WHICH WAY HOME?
a sermon based on Matthew 2:1-12
by Rev. Rick Thompson

Have you ever noticed something about Jesus?

     We see it again in this story: all he has to do is show up, and things start to happen!

     He’s not even two years old—we get that clue from the next stories, where Joseph is warned in a dream to take the child to Egypt for safety.  Then, just as the angel had warned, King Herod, in a murderous rage, orders the death of all boys under two in and around Bethlehem.

     Jesus is not even two years old, and things start to happen!

     A bright star appears in the heavens.  For Jews who knew their Bible, it would have been seen as a sign of the birth of Messiah, as they recalled the promise way back in Numbers 24:17: “…a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter rise out of Israel.”  The star is a sign of the birth of a new King, a descendant of the great King David.

     And all Jesus did was show up!

     Some others see the star.  They are not Jews.  They are Gentiles, outsiders.  Although in the Christmas carol they are called “kings of Orient,” they are really “magi”—magicians, astrologers, star-gazers.  They have been studying the heavens, and have been captivated by the bright star they have seen.  They decided it is a sign of something of great significance, and so they follow it. 

     All Jesus did was show up, in human flesh, and it set in motion a journey that would change the world, as Gentiles come to worship him.

     King Herod the Great notices, too.  He doesn’t notice the star, but he does notice the Magi, and he’s curious about their intentions.  He doesn’t notice the star because he’s a Jew in name only, not in faith or practice.  He’s a ruthless king, power hungry, striving to please the Romans at whose whim he governed, and he won’t hesitate to do away with anyone who gets in his way.  A wife, a brother-in-law, and three sons—all were executed by Herod because he perceived them to be threats to his rule.  And, of course, we know he will put to death John the Baptist for speaking the truth about his immoral behavior.  And, in the next story, he will strive to put to death the child Jesus.

     Jesus shows up, and things happen!

     It’s quite amazing, isn’t it, how powerful he was, even as a child!  In this story, he doesn’t do any thing but live in a house, and powerful forces are set in motion as a result!

     Because this child is no ordinary child.

     This child, Jesus, born to Mary, brought up in the humble home of Joseph, is the Messiah!  This child is born to be a King—the long-awaited King, the Son of David, who will restore Israel to glory and set God’s people free!

     It’s no wonder there is a unique and bright star in the sky, and it catches the attention of Gentile astrologers and Jewish kings and Bible scholars alike!

     This child is a King, born to be King for all people!

     And that’s good news for some—bad news for others!

     It’s bad news for King Herod, and Herod knows it.  When the scholars search the scriptures at Herod’s command, and discover the Messiah is to be born—as Jesus was—in Bethlehem, Herod knows he’s in trouble!  He knows Jesus is a threat!  Herod knows that there’s not room for both of them just a few miles apart, and so he does what kings do: he puts all the power of his realm to work to destroy the threat, to hunt down Jesus and kill him. 

     Like all who live with the illusion that we are in charge, Herod wants to get rid of the newborn King Jesus.

     But the birth is also good news.  It’s good news for the Magi.  Initially just following a star, their curiosity stirred up by the heavenly phenomenon, the astrologers are drawn to the child.  And they realize he is a King, and he becomes their King, and they worship him, and they give him gifts fit for a king.  The Magi are changed!  Their lives are given a new purpose!  They are enraptured with the child Jesus, and he becomes the ruler of their lives!

     And, of course, it’s significant that they are Gentiles.  They are not Jews.  They are not insiders in the Bible story.  They are from the East—from where, in the past, nothing but trouble has come to the Israelites.  It was to the East that they were taken into a painful and shameful exile, after their city was ruined and their holy Temple burned to the ground.  But here they are, visitors from the East, and they are welcome in the house of Jesus.  They have received mercy, and they know they need to keep living in that mercy.  Yes, they are changed!  The presence of Jesus is GOOD NEWS for the Magi!

     Good news because this newborn King will grow up to be a most unusual—and incredibly powerful!—ruler.  His life will be threatened at an early age.  He will grow up to suffer terribly at the hands of those who think they are in power.  And then the tables will turn, and Jesus will rise in triumph, and he will, indeed, be made known as ruler of the entire universe!  And he will rule with mercy, and forgiveness, and love.  What a King Jesus will be!

     Bad news for Herod and all pretenders to power.

     Good news to Magi, to Gentiles, to those once thought beyond the scope of God’s mercy.

     And is it also good news for us? 

     If we’re honest, it’s a dilemma, isn’t it!

     It’s good news if we think we are beyond the scope of God’s mercy.  It’s good news if we know we are in desperate need of God’s forgiveness and love!

     But the coming of Jesus is bad news when we put ourselves in the place of Herod.  When we think we’re in charge.  When we deceive ourselves into thinking our power is virtually unlimited.  When we want to make the rules, and eliminate all threats, and keep God in God’s place.  If that’s our attitude, then it’s bad news for us, because God has come near.  In Jesus, God is “Immanuel”—God with us!

     Jesus is God with us, to rule in mercy—for all who want to give up our own power and worship, serve, and follow Jesus.

     Here, the Magi are an example, aren’t they.  That’s what they did.  They followed a star, and were led to Jesus.

     But they didn’t worship the star.  They didn’t focus on the heavenly sign, the silent messenger from God.  They didn’t focus on the mysterious appearance of the star, the wonder in the heavens, their own experience.  They focused on Jesus.  They worshipped Jesus.  They gave their precious gifts to Jesus. 

     And, after the star was gone, Jesus remained.  And, warned in a dream that Herod had evil intentions, the Magi went home, changed, transformed, renewed.  They went home by another way.

     By another way. 

     That phrase has a double meaning.  Yes, the Magi took a different route home, steering clear of Jerusalem, avoiding Herod, wanting to honor Jesus.  They took a different route.

     They also took a different path.  Their lives were changed.  They no longer were on the outside looking in.  No longer dependent on rare and mysterious stars to guide their lives. 

     Now they could follow Jesus!  They could follow Jesus, and know God’s unending mercy and abundant love.  They could follow Jesus, and their lives would have a purpose.  The Magi found another way—another way to LIVE!

     And will we? 

     That’s the challenge of this story.  The message is clear: Jesus is King—King for all people, King of the Universe.

     And with that, there comes a challenge: will we follow him as our King?  Or will the Herod in us, the one who wants to be in charge, and destroy any one and any thing in our way, will that urge rule our lives?

     Sing-songwriter James Taylor captured this dilemma in his song, “Home By Another Way”.  The first two stanzas go like this:

 

                        Those magic men the Magi, some people call them wise

                        or oriental, even kings.  Well anyway, those guys--

                        they visited with Jesus, they sure enjoyed their stay;

                        then warned in a dream of King Herod’s scheme

                        They went home by another way.

 

                        Yes they went home by another way, home by another way.

                        Maybe me and you can be wise guys too

                        and go home by another way.

                        We can make it another way, safe home as they used to say;

                        keep a weather eye to the chart on high, and go home another way.

 

     There is another way.  It’s the way of worship, and service, and following Jesus.

     And there is, of course, the way of Herod—the way of selfishness and lusting for power.

     And that’s the question before us.  Which way will we choose? 

     Which way home?

                                                                                                AMEN