Matthew 2_Following a Star and Finding a Stable_Jan 6, 2019

 

Following a Star and Finding a Stable
Matthew 2: 1 – 12

The wise men in our passage for today from Matthew’s gospel were men of learning. Like other people of learning in the ancient world, they knew the night sky very well. Year after year they observed and recorded the movement of the stars. When the brilliant star appeared in the East, announcing the birth of the King of the Jews, they were thrilled. They were eager to make the long journey to Bethlehem. They packed up and headed out to see where it would lead them.

The wise men follow the star. They are seeking a king. Imagine their reaction when they arrive at last in Bethlehem. They are seeking a king. Where would they expect to find a king? Of course, a king would be in a palace, or at least a grand estate. As they come over the crest of the last hill, they can see the star they had been following, now standing still over the place where Jesus is. Matthew tells us they are overjoyed! But their joy may fade when they see that the star wasn’t shining on a palace or a grand estate. The light of the star was beaming on a place that was far from grand!

Matthew doesn’t tell us exactly when the wise men arrived; it may have been some months after Jesus’ birth. By the time they arrived, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus had probably moved from the stable. But there’s no doubt that their home was a humble one. There’s no doubt that it was a home for people who earned their living by the work of their hands. When the wise men arrived, no servant appeared to help them with their luggage. The wise men had to stoop low to enter the house. As they stepped inside that humble home, their elegant robes dragged on a dirt floor.

Humble is the nicest word for the dwelling where the wise men found Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. It was a step up from the stable, but not by much. I can imagine them muttering to each other as they draw near the house: “Are you sure this is the right place? It certainly doesn’t look fit for a king! We’ve come all this way. We have brought gifts that are worth a fortune! Are these people going to appreciate our gold, and frankincense, and myrrh? Will they have a clue about what to do with them?”

But you have to admire the wise men. In their opinion Jesus’ home was no place for a king, but they didn’t turn around. They didn’t walk away. They went into the house. They knelt down on that dirt floor, and worshiped him. They brought their gifts, the best of what they had, to this child.

Following a lofty star and finding something lowly, like a stable, instead, is a common experience for you and me. In fact, a lot of people have followed a high and heavenly star, only to find themselves in a lowly stable. It happens a lot. We set our sights on a glorious light, but we wind up in a place that feels far from glorious. You see it all the time. A young woman works hard to complete years of education. She’s inspired by the dream of a great career. She lands what looks like the job of her dreams, but five years later she’s bogged down in a rut: a rut of petty office politics – the kind of thing she had sworn to herself she would avoid.

Or a man has looked forward for a long time to the day he would be able to retire. As he puts in his time at work, year after year, he dreams of future pleasure: glorious happy days on the golf course. He carefully puts money aside. But when retirement comes, the days he had looked forward to don’t feel so glorious: they feel empty. The phone doesn’t ring anymore, and time hangs heavy on his hands. The star of retirement he had followed has led to a place of boredom.

It happens a lot. We set out to follow a star and find ourselves in a stable. When we find ourselves in that stable, it’s easy to get discouraged. We might want to give up looking for stars. We might want to turn around and go back the way we came. We might think about resigning ourselves to a darker world.

But, if you listen to Matthew’s gospel, you’ll see that isn’t what the wise men did. Yes, the star they followed led them to a place where they couldn’t imagine finding a king. The place was far from glorious. But they went inside anyway. Even in those humble surroundings, they bowed down to Jesus with gifts.

On this Epiphany Sunday, I’d like to offer three things you and I can learn from the wise men. First, when you find yourself in a dark room with a dirt floor, don’t give up looking for stars. Keep looking for God, the One we worship. When you find yourself in the last place you thought your star would lead you, keep looking for God. Keep your eyes and ears open for signs of God’s presence. Pay attention to the little things. Maybe you’ll sense God in a new insight, a new way of looking at the world. Maybe God will move, deep in your heart, with a fresh impulse to reach out in love.

Second, the next time you find yourself in a stable, remember that the wise men, even in that humble place, offered their best. So even in that dark and dusty place, give your best. Don’t hold back, hoping for a better place. Don’t give in to self-pity and withhold your gift. Give your best! If your gift is singing, sing your heart out, even if it seems like there’s no one around to appreciate it. If you have a gift for sports: for running or skiing or swimming, do those things with all your might, even if the conditions are less than you’d dream of. If your gift is hospitality, open your doors wide, even if what comes in isn’t the kind of company you had in mind. Give your best. Don’t hold back.

Third, the next time you find yourself in a stable, remember what the wise men did. They allowed what happened there to change them. After they bowed in worship to Jesus, the wise men made a change. They looked for a new way home. They let their visit to the stable change them. They let their time with Jesus move them in a new direction.

In a few minutes, we’ll gather around the Lord’s Table. We’ll remember a night long ago, when Jesus gathered with his friends to share a meal. That night, as Jesus looked around the table, did he also wonder about the place his star had led him? That night, among the faces at the table was the face of one who would betray him, turn him over to the authorities to be put to death. Another face in the circle, Peter’s face, was full of good intentions, but when the pressure was on he ran away. The faces around the table were faces of flawed human beings: humble, far from glorious.

Sharing a meal with his friends that night, did Jesus look back on his ministry? If he thought about his ministry that night, he might have thought he hadn’t accomplished anywhere near what he had hoped to. The star he had followed had led to some pretty humble places. Yes he had healed some people. He had preached good news to the poor and gathered a following. But the people in power were still corrupt and cruel. And everywhere, people continued to lie and cheat and steal from one another.
Still, Jesus looked for God in that humble place. He looked for God’s face in the faces around him. He listened for God’s voice in their voices. And Jesus gave his best. He didn’t hold back, hoping for a better crowd. He didn’t hold out for a group of friends who would do more glorious things. He picked up the bread, looked around the table, loved all the faces in that circle, and said, “This is my body, given for you.”

The life he gave that night was the life God raised in glory. That life led the world in a new direction.

When you follow a star, only to find yourself in a stable, remember what the wise men did: seek God anyway, even if the stable is the last place you’d expect to find God. And give your best, don’t hold back and hope for something better. And let what happens in the stable change you. Let it lead you in a new direction.

In closing, I’d like to share with you some words of wisdom, ten statements that can guide us on our way as we follow our star. I don’t know the author’s name, but the title is “Anyway.” It goes like this:

People are unreasonable, illogical, and self – centered. Love them anyway!
If you do good, you will be accused of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good anyway!
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway!
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway!
Honesty and frankness will make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway!
The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest minds. Think big anyway!
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for some underdogs anyway!
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway!
People really need help, but may attack you if you help them. Help people anyway!
Finally, give the world the best you have and you will get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway!

My friends, the star we follow may not lead us to a glorious place. We may find ourselves in a very un-glorious place. But in that place, if we’re open, we’ll experience God. If we’re willing, we’ll give our best to God. And, if we let ourselves be changed there, by the grace of God, our lives will move in a new direction.

Rev. Elva Merry Pawle
January 6, 2019
Epiphany Sunday