Opener: Here we find ourselves in the house of the Lord the day after Christmas!? How do we feel about that?? Traditionally, Boxing day is this:
The holiday’s roots can be traced to Britain, where Boxing Day is also known as St. Stephen’s Day. Reduced to the simplest essence, its origins are found in a long-ago practice of giving cash or durable goods to those of the lower classes. Gifts among equals were exchanged on or before Christmas Day, but beneficences to those less fortunate were bestowed the day after. (snopes.com)
The spirit of generosity surrounding this day is best exemplified by the fact that December 26 is also St. Stephen’s Day. St. Stephen was one of the seven original deacons in the Christian Church. He was stoned to death by an angry mob for his devoted piety and faith in Christ. As he expired in a slow and painful death, St. Stephen uttered a powerful prayer in which he begged God to forgive his persecutors. Many consider him to be the first martyr. (citysoup.ca)
Today’s text takes us to a time after the birth of Jesus….this story is thought to take place some time (1 week or 1 month) after Jesus is born….so it seems fitting that we explore this text after Christmas…what’s the state of our hearts today?
Exhausted? Inspired? Relieved? Fulfilled? Lonely? Disappointed?
As we gather together on the last Sunday of 2004, let’s take some time to reflect on our spiritual journeys…are we (like the Wisemen) moving closer to Christ?
WHAT WAS ADVENT LIKE FOR YOU? It’s the beginning of a new season. It’s not about the day, it’s the 4 weeks of waiting and wondering…looking for signs and wonders. Were there any in your lives over the past 4 weeks?
Well…Christmas is done…in terms of the day…but let us, like the wisemen, keep moving towards Christ…encountering him and allowing him to change, challenge and transform our lives!
Here’s what we can learn from the sages who celebrated the first Christmas.
1) Wise People ask questions (v. 2)
“Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east[b] and have come to worship him.”
How do wise people get wise? From asking questions…
What are we seeking after these days? Riches? Answers to life’s questions? A certain relationship? The easy life?
Are you the kind of person that has all the answers? Or are you the kind of person who’s open to seeking the answers?
I have met people who have their Christian lives so neat and tidy that there is no mystery or room for the “other-ness” of God. These were men who were seeking the truth and they were seeking this miracle that had happened in Bethlehem…but they might have been unlikely role-models of the “neat & tidy” Christian life…
Magi in Jesus’ day were not "wise men". They were not models of religious piety. They were magicians, astronomers, star-gazers, pseudo-scientists, fortune-tellers, horoscope fanatics; but Matthew makes them the heroes in his first story following the Savior’s birth. The Magi should not be there. They are heretics. They don’t worship the right God. They are the wrong race, the wrong denomination, the wrong religion. They don’t know how to worship rightly. (Brian Stoffregen, Marysville, CA from Crossmarks.com)
So the challenge for us in light of this idea of seeking is to search our own hearts and reflect on the JESUS ISSUE in our own hearts? Is the person of Jesus making your heart seek after new things these days? Or are you satisfied in your understanding? The beauty of the Christian life is that we are “transformed from glory to glory”…when we’re talking about an infinite God we’re talking about an infinite amount of knowledge!
12Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect[a] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with everincreasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
That’s why you can read the Bible over and over again and never get tired of it…never run out of things to learn…
So, we’re called to be seekers….we’re called to ask questions….why don’t more people ask questions in the church? As we look at the next point, perhaps therein lies the answer…
2) Wise people move forward and sometimes “stir up the pot” (v. 3-8)
3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ[c] was to be born. 5“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6“ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’[d]”
7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
Sometimes I get tired of safe Christianity? Don’t you? God’s story is NOT a safe story…and following after Christ is not a safe path?
I love the Christmas song, “Mary Did You Know”…it’s a beautiful song…here’s a couple of phrases:
“Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know,
that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered,
will soon deliver you.”
There’s an interesting idea to this song, this idea of the “now and not yet” idea of Jesus…Jesus is a beautiful baby boy….but he has this incredible and unbelievable destiny…He will be the promised deliverer for God’s people! But one thing this song leaves out is the fact that in order for him to deliver God’s people he is going to have to lay down his life a mere 33 years after he is born.
