Theme: Seeking Christ in Christmas The Gifts of the Magi...Jeff Huber’s Sermon –December 7-8, 2013 Page 1 Theme: Seeking Christ in Christmas “The Gifts of the Magi” Sermon

Jeff Huber’s Sermon –December 7-8, 2013 Page 1

Theme: Seeking Christ in Christmas “The Gifts of the Magi”

Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – based on a sermon series by Adam Hamilton

December 7-8, 2013 at First United Methodist Church, Durango

Matthew 2: 1-2, 9a-12

1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

9a And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

VIDEO Seeking Christ in Christmas Week 2 Sermon Starter

SLIDE The Gifts of the Magi

Today we continue with the series of sermons in which we're seeking Christ during this Christmas season. During this series of sermons we have been looking at the stories that happen after the birth of Jesus, recognizing that we sometimes don't look at these stories enough as we journey through the season of Advent, which is the four Sundays before we get to Christmas. Last week we began by looking at the story of King Herod and his murderous search for Jesus in which he killed all of the boy children under the age of two in Bethlehem shortly after Jesus was born. Today we will look at another part of that same story as we look at the Magi or the Wise Men who were the visitors who came from the East. Next week we will look at Simeon and Anna, two older persons who lived in the Temple in Jerusalem and who were the first to bless the baby Jesus when he was brought there by his parents, Mary and Joseph. Finally we will look at the shepherds who were the first to visit Jesus after his birth.

I want to invite you to take out of your bulletin your Message Notes and your Meditation Moments. In your bulletin each week you have this sheet of


paper folded in half and at the top you will find a Scripture passage we are using for today and below that there are some blank lines where you can write the things down that you hear today that you might want to remember. We are a church who teaches you some history and some theology. We also try to connect the biblical story with our life today. Our hope is that you might hear something each week you'll want to remember in the days ahead and there is a place for you to write those things down. I hope there is some message that you hear that is just for you and you will write that down.

Below that you will find daily Scripture readings which tie back into the message we have for the day. We encourage you to be people of the Book and to read the Bible on your own. Each day we will give you some Scripture to read and give you background material that will help you better understand it and apply it to your life. We also have separate devotional books for the season of Advent in the back on the usher tables that you can get as you leave if you would like one of those.

Advent is the season in which we prepare for the birth of Jesus, but also the season in which we remember that one day Christ will call each one of us home. Last week we focused on King Herod, the great, who, when he heard there was a child that was born "King of the Jews," became enraged. Herod was paranoid because he was insecure and fearful. He lived with this fear of losing the throne and losing his power. There is this terrible story of how he killed innocent children because he was threatened. It's a story which does not make it to the front of your greeting cards and we don't sing Christmas carols about it. But this is what happens after Jesus was born and we learned last week how it is that each one of us can succumb to our insecurities in our fears and do things we will later regret.

We also talked last week about how God's way is not to always act and jump in and take care of all the evil things in the world, although that is what most of us want if we are honest. For him to do that would mean that God would rob us of the capacity to do wrong ourselves, and to make choices and decisions. We would have to forfeit our freedom and simply do what God said we had to do if we want to live in this way. Instead, every one of us has the opportunity to do wonderful things and also terrifying things because of our potential as human beings who have free choice. This is why we have to know what it means to be truly human and why we wrestle with what God wants of us. God doesn't take away our evil impulses, but instead seeks to guide us to do the right thing. Today we will discover one of the ways that God works in the world through this story of


the Magi.

This story is intertwined with last week’s story because it is the wise men who showed up in Jerusalem and announced to King Herod that there was a star in the heavens which had guided them to this place. They believed this star was a sign that a child had been born who was King of the Jews. We sing Christmas carols about this part of the story like, "We three Kings of Orient are, bearing gifts we traverse so far, field and fountain, more and mountain, following yonder star.”

We put wise men in our Nativity scenes and this is one of my favorite parts of the Christmas story, as we imagine what these travelers were like and what kinds of gifts they brought to the baby Jesus. As we focus our attention on the Magi we are going to learn a few things that you may not have known about them before. We will also do another sermon on the Magi because there is so much to learn about them. That sermon will happen after Christmas which is when we typically celebrate the coming of the wise men. Today we are going to ask ourselves a couple of questions about this story. What does this story of the Magi teach us about God? What does this story teach us about God's will for our life today? Let's start by looking at who the Magi are and what role they played in this story.

SLIDE Who were the Magi?

