They Offered Him Gifts

Matthew 2: 1-16 found on page 2 of the New Testament in your pew Bibles
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 the 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.
Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”
Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”
When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men.
Sermon
There are many reasons I am excited to be living here in Columbia, rather than in Atlanta. The main reason is that I am here, with all of you, in this incredible church whose nearly 200 year history I am amazed to become a part of. But here, as you all already know, there isn’t any traffic, and in general I expect to spend much less time in the car than I did before.
The only part of spending so much time in the car that I’ll miss are reading the billboards - I haven’t noticed any here in Columbia, maybe they’re like the traffic - you have to go up to Nashville to get any. A few weeks ago I read about 50 billboards that have sprung up in Nashville announcing that we should all, “Save the date: Jesus is coming on May 21st, 2011.”
These billboards have been financed by Allison Warden of Raleigh-based WeCanKnow.com, and they proclaim the upcoming rapture and Christ’s imminent return, based on her analysis of scripture and biblical genealogy.
According to Warden, “All information in the Bible points to this date. God is going to be saving people right up until the last moment.”
While I’m not sure that Warden is right about her date, and while I’m not a proponent of her “End-Times Theology”, I am sure that many people will be influenced by her claim, and I doubt that all of it will be bad, but I’m sure that some of it will.
Because when people hear that Christ is coming they tend to do very strange things.
While many may turn back to the church, many others will worry. Some will invest in gold and canned goods, hole up in shelters bellow ground, amass automatic weapons and ammunition, all in preparation for the end of the world.
People do strange things when they hear about Christ coming.
Some of it is good, but some of it, founded in fear, can be gruesome.
We read in our scripture lesson that when King Herod heard of the birth of “the child who has been born king of the Jews” he was frightened, and all of Jerusalem with him.
Out of fear for what his coming will mean, assuming that his coming will be the end of his power and authority, he first tried to find this child by using the wise men, asking them to send word once they found him so that he could come and join them in worship.
But when Herod realized that the wise men had tricked him, that they left without leading him to the child, he flew into a rage and commanded the murder of every little boy two years old and under who lived in Bethlehem and its surrounding hills.
Herod’s act of terrorism founded in his fear that this child would threaten his power offers a stark contrast to the rest of our lesson for today – and you might say that terrorism and the fear terrorism inspires always offers a stark contrast to the Gospel – as how can you live out the gospel when all your actions are governed by fear?
There can be no doubt that the billboards proclaiming Christ’s imminent return will inspire many to fear in a world where too many are already afraid.
Afraid of not having enough, too many in our world have grown reluctant in giving, holding tight to what they have, generosity a luxury of former years.
Afraid of the influence of a changing world, too many have holed up in their homes or enclaves of like-minded souls, acceptance and tolerance diminishing.
While others, afraid of the future and quite certain that the future will be worse than the past, have grown indifferent, hope left to gather dust.
Afraid that his power would be threatened, Herod strikes out in violence seeking to hold onto what he can in light of an uncertain future.
But in the midst of all of this fear – three wise men offer a baby three precious gifts.
A few weeks ago in Bible study I mentioned that there have never been less appropriate baby shower gifts, but I have realized since that this is not the point at all.
In a world of terror the wise give gifts, while those who are governed by fear take all that they can get, push away those who are different, give up on the future, and kill those who threaten the way things are.
In a world of terror, the wise place their hope in a child while those who are governed by fear hold tight all the power they have left.
They open their doors while others lock themselves away.
In a world of terror the wise reach out in kindness with those who are governed by fear strike out in violence.
The point of terrorism is to break down community, to make people afraid of each other, as those who are afraid and alone are easy to control.
That was the point of Herod’s strike – to communicate his power and to strike fear into the hearts of his people.
But the Gospel calls us to follow another path.
Whereas the fearful would keep what they can get – the faithful give precious gifts to the king of kings.
Whereas the fearful strike out at those who are different, burning Mosques, striking out in hate – the faithful open their doors as this church opened your doors to the very people you have been taught to fear.
Whereas the fearful retreat into sanctuaries of safety – the faithful stay to serve the downcast, the oppressed, homeless, and the hungry as this church has committed to stay and serve those who may well be none other than Christ himself.
While the billboards say that Christ is coming in May – we are called to live knowing that Christ is with us now – like the wise men so long ago – we are called to give our gifts.
Then the King will say to those at his right hand:
For I was hungry and you gave me food
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
I was naked and you gave me clothing,
I was sick and you took care of me,
I was in prison and you visited me.
In a world of fear we are called to live as the one who gave his very body and blood to us lived – giving when too many are afraid to give.
In a world where terror’s shadow looms, let us live as people of the light – let us follow the light of Christ.
Amen.