But what does this have to do with moving forward and stirring the pot? As we think again on this story of the magi we see that their interest in Christ is going to get them in trouble with King Herod. How about our relationship with Christ? Is it “getting us into trouble” these days? Now don’t get me wrong here….I’m not pushing for us to be rabble-rousers and rebels for no good reason…but I do want us to think about whether are relationship with Christ is having anything to do with our lives? Does our movement with or towards Christ affect our lives?
A few weeks ago in our High School Sunday school class I was teaching about the blind man who was healed in John 9. This is a fascinating and funny story…and the high point of the story is when the blindman says in v. 25: He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
MESSAGE VERSION:
13They marched the man to the Pharisees. 14This day when Jesus made the paste and healed his blindness was the Sabbath. 15The Pharisees grilled him again on how he had come to see. He said, "He put a clay paste on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see."
16Some of the Pharisees said, "Obviously, this man can’t be from God. He doesn’t keep the Sabbath."
Others countered, "How can a bad man do miraculous, God-revealing things like this?" There was a split in their ranks.
17They came back at the blind man, "You’re the expert. He opened your eyes. What do you say about him?"
He said, "He is a prophet."
18The Jews didn’t believe it, didn’t believe the man was blind to begin with. So they called the parents of the man now bright-eyed with sight. 19They asked them, "Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? So how is it that he now sees?"
20His parents said, "We know he is our son, and we know he was born blind. 21But we don’t know how he came to see--haven’t a clue about who opened his eyes. Why don’t you ask him? He’s a grown man and can speak for himself." 22(His parents were talking like this because they were intimidated by the Jewish leaders, who had already decided that anyone who took a stand that this was the Messiah would be kicked out of the meeting place. 23That’s why his parents said, "Ask him. He’s a grown man.")
24They called the man back a second time--the man who had been blind--and told him, "Give credit to God. We know this man is an impostor."
25He replied, "I know nothing about that one way or the other. But I know one thing for sure: I was blind . . . I now see."
26They said, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"
27"I’ve told you over and over and you haven’t listened. Why do you want to hear it again? Are you so eager to become his disciples?"
28With that they jumped all over him. "You might be a disciple of that man, but we’re disciples of Moses. 29We know for sure that God spoke to Moses, but we have no idea where this man even comes from."
30The man replied, "This is amazing! You claim to know nothing about him, but the fact is, he opened my eyes! 31It’s well known that God isn’t at the beck and call of sinners, but listens carefully to anyone who lives in reverence and does his will. 32That someone opened the eyes of a man born blind has never been heard of--ever. 33If this man didn’t come from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything."
34They said, "You’re nothing but dirt! How dare you take that tone with us!" Then they threw him out in the street.
And this is the way that it should be with us…as believers in Jesus…as followers of the Way…our relationship with Jesus should be deep and “substantive” enough that we could/would say… “All I know is that my life was once full of despair but now, because of Jesus, I’ve found hope….healing….purpose.”
Our relationship with Jesus has the potential to “stir the pot” in our lives… and you and I have to ask ourselves “is it worth it?” From today’s text, these sages were choosing to follow and find Jesus. And apparently it was worth it…If these men were coming from Persia or thereabouts, we are talking about a 6 – 8 hundred mile journey that would have taken weeks/months to accomplish…we also see that Jesus is worth it because we see the response of the sages once they find Christ…
3) Wise people lay down their lives and their resources as an act of worship (v. 9-12)
Look back at the year that has just moved down….was it one of upward mobility or downward mobility? These sages were smart…they had money, they had the power to succeed, they were educated…but in this part of their life journey, they didn’t find themselves trying to make the bigtime. Instead, they found themselves humbled at the bedside of a baby who they believed was the King of Israel.
After their meeting with Herod, the sages probably were realizing that their lives were in jeopardy but this did not thwart their pursuit of worshipping Jesus. And once they got to the place where Jesus was, they offered valuable gifts to this baby King. They offered gold which was a sign of royalty; they offered frankinsence which was an incense that signified worship and adoration; they offered myrrh which was like an annointing oil…(embalming spice)…perhaps this was like the gift of perfume or scented oils…or perhaps in some forward-looking way it was a prophetic sign that this baby would eventually grow up to be the suffering servant.
