By another road

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 county by another road. Sermon The Bibles that we read from each Sunday are a particular translation, new by comparison to the King James Version for example, which was written in 1611. Our New Revised Standard Version was published in 1989. Its language is more modern, the pronoun use reflects political correctness at times, but more interestingly, between 1611 and 1989, several archeological finds, such as the uncovering of the Dead Sea Scrolls, changed the way the Bible is translated. If you look up Joseph and the coat given to him by his father Jacob, you might notice that in our New Revised Standard Version, Joseph doesn’t have a coat of many colors, but a coat with long sleeves. That’s because most ancient scrolls say that Joseph didn’t have a coat of many colors, and the idea that he did is probably based on a mistranslation in the King James Bible. The King James Bible is the basis of all kinds of traditions, not all of which are based in ancient Scripture, so today, as this passage from the second chapter of Matthew is read, I cannot help but imagine three wise men bringing the baby Jesus gifts because that is what tradition has taught us, but if you read carefully, the wise men are never numbered in the New Revised Standard Version, only their gifts are. Bible Scholars of the 21st Century debate about where they came from, how many of them there were, and, whether or not they were all even men, which I have to agree with. There must have been women among them, considering how they stopped in Jerusalem to ask for directions. Our Gospel lesson reads: “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.” We can be stubborn, and now I’m not just talking about men, I’m talking about all of us, and sometimes, even worse than being stubborn and resistant to change, we can even be frightened of change, fearing what we stand to lose if what’s new and different takes hold. Considering our Gospel Lesson for this morning there are two examples for us to follow in this world of ours that has forever been changed by the birth of the Messiah. On the one hand are the wise, who sought him out, found him, gave him precious gifts, and then went home by another road; but on the other hand is King Herod, who knew of his birth, sought him out by inquiring of the chief priests, and after coming to terms with the truth of the Messiah’s birth, he kept going down the same road he had been on with even more determination not to change his ways. The Messiah was born and he knew it as we do, but the reality of his birth made him afraid. The King of the Jews, the one the ancient prophecies spoke of and whom generations had awaited; if he was Messiah than Herod was not and if the true Messiah was born in Bethlehem of Judea than Herod’s chapter in the history of Israel was soon to be over. Then on the other hand, the wise sought him out, found him, gave him precious gifts, and journeyed down a different road. If you are here this morning, I bet that you’ve seen him just as they did. Maybe you saw him in an act of kindness - the wad of $100 bills stuffed into a Salvation Army Bucket, or the sled, stolen from a little girl, but then replaced by the kindness of strangers. Or maybe you saw him in the embodiment of joy - the sparkle in his eye or the smile on her face. Or in some experience of the holy - the voices of our church choir or the light from candles in the sanctuary shining brightly in the darkness – I’m sure that you’ve seen the Messiah as you’ve celebrated his birth, but now what? Some, even after acknowledging his birth, will be like Herod, reacting against the agents of change, resistant to it, so it’s not just the change that hurts, it’s the damage done by those who are inflexible to what is new. We can be a lot like the cows in the field, who go back and forth every day from the water to the food following the same well-worn path. It’s gotten them from what’s most essential for so long it’s easy to ignore how big the field actually is, how many other paths there could be. But rather than upset what’s become a well-oiled grove, we keep using that same old road even when it stops making sense to do so. The world changes – we change – but the path we travel on doesn’t always. That’s why your mother still tries to hold it together even though she can’t. It’s not just that her memory is slipping, that she can’t do as much as she used to, but every time your brother comes to visit he treats her like nothing is different. He ignores the stack of unpaid bills and the expired milk in the refrigerator. He won’t face the new reality, which means she won’t either, and how much damage will be done before they’re willing to travel down a different road? It’s not just dementia that hurts people – it’s the unwillingness to do anything about it, and debt is the same. You look debt and the eye and it’s like death – not nearly so dangerous if you acknowledge it and then do something about it, but woe unto you who continue walking down the same road that got you where you are. Now is the season of New Year’s Resolutions, and we all make them, both the wise as well as the King Herod’s of our world – but the only ones who will achieve their goal of making this year different from the last one are those who will be like the Wise Men of long ago – who, after giving the Christ Child gifts, “they left for their own county by another road.” Of course it’s hard to do – every Saturday morning I wake up to finish my sermon for Sunday, and every Saturday morning as Sara makes breakfast she tells me, “I don’t understand why they even gave you an office if you’re going to do all your work here at home.” Habits are hard to break, and I’ve been traveling down this road that brings me to Saturday with an unfinished sermon for the entire time I’ve been a preacher, but Sara told me yesterday that her New Year’s Resolution is to be married to a man who isn’t working on Saturday morning, so I can start journeying down a new road or she’ll be looking for a new husband. It’s hard to change, but his birth changes everything, though some will do their very best to keep things the same. Rather than go down another road, rather than give up his crown and acknowledge the true king of Israel, Herod “killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under,” determined that the Messiah’s birth would not alter his place in the world. Herod knew then – that his birth changes things, especially your place in the world. That to give him gifts as the New Born King means confessing that you do not wear the crown. To call him the Messiah, to seek salvation in him, requires admitting that salvation will not be found elsewhere, especially through your own righteousness or actions. And most of all – to sing that he has the whole world in his hands, means resting in the reality that you do not have to hold the whole world together with your two hands. It comes down to control. That’s what Herod wanted to maintain and that’s what you have to be ready to give up. Having seen him, will you give up the road that you’ve been walking down to take another road? Will you follow where he leads, though going where he leads means going someplace new? Will you rest in the security of his powerful love, and receive the gift of peace that the true Messiah can provide – a gift that no matter how hard you try you cannot provide for yourself? I know that there is too much of me that is like Herod. When I come to terms with the limit of my ability I work harder and hold on tighter, but to truly follow him and acknowledge the kingdom of this Messiah born in Bethlehem of Judea, is to follow where he leads, even if that means traveling by another road. Amen.