We know them as the wise men or the three Kings but the word that Matthew uses in his gospel is "Magi." He doesn't use the term, "wise men," and he certainly doesn't use the word “King.” In fact, they are not mentioned to be King's anywhere in the story, but we take that idea from the Old Testament. In the book of Isaiah, chapter 60, we read these words in verses 3 and 6:

SLIDE 3 All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance. 6 Vast caravans of camels will converge on you, the camels of Midian and Ephah. The people of Sheba will bring gold and frankincense and will come worshiping the Lord.

Many people read that passage and this story in Matthew’s gospel and said that these must be the kings. The truth is that Magi were not kings but they were typically philosophers. They might have been seen as astrologers or astronomers who looked at the stars and believed the stars could tell about events that were happening here on Earth. They were people who were wise sages and some of them, quite honestly, were charlatans. Most were sophisticated and pious but some just wanted to turn a buck.


We read in the book of Acts about two different Magi who were simply using power to do magic tricks to get people to give them money. The word Magi is a word that you are familiar with because it is the basis for the word “magic” and “magicians” in our English language. These Magi would do things which surprised people and lead them to wonder when they watched them. Those were often crooks or imposters, but real Magi were actually priests who were following a prophet named Zoroaster. He was a prophet in what we know of today as Iran, which was Persia in the first century. They believed in God and they focused on discovering truth. They were interested in knowing the truth and they believed that free will explained so much of the pain and suffering in this world.

We don't know that there were three Magi but we take it that there were three because the gifts that are mentioned are gold, frankincense and myrrh. Because there were three gifts people have come to believe there were three wise men. My children are from Ukraine and one of the things that we learned is that in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, they believe there were actually 12 wise men, so we actually don't know exactly how many there were.

The Magi were believed to have names and from the Middle Ages they were given the names Melchior, Gaspar and Baltazar which were the three names that you heard in the recent movie, The Nativity Story. Once again, we don't really know their names but the names were given to them over a long period of time.

What we do know is that these persons were very interested in knowing when a King would be born who would change the world. The Magi knew something of the Jewish people and of their hopes for a Messiah because in the land of Parthian, where the Magi lived, they actually had control over the land of Judea before King Herod came to power through the Roman Empire. The Jews and the Parthians had some dealings with each other and the Parthians knew there was anticipation in the Jewish Scriptures that a King would come and he would be the Messiah. They had heard the Scriptures talk about this Messiah being an Everlasting Father and a Prince of Peace. He would be a Shepherd who would lead the people with justice and righteousness and bring light and life to the world and to all the nations. He would be the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

The wise men, knowing the story of the coming King of the Jews, were looking and waiting and anticipating the day when that King would be born. They spent time watching the stars believing the stars could tell them when the


King would be born. People have sometimes asked, "What did they see in the heavens which caused them to believe that the King was born?"

There have been different explanations for the star over the years. Some believe there was a comet that came across the sky. Most scholars seem to believe that it was actually the conjunction of two planets that looked like stars that would've happened around 6 or 7 B.C. If you go out at night this time of year and you look in the southwestern sky this evening, you will see the planet Jupiter. Jupiter can be seen in the evening sky. Look for the giant planet to rise in the east about three hours after sunset, or at about the time that Venus sets. By late December, Jupiter will be up by dusk or nightfall, or roughly an hour before Venus sets in the west. If you have an unobstructed horizon, you should be able to see Venus and Jupiter shining pretty much opposite of each other at early evening, starting around the second week of December. They are the sky’s two brightest planets, and they’ll be like bright bookends, briefly, enclosing the evening sky.

Jupiter looks like a star but it doesn't twinkle and it is the brightest thing in the sky, other than the moon. Some nights it is clear enough you can get a pair of binoculars and actually see some of the moons of Jupiter. I remember taking a geophysics class when I was a student at the University of Colorado in Boulder. We got to go to the observatory and I was able to take pictures in black and white of the moon and of Jupiter and its moons.

SLIDE Jupiter and Moons (graphic-pick which one looks best)

If you look on the video screen you will see an image of Jupiter and its moons. Remember that Jesus was probably born around 6 BC and in 7 BC there was a conjunction of two planets, Jupiter and Saturn. This conjunction of planets would happen about every 20 years. On the video screen you will see a picture of Saturn and Jupiter in the constellation Pisces.

SLIDE Jupiter and Saturn in Pisces (graphic)

Jupiter represented royalty in the ancient world. Most scholars believe that when the wise men looked at these two planets converging, the brightness was a sign from God that a newborn King was the writing.

The Magi, upon seeing this sign, packed up all that they could for a long journey and began the trip from modern-day Iran or Parthian to Bethlehem. How long was that journey?.

VIDEO Magi Trip (no audio Jeff will narrate)


It was about 1000 miles on camel or foot and if you look up on the video screens we will move from Tehran, Iran here at the top right corner. In ancient times this was known as the city of Ray. They would've traveled across the Fertile Crescent and finally came down to Bethlehem, for that 1000 mile journey.