The challenge for us in this part of the story is to consider how we are laying down our lives and our resources for the cause of Christ. We have just made it through the Christmas season…how did you do in terms of disciplining your hearts (and your credit card) in light of all the relentless advertising that attacked our senses over the past 2 months? How much do we really need to have a good life?
Like these wise sages from the first Christmas, where have our resources gone this Christmas? Have they gone into consumerism and keeping up with the Jones’s? Or have they gone to kingdom work? Supporting the work of our church…supporting missionaries that are serving locally (IVCF) or globally (CBM)…or maybe you supported the food bank…or perhaps you found other charities to support…
* * There are no shortage of needs around us - - ie: The couple who is seeking food right in our neighborhood…and they are on the verge of splitting up….and they are having a miserable Christmas…but they are open to the encouragement of others… “Maybe we need some counselling or financial advice.” But maybe they just need a friend? Someone to take them out of their house and give them a glimpse of the Grace of God?
And let’s not just talk about our financial gifts…let’s talk about our lives. When these sages finally found Jesus, what was their first response? “They bowed and worshipped him.” As we continue to get our hearts in alignment for the new year, will this be our response?
CONCLUSION: Let’s look ahead and consider whether we’re walking the way of wisdom these days…and let’s not forgot v. 12 of this chapter…after their time with Jesus, these sages lives would be changed…these men did not go back the same way that they came…and so there is some wisdom for us even in this verse…our lives, too, will be changed after an encounter with Jesus…and perhaps by the Holy Spirit’s wisdom, we will be challenged to change the way we look at a situation or a circumstance we are in…
Silence/Reflection:
· Asking questions / moving forward & stirring the pot / laying down our lives & resources as an act of worship
· Praise God for his faithfulness in 2004
· Listen for his voice…what is he calling you to in the new year? (Talk about the Labyrinth idea….the chorus of a 1000 “I love you’s”)
· As you worship Jesus, allow him to speak to you about circumstances in your life…be willing to talk to others and confirm God’s voice
Old Sage
Music by Steve Bell / Lyric by Steve Bell and Jamie Howison
I remember how it started still
Those are days that I remember well
It was something in the stars that was new enough to tell
There was something going down
So we set off for a foreign land
With no idea what we just might find
‘cause when you’re following a star
You have to walk at night
Sounds crazy even now
PreChorus: And still the search goes on for
My way back home
I can’t go back the way I’ve known
Chorus: And now the road for me has changed
Nothing seems to look the same
Don’t get me wrong I’m not complaining
And every star along the way
Holds the promise for the day
When I will be at home again
Some tell me I’m a wise man
A kind of sage – you know it makes me laugh
I don’t know what I’m not, barely know what I am
If you know what I mean
But everybody can remember when
They had to stop and start all over again
It was something ‘bout that boy in Bethlehem
I will never be the same
PreChorus: And still the search goes on for
My way back home
I can’t go back the way I’ve known
Chorus: And now the road for me has changed
Nothing seems to look the same
Don’t get me wrong I’m not complaining
And every star along the way
Holds the promise for the day
When I will be at home again
Closing Prayer: All Wise and All knowing God…we place our lives in your hands…help us to acknowledge that you are the potter…we are the clay…have your way with us…
Let us be a people who lean not on our own understanding…instead enable us and empower us to Lean on Jesus…and lean on one another…as we look ahead to another week…and another YEAR…for the glory of God Almighty…Amen.
Benediction:
FOR THE RENEWAL OF LIFE
O God, the King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness during the day, we may, when night comes, rejoice to give you thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Extra Stuff:
Writers knew reason for the season
By Cal Thomas
Syndicated Columnist
I enter the word "Christmas" and search the Internet. There are 21,050 sites. Most are about cards and gifts, poems and recipes. If I didn’t know the definition of Christmas, I would find it difficult to sort out in this electronic cacophony.
