THE KIRK OF KILDAIRE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

CARY, NC

www.kirkofkildaire.org

A sermon preached by Joseph Welker, Jr.

Another Way

Matthew 2:1-12

January 7, 2007

The story of the magi is a strange story if you ask me … and still a story that fills the imagination.

It is strange when you think about it. Here Matthew, a good Jew, speaking to a Jewish congregation, tells the story of strange people- wise men… magicians… astrologers… kings…call them what you will.. people of another religion - they come from the east… pagan people. God has chosen to give a sign to them about Jesus. That is a strange story for a good Jew to tell.

They have packed their camels or horses full of presents… left home… traveled over field and fountain, moor and mountain to follow the star so they, these men of another faith… can worship the one they believed to be born king of the Jews. King of the JEWS! It's a strange story that Matthew, a Jew is telling.

It is even stranger and sadder to me to hear how Jesus' own people-members of his family of faith-King Herod… the religious scholars not hearing this as good news and not bothering to travel just a few miles to see if this might even be true.

I'm not that surprised Herod does hear it as good news. He hears this as a threat to his power. He loves power so much that he doesn't understand that this new king might rule in a different way-by the power of love. So, he sets a plan in motion to eliminate the new king - the threat - even if it means slaughtering some babies in the process. I'm not surprised by Herod. Still, it is a sad and tragic and strange story.

I'm a little more surprised by his priests, theologians and Bible scholars. You'd think they might bother to go to Bethlehem. Those who you would read their Bible every day and go to worship God every week - when given an opportunity to follow the wise men to see if the messiah had finally been born as the scriptures tell them it will happen… they stay home. Wouldn't you at least be curious?

So, Matthew says, in irony of ironies, only the non Jews-the gentiles-the pagans- the infidels if you will - only they bother to travel the last few miles to worship the one born king of the Jews.

It is a strange story to me. But it is also a story we have grown to love… singing hymns to the wise men… "We three Kings of Orient Are"… poets have written about them and their visit… William Butler Yeats… TS Elliot… Longfellow even gave them names: Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthasar…. In the movie, The Nativity Story - they are given a key role.

But you know, the truth is, and I don't want to burst your bubble… but the truth is much has been made of this story about which we know so little. If you read Matthew-the first telling of the story… you see how little we really know. They were not kings according to Matthew - but wise men… magicians… magi… We do not know if there were three of them. He doesn't say. He mentions three gifts and we assume there are three of them. But it doesn't say. We do not know who they were, where they came from… we don't know how long the journey took them to get to Bethlehem or how old Jesus was by the time they get there. Read the text and you see Jesus is not even in a manger anymore - "When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house…" The house! Not a manger or a stable. It may well be that the Magi arrive up to two years after the birth of Jesus. After all, King Herod will issue the order to kill all the babies and children two years of age and under. Enough time has passed for Joseph and Mary to find a home. By the time the wise men arrive at the house, enough time has passed for the angels to return to heaven… the songs of peace and goodwill are now a memory of Christmas past… the shepherds are back in the fields… back to work… Matthew doesn't even mention them.

And in a way, while I do not like my manger scene dismantled like that, I can see the wisdom of remembering the story this way.

For isn't that the way Christmas ends for most of us? We gathered 13 days ago in this sanctuary - with stories of the manger and Mary… Joseph and the baby… angels singing and telling us good news of peace on earth and good will…and shepherds receiving this gift… we were here -- singing "Silent night, holy night all is calm all is bright"… lighting our candles. And we treasured the moment of peace… But like the shepherds we do have to go home where there are sheep to be tended, children to raise, classes to attend, homework to be done, bills to pay. The birth of Christ has not changed that. We leave home after Christmas Eve services and know the world is not too different than the night before Christmas- even the Herods still seems to rule - news now turns to politics and power and pursuing political and personal agendas… wars and division still fill the headline news.

And Matthew knows this. He knows full well that peace on earth is not a magic act God performs like David Blaine or David Copperfield… Matthew knows that even as Christ is born, the world is still full of Herods who love power and politics and palaces-Herod is more interested in his own agenda than God's agenda.
Herod has little interest in how his political or personal power can be used to love and serve those who are left behind in the world. Power and position are a means to serve his own goals. Matthew's world is not so different from our own, do you think?

Matthew knows that even after Christ is born… the people who should have known- the bible scholars and priests who read their Bible and worship God… even they will fail to see the birth of the messiah when he comes. It is strange and sad, don't you think, God's chosen people, and Jesus' very own people will ignore him or reject him? Can I tell you that this makes me nervous? I've been thinking about them and worrying that I may be more like them than I care to admit. I've been thinking about them and wondering what is it that kept them from even traveling a few miles to see if the story of the wise men was true.

Why didn't they go? As I've thought about that question, this is what I've concluded.

I don't think they were really open to a new revelation from God… and I don't think they wanted their lives changed. Both Herod and his priests were content with life the way it was. When you have power and position, you don't want to give it up, do you? When you are spiritually complacent and have your faith settled, have all the answers-you don't want someone coming who might change the way you think about matters of faith. You may have to change the way you live. Who wants to change? Jesus would face this resistance to him and his message throughout his ministry. Still does.

The question Matthew seems to be asking his first congregation and would be asking us is this: When Christ comes among us, what are we going to do? Are we going to try to destroy him or his message? Will we simply let it die out of ignorance or neglect as we pursue our own agendas? Or will we bother to make the trip of the head and heart and soul… set out on a journey to find him and worship him and even perhaps be changed by him.

Are we willing, as it were, to go home by another way.

This story is an invitation to transformation… to come and worship Christ… and then to go home by another way-not just physically but spiritually speaking. This story reminds us that God sent Christ not only to show us how loved we are… but hoping we might be changed by that love. It may be just the change that can save us from ourselves.

I think of the story I heard of a young woman, who grew up in a difficult home struggled for years with self doubt and a sense of unworthiness. She felt unloved and unlovable. She seemed to have a gift for making choices that only increased her isolation and self contempt. She began to see a counselor who helped her unravel the threads of her life story. After a long time, she followed the last thread of the last story to what seemed to be the end. Then, she found another story. She found the story of God's love for her in Jesus Christ. God had loved her from the beginning. Christ was with her in a way no one else had ever been. In discovering she was loved, she began to love. She started on a new journey. Her life began to change.

Peter Gomes, pastor at Harvard asked his congregation an interesting question: "What is Jesus' most important work in the world? What is the thing that he is called upon to do and does? I suggest it is not healing the sick, or punishing the wicked, or performing miracles or giving ethical guidance-important as all of those things are. His most important work in the world is to rid us of our fear, both of this world and of the world to come." [1]

Maybe one fear he might rid us of is this: the fear of change.

I also might add another important work of Christ may be not so much to change the world, but to change us… to transform us… to help us find another way to live… a better way than the one we have known.

Christmas is not meant to be the end, but only the beginning.

When the magi reached Bethlehem they must have thought they had reached the end of their journey. But little did they know it was only the beginning. The beginning of a new life… a new way to live… a new way to love…a new way to be… An opportunity the Magi remind us- now that Christmas is over… we have to go home… to go into the new year… not in the same old way… but by another way. Amen

[1] Strength for the Journey; p 216