Sermon for December 14th, 2014

Matthew 2:1-12

1In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, “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.” 3When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5They 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.’” 7Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8Then 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.” 9When 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. 10When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11On 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. 12And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Advent Encounters: Herod and the Wise Men

I have heard it said that if the three wise men had been the three wise women, they would have asked directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, brought practical gifts, and there actually would be peace on earth. But I guess we'll never know!

Today's sermon is the third in a five part series about the characters in the Christmas story, and their encounters with one another. While we tend to be most impressed with divine visitations, shining stars, and choirs of angels, it is actually the simple human encounters that have the greatest potential to transform our lives. We've seen this in the encounters hinted at in Jesus' family tree, and also in the encounter between Mary and Elizabeth in the gospel of Luke. But today, as we consider Matthew's account of King Herod and the Wise Men, we'll see that while encounters with other people have the potential to change us, sometimes they don't actually change us. Sometimes we resist the encounter, and miss the opportunity to let our lives be transformed.

If you're paying close attention to the sermon series, you'll note that we're not exactly going in chronological order. The Wise Men show up after Jesus is born, and next week's encounter is Joseph and the Inkeeper, which presumably takes place before Jesus is born. We're jumping around a bit.

Wise Men. The word in Greek is μαγοι, or "magi" which literally means "firefighters"--specifically firefighters from the deep south. We know they were firefighters from the deep south because we read that "they came from a fahr." Just Kidding. Actually they came from the East. And μαγοι simply means astrologers.

There's been a lot of speculation about the wise men throughout Christian history. At some point in the medieval era they got promoted to Kings (hence the song "We three kings"). The Bible doesn't actually call them kings, nor does it specify how many of them there were, although from the three gifts listed, it is often assumed there were three. We've even given them names like Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar, and speculated that one was from Persia, one from India, and one from Arabia.

This is, at best, speculation. In fact, many modern biblical scholars think the wise men are entirely the invention of Matthew, who is trying to introduce Jesus as the new Moses. In Exodus, wise men come to Pharoah to warn him about the prophecied birth of a special child who will deliver the Jews from Egyptian oppression. Pharoah, in fear and anger, orders that all male Jewish infants be killed, but baby Moses escapes and eventually flees into the desert.

In Matthew's story, wise men come to King Herod to warn him about the prophecied birth of a special child who will deliver the Jews from Roman oppression. Herod, in fear and anger, orders taht all male Jewish infants be killed, but baby Jesus escapes (ironically) into Egypt.

-Wise men didn't just encounter Herod. Implied: They asked everyone they met (and Herod heard). -Insiders vs. Outsiders (Jerusalem & Herod vs. Wise Men) -Follow your star -Encounters change us, but not always for the better -Wise men were following their star, on a spiritual journey, going somewhere, seeking, sacrificing, giving -Herod was trying to be his own star, jealous and paranoid, going nowhwere, clinging, hoarding, hating