December 12, 2010, Advent 3 (A)
Matthew 2:1-12
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
“And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.” ’
Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Wonderfully Deep Impact
(This is the third in a series of sermons for Advent "Waking up for Adventure." These sermons do not always follow the assigned lectionary.)
Perhaps you read the article yesterday about the formation of the early Earth. Internet headlines, newspapers, and magazines featured the discovery by astronomers and other researchers that about 4.5 billion years ago a gold nugget the size of Pluto slammed into the earth, punching a massive hole in the crust, and distributing the majority of the gold that is current on the earth today. When I see stories like that I understand why men and women choose astronomy as a career. The sense of awe and wonder from amazing sights must fill your heart and mind every day. When we hear such news we get a clearer sense of what possessed the wise men to do what they did in today’s reading from Matthew.
The wise men, magi, were from the East. The area is today what we know as Iraq. These were the stargazers of their day. They were educated and deeply engrossed in the study of the night sky. One particular night something special caught their eye. Something new and different in the lights above reached out and grabbed a hold of them. Their minds raced. Their hearts beat faster. And what did they do? They packed up and took off! They set out on a long long journey.
Today as we continue this series of Advent messages, “Waking Up for ADVENTURE,” I want to talk to you about the journey that makes your heart beat faster and your mind race. As you and I prepare ourselves for the birth of Jesus Christ and the adventure he begins, let’s focus on the story of the magi.
One of the first things you notice for the wise men travelling guided by a star is that the journey happens as a series of zig zags. The journey is not a straight line. I know that sometimes people talk in Christian circles about “keeping on the straight and narrow.” But the journey with God is far from straight. Let’s call it the scenic route.
It’s just like when explorers sailed across the oceans with only the North star and a compass the find their way, they would zig zag their way across great expanses. Magellan, Columbus, Marco Polo, and Amerigo Vespucci found their way across wide expanses of ocean by using the North star as a coordinate. They would go this way a little too far, then correct themselves, head the other direction a little too far, then correct themselves. Back and forth they went until their course narrowed to their destination.
The wise men would zig zag their way across vast expanses of dessert and mountain, always overshooting and then correcting themselves. This is how the journey with God progresses. We go one way and at times we go a little too far. Then we correct ourselves and head the other direction. It is not a straight line. We’re go back and forth in our beliefs. We go back and forth in our fervor. We go back and forth in our trust. I wish I could tell you it was otherwise my friend. I wish I could tell you that being a Christian is as straightforward as 10 steps. How I wish I could simply tell you the ABC’s of Christian living. But it doesn’t work that way. But the adventure of faith is much more unpredictable than that. The journey with God is too full of surprises to boil it down to simple shapes and sizes.
A second thing that you should expect from your faith is that it takes place in the dark. When wise men travel, they travel at night. Their vision is impaired. They aren’t always sure which way is best next. They aren’t always sure which way is forward. They aren’t always sure what the next step is.
This is what the apostle Paul refers to when he says in 1 Corinthians that “Now, we see as in a mirror dimly.” Mirrors in Paul’s day weren’t glass. They were polished metal. Often times they were blurry and cloudy. The reflection they provided was indistinct. This is how it is on the journey with God. Not clear. Not obvious. Not apparent.
How often have you looked at some situation in your life and wondered to yourself “What the heck do I do now?” How often have you been bogged down in a relationship and not know how to move forward? How often have you given thought to your finances and come up blank? How often have you agonized over your kids or parents and not know what to do next?
The journey with God happens in the dark, where you and I are most aware that we lack the resources, lack the courage, lack the strength to reach our destination.
A third thing you can see about the journey of the wise men. It’s going somewhere. They’re on the trail of something big. They are headed for someplace that they have never been before. They are headed for a far country with exotic colors and people. They are going to encounter new foods and spices. They will taste new drink. They will stand where they have never stood before and they will be changed forever because of it. That’s what the Bible says, you know, they didn’t go back the way they came. They went back different. Not only was the route different but they were different. No one can come into the presence of Jesus and remain the same. These magi were different and returned home a different way.
