SunJan42009
Scripture Matthew 2:2 & 11
Matthew 2:1-12 NRSV)
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, {2} asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."
{3} When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; {4} and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. {5} They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: {6} 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"
{7} Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. {8} Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage."
{9} When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. {10} When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. {11} On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. {12} And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
We know little about the wise men who made the journey to Bethlehem in search of Jesus. All Matthew’s account tells us is that they “came from the east.” Some have suggested they were a Median tribe; others that they came from a Zoroastrian priestly caste. Sherman Johnson in his commentary on this passage in the Interpreter’s Bible, says Matthew probably thought they were Babylonian astrologers.
Nor do we know for certain how many there were. Matthew gives no number, names, or royal positions to the magi. Early church father Tertullian around A.D. 225 called them kings. The number three is deduced from the three gifts. Shortly before A.D. 600 the Armenian Infancy Gospel named them: Melchior, Balthasar, and Gaspar.
But who were they--these wise men, these Magi? They may have been priests or astrologers. They certainly studied the stars and apparently were experts in the interpretation of dreams. It was a new star in the night sky, probably in the constellation representing Israel, that led them to seek Jesus, and they did so at considerable cost and inconvenience to themselves.
In reading this story, three things stand out to me about these Magi who showed up in Bethlehem sometime after the birth of Jesus.
I. THEY HAD A DEEP HUNGER FOR THE TRUTH
One of characteristic of the Magi that I see in this story is a deep hunger for the truth. In the beginning of his Sermon on the Mount Jesus says a very strange thing, if you think about it. He says, “Blessed are those who hunger...” Blessed are the hungry?
The story is told of a disciple who came to a holy man, a Shaman, in India. The Shaman had a reputation for being very wise. “Make me wise,” the disciple asked. “I cannot,” the holy man responded. A few days later the disciple returned with the same request, “Make me wise.” Again the Shaman replied, “I cannot.” Several days later the disciple approached the holy man a third time, pleading with him to teach him wisdom.
This time the Shaman agreed. He took the disciple by the hand and led him into a nearby river until they were submerged up to their chests. He then grabbed the disciple by the head and shoved his head under the water and held it there. Though the disciple fought to get his head out of the water, the holy man held him under until he could hold his breath no longer. He then let go of him. The disciple came out of the water coughing and sputtering. He stumbled back onto the bank of the river and cried, “Why did you do that?”
“When you want wisdom as badly as you wanted air a moment ago, you will be well on your way to wisdom,” the Shaman said.
"Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who seeks finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened,” Jesus said.
Blessed are the hungry. A year ago at just about this time I got hit with a potent case of the flu. I remember the time well, because I had scheduled an Elderlife trip to the Welshfield Inn for lunch on January 8 and 30 people had signed up to go. On Monday, the day before the trip, it was obvious that I would be in no condition to go. Larry Trace lined up someone to drive the Elderlife van and Lindy Bryson assumed tour director duties for the day.
Meanwhile, I stayed home in bed. In my three years of working with Elderlife, it’s the only time I’ve missed an event. It was not a pleasant time for me. One of my flu symptoms was a complete loss of appetite. For several days food neither looked, smelled or tasted good. I sipped a little hot tea, fruit juice and Diet Sprite; but eating anything solid was the last thing I wanted to do. One plus was that I lost 10 pounds, but it’s an awful way to lose weight.
A good appetite is a sign, not that there is something wrong with your body, but a sign of health. “How blest are the hungry,” Jesus said, “for they shall be satisfied.” And the Magi had a deep hunger for the truth.
II. THEY POSSESSED A DEEP HUMILITY
There is a second and closely related characteristic of these wise men that I would like to examine. Not only did they have a deep hunger for the truth, but they possessed a deep humility. I once heard about a man who was given a medal for humility. However, it was taken away from him a few days later when he began to wear it. The Magi would have been the last people to wear a medal for humility. There was a genuine humility about them that opened their lives to the holy. Our gospel story this morning ends with them finding the house in Bethlehem where Jesus and Mary are staying and kneeling before him in an act of humble worship.