Do you wonder how long it might take them to make that journey? It probably would've taken between 50 and 60 days, or close to two months. They traveled all that way so they could see this baby who was born King of the Jews. To give you some idea of the distance, if you left Durango today by camel, 1000 miles would take you all the way to San Francisco, California. That would take you about 2 months on foot or by camel from Durango to San Francisco. These Magi clearly had a deep desire to make their way to see this child.

They also brought with them the gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh which were valuable possessions during the first century. They brought these gifts to give to the Christ child and there is a question we might ask as we think about how long the journey took and how valuable the gifts were.

SLIDE Why would the Magi make this journey?

Why would they give up the relative comfort and safety of their home to travel 60 days to Bethlehem and then 60 days back, taking some of their most valuable possessions and giving them to a stranger, which ended up being a baby born to Jewish peasants, who now would have to flee as refugees in danger of their lives? Why would they do this? It doesn't really make any sense, does it?

It might help to understand what was going on in the homeland of the Magi. If you start reading about the Parthian Empire you will learn a few things about why the Magi would have taken this journey. Most of us might know something about the Parthian Empire but not much. You might know that they had conflicts with Rome. You might also know they were a great Empire which covered most of Persia. But you might not know much of their other history.

I found it interesting to learn what was happening in the Parthian Empire around the time of 7 or 8 BC when the star would have appeared. During that time the Parthian empire was ruled over by an Emperor named Phraates IV. We actually know what Phraates IV looked like because he loved to have his picture on all the coins in his Empire.

SLIDE Phraates IV Drachma


This is what Phraates looked like, and there were multiple different coins with his image on it. We put dead presidents on our coins but Phraates liked to have his picture on every coin that was produced while he was living. Most people who talk about Phraates online are numismatics, or people who collect coins, because there are so many coins with his image on it.

Last week we learned about King Herod the great and how he was very paranoid. He was terrified of losing power and he was in power when Jesus was born. We learned that his favorite wife, Miriam, was a descendent of the last Jewish King who was a part of the Maccabees. Herod was afraid that Miriam's uncle, who also was fully Jewish, was going to try and take power from him because Herod wasn't Jewish but instead was an Edomite. Herod had him assassinated. Herod was afraid that Miriam's brother was going to take the throne and so he had him killed. Though he loved Miriam more than anyone else, King Herod was afraid that she was going to try and take the throne and he had his own favorite wife killed. Then he had his favorite wife’s mother killed. He had three sons with her and he had two of them killed and put to death. Just before his own death he had his only other son killed. This gives you an idea of the kind of man that King Herod the great was.

The truth is that King Herod looked like Mr. Rogers compared King Phraates who ruled in Parthia. Phraates IV was the Emperor when the wise men began their journey and so let’s learn a bit about him. Phraates became Emperor when he took control from his brother. The two of them took control from Phraates III, their own father. They actually killed their own father in order to become rulers over the Parthian Empire. His father was married to multiple women and he had 30 different sons. Phraates killed his brother Pacorus and then he rounded up those 30 other brothers that he had and put them all to death.

Phraates had five sons of his own that he had traded off to the Romans, who were the arch enemies of the Parthians, so that they would not take the throne from him. One of his sons did try to take the throne with a popular uprising with the people in the Parthian Empire and he was put down and killed. After that, Phraates made sure that the people of his Empire felt his wrath and he killed thousands of them to put down their rebellion.

He was known as a cruel dictator and the conditions in the Parthian Empire might be something like you have seen in terrible empires in countries today that are ruled by dictators. We have often seen people rule with harshness and cruelty over their people, like the Arab spring, and what has happened in the Middle East


recently. Some of those people, including leaders in Syria and other nations, have killed thousands of their own people in order to stay in power. This is the picture that you get of the Parthian Empire. It was a dark place to live and when the Magi saw the light in the heavens, they believed the long-awaited Jewish Messiah had been born. We might understand why they took a 60 day journey all the way to Bethlehem to see this newborn King. This child, the Messianic King, represented hope that the world could be better in the future than it was in the present or past. This child represented life to them. They had hope for an ideal King that would rule with justice and righteousness.

SLIDE The Prince of Peace

Isaiah says that he would be a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, an Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace. They were yearning for this and Jesus represented their hopes and their dreams and what they believed could happen in the future. Maybe this King and Bethlehem could change the rest of the world.

It seems to me that this is the very reason that we celebrate Christmas today. We have a deep longing for somebody who can give us hope. We have a longing to know that there is grace for us. We want to know that we are never really alone. We want to know that there is light and life. We want to believe that there is someone who will rule with righteousness and justice, and somehow in the end, he will make all of the pain in this world make sense and bring about something beautiful and good. We feel the need for that.