The impact Jesus made in their lives was like none other. The treasures he imparted to them were immeasurable. The ways he enriched their lives were incalculable. And all of this because of the journey they took. On the journey with God everything looks different. In the winding, zig zag course in the dark, adventure is around every bend in the road. It’s not a matter of wondering if there will be adventure but what kind of adventure will God surprise me with next? On the journey with God we have new eyes to pick up on the drama, the tension, the wonder of what God is doing in the world. And because of the journey we are never the same.
One of the things we like to do in our family is take trips. We love to go on adventures. Whether we are collecting geodes in Brown county or collecting sand in California, we love an adventure. I remember the first time I took my kids to Texas to see my parents. On the first things I had to do was take my kids to a location about 5 miles from their house, the house I grew up in. The location was simply a big giant hole in the ground. I was so excited for my kids to see it. I had them stand in it. “Look at this kids! Isn’t it great?!” I took their pictures standing in the hole. It’s 115 thousand degrees out there and I am telling them “I can’t see you smile.”
Now I already know what you want to ask me “Hold on there you good looking preacher. What’s the big deal about a silly hole in the ground?”
Well the big deal is that the hole in the ground where I had them stand was a meteor crater. It landed there some 50,000 years ago spraying bits and pieces of meteorite all around which of course we collected up. A mastodon was even unearthed. When you know the whole story it’s amazingly exciting thing to stand right in the hole in the ground and be part of the story. Suddenly everything looks different.
As you prepare for the coming celebration of Jesus’ birth, please be aware as you become part of the journey of God you become part of the story. Everything looks different. You wonder and marvel at the silliest things . . . even a hole in the ground. Because some day you are going find yourself in hole. Jesus did. A hole punched out of the limestone as a gravesite after his crucifixion. You and I are going to stand in the same kind of hole and even then we are going to marvel. You are going to stand there and say “This is awesome! Can you believe this! This is incredible!” Because on God’s journey everything is packed with awe and wonder – even death itself.
Matthew 2:1-12
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
“And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.” ’
Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Wonderfully Deep Impact
(This is the third in a series of sermons for Advent "Waking up for Adventure." These sermons do not always follow the assigned lectionary.)
Perhaps you read the article yesterday about the formation of the early Earth. Internet headlines, newspapers, and magazines featured the discovery by astronomers and other researchers that about 4.5 billion years ago a gold nugget the size of Pluto slammed into the earth, punching a massive hole in the crust, and distributing the majority of the gold that is current on the earth today. When I see stories like that I understand why men and women choose astronomy as a career. The sense of awe and wonder from amazing sights must fill your heart and mind every day. When we hear such news we get a clearer sense of what possessed the wise men to do what they did in today’s reading from Matthew.
The wise men, magi, were from the East. The area is today what we know as Iraq. These were the stargazers of their day. They were educated and deeply engrossed in the study of the night sky. One particular night something special caught their eye. Something new and different in the lights above reached out and grabbed a hold of them. Their minds raced. Their hearts beat faster. And what did they do? They packed up and took off! They set out on a long long journey.
Today as we continue this series of Advent messages, “Waking Up for ADVENTURE,” I want to talk to you about the journey that makes your heart beat faster and your mind race. As you and I prepare ourselves for the birth of Jesus Christ and the adventure he begins, let’s focus on the story of the magi.
One of the first things you notice for the wise men travelling guided by a star is that the journey happens as a series of zig zags. The journey is not a straight line. I know that sometimes people talk in Christian circles about “keeping on the straight and narrow.” But the journey with God is far from straight. Let’s call it the scenic route.
It’s just like when explorers sailed across the oceans with only the North star and a compass the find their way, they would zig zag their way across great expanses. Magellan, Columbus, Marco Polo, and Amerigo Vespucci found their way across wide expanses of ocean by using the North star as a coordinate. They would go this way a little too far, then correct themselves, head the other direction a little too far, then correct themselves. Back and forth they went until their course narrowed to their destination.
