Meditation on Matthew 2:1-12
Jan. 6, 2013
***
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 worship him.”
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.
The
religious authorities 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
country by another road. (Matt 2:1-12)
***
I woke up
Saturday morning thinking again about the curious way that God led my family and me
to Minnesota. Pat and Joel’s long distance phone calls, seemingly out of the
blue in 2011, when I had never heard of Renville or visited Minnesota before. I thought about how, at the time, I was
considering other calls to ministry, other jobs, and a graduate assistantship, but
also how I have never regretted turning them all down to come here.
I thought about how
God must have planned all along for us to have this adventure together—to live
and minister in this place at this time—and we didn’t know it until He
suddenly revealed it— to my family and me, this church, and the presbytery.
God could have
chosen someone else to pastor Ebenezer. He could have chosen a Minnesotan, or
at least a Midwesterner! But He didn’t. He could have led me to another place. California.
Arizona. Australia! But He didn’t. He chose me, and He chose the people of
Ebenezer. He knew the time. He knew the place.
Ministry in this
small country church is, in many ways, what I expected and hoped it would
be.
But my greatest
challenge so far is finding the right balance, knowing when I have done enough
work for one day and when it’s OK to rest awhile, enjoy some family time and
even take a vacation. The Lord has
reminded me, over and over, that a minister is first of all a lover of Christ,
a child of God, a sheep of the Good Shepherd. If I want to lead others to the
Lord and help them along their faith journeys, I need, first of all, to seek
Him out for myself and come and worship Him. In Him, I will find strength and wisdom to
carry on. In Him, I will find my joy.
***
As I read our gospel
in Matthew this week, I couldn’t help but marvel at the people God chooses to
accomplish His purposes. He calls a band
of stargazers, these "wise men," to announce to the world that Jesus Christ is
born. Herod, the king of the Jews, and all Jerusalem tremble in fear when these
strangers come bearing the news of His birth.
The prophets had warned of the Messiah to come, but now with the prophecy
threatening to be fulfilled, Herod is prepared to lie and kill to hold onto his
power and status.
Before the arrival
of the strangers, Jesus’ birth and identity are known to only a few—immediate
family, angels, some shepherds, and God Himself. What’s remarkable is that
those whom God has called to bring the announcement and worship the child who
would be King of the Jews are not Jewish! They are outsiders, foreigners, not
from a named town or country, but simply from the East. These new believers are Magi, astrologers— well respected in Ancient and Medieval times,
much like we respect astronomers or other scientists today. The Magi could find meaning and make
predictions about the future by looking up at the night sky.
Some scholars
think the Bethlehem star might have been Halley’s Comet, which would have been
visible in that area around 11 or 12 B.C. and may have seemed to hang in the
sky for up to a month. Others say that it
was more likely the planets Jupiter and Saturn, which were aligned three times
in 7 B.C.
The Magi end up
going to Jerusalem and requesting help to find the babe. A greatly disturbed Herod
secretly calls his own wise men—priests and scribes—to ask them where the child
would be. And they quote the prophet
Micah, saying that out of Bethlehem will come the ruler who will shepherd God’s
people Israel.
The Magi, despite
their gift of seeing hidden meaning in the stars, do not suspect Herod is lying
when he dispatches them to Bethlehem to find the child and come back and tell
him. They are fooled into believing that Herod, the current King of the Jews,
would want to come and worship Him, too.
But God blesses His
chosen messengers. The Magi find Jesus with Mary in Bethlehem. Filled with the joy of the Lord, they fall
down and worship him and give him extravagant gifts —gold, frankincense, and
myrrh—fit for the One who would be king, high priest, and atoning sacrifice not
just for the Jews, but for all people.
The Lord watches over and protects these
men of faith from the evil, scheming Herod, warning them in a dream not to
return to him. God has plans for the Magi
who will carry the joyful news of the Savior back to their own people and to
the unnamed country from whence they had come.
***
We never hear
about the Magi again after they have completed their mission and have sought
out, found and worshiped the Christ child.
But God shows us through the brief story of the Magi that He can and
will use anyone to accomplish His purposes—to bring the news of His salvation to
the world. God will surprise us by using the most unlikely characters—even you
and me!
God planned all along to bring my family
and me here, though I had never given ministry in Minnesota a thought before
Pat and Joel called me, seemingly out of the blue, in 2011.
And God has
planned that you would be who you are, where you are as a person of faith at
this time. And don’t be surprised this year if the Lord
leads us in a different ministry direction or to do new things for Him through
Ebenezer. And don’t think that God can’t or won’t use you because you are too
old, too young, too busy or too __________(whatever, fill in the blank.)
But it is
important for us to be spiritually healthy and ready to hear God’s voice and
obey. If we are exhausted and overwhelmed,
we won’t be able to be His faithful, loving servants, ready to go where He
wants us to go and do what He calls us to do. It is important for all of us to
find the right balance in our lives of ministry, work, and family time. We need
to remember that we are all the same in God’s eyes—no ministry gift is more
special or better than another. We are all, first and foremost, lovers of
Christ, children of God, sheep of the Good Shepherd. And we all need time alone to seek out the Lord
and worship Him, like the Magi so long ago.
In Him, we will
find strength and wisdom to carry on. In
Him, we will find our joy.
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, we praise you for your wonderful, mysterious
plan to bring your salvation to the world!
We thank you for using the most unlikely characters to accomplish your
Will –people like us, here in snowy Minnesota. Help us to bring our lives into
balance so that we are not working too much, neglecting family time, or failing
to get enough rest. Forgive us when we have forgotten how important it is to
seek you out every day and come and worship you. Remind us where we find our strength, where
we find our wisdom, where we find our joy!
In Him we pray. Amen.
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