act of worship. When the Magi finally found Jesus, they found him in Worship. They found him to be God. That is the reason why we celebrate the visit of the Magi on January 6th as Epiphany, the appearance or manifestation especially of the Divine being. It is the crossroads of biblical worship, revelation and salvation history . It is at this three corner, Iranian intersection that God shows the whole world (including us) that He is found in Jesus.  

Finding Jesus in Unexpected Places

...Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

The happy ending of the Magi story is that they ride off into the sunset...literally. They head back East to be a witness in Persia. True to form, Christ's message of grace is shared with the humble outsiders in Persia, but not with the proud alleged insiders in Herod's palace. Christ preached to everyone but his message was only received by the meek. It's continued that way for the better part of two millennia. On the surface Christianity seems to be a powerful and popular religion. There are billions upon billions who have made public proclamations of faith, many of them being people of influence. Yet the true test of faith has only been passed by a portion of these. For Christianity is not shown by those exerting power but they who realize their lack of power... those in need... those who humbly rely on the mercy of God. These are some of the surprising places that God has chosen to hide his treasure. They are unforeseen evangelist like the Magi. Every now and then we unexpectedly encounter that God seems to have placed his witness everywhere. We discover like St. Paul that the Gospel has been preached to all Creation. But how so?Even in this post we have discussed four different and distinct world religions. I am nowhere near being a Universalist, so I am not about to tell you that in the end we all believe the same things or that all roads lead to the same path. However, I will say that if you closely inspect life you will see aspects of God's message cleverly embedded in all aspects of life. We see it in Friendships, Nature, Science, Family, Archaeology, Art, Medicine, Government, Mathematics, Forgiveness, Music, Love, Philosophy and a whole heap of other experiences and endeavors. We even see glimpses of this witness in the diverse religions of the world. Wherever there is a glimpse of truth there shines through a witness to the truth of God. The witness of the truth of Monotheism can be found in Zoroastrianism. The witness of the truth of Scripture and prophecies of the Messiah were foretold in Judaism. The witness of the truth of the miracles and miraculous birth of Christ is shared in Islam. The fullness of truth found in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and God incarnate is witnessed to fully in Christianity. Just like the Magi, we can find Jesus in the most unexpected places. Yet of all of these examples, the most unexpected place may be finding Jesus in your life. God has been there all along in your pain and triumphs sharing little witnesses of Himself. He remains there even now, waiting to reveal the fullness of Himself to you. It is here at the intersection of our sin, doubts and faith, the messiness and beauty of life, that God meets us. He meets us in the Person of Jesus Christ.