Bible Text: Matthew 2:1-12 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes
When Mike and I moved to the Island we would often spend a Sunday afternoon driving around, exploring various neighbourhoods, roads, and communities. In fact, we still do quite a bit of exploring but I have to admit I am a bit more cautious now than I was before. It used to be that we would drive around the capital regional district and say to ourselves, how lost can we get? We’re on an island- we’ll hit water eventually. That was before we drove the windy 111km drive from Victoria to Port Renfrew on a quarter tank of gas only to discover that there is no gas station in Port Renfrew. There are also a lot more logging roads in these here parts than there is in the South Island. Or at least, we find ourselves on more logging roads and there have been a few times when I have wanted to turn around but due to a steep incline up and down on either side of the narrow road I know that we only have the one option of going straight or backwards. But it is always a pleasant surprise to find yourself on a new route or in a small community that you had never heard of, or just simply on a peaceful back road. Sometimes those discovered scenic roads become our preferred route- we enjoy the redirection, even if it takes us a little longer. This morning is not only about taking a route that leads to Christ but also about being re-routed, not so much about a detour but by re-direction.
While this story is rather familiar for most of us, there is always something new to be gained. These wise men, magi, travellers from the east follow a star that directs them to God.
The wise men took a route that eventually led them to Jesus but first they stopped at the most logical place for a king to be born- at the holy city of Jerusalem in the royal palace of King Herod. But instead of finding Jesus they find a frightened King and the Scripture says “And all Jerusalem with him.” I’ve often wondered what that meant and have yet to find a satisfactory answer. But here’s a theory. The people had lived under this tyrannical king for a while now ever since he overthrew his predecessor following a three year long war in 37 BCE. He had reigned for about 30 years before Jesus’ birth. The people of Jerusalem know what he is capable of and so the arrival of these wise men, and their announcement of a saviour, creates a bit of a stir and concern among the people and rightfully so, as we know that King Herod will respond with great acts of violence. At this stage, however, it is ironic that it is King Herod who is the one who finds out for them where Jesus will be. We never know where the route will take us and we never know who will lead us there. Imagine, the one who will try to kill Jesus, is the one who helps the wise men bow before God.
Instructed by King Herod the wise men set off and the star appears again in the sky and once again it leads them until it hovers over the house where the toddler Jesus is to be found. The appearance of the wise men in this story of Jesus’ birth gives us a clue to what Jesus’ ministry will be like. They are the first gentiles to react positively to God’s work in Jesus Christ. They are the precursors to the later gentiles who will bow down before Jesus, who will receive the gospel, who will respond with devotion, who will follow God’s work and will. They are the first gentiles to be included in the once exclusive community of faith.
Once the wise men have delivered their gifts and kneel before Jesus something else happens. They are re-directed. They are warned in a dream not to return to Herod which means they must leave for their own country by another road. Now this is First Century Israel- I can’t imagine there were all that many roads and I can’t imagine that the redirected road was all that well maintained. In fact, in the Message, Eugene Peterson translates that, “they worked out another route.” It is as if they had to start from scratch in their re-direction and this time there is no star to lead them home. But it should be noted that following their worship of Jesus they are re-directed. Isn’t that true of us, throughout Advent and Christmas this year we spoke of living changed lives, of living daily in God’s covenant, and how our lives once touched by Christ mean a life that is re-routed.
Well known Lutheran pastor and preacher Richard Wing shared in a sermon, “That is what we all get after kneeling before Jesus: we are re-directed. That different direction after kneeling before Jesus means that your joy in life will not be in seeking happiness and fulfilment directly, but in intentionally walking the way of service, sacrifice and surrender. The new direction involves finding the holy in the least expected places, the very places we would most like to avoid.”
It reminds me of a former road we once found ourselves on. We were headed to Little Huson Caves which is found close to but not near Woss off the road to Zeballos. This road was no longer in use by logging trucks and I’m pretty sure that most motorized vehicles using this road were not standard cars but safari jeeps or all terrain vehicles because either the road was made up of jagged boulders or the van was engulfed in scotch broom. But we did make it and it was well worth it as we found ourselves standing in a large cathedral like entrance in which a limestone blue river ran through a cave. A highlight for that trip. Just next time we’ll do it in a four by four.
Walking Jesus’ path can be more of an adventure than we had planned and it can sometimes means taking the long or less travelled way around. Sometimes it is the scenic route with moments of peace and sometimes it is gridlock traffic. But Jesus does indeed re-direct us and re-route us and there is no better time of year to consider this redirection. I’m not one for resolutions because I always break them but kneeling before Jesus and offering ourselves as sacrifices, of being changed in our worship is far more than just a resolution to do something different or change a habit- this is a lifestyle change this is a re-direction that will guide us straight from kneeling in front of a child, to praying below the cross, to utter shock and joy at the empty tomb, to tongues of fire. This is re-direction. I return to Richard Wing’s words, “To walk the way of Jesus is to kneel before the holy with empty hands, not with the words “Give me” but with the humble prayer that begins, “make me.” At that moment Christ sets us on paths we might not have chosen. And the end of the journey is to discover that the redirected way of life that Jesus calls us to is, in fact, in miles and in blessings.”
Just as the wise men followed in obedience even when it meant taking the road less travelled- we are invited to experience the light of God among us- into the dark corners of the world as much as the pleasant calm in our congregation. May we be rerouted as we experience the divine throughout our life. Amen