They offered him gifts

Matthew 2: 1-12, NT page 2 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. Sermon One of the most interesting parts of our local paper is Sound-Off. If you don’t subscribe know that this re-occurring section alone makes the Daily Herald worth your time and money, as Sound-Off is just the publication of calls to the paper concerning whatever the caller wanted to call in about. Someone called in to Sound-Off last week or the week before and said, “I sure do hope that the Christmas Star stops over Congress because we sure could use some wise men there.” Always Sound-Off is entertaining, but rarely is it so theologically brilliant. The wise men from the East follow a star to Jerusalem, just as this caller hopes that some wise men will follow a star to Washington DC to replace the ones who seem to the caller to not be very wise, and assuming that everyone in Jerusalem has also been following this same star these wise men just ask around about the star, as though they assumed everyone in Jerusalem were watching excitedly for it as well. They were not however. That’s the way it is sometimes – something big happens somewhere and the people who live there are the last ones to appreciate it. It’s like Mule Day, when people drive into Columbia from across the country, from far and wide; but half of you will leaving for the beach. But it’s not just that Jerusalem doesn’t know about this star that the wise men are so excited about, this thing that has happened that they have journeyed many miles just to see, it’s not just that the citizens of Jerusalem don’t know anything about it, at least one person in Jerusalem doesn’t want it to be happening at all. Not only does King Herod not know anything about the star, while he inquires of the wise men and tells them that he would like to go to the child to pay him homage as well, his intentions are sinister. In an effort to rid his kingdom of any threat to his power, in an effort to destroy anyone so important as to motivate wise men from the East to journey and pay him homage, Herod has every child in or around Bethlehem two years old or younger killed, because the birth of someone so important that the stars change their course to mark his birth is a threat to Herod’s sense of self-importance. Jesus slips through Herod’s fingertips, his father Joseph having been warned in a dream to escape to Egypt, but Herod here illustrates an important reality: on the one hand there are those whom the Bible calls wise who are in our 2nd lesson for this morning seeking to find the Christ child, and on the other hand there are those whom the Bible calls afraid who are in our 2nd lesson doing everything they can to preserve what they have. While the wise men are searching for someone whose importance has been proclaimed by the heavens, Herod is threatened, believing that the heavens should be proclaiming no one’s greatness but his own. While the wise men come searching for a savior, Herod thinks that the savior of the people has already come and he is it. And while the wise men carry precious things to give to a precious child, Herod grips his treasure and his power with cruel hands and lashes out in violence at any perceived threat. There are those who are like the wise men, who believe that they have something to gain – and so they go and search it out, but then there are those who are like Herod, who are consumed with thoughts of what they stand to lose – and they are so truly characterized by their fear. Herod’s fear reminds me of the fear of the church during the time of Galileo. Galileo of course was one of the first great astronomers, and staring out into the night sky as the wise men did so long ago, he became convinced that the earth was not in fact the center of the universe as he had been told, but that the earth was one of several bodies who orbited around the sun. The great learned minds of the established order at that time were all a part of the Church, and they had already decided, they already knew that the earth had to be the center of the universe, and just as Herod feared any threat to his power so the church feared Galileo and his theory that the earth orbited the sun. While Galileo sought out the truth, while he searched the stars for answers, the Church had no interest in ideas that challenged what they already believed, they had no interest in a truth who contradicted their truth. And the same is true today, just as it always has been. Today there are those who have nothing new to learn – they have already learned it. The ideas that they grew up with cannot be replaced, the structures of the established order must not be shaken, what is must be what will be, even if what is should be torn down and replaced. Like Herod they fight for stability over growth and old patterns of falsehood over the truth – but the wise on the other hand – they are not so interested in preserving what they already have, as they are in searching out what they stand to gain. In the days of the Civil Rights Era there were those who fought, who lashed out, at any movement that threatened the established patterns of an unjust society. It didn’t matter that racism was wrong, racism was, and the way things were needed to be the way things would always be. But there were others who dreamed dreams and who wouldn’t settle for the way things were, and instead they walked towards the way things might be. Jerusalem had a savior already, and Herod as the savior of Jerusalem would ensure that nothing ever changed, that things would be as they always had been – but the wise men from the east were convinced that just because it has always been does not mean that it should always be – that the injustice of the day might give way to a justice rolling down like waters – that the hopelessness of today might give way to the bright hope of tomorrow – that while today there is despair and cruelty and ignorance – today, unto you, a child has been born who can set things right. And the wise sought him out, while Herod tried to destroy him. The wise gave him gifts, while Herod only knew what he stood to lose. But there are others in our world who act the same way. The cruelty of their home is better than some potential safety that they cannot imagine, so they do not go searching out for stars, they settle for what they have already. There are also those who already know everything, who have nothing new to learn and who are afraid to accept any truth that threatens their perception of truth. And there are those who only stand to lose and who never stand to gain. They hold fast to the power and influence that they have even if it strangles those around them. Like Herod they would rather murder threats to their power than step aside in favor of something better – but you do not have to live like that. You are called to be wise – to kneel at the manger of the Christ child – to offer him gifts believing that what you have is nothing compared to what you stand to gain. You are called to give him gifts – for in offering yourself to this child you proclaim the truth – that all that you have and all that you have known – is like nothing compared to the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Do not concern yourself with what you stand to lose – do not be afraid – and if you have nothing else to give him, give him your heart. Amen.