Christmas can’t be just about getting a new iPad or the newest and biggest and smartest TV. Christmas can't be about the latest video game or getting that new set of clothes that you want. Surely Christmas is more than black Friday and cyber deals on Monday, isn’t it?

In our own lives I think we feel the need for this just like the Magi felt a need for something more. Sometimes it might even feel like we are the Magi living in a place of great darkness. I think of the family who visited this week whose father is literally fading away from dementia. They are anticipating that it will get darker before it gets light. They don't need an iPad. What they need to know this Christmas is what Jesus said is true, "I am the resurrection and I'm the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, yet shall they live. Whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. I died and behold I am alive for evermore."


They need to know that when they walk through the Valley of the shadow of death they are not alone and they don't need to fear evil.

I think of a young man who came to me a few years ago during the Christmas season. He had made a mess of his life in many ways and he was too embarrassed to even tell me many of the things that had happened in his life. With tears in his eyes he asked me, "I need to know something Pastor Jeff. Is there any way that God can forgive me? Is there any way that I could actually start all over again?"

Isn't that the message of Christmas? There is a Savior who has been born who can save us from our broken past and the dark places. Some of those dark places we have taken ourselves into and some of them have just overcome us for no apparent reason. What we need most at Christmas is hope, and the Magi represent this for us.

I met this last week with the family who lost a young family member to suicide. People often try to speculate about why someone took their life. The truth is that it’s none of our business. Here's what I know after being a pastor for more than 20 years. I've officiated at the funerals of a number of people who have taken their own lives. In those moments you face a darkness which is palpable and you can feel it. There is not very many of us, who at some point in our own lives have not had a thought that runs across our mind, "Maybe life would be better off if I weren’t here. Maybe my family would be better off. It's just too hard and maybe it would be easier if I was dead."

Once we get this tunnel vision, all we can see is this darkness and what we can't see is what is on the other side of that. We can't see something which is trite but which is true, that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. We can't see the pain that would ripple through the lives of so many other people once we’ve taken this step. We are not thinking clearly or seeing clearly as our vision has become clouded by darkness, and often times pain and brokenness have overcome us.

A number of years ago I officiated at a young person's funeral who had taken his own life. As I officiated at his funeral I said to the community gathered the same thing I told one of our families whose daughter took her life not long ago. Some people are afraid that if someone has committed suicide then there is no hope for them in heaven. I don't think that's how it works. I picture God taking this young boy or this young girl who was so overwhelmed with darkness, and wrapping them in his arms and saying, "Please listen. I love you. I love you so


much that what you did hurts my heart and I ache for you. I had hopes for you and plans for you and dreams for you, much like your earthly parents and family. I had dreams of what could have happened in your future and I just needed you to hold on. Because this darkness was going on, you could not see there were so many great things I had planned for you. But now that you're here, please know that I am with you and you are with me and there is no more pain or sorrow. I will wipe every tear from your eyes."

Sometimes, we need to know in the midst of the darkness there is hope. We need to know there is a Redeemer and a Savior. There is life for us and forgiveness and grace. That's what Christmas offers us. That is what the wise men were seeking. Like the wise men, we journey and we see the manger in Bethlehem at Christmas time just so we can remember this truth, that the light has overcome the darkness.

I want to remind you that becoming a Christian is not usually some magical thing which happens to you that overwhelms you. What usually happens is that you hear the story of Jesus and you hear the things that he said and you hear the things that he did and what the early Christians said about him. At some point you choose to believe that this is true. I don't think it just happens to you, but it is a choice that you make where you say, "I choose to believe that God cares enough about human beings to walk among us. I choose to believe that the words of Jesus are the words of life and offer us hope. I choose to believe that when I look at Jesus I see who God is. I choose to believe that he hung on the cross and he suffered and died for the sins of the world. I choose to believe that on the third day the tomb was empty and he rose from the grave. I choose to believe that the worst thing in my life will never be the last thing in my life. I choose to believe that the most horrible things we see are not the final words from God."

This is a choice that we make and when we choose to believe that, we begin to find what the wise men found when they finally came to Bethlehem. Did you hear it in the text?

SLIDE 9a And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!

That's what we begin to discover as we trust in him.

Sometimes we are the Magi who are trying to find a light. But sometimes,


when things are going well, we are called to be the light and to be the star that leads other people to Bethlehem. We become that light which shines in the darkness and helps other people find Jesus Christ. This is what the church is meant to be about and why Jesus created the church 2000 years ago.

