January 5, 2020

 January 5, 2020                 Matthew 2:1-12                Isaiah 60:1-6       Ephesians 2:1-12

                Do any of you have a star named after you or have any of you purchased the naming of a star for a loved one?  There are several websites devoted to this activity.  For as little as $19.99, you can name a standard star anything you’d like.  If you’d like an extra bright star it costs a little more, and you can even name binary stars 2 names.  Then of course there are gift sets, with wooden frames, and star charts, certificates, and on and on.  And wouldn’t you know it that within the hour of my search on the church laptop, my phone advertised the Star Registry to me.  It had sought me out because of a few clicks, and now my search history is following me, trying to sell me a star.

                People have looked up at the stars for tens of thousands of years if not longer.  As the song “Twinkle Twinkle” explains, we have wondered what they are.  People thought they were pinpricks in the firmament, letting in light.  People saw messages in the sky. 

We still look at them with wonder if we live in a place without light pollution, so we can see them.  It has been nice to see the stars here, because in Tacoma it is often too bright.  And people look to the stars for direction, for meaning.  People look up and reflect on their past.  People dream about their future.  People look for the meaning of life.  They ask “what does it all mean?”  People see in the stars people and stories.  They’ve imagined all sorts of adventures.  People look up and see their loved ones who have gone to heaven.  People have felt small and insignificant next to the vastness of the universe.  And people have felt their problems diminish in size next to the vastness of the universe.  And people have felt part of something bigger, as they’ve gazed up at the stars.

Abraham, of the Bible, looked up at the stars and imagined his offspring numbering as the stars, long before he ever fathered a child.  Even then he thought it might be too late for him.  Yet, here we are grafted into Abraham’s family tree.  In the Old Testament the wise are compared to stars and bright shining stars indicate God’s favor and blessing.  Throughout the Bible people have looked up at the stars and wondered how God, who created the stars, also created us, and knows us deeply. 

Today we come to the story of the star that led the Magi, the wise ones, to the Christ child in Bethlehem.  This was the first year that I made the connection between this star and the pillar of fire that led the Israelites through the desert to the promised land.  Both were moving guidance systems.  Both were visible both night and day.  Both were specific in direction and location. 

The wise ones watched the stars for information.  We don’t know whether it was a comet or a supernova or the alignment of planets that tipped off the Magi about this unusual birth.  This birth story would have shown that Jesus was very special.  The appearance of Haley’s Comet in 87 BC fortold the birth of Babylonian King Tigranes II, and a comet also appeared a few days after the death of Julius Ceasar, which was interpreted by Romans as meaning that he had become a god.  In any case, the magi realize that something is about to happen.  The stars may have indicated a certain direction or timing, and this is something they want to see for themselves.  They made preparations and set off for a long trip.  It seems that the star may have disappeared from view for a while, since they stop at King Herod’s to ask for directions.  Or maybe it was an indication in the stars to begin the trip and a single star at the end that pointed directly to where they should go.

Whether or not the star appeared exactly as Matthew tells it, or the Christmas Carols embellish, we can learn a few things from this story.  That the heavens would produce a sign marking the birth of someone, means the birth has importance even to the stars, even to far away planets and galaxies.  The birth was being celebrated by the heavens, the universe.  This birth was not just for the Jewish people, wise ones of another religion and race, saw the signs and came to worship him and pay him homage.  This birth was not just good news for planet earth.  His birth was meaningful to the universe, and even the stars paid him homage with a display of light.  As this child’s birth goes unnoticed among his own people, astronomers from a foreign country recognize the signs of greatness and go to great lengths to see this king, and offer him gifts.

This story tells us that this child is for everyone.  He is the savior of the poor and the rich, the well educated and the illiterate, local people and people from distant lands, those of all languages, races, and religions.  And also, although our translation says, “wise men,” magi could be any gender, so there might well have been women among them.  Throughout his ministry, Jesus will continue to be recognized and worshipped by unexpected people, outsiders, foreigners, and even people of other religions.  These stories become especially important when the early church was debating whether one had be Jewish in order to be Christian.  This is good news for us, that even we who are foreigners to Jesus, can claim him as our savior and pay homage to him.

