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A Different Way

Matthew 2:1-12
January 2, 2005

Welcome to 2005! Aren't you thrilled? This is the time when we get to make New Year's resolutions. Commonly at the beginning of a New Year we hear people chattering about their resolve to lose some weight, and starting up that exercise program they were so excited about last year but never quite got around to. Which is why lots of people just give up on making New Year's resolutions. We never seem to quite get around to it.

But despite all our failed New Year's resolutions, today is a new beginning-a fresh start. If we are feeling stuck in old ways of doing and being, it can be a time to finally turn over a new leaf. Maybe 2005 will be the year when some of us decide to make some long overdue changes in our lives.

But before we rush headlong into the New Year, let's linger a bit longer with this ancient story of the wise men and their journey to Bethlehem to find Jesus. I think these seekers from the East have something to teach us, if we will pause and reflect, and walk with them awhile along their journey.

These seekers most likely came from ancient Persia, which would be modern day Iran. Through the years tradition has misled us to think that there were three wise men. But Matthew doesn't say that. He says that they offered three gifts-gold-frankincense, and myrrh--but he doesn't say how many travelers there were. For all we know it could have been a large caravan of people. And where did we get the notion that they were kings? Matthew calls them Magi. In reality they were magicians, people who dealt in magic potions and looked at the stars to try to make meaning of their world.

Another common misconception, as seen in our little Christmas manger scenes, is that the magi showed up with the shepherds immediately after Jesus' birth. It appears that the visit of the Magi happened sometime later. Luke and Matthew are recounting two very separate stories. What do you think Matthew might be trying to tell us in his narrative?

What we do know is that the magi were people on a journey, seeking after something, being led by the light of a star.

You and I also live in an age of seeking. Our own lives could be characterized as a search, a journey to find a meaningful connection with something, Someone beyond ourselves. I happen to believe that this longing and yearning to find is put within each of us by the Creator of the Universe.

NPR had a series this past week on people's growing interest in spirituality as seen in their preoccupation with angels. As you know, there are tons of movies and television shows and books on the subject. It was fascinating to hear on this program of different people's experiences of Divine intervention. People long to feel that they are not alone in this world, that it is possible to know and experience the presence of God.

I wonder if this wasn't the kind of longing driving these alien magicians to search for Jesus, this one who was called Emmanuel, God with us.

The thing I love about this story is that these people didn't know a whole lot about the religion of the Hebrew Bible. They were Gentiles. They were considered outsiders. They didn't have the inside scoop on where a Messiah was to be born, much less what a Messiah was suppose to do.

Most people would have been content to stay home, keeping to well-worn paths, things they knew and understood and could explain. But not these guys. They venture out into Mystery and the Unknown. We observe that the Magi did not merely admire or study the star, but they followed it, even to the point of going against the ruling political power.

What can I learn from the journey of the magi about my own spiritual journey? First, I see in these seekers an absolute determination to find God. They tenaciously followed the light that they had not at all sure where they were being led. There is an old Buddhists saying that goes, "If you wonder where you are suppose to be, look down at your feet."

The Magi believed their path would be illumined as they simply journeyed toward the Light. That the truth would surface as they followed the yearning of their hearts. I believe this is true for us today. God will reveal God's Self to all who believe and walk in the Light. Our choice to follow is a response to this Divine initiative. I sense that God is actively pursuing each and every one of us. Am I willing to respond and follow the Light Within?

Remember a few weeks ago when I read a quote from Howard Thurman's book? Let me read it for you again.

"Some may come to faith in God and to love, without a conscious attachment to Jesus. Both nature and good men besides Jesus may lead us to God. They who seek God with all their hearts must, however, some day on their way meet Jesus."

This is exactly what happened to the Magi. Their journey led them to Jesus. Perhaps this is where your search has led you. What will our response to Jesus be? What will we believe about Jesus? If we don't know, will we remain open? And if we think we know, will we still remain open to God's ongoing personal revelation to us?

Secondly, once the wise men find Jesus they express their awe and respect and joy by giving out of their treasure. Am I willing to give of myself, out of my treasure? As I come face to face with God is my response to give freely of myself? Out of a sense of love and gratitude for God's presence in my life will I willingly give of my talents and resources and time?

Thirdly, Matthew says that the wise men went home by another way. Did those magi make the equivalent of a New Year's resolution? After finding Jesus and offering their gifts of gratitude, how were they changed by that experience? Were they the same people they were before they set out on their search?

How is God changing us? Will we choose to go a different way than we have been going as a result of our encounter with God?

I happen to think that our experiences of spiritual transformation are the most convincing evidence that God is real and at work in the human heart and in this world. And I also happen to think that this kind of change is nurtured best in a loving community of God-Truth seekers. I believe there is the potential for us to grow and flourish in honest gatherings such as this one right here.

This morning we are going to do something different during our time of quiet reflection. I have provided candles here on this table. If you would like to make a public declaration of your intent to follow the Light of God in your life in the coming year I would like you to come up and light a candle.

If you would like to make a public declaration of some specific intent that you have in this New Year. A decision you have made to go a different way, in a different direction... Please come up and light a candle and feel free to speak that intent to this gathered meeting so we can pray for you and encourage you on your journey.

Feel free also to silently come and light a candle, speaking your intent privately to God. Whatever you feel comfortable doing.

You may wish to lay something down that is robbing you of inner peace and wholeness in your life…An addiction, a cluttered life, a negative spirit, an unforgiving heart.

You may wish to express your intention to give to God out of your treasure. Something you intend to give of yourself in the coming year to your spouse, your family, your friends, your co-workers, your faith community. There is nothing magical about outward rituals such as this. In fact, Quakers have always seen the inward reality to be what matters most, anyway. No one need feel pressure to participate. Do this only if it is meaningful. See this as a sacred space in time that we will share together on our spiritual journey. This is a time for open honest reflection. A new beginning-renewal-possibility-movement-change.

Are you willing to leave the familiar and follow the Light wherever it leads into this New Year?