We remember what Jesus said to his disciples, "You are the light of the world, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. So let your light so shine before others so that they might see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven." This is the role we are meant to play.

We are meant to be a light to the world this Christmas season. Sometimes it looks like making a box for Operation Christmas Child. Sometimes it looks like being a part of the Community Thanksgiving dinner at the Fairgrounds which many of you did. Sometimes it looks like going to Manna Soup Kitchen. Sometimes it looks like taking a meal to a family that is struggling during the Christmas season. Every year different groups in our church adopt families where the parents might be out of work, or there might be medical issues that keep people from being able to work. We buy gifts and baskets for those families and we take them these things and say simply to them, "We want this to be a visible reminder that God has not forgotten you. We have come here to remind you that God loves you and God is walking with you through this dark time. These gifts are from the body of Christ to remind you that we stand with you and you're not alone."

Sometimes our friends and others need this from us. We look to see who the people who are that need a word of encouragement. They need someone to sit with them this Christmas season or bring them communion like we will do to all of our homebound during the next few weeks. That is what we are called to be as we ultimately point them towards the star, Jesus Christ.

The Magi teach us that being the light of Christ does not mean you stand before someone and ask them, "Are you saved? Do you know if you died tonight if you will go to heaven or not?" The wise men just brought gifts.

Sometimes it is simply about saying, "I love you and I'm praying for you. I'm going to this church on Saturday night or Sunday morning and it's a pretty neat group of people who are not too annoying at Christmas. They understand that this season is hard sometimes. You want to go with me some week?"

You might think about inviting someone who needs a word of encouragement to one of the Christmas Eve services. There are many studies


which have been done that show that as a church gets to be older than about 20 years, many of the people have invited most of their friends and they stop inviting people who are religious because they don't know many. Part of the reason we start new worship services is because that allows new people to come and to connect. But the task for each of us, if we are being followers of Jesus and being a light to the world, is to look around at the people within our sphere of influence that we know and we care about and see if they have found the hope that can sustain them in life. We need to be able to say to them, "Would you like to come with me to a Candlelight service on Christmas Eve? Would your family like to come to one of our children's services earlier in the day?"

Maybe you can just share with them something about your own faith and what you have found in Christ because there is one thing you are an expert on and that is your story. You don't have to know all the right answers. You just have to care.

This last week I was up on campus at Fort Lewis helping teach a class and I got to meet with a number of students. Afterwards you could tell many of them were hungry to find out more about faith, but they didn't want to feel judged about the party they went to last weekend or the most recent tattoo they got the day before. I'm going to tell you what I told each one of them. I am not in the soul saving business. I can't save a single soul. Only God can save souls. You and I are in the people business. We have to care about people before we care about how much we know about God or Jesus or the latest and greatest argument for faith in Christ. We have to care more about people than the style of worship or the way that we sing music or when we stand up or when we sit down.

We have to have a driving passion to reach out to thinking people who aren't sure about God and aren’t sure if they really need God or the church, but they know they are missing something. We need to provide a safe place where people can wrestle with their faith and ask the tough questions without being judged. We need to show them that there is a place where they can have an intellect and a mind and also have a soul. We are called to be a church were both of these things, the mind and the soul, the body and the heart need nourishment. This is why we are a church that teaches things and give you history and theology, AND recognizes the power of the Holy Spirit in today's world in our lives. We try to speak to your heart and recognize that we are a faith tradition where the head and the heart go hand-in-hand. This is who we are as a congregation.

Sometimes we are the Magi, seeking a light in the darkness, and sometimes


we are called to be the light in the darkness for others. This brings us to our last part of today's message.

The Magi came and they saw the Christ child and their hearts were filled with joy because he represented all of their hopes and dreams. They bowed down on their knees and paid him homage as they witnessed this child. This is what we do as we gather for worship every week. We sing songs of praise and pay tribute to the One who brought light into the world. They opened their treasure chests and they presented to him the gift of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

SLIDE The Magi came bringing gifts

This is where the tradition of giving Christmas gifts comes from. It starts right here with the wise men giving their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. I want you to notice what didn't happen. Gaspar didn't say to Baltazar, "Hey Baltazar, what do you want for Christmas this year?"

Baltazar didn't say to Melchior, "Hey Melchior, I'm making my list and checking it twice. I'm going to JCPenney later on today. What you want for Christmas?"

They didn’t do that because they didn't come to buy gifts for each other. It wasn't their birthday. They were bringing gifts to the Christ child. This is why I say to you every year at Christmas time this truth over and over again. Christmas is not your birthday. For many of us as children growing up, we recognized that we got two birthdays every year. We had our own birthday and we had Jesus’ birthday and both of them were great.

