King Herod asked the biblical
scholars of the day where the Messiah was to be born and they responded that he
would be born in Bethlehem, citing the Hebrew book of Micah 5:2:
“And
you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of
Judah;for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
-- cited in Matthew 2:6
After learning of
the prophecy from King Herod, the Wise Men set out for Bethlehem, where they
found the baby Jesus. On entering the
house where Mary, Joseph, and the young child were staying, they immediately
bowed down and paid him homage. They
also gave three presents: gold,
frankincense, and myrrh. Then, being
warned in a dream, they returned to their home, without informing Herod of
where they had found the new-born Messiah.
The Wise Men were foreigners, from
Persia (contemporary Iraq) or Babylonia (contemporary Iran). In their own country, these men would have
been wealthy and powerful because they belonged to the priestly class and were experts
in the occult; in other words. Biblical scholars suggest that the wise men
were highly educated in astrology.
Although it has fallen into disrepute since then, astrology was a well-respected
science at the time of Jesus’ birth.
So, the Wise Men were wealthy,
powerful foreigners, who were ‘scientists’ of their day and followed spiritual
practices that were radically different from the Jewish faith. They could not be more different from Mary and Joseph—and
everyone else in Israel. Yet, these Wise
Men were “seekers” and “doers.” They
were still seeking to learn more about the Divine and spiritual truth. When they saw the Messiah’s star in the sky,
and recognized what the star signified, they dropped everything they were doing,
made the necessary preparations and then set off on the long, arduous journey
to see the new Messiah. When they found
Jesus in Bethlehem, they were “overwhelmed with joy.”
By contrast, King Herod and his
religious advisors were neither “seekers” nor “doers.” Even though they knew exactly where to find
the prophesied location of the Messiah’s birth in their sacred texts, they were
not interested in seeking out and worshiping the promised Messiah in Bethlehem. So, instead, the
Wise Men travelled by themselves to find and worship the new Messiah in Bethlehem.
Rather than being “overwhelmed with joy” that the Messiah had finally
been born, they were frightened that the Messiah might require changes in their
lives. King Herod even plotted the death
of God’s promised Messiah.
In the proclamation this weekend, I
will suggest that Christians can learn a great deal from the Wise Men, as we begin
a New Year. Just like the Wise Men, we
must become “seekers,” continually striving to learn more about the Divine and
spiritual truth. That is, we must strive
to grow deeper spiritually. Just as the
Wise Men, we must also be “doers,” ready to follow wherever God leads us. In my message, I will give some examples of
what I think it means for twenty-first century Christians to be “seekers” and “doers”
in 2014.
The New Year is a great time to get back into church. If you already have a church, we urge you to make a New
Year's Resolution to attend and support your church. However, if you don't
already have a church, check us out at Meriden United Methodist Church, at the
corner of Main and Dawson Streets in Meriden, Kansas.
We have two worship services each weekend:
Ø Our
contemporary service starts at 6 pm on Saturday evenings.
Ø Our
classic service starts on at 10 am on Sunday mornings.
Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.
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