Practice Being Wise

Matthew 2:1-12

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.

The wise men brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. We got a dishtowel as a gift this year that said, “Three wise women would have asked for directions, got there on time, helped deliver the baby, brought practical gifts, cleaned the stable, made a casserole and there would be peace on earth!” Those gifts would have been much more practical for a birth in a barn and I am fully counting on the women of this world to move this world toward peace, because God knows, us guys have been messing that up for millennia! BUT, even with that, I’m still going to go out on a limb this morning and defend my three guys AND their choice of their seemingly impractical gifts. Because you see, Scripture refers to these three… as WISE. WISE… MEN, admittedly not a two-word combination that honestly comes together very often, but that rarity, in and of itself, is worth noticing. Those guys are not remembered as good looking, powerful, or even rich men. What has stood the test of time about these visitors from afar, is that they were WISE.  

And from this story, it seems to me that perhaps wisdom has something to do with the ability of a person to notice the small or seemingly insignificant things in life that end up really being the things that matter most in the end. These wise men noticed a new star at it’s rising. I would never notice a new star. I notice “stars” from time to time when I let the dog out to water the trees at night, but I’d never notice a new one. They noticed a new one. They also noticed that this was a star that should be followed AND they listened! MEN… LISTENING… another unlikely word combination, but none the less... WISE. Those sages then got up, left their contemplations and followed the star until they noticed the star had stopped. I would never notice a star had stopped. They asked for directions… DOUBLE WISE! They LISTENED to the directions… TRIPLE WISE and then noticed in a dream that they should not return to the one who had given them those directions and went home another way.  LIFE SAVING-LY WISE!

These men were WISE! They NOTICED a new star. They NOTICED that it was moving. They NOTICED when it was time to go. They NOTICED when it was time to stop. They NOTICED that Herod was not the friend he pretended to be. They NOTICED that small, easily transportable, highly valuable gifts might be just what that Holy Family would need to finance an escape into exile in Egypt if a guy like Herod decided to slaughter every child under the age of two in Bethlehem and it’s suburbs AND they NOTICED that there was indeed another, better, less-angry-king-filled path for them to return home. This story makes me wonder if it’s just that… the ability to really take NOTICE of the world around you, that makes a person wise?  

Kelly and I thought about the people we think of as WISE and that seems to be true. She mentioned Anne Frank who said, “In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.” Anne Frank NOTICED the smallest shimmering light in the hearts of people, even in the pitch black darkness of the holocaust around her. Martin Luther King said, “If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” He NOTICED that moving in the RIGHT direction is far more important than the speed with which we travel.  

Eugene Peterson said, “You've got to quit, one day a week, and just watch what God is doing when you're not doing anything.” He NOTICED that a stop along the way is just as faithful, just as powerful… just as necessary as any other part of a journey. Kelly also suggested Maya Angelou who said, “The first time someone shows you who they are, believe them.” She NOTICED that people don’t always show you who they truly are, but when they do, it’s something worth NOTICING and believing! Nelson Mandela said, “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.” He NOTICED there was more than one path out of that prison gate and only one of them led to genuine freedom.  

Perhaps as we enter the season of Epiphany, God is calling us into a deeper practice of NOTICING. Perhaps God is suggesting a New Year’s resolution of sorts, to take an extra moment, as we reach for the handle or knob on any door, to make an intention to NOTICE more fully what it on the other side. To look more deeply into the darkness for an unexpected light. To notice when it is time to move AND when it is time to be still and see what God is doing around us while we are doing nothing at all. To notice what those around us need in this moment AND what they will need farther along down the road as well. To notice new light, new paths, and new companions on this journey of life. Perhaps you and I are being called to practice being wise.  Amen.