My birthday is October 1 and right after that I would begin counting down to the next birthday which was December 25th. I was already making a list of the new G.I. Joe accessories that had to go along with the G.I. Joe I just got for my birthday. I would write my letter to Santa and have it ready by about October 3. Everybody would ask me as a kid, even grandma and grandpa, "What do you want for Christmas?" Other family would want a list from you and somewhere along the way we get the idea that this whole thing at Christmas is a real big party for US.

The retailers need it to be a big party for us and so they develop Black Friday and then they open up on Thanksgiving because Black Friday sales are dwindling because of online sales. Then we add cyber Monday to cash in on that trend. I read this last week about the owner of a large company with more than 200 stores in the United States that said they would not open on Thanksgiving


and wouldn’t open until 10 AM on Friday. They were called a "Scrooge" because they wanted their employees to stay home and actually have family time on Thanksgiving. How crazy is that?!

I want to be clear that I don't think it's wrong to buy gifts for each other at Christmas. That's part of the fun of the holiday for many people and I think it’s okay to a point. But let's remember that even old Saint Nicholas, when he began giving gifts several hundred years ago, was following the tradition of the Magi. He was looking for the children who didn't have anything and he was giving gifts to them.

When we remember that Christmas is not our birthday, we begin to remember that Christmas is about something more and something deeper. Christmas is about something more profound than what you can buy online or at the mall. We then remember that maybe our Christmas giving at Christmas time should not be about ourselves, but should be about those who can't afford anything.

If we’re honest, for most of us gift giving goes this way. We spend hours going and picking out just that right gift for that someone special, whether it's our children or our spouse or our parents. They spend hours picking something out for me. Then we open it on Christmas morning and it’s either too big or too small. It's not quite the shade that we wanted or it's not quite the color we were hoping for. We take it back the week after Christmas because the deals are even better and we exchange it for exactly what we want. The truth is that we could've gone shopping for whatever we wanted, anytime we wanted, and it would take a whole lot less time and create a whole lot less anxiety. Why do we do this to ourselves?

This is why we encourage you to scale back Christmas and commit to doing a birthday present for Jesus. Instead, get a gift or even make a gift which truly represents the love you have for that person, and then put the rest of that money in the Christmas Eve offering.

This is why each Christmas we give away our entire Christmas Eve offering, because we are called to be a light to the world and to recognize that we are the answer to prayer. We don't just sit around and wait for God to show up and do a miracle. Instead, each Christmas we participate in the miracle that God wants to do. Last year we built a well in the slum area called Spring Valley in Kenya which is part of the ministry that we have been working on and serving in for five years.


SLIDE Well at Spring Valley (graphic)

We also helped to build the girls dormitory where girls in the slum could go and live without the threat of someone reading them or abusing them.

SLIDE Talitha Koum Girls (graphic)

We bought land for and built a medical/dental clinic in San Juan, Guatemala.

SLIDE Guatemala Building (graphic)

SLIDE Holly House (graphic)

We also did a local project last year which was Holly House, where we refurbished the Day Habilitation Center for those in our community who need a place to go during the day for training and for support

This is why each year I remind you that Christmas is NOT your birthday. Christmas is Jesus’ birthday and so we ask you each year to give a present to Jesus that’s at least as big as what you're going to spend on yourself and your family for Christmas.

This year our Christmas Eve offering will be split 3 ways between the Manna Soup Kitchen Expansion Project.

SLIDE Manna Future Courtyard 2 (graphic)

SLIDE Manna Site Plan Sketch (graphic)

SLIDE Spring Valley Kids (graphic)

Money for food for Spring Valley where they feed three hundred kids twice each day, porridge in the morning and porridge in the afternoon. This is ALL the food most of these kids will get.

SLIDE Guatemala Medical (graphic)

Money for medical supplies for the clinic in Guatemala will be the final recipient as our medical teams that have gone there have always run out of supplies. We figured it was silly to build buildings and then not have any food or medical supplies! Maybe that would better capture the real meaning of Christmas and reflect the story of the Magi and their journey in seeking Christ.


Let’s remember that the wise men came and they brought their gifts to Jesus, and as we close I want to remind you of what happened next. That very


night, after they had given their gifts, they got a message from God about which direction to head in their lives. This is a very important part of the story that we sometimes overlook. It was AFTER the wise men served and after they gave their gifts and after the long and difficult journey that they found direction from God. God told them in a dream to go home by another way.

I want to encourage those of you who feel stuck or who feel like you're in a dark place or who feel like you are not sure which direction to turn to remember this part of the story. This story of the Magi reminds us that it is after we are giving and willing to give and after we have taken the difficult journey, that God often sometimes does his best work and we are able to hear God’s voice give us a new direction and new meaning in our lives.

