I have lived in some really beautiful places during my life, and ministered in churches where beauty was all around. Both in the United States and England, I have been lucky enough to be called to ministry in beautiful surroundings. Those of you who know me at all well will realize that all of these places were near salt water … except for one. And that one was probably one of the most unique and beautiful places I have been. Highlands, North Carolina is a medium sized town perched on the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains -- in fact, it is the highest incorporated town east of the Rockies.
One of the most memorable sights from Highlands actually happens when you are on your way down the mountain into north Georgia and South Carolina. As you drive down the last mountain pass, you find yourself suddenly faced with a spread-out vista of flatlands which is Georgia and South Carolina. In fact, you can see three states from this vantage point.
It’s an amazing scene, as you turn that last corner to go down, you get just a peek through the trees of what is to come; then the trees clear out and you can see the vast valley and flatlands. By the time the full view comes into sight, you feel as if you are on top of the world with a great expanse of countryside in view.
So, why am I giving you this travelogue? Well, the story we have read from Matthew acts, for me, just like that growing vista in the mountains. With the story of the Magi from the east, the star, Herod’s hostility and the escape into Egypt, Matthew is inviting us to look out into the wide expanse of God’s salvation which is opening up to our eyes through the child whose story he is beginning to tell. It is an important glimpse into salvation history, and it is every bit as important as the baby which we peeked at in the manger two weeks ago.
Our holiday seasons are filled with many cherished rituals, from buying and receiving presents, eating too much, visiting with family and friends and, God willing, going tochurch to celebrate the meaning of the season. One of the tired rituals of this time of year is not part of the story -- it is the making of New Year’s resolutions. We heard last week from this pulpit that the only worthy resolution is a commitment, and I hope that you have given some real thought to that.
I don’t know how long people have been making New Year’s resolutions, I only know that I have been making them all my life, and over the years I have noticed two things -- first. They are generally aimed at things that show little imagination -- like eating habits and getting enough exercise. Second, I find that resolutions barely make it to February!
So, then, how much resolve is there, really, in our resolutions? That question brings me to the real point of this sermon -- the wise men who followed the star which led them to the baby Jesus.
Today we are celebrating the feast day of the Epiphany, which is the traditional end of the Christmas season. We rarely celebrate the day any more because it only falls on a Sunday every seven years or so (depending on leap years). So, here at the Nourishing Place, we have transferred it to the nearest Sunday.
January 6 is Epiphany, but for a few centuries that date was celebrated as the birth of Jesus. In the Eastern Orthodox churches, January 6 is still the big day.
The difficulty for us is that December 25th has become by far, the bigger celebration. That tends to cloud the important story of God showing forth the salvation in his son to the world. When we picture the story of the wise men we just heard, we tend to place it in the Christmas story, with the wisemen arriving shortly after the shepherds. That is not how Scripture tells the story. There are at least two years passed between the birth in the manger and the arrival of the wise men.
Also, the Bible never says there were three of them --in fact, the Bible never says they were kings either. we sang “We three kings” because I like the carol, not because it is biblically accurate! What the Bible does say is that there were three important gifts -- gold, frankincense and myrrh, and from that reference, history has assigned three wise men to the three gifts -- Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar.
All right….so they did not arrive on Christmas eve… we don’t really know how many there were … and we know that they were wise men, but probably not kings. So, what can we say that is positive about the wise men?
We can say that, unlike most of us, they had resolve. That means, they made a plan and they stuck to it. In Jane’s context from last Sunday, these three wise men had a commitment and they stayed with it. They saw that star in the east, knew that it was a sign that something important was taking place, and followed that star, “wherever it went”. They came from the east, which means they were not local boys. They had a long trip. They must have been tempted at many points to abandon the whole silly idea and go home. Perhaps at a desert oasis, or in a city, they probably argued among themselves whether they should just give up.
So, as we sit here at the beginning of a new year, just fourteen days after Christmas, we can think about our own half-hearted resolutions. Maybe this is a good time, if we have not already, to make a real resolution for the new year -- one which is actually a commitment. Let us commit ourselves to follow Christ with the same resolve that the wise men showed in following the star of Jesus. Let us resolve to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love all our neighbors as we do ourselves. We need to pray to God that we can make that kind of commitment resolution … which will last all of our year, … which will impact our church community, and … which will change our lives.
One of my heroes is an English theologian called C.S. Lewis. In his book, “The Last Battle,” he talks about those wise men and our spiritual journeys. What he says is this: “Everyone can find what he truly seeks.”
So, look out today and take in the view God has provided us.
We have the vantage point of this story of the wise men. This story is the gift of salvation. We should delight in it, we should allow it to change us, and we can receive the gift of God’s presence in each one of us as we go home another way … leaving behind the past year and its mis-steps, and moving ahead to that home which is the friendship, joy and peace of God for eternity.
