Sermon - January 8, 2017

Matthew 2:1-12

January 8, 2017

By Another Road

There is a moment, when parents arrive home with a new baby, that the parents look at each other and ask – however prepared they are, despite the new parent classes taken, the books read, the advice from grandmothers, the instruction from the pediatrician – the parents look at this baby and ask: “Now what do we have here?”  Especially first-time parents: “What do we do with it?  What does her crying mean?  Is she hungry?  What’s that smell?”  And speaking of changing, how will this baby change us?  How will our lives be forever different?

Jesus is born; the baby is here.  Matthew asks the question, on behalf of Christians in his church and all those who hear the story today:  Now what do we have here?

Matthew begins to answer that question by telling us of exotic travelers from the east, who prompted by a star in the sky journey to Bethlehem.  They believed the star announced the birth of the king of the Jews.  They came to see him for themselves and to honor him.  Before Jesus’ own people were hardly aware of him, these pagans from Persia came to kneel down before him.

Magi they were called, if we translate the name letter for letter.  But we don’t know exactly who they were – “astrologers,” if the star is any indication, or “magicians,” or a priestly caste of high ranking supporters of eastern kings… “kings” themselves said later church tradition suggesting nations coming to worship and bow down to God’s Son.  Wise men are what our translation today calls them, so I will too.  The Wise, who were seekers of wisdom and followed a star.  Wise men probably, given the culture of patriarchy, but Matthew doesn’t go into detail.  There could have been women among them as well; after all, they did stop and ask for directions to get there.  Those Wise Ones came seeking Jesus, using a star as a GPS.  They were drawn by the star, and by their own longing.  The only way we can identify with these strange travelers is their sense of longing.  Do you feel that longing?  Do you feel drawn to Jesus?

Herod was a stop on the way for the wise men, but to Jesus an enemy.  Herod the Great, because of his great building projects, but actually a fake king, a puppet of Rome, a villain who murdered friends, his wife, three sons (better chance of surviving as Herod’s sow than son, people said).  Herod was insecure – bad trait for a king – threatened by everybody, paranoid it seems.  Herod trembled when the wise men asked how to find the newborn king of the Jews, and all Jerusalem trembled with him because a scared Herod scared them.  He would later call in air strikes on Bethlehem, using his human drones to try to kill the newborn threat, nip it in the bud.  But for now, Herod settled on making the wise men into his informants, “Bring me news.”

The star led the wise men to the child.  Babies, infants, toddlers, children change things, change us.  Bring a child into a settled marriage, and it is transformed!  We must respond to them, rearrange our lives to care for them.  The Wise Men were drawn to Jesus, and he changed their lives.

Joy overwhelmed them.  I don’t know what they expected, but what grabbed them in Bethlehem was JOY.  (Vs. 10)  Entering the house, they saw the child with his mother, and knelt and paid him homage.  As planned, they bowed and offered gifts fit for a king.  But what inspired the joy, I think, was what they found in Jesus, what they saw:  wisdom!

The wise men were drawn to Jesus, following the star.  What do we have here…?  What they found was wisdom – Jesus, the wisdom of God, a child not yet two years old.  The wisdom of God reflected in him.  The wisdom of God in him.  Wisdom of God in human flesh.  Finding Jesus, they found wisdom – found the meaning of their lives, the source of their joy… Jesus the reason for living, guide for living God’s way.  Herod had worldly power those days, but Jesus had wisdom for the ages.  The child they found was Wisdom Incarnate – wisdom of heaven for these days, wisdom that understands the future, wisdom that embraces wise men and you and I.

The Wise were overwhelmed with joy, gave glory to God, honoring the child.  Then they left for home by another road. 

Another road, that is where this story has been headed.  How will the wise men respond to Jesus?  How will this child change them?  How will the wisdom of God they found in him affect them?  Will they go back to Jerusalem on Herod’s road, following Herod’s instructions, doing it Herod’s way?  Or will they depart Bethlehem on the Jesus Road?  That is what Jesus does to you, introduces you to a different road, invites you onto that road, gives you the wisdom for traveling that road – his road.

Understand:  Matthew is readying us for the message to be heard throughout his Gospel.  What do we have here?  With the coming of Jesus, we have two ways, two roads, two routes for your living.  There is the kingdom of this world, and there is the kingdom of heaven which is being established in this world through Jesus.  There is the kingdom of unrighteousness, and there is the kingdom of righteousness.  There is the way of this world, and there is God’s way we see in Jesus.  There is the Herod road, and there is the Jesus road.

Which road will you take when you leave this place today?  Which way will you honor, trust, give homage to, follow?  Which route is truly wise?  Will you try to straddle both, like the stunt performer riding two horses, standing with one foot on each horse… which works for a while, and then…?  Are you trying to straddle both roads?

Bethlehem had three surprises for the wise men:  A child with God’s wisdom in his DNA.  Joy, magnificent and overwhelming joy!  And a dream to travel by a different road.

The wise still, having met Jesus and honored his birth, now follow a different route, the Jesus Road, and find in doing so great challenges and great joy.

Which road will it be?