It was also after this point in the story when the Angel appeared to Joseph and told him he needed to get up and move his family with everything they had to Egypt. This was a peasant couple who had very little and they took what they had and their little boy and they began the 30 day journey to Egypt.

How do you think they paid for food on that journey to Egypt? How do you think they found a new place to live once they got there? Can I tell you how they made ends meet? Three people, or five or 12, who knows how many, felt prompted in their hearts to give them gold, frankincense and myrrh at Christmas.

You see, God doesn't send angels to do his work in the world very often. God sends people. God doesn't deliver us from bad things happening but he sends people to come alongside us and walk with us and help us. When we figure that out and say, "Lord, here am I, send me. What can I do and how can I be used by you? How can I change the world and bring hope and light and light to others?" When we have done this we have discovered the real meaning of Christmas.

So now we know something about the Magi. We know something about where they lived and where they came from. We know how far they journeyed and you could tell your friends tomorrow, "You know how far the wise men traveled? They traveled from here to San Francisco!"

You know something about the darkness in which they lived and why they traveled for 60 days to come to Bethlehem. You remember that you are called to be the star of wonder that leads other people to the Christ child. So we look around at Christmas time and we ask, "Who do I know that does not have a church family that I might invite with me to church this Christmas season? Who


do I know that I might invite to share the love of Christ with in some tangible way? Who do I see who needs hope and might need a place to go on Christmas Eve?"

Finally, you remember that it was through the Magi and their gifts that God saved the Christ child and his family. It is through your work and your giving to our Christmas eve offering, which is going to help feed the poor, and provide medical care for those without anything here in Durango and in Africa and around the world in Guatemala. Through all of these things you have the chance to be the Magi for someone else. That I think is the message of the story of the wise men. It is for that reason that we sing the wonderful chorus.

SLIDE Ooh, Star of wonder, Star of light, Star with royal beauty bright. Westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.

I would like to invite you as we close to put your hands on your lap out in front of you, palms out, as we offer ourselves to God. I would invite you to bow with me in prayer. You might quietly repeat this prayer under your breath if you feel led to do so.

SLIDE Prayer

Jesus Christ I trust in you. I believe that you walk with me always, and I never will be alone. I believe that you can and will forgive me, and that darkness only last for a season. With you, there is always light on the other side. Help me to notice those around me who need light, who need encouragement and hope. Help me to be a source of encouragement for them. Use me to invite others to you. Finally oh Lord, use me to bless and help those who are in need.

God, as the pastor of this congregation, I thank you for all who are here today in worship and who are joining us online. This can be a great time of year if we will allow your Holy Spirit to fill us. May your Holy Spirit fill this place and fill our hearts. We pray that First United Methodist Church will be your people who are constantly reaching out to be a light in this community and to the world. Help us to find those who don't yet know your love and invite them to come to the light. In this place, may we be encouraged to go live out our faith in the world that the world might be different. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.


“The Gifts of the Magi”

Theme: Seeking Christ in Christmas

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-2, 9a-12

Things I’d like to remember from today’s sermon:

________________________________________________________________________

____________________________

________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

________________

________________________________________________________________________

____________________________

________________________________________________________________________

____________________________

________________________________________________________________________

____________________________

Meditation Moments for Monday, December 9 – Read Genesis 12:1-3, 26:1-5 – God

loved the human family and wanted to bless them. The early chapters of Genesis said, at times

through archetypal images, that humans kept refusing to bless one another as God wanted. So

God chose a people (Abraham and his descendants). He often repeated his plan to bless the

whole world through them (see also Genesis 18:18, 22:18, 28:14).

• The apostle Paul said Christ’s followers are spiritual heirs of God’s covenant with

Abram (Galatians 3:29). What are some ways in which Abram’s ethnic line (the Jewish faith)

have blessed the world? How have Christians blessed the world? How might all of Abraham’s

descendants work more closely together to serve others in God’s name?

• God said “All the families of earth will be blessed because of you” five different

times in the story of Abraham and his son Isaac. It was a big deal to God, and their response to

God changed where and how they lived. Has God ever called you to a specific task, or to go a

different direction with your life? How do you hear and respond to God’s call?

Tuesday, December 10 – Read Isaiah 60:1-3 – This beautiful poem was probably

addressed to Israelites returning from exile in Babylon. The Jerusalem they returned to was not

glorious. But as with their forefather Abraham, God called the Israelites to be a light to others.

The journey of the magi to see the baby Jesus may have been one partial fulfillment of the

promise that “nations will come to your light.”


