The Holy Gospel According to St. Matthew, the 2nd Chapter
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 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.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘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.’” Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 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.”
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. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 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. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
(This sermon is for the first joint worship of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church and St. Mark's Episcopal Church. The people of St. Mark's have moved in with the people of Prince of Peace to begin to be Church in a new way together.)
This story from Matthew’s Gospel tells about the ARRIVAL of the Magi. ARRIVING is one thing, but what in the WORLD made them choose to BEGIN that journey in the first place? They weren’t Jewish. They didn’t believe in the Jewish God, they didn’t go to Temple or read the Scriptures. They weren’t even looking for a Messiah. So, what was it that made the ancient equivalent of a group of celebrity astrologers decide to leave everything they knew... the place they were comfortable... the place they were trusted and respected and known and head out across the desert to who knows what at who knows where? What inspired them to leave their observatories and just... GO?
The thing that I find truly amazing is NOT that they ARRIVED, but that they actually set out on that crazy journey in the first place! Imagine the courage... the drive... the curiosity to decide to set out and begin a journey no one had imagined ever before. Imagine, starting on a journey where there is NO POSSIBLE WAY of knowing where that journey will end... without knowing what it was going to look like or how long it might take to get there or even what you might find when you did finally arrive. Imagine that!
The funny thing about US having THIS lesson for TODAY is that imagining the beginning an unbelievable journey to an unknown destination that will take an indeterminate amount of time, across an untravelled path... isn’t actually too difficult for us to imagine now, is it? We actually don’t have to imagine it at all! We’re living it! So, perhaps, the Magi, when they set out on their journey were feeling some of the same sorts of things we're feeling today. Maybe they too felt excited... or scared... or sad at leaving the place they loved. Maybe they felt shocked, embarrassed or disappointed that the star appeared where it did, when their whole careers they had been expecting it to rise somewhere else. Maybe that star gave them hope. Maybe it gave them dread. Maybe they felt nervous, disoriented or were having second thoughts about whether this journey was something they should have even started to begin with. Maybe they were worried about what they would find in the desert. Maybe they were worried about what in the desert, might find them!
We will never really know what the Magi were feeling, but we do know that WE are feeling all of those emotions and many more as well, and in every possible emotional combination as we set out on our journey. Whatever the Magi were feeling though, they had the benefit of a long camel ride across the desert to talk to one another about all their hopes and their fears and their dreams. We don’t have a physical desert to ride camels across to inspire us to get to know one another and share our hopes and fears and dreams, but we still need to take the time to do that, even without a desert or camels.
This thing that we have begun is a GIGANTIC undertaking. The star, for us is moving and we won’t know we’ve arrived until it comes to a rest in the place God wants us to be. Because this journey is so huge, we DO need to take the time to tell each other our stories… the ones we're proud of and the ones we wished had happened a different way. We need to share our gifts and experiences, hopes and fears and begin to see how God has been and IS at work in one another’s lives. We need to share with each other how we’re feeling, not just once, but all throughout our journey together. We need to do that because we're going to need to lean on one another in the days ahead.
Both people from St. Mark’s and people from Prince of Peace expected their stars to rise in a COMPLETELY different place than it has. Prince of Peace expected their star to rise over here... they expected to be close to finishing their call process for a full time pastor... but it rose way over here instead! And a year ago, the people of St. Mark’s may have expected their star to rise in a few different places, but I don’t think anyone expected it to rise over here!
It’s all a bit mind-spinning. I know it is for me. Because of that we’re all going to need to care for each other along the way. There are no feelings that should be hidden or stuffed in all this. There are no "wrong" feelings to have. All our feelings need to come out in heathy ways or they’ll come out in ugly ways. We’ll all also need to rely more on God in prayer and worship so we can be constantly reminded that even though NONE of us expected that star to be rise where it did, God intends only the best for us and calls us always OUT of places of pain and death... and always INTO places of ABUNDANT LIFE.
One nice thing we learn from this lesson is that people who set out on these improbable sorts of journeys, searching for the Christ Child are remembered by history as being “WISE.” But this journey will take work and patience and a deep and lasting commitment from all of us WISE ONES who have been inspired by the Holy Spirit to begin this improbable adventure.
So WISE ONES... Today we are taking the next step on our journey. We are no longer where we started and we are far from where we will one day arrive. But truly, isn't that right where people of 'The Way' like us are supposed to be? Our faith, after all, isn't a destination. Our faith is a journey where together we take one hesitant, excited, fearful, faithful step at a time across an unfamiliar desert to discover the new thing which God has prepared for us to see.
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