Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12

It is amazing how quickly life changes.  As children we are convinced that being grown up can’t come too soon.  As teenagers we are invincible and have all the answers.  As young adults we are certain that the world is ours and we hold all the right answers.  Then we become parents. Suddenly our wisdom is being challenged and our hearts are being bruised.  Just when we think our sanity is gone forever, our children leave home, get married, and suddenly we are grandparents.

At some point in the whole process, most us stop and wonder where all the years went.  How did they fly by so quickly?  And while those are very good questions, there is one that is seldom asked regardless of our age.  What are we doing with all those years?  Are we simply allowing them to occur in whatever random way life happens to play out?  Or, are we using them an opportunity to reflect, learn and to change?

Oddly enough, today’s Gospel less address these very question in a most interesting fashion.  Now scholars and theologians have spent the past few decades de-mythologizing this passage.  So, many of us now understand that the scripture does not tell us how many magi actually made the journey nor do we know what their names were.  We are also aware that the story never says the travelers were kings nor is it even remotely implied that they arrived at the stable on the night Christ was born.  Yet, in our efforts to become informed realists, we have forgotten the life lessons that can be learned form this remarkable journey across the desert and through a strange land.

Christians, it wasn’t by accident that the magi discovered the star.  They didn’t just happen to stumble upon it and decide it was time for an adventure.  In all reality, they had spent years in disciplined study.  They had searched through brooks and had observed the heavens.  So, when the star appeared they understood it was a sign and they were prepared to follow.

Now, friends, when was the last time discerning God’s will was so important to us that we were wiling to make it the most important priority in our lives?  Or, has it ever really been that important to us?  Have we ever wanted to know God’s direction for our lives badly enough to actually discipline ourselves to study and mediate on the Scriptures each and every day?  Have we ever been willing to pray without ceasing? Or, are we more apt to rationalize and reason our way through decisions and doubts? 

The other thing we should never forget is that the magi did not simply rely upon their own understanding and knowledge.  They spent a great deal of time listening to people who were different than themselves – people who had different ideas and different beliefs.  They allowed themselves to be challenged and stretched because they understood that wisdom is never welcomed in a closed mind!  But that is not to say they allowed themselves to be sucked in by every new idea or passing fad.  Everything they did – everything they heard – was weighed against everything they knew and everything they had learned.

Too bad the same couldn’t be said for the scribes in King Herod’s court.  They had the Scriptures.  They knew the prophecy.  But the had not committed themselves to following God’s lead.  They not only missed the signs, they also ruined lives and caused devastation to reign down upon their own people.  Why?  Because they lacked the faith to follow the truth.

Faith – it is not simply a matter of knowing the way.  It is, instead, a willingness to follow God’s way regardless of where it leads us.  In a sermon entitled Go Another Way, Rev. Dr. Wiley Stephens said:  When the wise men arrived in Jerusalem, they were only about six miles from their goal, but they had a long way to go.  They needed to stay focused, not fall for the flattery of the king’s court or to confuse power with right.  Just as they had keenly understood the star that others only wondered about, now they had to listen for the still small voice with to find the right way to on. 

They had to see the greatness in the small.   They had to know the need to move on . . . They had to know the importance of following through.

So, where is God leading us?  I have no idea.  But what I do know is the journey is not over.  There is, instead, a long and winding road before us that will lead to heaven knows where.  But heave does know.  So, all we have to do is commit ourselves to believing, following, and discovering.

To God be the Glory.  Amen