A Heart of Giving
Matthew 2:1-12
January 5, 6, 2008

Happy New Year! I’m sure you have all made meaningful and significant resolutions for the New Year! And I suspect that a few of you have already readjusted your resolutions. I think you’ll appreciate one person’s plans. Bob has made the same basic resolutions for several years—one about his health, one about his marriage, and one about his spiritual growth. In 2005 his resolution was to get his weight below 180. In 2006 it was to watch his calories until he was under 190. In 2007, he resolved to maintain his new diet until he was under 200. In 2008 he has decided to develop a realistic attitude about his weight! In 2005 his resolution was to be a better husband to Marge. In 2006 he resolved not to leave Marge. In 2007 he wanted to try for a reconciliation with Marge. In 2008 he made this resolution—to be a better husband to Wanda. Back in 2005, Bob made a resolution to attend church every weekend. In 2006, he moved it to once a month. In 2007, he decided that he wanted to set aside time for occasional prayer and meditation. This year Bob has resolved to try to catch a sermon on TV from time to time. If you have made resolutions, I hope you have more resolve than Bob—and I hope your good intentions pave the way for a great 2008!

SO, HAPPY NEW YEAR—AND HAPPY EPIPHANY! During the Advent and Christmas season we reflected on the theme: Discover the Heart of Christmas. On Christmas Eve, hundreds of people gathered for communion and candlelight services. We considered the idea that to have a heart of Christmas is to have a heart of Light. After celebrating the twelve days of Christmas, on the Church calendar we begin the season of Epiphany on January 6. My hope and prayer for all of us as we begin the New Year and the season of Epiphany is that this can be a time for all of us to become more “Light-hearted.”

Epiphany is a time when we remember the story of the magi, or “wise men from the East.” Someone has noted that they must have been wise men because they actually stopped to ask for directions! After hearing from Herod, the light of the star eventually led them to the Light of the World. Their GPS was “God’s Positioning System,” which brought them to the Babe in the manger. The wise men still have much to teach us, but unfortunately many folks are wondering why they are still sticking around?

We’re just a few days into the New Year and many people are burned out with Christmas and Christmas-related stories. After all, Christmas was last year—and the decorations have been put away, and we have vacuumed up the pine needles and straw. We’ve already recovered from New Year’s Eve parties and New Year’s Day football overdoses. Most of us have returned to our routines and are back to work. Generally speaking, the Church has not preserved Epiphany properly. We have replaced the Twelve Days of Christmas with the Twelve Deals of Christmas. We have been encouraged to hustle back to the malls and shops and stores—in search of bargains on the lesser lights of Christmas. I confess that I was out there among the maniacs—trying to find a bargain on a discounted Christmas tree at Dillard’s!

BUT THE WISE MEN ARE STILL HANGING AROUND—WHO ARE THESE GUYS, ANYWAY? I suppose there has always been a little mystery surrounding the magi? Some believe they were Zoroastrian astrologers, Persian mystics. Some believe they were political officials or emissaries from regions east of Judah. It was common for foreign regimes to send ambassadors to greet and present gifts to new kings and rulers. Some believe that they possessed special knowledge about all things celestial, or that they were interpreters of dreams. I suppose that today we would call them “consultants”—and they would be making lots of gold and frankincense and myrrh!

The concept that these men were kings and that there were three of them was a later addition to the story.
This perspective has been programmed into our brains by the familiar Christmas carol, We Three Kings of Orient Are, or the less-familiar children’s pageant called Three Wee Kings. But we don’t know for sure if there were more or less. We just kind of match up the list of presents with the presumed number of presenters. Kings? No, but as Andrew McLellan points out: “It is an addition well within the meaning of the story, that what matters most in all the world is Jesus.” “(He) matters more than politicians, industrialists, pop stars and ministers of religion.” “It is Christ who is king, and when we recognize that, when the great ones and the powerful ones offer to him their greatness and power, when we put our trust in Christ and not in an economic theory or a passing campaign, then this story will become a true story, and the world’s light will have come and the world’s sun be risen.” And some people describe the magi as wise, but not very bright. They may have been well-acquainted with heavenly happenings, but they apparently flunked political science. It is hardly surprising that these men, following the star of a king, chose to journey to Jerusalem first. Jerusalem had long been the home of those who shaped the destiny of the land around them.