One of the bright spots on the Cleveland professional sports scene these days is the Cavaliers. They are a strong and successful team for many reasons, not the least of which is Lebron James, probably the best player in the NBA right now. And there is a humility about Lebron James that contributes to his greatness. This young basketball star has not let his ability and the accompanying wealth and fame go to his head. He is referred to by sports commentators as a “team player.” It is one of the reasons the Cavs own a 27/5 record and are unbeaten at the “Q” this season, having won 17 straight games.
God’s purposes are often accomplished through humble people, folks not too caught up in their own importance.
Christian author, Becky Pippert tells of an incident which happened while she was working on a campus in Portland, Oregon in the early 70's. She had met a student named Bill. He had become a Christian. He was brilliant, a deep thinker, but his appearance was more than typical of the times. His hair was long and always mussy and he never wore shoes. Rain, sleet, snow--Bill was always barefoot. While attending college he had become a Christian.
At this time a well-dressed, middle-class church across the street from the campus wanted to reach out to the students. They were not sure how to go about it, but they tried to make them feel welcome. One day Bill decided to worship there. He walked into this church, wearing his blue jeans, tee shirt and of course no shoes. People looked a bit uncomfortable, but no one said anything. So, Bill began walking down the aisle looking for a seat. The church was quite crowded that Sunday, so as he got down to the front pew and realized that there were no seats, he just sat cross-legged on the carpet--perfectly acceptable behavior at a college fellowship meeting, but perhaps unnerving for a well-dressed, middle-class church congregation. The tension in the air became so thick one could slice it.
Suddenly an elderly man began walking down the aisle toward the boy. Was he going to scold Bill? My friends who saw him approaching said they thought, "You can't blame him. He'd never guess Bill is a Christian. And his world is too distant from Bill's to understand. You can't blame him for what he's going to do."
As the man kept walking slowly down the aisle, the church became utterly silent, all eyes were focused on him, you could not hear anyone breathe. When the man reached Bill, with some difficulty he lowered himself and sat down next to him on the carpet. He and Bill worshiped together on the floor that Sunday. I was told there was not a dry eye in the congregation, writes Becky Pippert.
An elderly church leader in a congregation intent on reaching out to college kids, a star basketball player desiring to bring an NBA championship to Cleveland, a small band of eastern mystics on a long trek in search royalty – an underlying characteristic of all of them was a sense of humility.
III. THEIR LIVES WERE MARKED BY GENEROSITY
I see a third and final characteristic that marked the lives of the wise men. It was their generosity. After kneeling down to pay him homage, they opened their treasure chests and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. These were expensive, extravagant gifts offered to Jesus by the Magi.
It wasn’t just the material gifts, though those were significant, but the miles they traveled, the inconvenience they endured, the time they gave. In our fast-paced, high-tech society time can be a gift. A group of second grade students picked up on that, when they were asked to write an essay on grandparents. Following is some of what they wrote:
$ Grandparents are a lady and a man who have no little children of their own. They like other people's.
$ A grandfather is a man grandmother.
$ Grandparents don't have to do anything except be there when we come to see them. They are so old they shouldn't play hard or run. It is good if they drive us to the store and have lots of quarters for us.
$ When they take us for walks, they slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars.
$ They show us and talk to us about the color of the flowers and also why we shouldn't step on "cracks."
$ They don't say, "Hurry up."
$ Grandparents don't have to be smart.
$ They have to answer questions like "Why isn't God married?" and "How come dogs chase cats?"
$ Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don't have television, because they are the only grownups who like to spend time with us.
The wise old Benjamin Franklin once wrote, “Dost thou love life? Then don’t squander time, because that’s the stuff life is made of.” Time was the stuff the Magi’s lives were made of and they were glad to offer it to Jesus, along with their substantial material gifts.
What was it about these wise men, these magi, that made them stand out? Three things: They had a deep hunger for the truth. Their lives were marked by humility. And finally, they were generous with their time and possessions.
As we move into a new year, the year 2009, may we, like the Magi, be drawn to Jesus. May our lives be marked by a similar hunger and a similar spirit of humility and generosity.