The wise men would zig zag their way across vast expanses of dessert and mountain, always overshooting and then correcting themselves. This is how the journey with God progresses. We go one way and at times we go a little too far. Then we correct ourselves and head the other direction. It is not a straight line. We’re go back and forth in our beliefs. We go back and forth in our fervor. We go back and forth in our trust. I wish I could tell you it was otherwise my friend. I wish I could tell you that being a Christian is as straightforward as 10 steps. How I wish I could simply tell you the ABC’s of Christian living. But it doesn’t work that way. But the adventure of faith is much more unpredictable than that. The journey with God is too full of surprises to boil it down to simple shapes and sizes.
A second thing that you should expect from your faith is that it takes place in the dark. When wise men travel, they travel at night. Their vision is impaired. They aren’t always sure which way is best next. They aren’t always sure which way is forward. They aren’t always sure what the next step is.
This is what the apostle Paul refers to when he says in 1 Corinthians that “Now, we see as in a mirror dimly.” Mirrors in Paul’s day weren’t glass. They were polished metal. Often times they were blurry and cloudy. The reflection they provided was indistinct. This is how it is on the journey with God. Not clear. Not obvious. Not apparent.
How often have you looked at some situation in your life and wondered to yourself “What the heck do I do now?” How often have you been bogged down in a relationship and not know how to move forward? How often have you given thought to your finances and come up blank? How often have you agonized over your kids or parents and not know what to do next?
The journey with God happens in the dark, where you and I are most aware that we lack the resources, lack the courage, lack the strength to reach our destination.
A third thing you can see about the journey of the wise men. It’s going somewhere. They’re on the trail of something big. They are headed for someplace that they have never been before. They are headed for a far country with exotic colors and people. They are going to encounter new foods and spices. They will taste new drink. They will stand where they have never stood before and they will be changed forever because of it. That’s what the Bible says, you know, they didn’t go back the way they came. They went back different. Not only was the route different but they were different. No one can come into the presence of Jesus and remain the same. These magi were different and returned home a different way.
The impact Jesus made in their lives was like none other. The treasures he imparted to them were immeasurable. The ways he enriched their lives were incalculable. And all of this because of the journey they took. On the journey with God everything looks different. In the winding, zig zag course in the dark, adventure is around every bend in the road. It’s not a matter of wondering if there will be adventure but what kind of adventure will God surprise me with next? On the journey with God we have new eyes to pick up on the drama, the tension, the wonder of what God is doing in the world. And because of the journey we are never the same.
One of the things we like to do in our family is take trips. We love to go on adventures. Whether we are collecting geodes in Brown county or collecting sand in California, we love an adventure. I remember the first time I took my kids to Texas to see my parents. On the first things I had to do was take my kids to a location about 5 miles from their house, the house I grew up in. The location was simply a big giant hole in the ground. I was so excited for my kids to see it. I had them stand in it. “Look at this kids! Isn’t it great?!” I took their pictures standing in the hole. It’s 115 thousand degrees out there and I am telling them “I can’t see you smile.”
Now I already know what you want to ask me “Hold on there you good looking preacher. What’s the big deal about a silly hole in the ground?”
Well the big deal is that the hole in the ground where I had them stand was a meteor crater. It landed there some 50,000 years ago spraying bits and pieces of meteorite all around which of course we collected up. A mastodon was even unearthed. When you know the whole story it’s amazingly exciting thing to stand right in the hole in the ground and be part of the story. Suddenly everything looks different.
As you prepare for the coming celebration of Jesus’ birth, please be aware as you become part of the journey of God you become part of the story. Everything looks different. You wonder and marvel at the silliest things . . . even a hole in the ground. Because some day you are going find yourself in hole. Jesus did. A hole punched out of the limestone as a gravesite after his crucifixion. You and I are going to stand in the same kind of hole and even then we are going to marvel. You are going to stand there and say “This is awesome! Can you believe this! This is incredible!” Because on God’s journey everything is packed with awe and wonder – even death itself.
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