We do the same thing in our country. You probably know that the most visited residence in America is the White House—people want to visit the King of the Country. Do you know the second most visited residence in America? Graceland Mansion. People want to pay their respects to the King of Rock and Roll. Some of us look for salvation and hope, joy and justice in the Washingtons or Frankforts or Wall Streets of the world. Some are looking for a great star to rise over Iowa or New Hampshire or the site of the next political caucus. So why wouldn’t they look in Jerusalem for the next king? And they found a king alright—just not the right one. They had no idea that their innocent question, “Where is the Messiah?” would have dreadful and deadly consequences. Matthew tells us that “when King Herod heard this, he was frightened—and all Jerusalem with him!” A new servant-king chosen by a heavenly God would be a threat to an earthly puppet-king chosen by the Romans. And as it has happened since people have walked this planet—as soon as Light comes into the world, there will be others who try to put it out.

And yet, especially in the midst of darkness, people of faith are called to offer a ministry of light and a message of illumination to those in power. In the words of Carl Henry, “The divine mandate is to beam light, sprinkle salt, and knead leaven into an otherwise hopeless world.” The magi point us to where the world’s best hope is to be found. It is not to be found just from the education or the wisdom of the world. It is not to be found just from science or technology. It is not to be found just from selecting the right stock or mutual fund. Our hope comes from bowing before the Christ who is found—and the Christ who served—to use a phrase from Mother Teresa—in “the places that stink and where no one loves,” which was Mother Teresa’s definition of hell.

CALL THEM WHAT YOU WILL—BUT THE MAGI HAVE AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT PLACE IN THIS STORY. In fact, for some of you, they are your favorite characters. I am grateful that Julie Richardson Brown preached last weekend while Ellen and I were out of town celebrating our 26th anniversary. Julie confessed that she was hoping to preach from today’s text, but noticed that I already had it on my schedule. I wondered why—and actually offered her the opportunity to preach again—but she declined! Anyway, she said that she just felt that the wise men played such a remarkable role in the story. Their willingness to bring gifts to Jesus and their incredible demonstration of humility are amazing. Remember, these were people of position, prestige, and power who came to adore “on bended knee” a newborn baby. These were people who were “outsiders,” Gentiles, who were seeking the Light of God. These were people who made enormous sacrifices just to be present for this God-moment. Matthew tells us that when the moment arrived, they were “overwhelmed with joy!” Who knows how many weeks or months or miles, how much effort and energy and expense, how many difficulties and dangers they faced—just to be there!

We see glimpses of that kind of giving, that kind of humility at times. I remember last November when we celebrated the life and ministry of God’s good and faithful servant, Rev. Mary Beth Guy. Hundreds of people—from around the block, from Ohio, from across the country—took the time to be here. They made the effort to be present and to thank God. I remember when my father passed away—the services were in Fort Worth. But people I had not seen in years showed up to support our family. One of my best friends from seminary, the senior minister at a huge church in Dallas, showed up for the graveside service. He didn’t have time to be there—but he was. You don’t forget gifts like that.

Some of you have experienced the deep satisfaction of seeing family members and friends during the holidays. Some of them undoubtedly traveled a long way—and it didn’t matter if they brought a gift or a casserole or a pie or gold or frankincense or myrrh. You were just thrilled by the gift of their presence. Some of you might have been “overwhelmed with joy!” The magi have much to teach us—about sacrifices, about giving, about humility. And one of my favorite lines in the whole text is in verse 12—“having been warned in a dream, they left for their own country by another road.” For me, that seems to indicate that they were relying on that GPS—that “God Positioning System”—a little more heavily.

For us, perhaps that image can serve as a metaphor for the coming year… To lean into the presence of God… To listen for God… To learn from God… And perhaps come closer to God by choosing another road? The road to God is paved with good intentions, resilient resolutions, and appropriate actions. So hang on to all of those God-given Christmas gifts… Hang on to God’s peace, hope, joy, love, light… Keep them, treasure them… But also give them away.

As Howard Thurman eloquently writes:
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone;
When the kings and princes are home;
When the shepherds are back with their flock…
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among others,
To make music in the heart.