Going by Different Route
Matthew 2:1-12
We aren’t told how long of a time had passed between when the magi first saw the star and when they arrived in Jerusalem, but Herod’s order—in verse 16—to kill all male children two years and younger in accordance with the time that the star first appeared—gives us a bit of an indication.
Although we have come to think of magi as kings, the word “magi” is where we get our word “magic.”
But the magi weren’t really magicians; they were astrologers who studied the heavens for signs of important events.
It could be said that the magi were authentic “spiritual seekers.”
When I was in high school some friends of mine and I were hanging out in a park drinking beers and smoking weed.
And we started talking about what we were going to do in the future.
One of my friends said, “I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing right now for the rest of my life.”
When he said this, I thought to myself, “Not me. Someday I’m going to be a United Methodist Minister like my Uncle Jack.
I’ve seen his life and how he lives.
I know that there is another, a better way.
And I want that kind of life.
I don’t know how I’m going to do it or how I’m going to get there, but that’s what I’m going to do and be.”
I didn’t know it at the time, but I was a seeker.
I think there are a lot of “seekers” in our world.
There are lots of folks who are looking for another way.
They want to take another road or go by another route, but they aren’t sure how to get there.
Perhaps they have gone down the road of addiction, and found themselves in a mess of trouble, unhappy and headed for destruction.
Maybe they have bought into the lie that the person who dies with the most stuff—wins…
…and so they run after the Almighty Dollar…
…and find that they are unfulfilled, empty and left wanting something more.
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Blaise Pascal is quoted as saying: “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each person which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.”
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When I was a Freshman in college I made friends with a kid named Tim.
The first thing Tim asked me when I met him is: “Are you a Christian?”
To me, that was a very odd question.
No one my age had ever asked me that.
But, since I had been going to church my entire life, I answered: “Yes.”
Tim never questioned my answer.
But as we hung out and spent time together, I started to notice that Tim’s idea of what a Christian was and my idea were quite a bit different.
Tim was actually living what he believed.
He was dedicated to following Jesus Christ.
I had never met anyone my age who was actually living out what they believed and through Tim I saw that it was actually possible.
And as a seeker, I wanted what Tim had.
I gave my life to Christ, and I have never been the same.
The magi saw a light in the sky provided by God.
And though they were Gentiles, they knew enough about Hebrew prophecies to recognize that this pointed to a divine birth among the Jewish people.
So, like captains charting a course by the stars in the middle of the vast ocean, these men set off to “follow” the star.
Their journey brought them to the hillside country of Judea.
Assuming that the star indicated a birth in the house of the ruler, they went first to the king, to Herod’s home.
“Where is the King of the Jews?” they asked.
Now, despite being the earthly “King of the Jews,” Herod did not understand what the magi were asking.
But the fact that they inquired about the birth of a new king among the Jews was deeply troubling to Herod.
So, Herod calls in the scholars to gather further information. “Where is the
Messiah to be born?” Herod asks.
Well, to the chief priests and the legal experts, this was child’s play.
“In Bethlehem of Judea, of course!” they tell Herod.
They had all the information in front
of them, the prophecies of their well-studied Scriptures, and the stars in the skies above them, but it hadn’t yet occurred to these Jewish scholars that their very own Messiah was among them.
It was Gentile astrologers from a far-off land who sought the mystery of what was before them and followed in faith.
Can you imagine being right there in Jerusalem, just five miles from Bethlehem?
You know the scriptures and prophecies backward and forwards, and yet when the Messiah is born,
you miss it?!?
There is a valuable lesson here, one which those legal experts and chief priests learned on the day the wise men appeared in Herod’s court; sometimes, knowledge alone isn’t enough.
Now, don’t get me wrong.
Those magi had to know the Hebrew writings enough to piece together the meaning of the sign they saw in the sky, and they needed the help of the legal
experts to gain that final piece of information that would lead them to Joseph and Mary’s doorstep.
But ultimately, it was the desire for something more than this world had to offer that led them to set out on this journey.
The chief priests and teachers of the law stayed with Herod.
Although they knew the truth, their love for what they had in this world was too great.
How many people are there that know the truth but don’t go after it for fear of losing what they have on earth?
One day a rich young ruler came running up to Jesus.
He asked Jesus what he needed to do in order to enter the Kingdom of God.
Jesus said, “Go, sell all you have. Give it to the poor. Then, you will have treasure in heaven. Then, come, follow me.”
But instead of following Jesus the young man went away sad because he had great wealth.
The things of this world had too tight a grip on his soul.
He couldn’t give it up.
He chose money over the kingdom.
So, he was rich but sad.
Making the decision to follow Jesus doesn’t mean sitting still and staying the same.
It involves walking into the light of Christ because we want to.
The magi saw Jesus’ star when it rose; they followed that star for approximately two years in order to find Him and worship Him.
That’s really cool.
The journey toward faith is an amazing experience, especially when you look back on it and how God orchestrated it all.
Even though it seems as if the magi found Jesus, it’s really Jesus Who found the magi.
He found them as they were searching the sky for signs from God.
For something greater and better in this life than what they had yet encountered.
And when the star appeared they made the decision to follow.
That’s the way it works for all of us.
And that’s because it’s all about grace.
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Prevenient grace.
Justifying grace.
And sanctifying grace.
Prevenient grace is the grace of God that goes before us, seeking us out like a shepherd searching for a lost sheep.
It was the star in the sky showing the magi the Way.
Justifying grace is when we come face to face with Jesus and decide that we will allow Him to be Lord and Savior of our lives.
“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.
They opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”
Sanctifying grace is what we do after we have given our lives to Christ.
It is the journey toward perfection which John Wesley, the Founder of Methodism, defined as having a habitual love for God and neighbor.
That is the ultimate goal of a Christ follower.
That is what this life is all about.
It is what brings us meaning and salvation.
Sanctifying grace is following Jesus as we follow a different path.
We are told that “having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod,” the magi “returned to their country by another route.”
Their lives would never be the same again.
They are now on a different road.
It’s been 38 years since I gave my life to Jesus.
And, as I said, nothing has been the same since.
There have been times when I followed Jesus and there have been times when I struck out on my own, and tripped and stumbled along in the darkness.
But I have always returned to the light.
And that is because there is nothing in this world that compares to following Christ.
And even though I sometimes give up on Christ—Christ never gives up on me.
He continues to pursue me with His prevenient grace.
There is nothing in this world that compares to the lifelong adventure of learning to love God and love my neighbor as myself.
The perfection part of it, I don’t expect to achieve in this life.
But the pursuit of it is worth everything.
Are you a seeker?
If you are, allow God to find you.
Do you have a relationship with Jesus, but have somehow gotten off course?
Allow Christ to lead you back to the light.
Do you know people who are seekers?
Invite them to church and whatever small group you may be involved in.
That’s how it works.
Follow the light and be the light for others.
Will you pray with me?
Dear Jesus,
We thank you that the trapping of what this world has to offer is not all there is.
We thank you that you offer us a different path, a relationship with You.
And then You lead us in learning to love You and our neighbor as ourself.
We want to this to be our journey.
Enable us to be like the magi, and go by this other route.
Amen.
