“Searching for Christmas”
December 3, 2006
Me: One of my favorite Christmas memories is of an event that happened when I was about six years old. I am the youngest of six kids, and Christmas around my house when I was growing up was a wild adventure. I remember on this particular Christmas that after I had been sent to bed, I heard a great deal of commotion and busyness taking place downstairs. My brother David and I tried to figure out what was going on and spent time guessing about what would be out as presents in the morning.
Christmas morning seemed so far away. Eventually we were awakened as we usually were by my oldest brother playing a Christmas carol on the piano. We would all jump out of bed and race to the hallway to line-up for Christmas. We had to wait until my parents opened the door before we were allowed in.
When the door finally opened we raced into see if there were any gifts that had been to big to wrap and were left by the tree for us. There in the middle of the living room were three shining new bikes. One was girl’s bike, obviously meant for my sister. The other two bikes were beautiful. I naturally went and jumped on the coolest looking one. It took my family several minutes to convince me that I had the wrong bike. I was on my brother, David’s bike. His was so cool. It was orange with a white seat and had hand brakes instead of the little kid foot brakes. How could this beautiful bike not have been mine?
Eventually I came to realize that there was no way my six year old feet would touch the ground on that bike and so I moved with some reluctance to my own new bike. It is amazing how something so great can be so messed up when you make a mistake like that.
You: Have you ever made a mistake like that? Have you ever thought something was so great, only to realize that you had missed the really cool stuff that life had to offer?
For many of us, Christmas can be like that. We get wrapped up in the trivia and the busyness of the season that we miss out on the great things tat could be ours by recognizing the really important things in life.
Today we are going to begin looking at the Christmas story and trying to find areas of application that can help make us more aware of what God would have for us this year.
God: Today we are going to be looking at a great story of Christmas in Matthew 2:1-12. This is the story of the visitors from the East, the magi, or in our tradition the “Wisemen” who visited Jesus.
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory—this was during Herod’s kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. 2 They asked around, "Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We’re on pilgrimage to worship him." Matthew 2:1-2 (The Message)
There are some important things we need to know about these men.
The visitors are not Jewish.
These men come from the East, a common reference to the areas north and east of Israel that were called Babylon. It is now the present day land of Iraq. They were not kings, but astrologers and men of wisdom. They had apparently been told of the prophecies of the Jewish Messiah by the large exile population in Babylon.
The visitors recognized the uniqueness of Jesus.
These men probably did not understand him as God, or recognize him as deity, but they knew he was unique.
The term homage or worship is a word more likely to mean homage to royalty, not worship of deity. They may not have fully understood who Jesus was, but they recognized him as a special child.
The visitors refer to Jesus as royalty.
It is interesting to note that they refer to him as the “King of the Jews” not the one who will be king of the Jews. It is the understanding that from his very arrival on earth, Jesus was a king of the Jewish people. This is the same title used over his cross at his death.
The visitors from the East were the only ones in the city who recognized the birth of Jesus.
Except for a very select few people, the rest of the citizens missed who had arrived. They rubbed shoulders with Mary and Joseph; they heard gossip at the markets; and they had all of the Old Testament writings to point to the birth of the Messiah, yet they missed it.
We must learn to focus on the most central person of Christmas, not Christmas trivia.
So, what happens when the visitors start to ask questions?
“When word of their inquiry got to Herod, he was terrified—and not Herod alone, but most of Jerusalem as well. 4 Herod lost no time. He gathered all the high priests and religion scholars in the city together and asked, "Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?" 5 They told him, "Bethlehem, Judah territory. The prophet Micah wrote it plainly: 6 It’s you, Bethlehem, in Judah’s land, no longer bringing up the rear. From you will come the leader who will shepherd-rule my people, my Israel."
7 Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. 8 Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, "Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I’ll join you at once in your worship." Matthew 2:3-8 (The Message)
Herod is the ruler over this area of Judah. He has been a king who has won military battles, established relatively peaceful rule in the area and has successfully been able to keep his rule through a succession of Roman emperors.
Herod was terrified by what had been told him by the visitors. The people of the city were afraid because they knew what happened to people who crossed Herod. He was a paranoid and brutal ruler. He had no trouble putting his enemies to death and making life miserable for the people around him if it meant keeping his power. Herod had his favorite wife killed because she was of Jewish descent. He had two of his sons killed because he was afraid they were gaining respect from other followers.
Herod wanted to find the “King” to kill him.
In so many ways, isn’t that what our society does to Jesus? We live in a world that constantly wants to be rid of Christ. It is amazing to me that for hundreds of years people have celebrated Christmas and now we celebrate “holidays.”
As Christians we are faced with how to respond to this. It makes me angry and it frustrates me but let me try to put some perspective on this issue.
Why should we expect people who never think of Christ the rest of the year to acknowledge him at Christmas? The bible tells us that from the very first Christmas people have been trying to remove Christ as the central focus.
The best way to communicate Merry Christmas is to live your life with Christ in the center.
We can do all kinds of things to make a scene or to try and do what is right and just in our society and there are times when that is necessary. But maybe, just maybe the best way to communicate the central aspect of Christmas is to individually live out what you know to be true everyday.
What happens when the visitors find Jesus?
“Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. 10 They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time! 11 They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh. 12 In a dream, they were warned not to report back to Herod. So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country.” Matthew 2:9-12 (The Message)
The proper response to being face to face with the Messiah is worship.
When the visitors found Jesus, they honored him and they gave him reverence and worship due a king. It is important to note that the gifts given to Jesus were gifts that were common in that day. They were gifts that were normally given to one who came to visit a royal heir.
The search for Christmas is not about what we can get, but what we can give.
We have so often lost sight of the fact that Christmas is all about what can be done for another person. That is exactly why Jesus came.
You: What are you searching for this Christmas? Are you worried about getting the right gifts, maybe not for you, but for someone else? Are you worried about making the right impression on your friends at the parties? What is the focus for you this Christmas?
We: How can we be successful in our search for Christmas?
1) Read the Christmas story from scripture as a family.
2) Pass on the true meaning of Christmas to those around you.
3) Do something for someone else.
LifeQuest at the mall on December 16.
This Christmas, I encourage you to search for Christmas in the right places. Look for the real emphasis and focus on the main person of the season.