Think of the path these magi took.  They left everything behind to follow a star to an unknown place.  They didn’t know how far they had to go.  They wouldn’t have spoken the language or been familiar with the food or customs of the country they were entering.  They didn’t know if they would be welcomed.  They couldn’t exactly call first.  They saw something that told them something unusual and exciting was happening.  They decided not to miss it.  They wanted to be there in person.  They took the supplies they thought they would need.  On the way, they talked to at least one King, Herod.  Certainly they would have expected that he would know where the baby would be born.  But the power structures in place were blind to what was happening around them.  Jesus was born in Jerusalem’s backyard and they couldn’t see what these magi saw from so far away.  But once Herod was alerted, his response is not joy or thanks, but fear.  He felt threatened.

The magi know how to respond to this message from the heavens.  They brought gifts fit for a king.  What would a baby in a manger do with gold and frankincense?  Yet that’s what the baby registry says in the book of Isaiah this morning.  And what did they know that no one else knew that they brought myrrh?  Myrrh was a waxy, bitter perfume used in embalming.  It is as if they know his life will be short.  In any case, they brought the best gifts they had and offered them to a little baby. 

Gift-giving is complicated, although I also think very primal.  Even animals do it.  We give a gift to cement a relationship.  My family has almost always had a cat.  It seemed that whenever we were in the midst of moving, that’s when our cats would bring us the most gifts.  I remember one very late night when we were living in California, getting ready to move to Oregon for my first call to a congregation.  I heard my cat meowing in a funny voice.  He was Siamese, so he could make some strange sounds.  I went into the bathroom to see if he was ok.  He sounded like he had been injured.  I didn’t have my glasses on and I have very poor eyesight, but something was there on the floor in front of him.  When I leaned down close enough to see it, I jumped back.  It was a dead mouse.  He was cementing our relationship.  He could see that we were moving, or maybe that things were hectic, and he wanted to make sure we knew his contribution was meaningful so we wouldn’t leave him behind.  I don’t want to compare the gift of a dead mouse to the gift of the magi, however it was the best he had to offer and I did thank my cat while I was tossing out his wonderful gift.

The magi were probably giving a gift for several reasons.  They might have wanted to thank God for all God’s gifts.  If they were so wise then maybe they understood that this baby king had something to do with the creation of the stars they watched so closely.  They also may have brought gifts so that someday if they needed something from him, they could say, remember when we brought you gold and frankincense and myrrh?  Now maybe you could return the favor.  Finally, gifts send the message, “I honor and respect you.”  In other words, homage.

There are many things we can learn from the magi.  One is notice the stars.  Look up.  Lose the tunnel vision.  Focus on the bigger picture.  Dream.  Use your imagination.

The problem when you start to see the stars and using your imagination, pretty soon you want to do something about it.  This is the next thing we can learn—do something!  It doesn’t have to be something as big as leaving town for the year like it was for our magi.  Sometimes our journey can happen right where we are.  Maybe it is being curious about why something is the way it is.  Maybe it is meeting someone and finding out what is important to them.  Maybe it is trying something you’ve never tried but always wanted to. 

The next lesson is to let your light shine, use your gifts—the best of what you have to offer.  Share them, even if people don’t always appreciate them.

Look for love and bright shining stars in unexpected places and people.  You never know where you will find the Christ child.  Maybe even in barn, or on the bus, or in the grocery store, or elk hunting, or huddled under a quilt. 

Go home by another way.  Sometimes we come across Herod: jealous, insecure, afraid.  Sometimes we find another way home, to give the Holy Family a little more time to flee.  And when we find Herod’s traits within ourselves, look deeper and find out why, listen to that little tyrant within us throwing a fit and realize that we are loved and we have nothing to fear.

There it is: Watch the stars, do something, let your light shine, look for love and light in unexpected people and places, go home by another way.