NOTE: TODAY WE PREPARE FOR A CHURCH WIDE 21 DAY FAST, JANUARY 9-29. THIS SERMON IS THE FIRST OF FOUR TO ASSIST US IN THIS TIME OF FASTING. ALSO SEE THE STUDY GUIDES FOR THE 21-DAYS IN THIS WEBSITE.
The scriptures tell us that the Magi went home another way after seeing the Christ Child. Seems stirringly appropriate as we enter a congregational 21-day fast that we see our selves heading home…temporally and eternally another way; that the ways that we head home right now are not the healthiest, the purest, the smartest or the best ways. Many of you know that I am on a journey right now with 19 other clergy called, Courage to Lead. I meet with these 19 and two clergy facilitators in Live Oak, Florida once a quarter for five quarters. The 19 of us were selected after an application process. The premise is simple, not easy; reconnect your soul to your role. At times clergy get so caught up in the ministry that they lose sight of God. Much like many of you get so caught up in life in general, God becomes just a part of your life instead of the center.
In February I will attend the fourth quarter of this journey with this group. But it’s about last October that I want to share with you. The theme was: Letting Go – Living the Life You Love. As I was preparing for the 21-day fast, it occurred to me all over again that not only I should strive to live the life I love, but you individually and we as a church should be moving toward living the life we love. And that the vices, clutter, attitudes and appearances that we have manufactured in order to cope are far from what God desires of us! And so, I want to spend the rest of this month as we fast together offering to you another way home with a focus that I pray will lead you to Living the Life You Love.
It is the Kings who remind us first in the New Testament to take another way home, so let’s take a closer look at them. But first, let’s get some facts straight. How many; to what structure did the star lead them; where were they from and what was their occupation?
First of all, in the passage today, there is no mention of the number of Kings. They came not to the stable but to a house, likely Joseph’s house. And as regal as it is to call them Kings from afar, they likely were not kings at all. They have, too, been called Magi. Who were they? Let’s look at prophecy: Isaiah 60 describes them:
Nations should come to your light and kings to your side…the wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you. The multitude of camels shall cover your land…they shall bring gold and frankincense, and they shall proclaim the praises of the LORD. Isaiah casts a picture of wealth (even the camels). We think of the Magi as Kings. Matthew does not call them kings. The translation is maggio, wise men and bearers of the gift. In the other places in the scriptures they are called false or magicians. But they also are understood in historical writings as Persians priest who study the ways of the world through the stars. They saw an unusual star one they had never noticed before and they went looking for a god but while looking they found the God of the Universe, our Savior instead! And embarked on a journey which led tem to living the life they could loved. So you see, who they were really doesn’t matter, what matters is what they represent!
Think of it, they really weren’t a part of the Christmas story. They weren’t Jews. They knew nothing of Mary or Joseph and frankly they may have known little of the Messiah. Really, they weren’t part of the program; they were foreign. And yet God used them, God wanted them, these wise men from the east. God’s promise, God’s power, God’s desire was strong enough to reach not only the Jews but also the foreigners, the gentiles. These were people just like us!
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