• The prophet did not call the Israelites to be glorious on their own. Instead, he

wrote, “the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.” It is God’s light and love that

is to shine through us. In what ways can you more fully take in God’s glory and love so that you,

in turn, can let it shine out to those around you?

• Verse 2 described a situation that every generation seems to face: “darkness covers

the earth and gloom the nations.” When have you faced a dark time? Were there people who

shined God’s light for you by loving you at those times? In what ways? Who are the hurting

people God wants to love through you right now?

Wednesday, December 11 – Read 1 Kings 10:1-9 – God called Abraham‘s descendants to

be a light to all nations. In this story, they seemed to live out that call—God is prominent in the

story. The Queen of Sheba (modern Yemen) came to King Solomon. The Middle Eastern royal

trappings gave the visit, perhaps a trade mission, a materialistic air. But she also saw him

worship God, and praised God for Solomon’s wisdom.

• In 1 Kings 8:60, to dedicate the Temple he built for God, Solomon prayed “that all

the earth’s peoples may know that the LORD is God. There is no other God!” By chapter 11, the

king began to lose his way spiritually. But here he seems to have used the Temple’s beauty to

share God, not himself. How can our church buildings and programs share God’s love and

glory with others, and not just please us?

• The queen tested Solomon with “riddles”—not trivial puzzles, but big questions

about life. Spend some time putting your thoughts and feelings about Jesus into words to share

with a person who might “test” you—really trying to understand your faith.

Thursday, December 12 – Read Matthew 2:1-6 – Who were these wise men (Greek

magoi) who came from the East seeking the “King of the Jews” who had been born? Not

“kings” (the carol notwithstanding), but “scholars who were students of stars” (Barclay). Like

the Queen of Sheba, they made a long journey across the desert. They were drawn, not by

reports of wealth and wisdom, but by an unexpected star and the tantalizing hope of a new King

who would bring the world a fresh start.

• Roman historians Suetonius and Tacitus both wrote that at the time Jesus was

born, an ancient prophecy led many to believe a world ruler would rise in Judea. They both said

the prophecy must have meant Emperor Vespasian. Those Romans missed the true king; the

wise men didn’t. How can you keep your mind and heart open to God’s work?

• The wise men (the text never says how many there were) spent perhaps as much as

18 to 24 months following the star. Have you made a long life journey to find Jesus, or was he

“right there” for you as a child? How have you learned to value worshipping him?

Friday, December 13 – Read Matthew 2:7-12 – “Matthew describes the response of the

men when they saw the star: they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. It is impossible to over

translate the men’s reaction to seeing the star; the translation should express the greatest

possible joy.” (UBS Translator’s Handbook on Matthew) Their long quest was over; they had

found the newborn king they were seeking.

• What irony! The Jerusalem Bible scholars could easily identify where the Messiah

would be born, but only the foreign astronomers said, “We’ve come to worship him.” God is

good at using unlikely people. When have you gotten a fresh insight from an unlikely source?


Have you ever been an “unlikely” source of love or light for another?

• Matthew wrote that “they [wealthy visitors who’d been mixing with Herod’s court]

saw the child with his mother Mary [a poor young peasant girl], and they bowed down and

worshiped him.” Do outer or inner realities impress you most? What is helping you to see

yourself and others more as God sees them, rather than just through human eyes?

Saturday, December 14 – Read Matthew 5:13-16 – God put a star in the sky to draw the

magi to worship the infant Christ. (Matthew offered no explanation of how that worked.) But

God usually works through people. God called Abraham, Solomon and Israel to shine. In this

passage, Jesus says we, too, are to be like that star. Each of us can have an inner light of love,

ignited by God, drawing people’s thought to Jesus.

• Jesus’ image of a city on a hilltop was of a light that just couldn’t be hidden from

those in the countryside around. Then he spoke of someone lighting a lamp, but hiding it under

a basket. When did you last see someone in whom God’s light seemed to glow from within

naturally (not in a “put on” way)? How can that light shine in both difficult and good times? In

what ways are our lives brighter when we choose to be like a “city on a hill,” letting God’s light

shine out naturally and beautifully in a darkened world?

Family Activity: Being called by name is important to everyone. Our names help us feel

cared for and valued. The angel told Mary to give her baby boy the special name Jesus. Jesus

has other names, too, including Prince of Peace, Immanuel, Lord, and Savior. Notice the people

around you. Do you know the name of your mail carrier? School-crossing guard? Janitor at

work or school? As a family, take time to learn the names of those who serve you every day.

Documents

Theme: Seeking Christ in Christmas The Gifts of the Magi...Jeff Huber’s Sermon –December 7-8, 2013 Page 1 Theme: Seeking Christ in Christmas “The Gifts of the Magi” Sermon