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Valencia, California
Studying scripture and preaching the Word to draw us into deeper understanding and more faithful discipleship.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Matthew 2:1-12 The Magi

Sermon notes: 



Matthew 2:1-12
·         A familiar story of the Christmas holiday
·         Familiar take (use the congregation to highlight these points, have them tell you the story)
o   3 kings (Even though the scripture doesn’t identify how many men, only how many gifts)
o   Followed a star in the sky and came from the East
o   Brought gifts to the Christ child
§  Gold = for a king
§  Frankincense and Myrrh = embalming spices and oils, which foreshadow his death.
o   This familiar story asks us, “what do we bring to the Christ child?  What gifts of our own will we offer?  How we will recognize his kingship?  And the importance of his sacrificial death?
·         Less common take
o   “Magi” not kings.  Magi could have been wise men, but more commonly probably would have been astrologers.  So we have these zoroastrianists from the East who are assumed to be gentiles.  And yet they recognized this special sign and came to greet the King of the Jews.
o   That may sound like no big deal to us, but we need to remember that we are reading from the Gospel of Matthew and Matthew is a fairly traditional Jewish writer who writes to a Jewish audience.  He quotes and points to Jewish scripture far more than any other gospel writer. 
o   And here, at the forefront of his gospel, steeped in Jewish tradition is a story of gentile astrologers coming a very long distance to honor and bless the King of the Jews.
o   That’s highly unorthodox.  In Jewish perspective, the Messiah, God’s chosen and anointed one, was sent for them, to lead them, to deliver them. There weren’t strong notions of a deliverer of the world of a Savior for other peoples. The savior they awaited was to save the Israelites. 
o   And yet, somehow, in the middle of their story, these magi from the East show up.  And they aren’t there by chance.  They didn’t just happen to be passing by—they traveled explicitly for this purpose—to pay homage to the Christ child—to the king of the Jews.  And they came with gifts—expensive gifts loaded with value and loaded with meaning.  Who were these men to greet the Messiah?  Who were they to anticipate a Jewish baby?  They were outsiders. And they were outsiders who *got it* long before most anyone else. 
o   And to me, that’s a funny little irony that suggests this whole story is going to turn what we know and what we expect right on its head.
o   Even in the midst of the tradition tied up with Jewish prophecies and all that God promised to do and be is something unexpected.
§  And maybe it’s enough just to know that God did that—that the Magi were a strange and unexpected guest and that that in itself flips things on their head for the Jews.  But it’s rarely enough to leave things in the 1st century.  It’s insufficient to say that’s their story, not ours.  At least when it comes to the Bible. Part of the reason the Bible is so powerful is because it relates to people of all ages, races, and notions from every century.  And it does that through the Holy Spirit keeping the stories relevant for us.
o   So, we are challenged to ask “how does this apply to me?” 
§  What traditional expectations are we holding onto?
§  Where have we become rigid in our beliefs?
§  Who have we decided are insiders and who are the outsiders?
§  And how have we read our tradition to mean that they won’t be able to make it in?  That who they are or what they’ve done excludes them from God’s grace or forgiveness or our acceptance and hospitality?
·         What we see from very early on in Matthew’s gospel, is that the Christ child will influence and affect more than those located within the tradition.  People will come to him, will see him and honor him even if they haven’t heard the prophecies, even if they haven’t been expecting him for generations.  People who don’t fit our notions of acceptable will offer him the best of what they have to offer.  They will be lead to him by a variety of roads and paths.  And while none of that fits our expectations, it fits God’s purpose and becomes ours to cherish and appreciate.  
·         And on this day when we celebrate Holy Communion, let us remember that though we have all come on different roads for different reasons, we are welcome here.  The Christ child was sent for each of us!  Praise God!