In fact, the noise and the spectacle have overwhelmed the purpose of this unique observance. And politicians don’t help. There was Vice President Al Gore on "Nightline" last week equating all faiths as having been created equal, including no faith. Why bother with any of them then?
U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott delivered the culture’s verdict on Christmas when she ruled earlier this month that church-state separation is not violated when people are let off work because: "The celebration of Christmas as a national holiday cannot be viewed by any reasonable person as an endorsement of religion. The holiday itself is so imbued with secular connotations that, indeed, its religious origins are lost on many."
There are many reasons for this, but none more profound then the failure of those who believe in the real Christmas to act as if they mean it. Not as the worshipers of conspicuous consumption act, but perhaps as those ancient men from the East behaved. They didn’t give each other gifts. They brought their gifts and themselves to the infant and presented both to Him in a symbolic and tangible demonstration of worship.
I’ve been reading a compilation of what some wonderful writers said about Christmas, not the holiday but the "reason for the season," as some say. It’s called "Gospel: The Life of Jesus as Told by the World’s Great Writers" (Word Books). The compilers are Constance and Daniel Pollock (she is the editor of this column). What surprised me about this work is that as an English literature major in college, I recall reading none of it. The textbooks had been selectively edited to exclude most of what these classic writers thought about Jesus.
Here is Elizabeth Barrett Browning speaking as "The Virgin Mary to the Child Jesus":
"Sleep, sleep mine Holy One!
"My flesh, my Lord! -- what name? I do not know
"A name that seemeth not too high or low,
"Too far from me or heaven.
"My Jesus, that is best! that word being given
"By the majestic angel whose command
"Was softly as a man’s beseeching said,
"When I and all the earth appeared to stand
"In the great overflow
"Of light celestial from his wings and head.
"Sleep, sleep, my saving One!..."
In his "Christmas Star," Boris Pasternak described the illuminated manger scene:
"There was light. Dawn swept the final stars
"From heaven’s arch like specks of ash.
"From the teeming rabble, the Magi alone
"Mary allowed to enter the hillside grotto.
"He slept in the oaken manger, aglow with light,
"Like a moonbeam in the cleft of a tree.
"The warm breath from an ox and an ass
"Enveloped him, as if in a sheepskin robe..."
More from a Xmas Star:
Rose like a blazing stack of straw, the sight of the new star startled the universe;
Its reddened glow was a sign, the three stargazers hurried to the call of its unprecedented light;
Day was breaking, the dawn swept the remaining stars like cinders from the sky;
Out of all the great gathering Mary allowed only the wisemen through the opening in the rock;
He slept in the oak manger radiant as moonlight in the hollow of a tree;
The magi stood in the shadow, whispering, scarcely finding words…
All at once a hand stretched out of the dark, moved one of the magi aside,
To the Left of the manger…
He looked around and gazing at the virgin from the doorway
Like a guest, was the Christmas Star.
Carl Sandburg, best known as Abraham Lincoln’s biographer, penned these words in his "Special Starlight":
"Shall tumult, grandeur, fanfare, panoply, prepared loud noises
"Stand equal to a quiet heart, thoughts, vast dreams
"Of men conquering the earth by conquering themselves?
"Is there a time for ancient genius of man
"To be set for comparison with the latest generations?
"Is there a time for stripping to simple, childish questions?
"On a Holy night we may say;
"The Creator of night and of birth
"Was the Maker of the stars."
A contemporary poem arrived in a Christmas card: "From strength to weakness; riches to poverty; lion to lamb; Heaven to Earth; God to Man: Jesus!
Two thousand years later, His is still the most revered, reviled and debated name in history. Some people hear His voice. Others try to ignore Him, but can’t, any more than Lewis Carroll could when he wrote:
"The wisest of the land
"Had gathered there, three solemn trysting-days,
"For high debate: men stood on either hand
"To listen and to gaze.
"The aged brows were bent,
"Bent to a frown, half thought, and half annoy,
"That all their stores of subtlest argument
"Were baffled by a boy..."
Cal Thomas is a syndicated columnist.
