BLESSED BE THE WISE WHO AFFIRM JESUS AS THE CHRIST AND ACCEPT HIM AS THE SAVIOR
Bright is the Light of Hope at the start of yet another Year of our Lord!
This Year, worry if you must – but be brief. Constant worry solves few if any problems, but exacerbates anxieties. Mark Twain: “I am an old man, and I have known many problems in my life, most of which never happened.” Antidote to unneeded anxiety: Pray about everything . . . Cling to the Lord’s promises . . . Commit your way unto the Lord . . . Be led by The Holy Spirit.
A prayer for solving problems - if prayed sincerely, honestly and unselfishly:
“Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace; Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.” (St. Francis of Assisi’s Prayer for Peace)
Born to bring peace to willing hearts - God’s Son the Prince of Peace . . . Promised . . . Prophesied . . . Virgin birth foretold . . . Forerunner born . . . Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem . . . the Savior’s birth announced by angels . . . His birthplace discovered by humble shepherds . . . the Good News of salvation spread by believers . . . Amazement of all who heard the Good News!
Then the truth of the Good News confirmed by Luke who concluded his investigation and authentication of The Story by telling about Simeon’s affirmation of the newborn’s identity (Simeon and Anna had been led by the Spirit of God to be at the Temple at the same time that Jesus was there for ceremonial consecration).
Simeon, with the Baby Jesus cradled in his arms, rejoiced and gave Glory to God as he declared, “For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation!”
Born to save sinners who affirm His Messiahship and accept His salvation!
Regardless of who they are . . . where they come from . . . socio-economic status . . . cultural background . . . societal rank . . . occupation . . . age or stage in life . . . gender . . . prior religious affiliation . . . political persuasion! The simple fact is:
To repent of sin . . . affirm Who Jesus is . . . to accept God’s Son as Savior . . . to commit one’s life to Him as Lord - is to be freed: from bondage to sin and the consequences thereof . . . to worship Him . . . to serve Him . . . but not freed from the anger, accusations, and attacks from “the fall of many” (“This child is set for the fall, as well as the rising, of many.” Therefore,
His Birth was destined to bring out the best in folks of good will . . . to bring out the worst in folks of ill will . . . depicted by Matthew’s account of mysterious wise men from the East whose expensive long journey by camel, in search of the Child that had been born a King, not only led them to the place where the newborn king was being housed so that they of good will could “pay homage to” Him, but their search also got the attention of a type of folks of ill will that Simeon had in mind when he spoke of “the fall of many” – Matthew 2:1-11 . . .
The “rising” of these Gentile “Magi” – highly skilled in philosophy, medicine and natural sciences such as astronomy – came about due to a combination of factors that had to have been of the Spirit of God: Three things to consider . . .
Their arrival occurred a year or two after the birth of Jesus . . .The phenomenal brilliance in the sky was the kind that astronomers live for -- which caused them to fix their gaze on it and to follow it . . . Instinctively these scholars knew that this was no ordinary luminary but a special sign of the birth of a special kind of messianic king whose advent they had heard about.
From Matthew’s account of the Magi’s search and discovery, we draw this conclusion:
From the time of the earliest public awareness of His birth, throughout His ministry on earth, then - through the years and centuries after His Resurrection - as the Gospel spread all over the world - there have been, are now, always will be, three responses to The Christ of the Gospels:
The response typified by Herod – so engrossed in holding onto position and power, that life was made miserable due to suspicion, hatred and hostility - to the extent that attempts were (are) made to stamp out Christianity.
The response typified by the self-righteous - chief priests, scribes and Pharisees – so engrossed in self-promoting rituals, along with self-prescribed regulations that apply to “sinners” but not to themselves – to the extent that they disregard Jesus as the Messiah and treat His Message of salvation for all people with indifference.
The response typified by the Wise Men – whoever they were, wherever they were from, whatever their occupations might have been, no matter their cultural or socio-economic status, regardless of their prior religious affiliation or political persuasion – recognized a sure sign of a magnificent event that had to have been of messianic significance – and they acted upon it by seeking the Christ Child . . . to affirm His messiahship and to worship Him as the Savior.
Much has been made about the gifts the Wise Men brought to honor the Christ Child. Suffice it to say: Gold = the gift fit for a King . . . Frankincense = the gift fit for a High Priest . . . Myrrh = the gift fit for one who was to die. These gifts foretold that Jesus the Son of God was born to be King of kings . . . perfect High Priest . . . supreme Savior of all who affirm His messiahship and accept His Lordship.
The Message to you, me, the whole world is this: Anyone who earnestly seeks the Christ finds Him . . . eventually finds Him responds to their encounter with Him in one of several ways . . .enthusiastically affirms Him as the Messiah and accepts Him as the Savior will worship and serve Him (period).
In the Christian Church calendar, the first Sunday of January is designated Epiphany - commemoration of the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.
The Wise Men’s illuminating discovery - perception of the essential meaning of the Birth of Christ – led them to seek Him.
Their intuitive grasp of the reality of Who Jesus was and Why He came kept them searching until they found Him.
Their keen sense of His destined sovereignty as King of kings . . . superiority as that High Priest who would open the door (the way) to God . . . sacrificial death as the Lamb of God – brought them to worship Him.
Their epiphany did not end with their acts of worship – for it was revealed to them, as they departed “the house of worship”, to return to their own country a different way than they came.
Figuratively speaking, isn’t it wise for you and me to do likewise?
Christ made such a difference in the lives of the wise when He was a child that they followed a different path.
Now that we know the rest of the story, and look back upon what the Magi looked forward to . . . should not the difference Christ has made in our lives send us home to reflect and to rejoice – avoiding, as did the Magi, the naysayers . . . deniers . . . defiers of the Lord our God and His Son, Jesus Christ!
May your epiphany, and mine - today, tomorrow, and the our tomorrows of life – be similar to that brilliant flash of genius which marked the Apostle Paul as one of the greatest missionaries who ever served the Lord:
“I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day - of judgement - when the Lord God will separate His sheep from the goats!” “Lord, I want to be in that number, when the Sheep go marching in!” Amen!
