Sermon Preached at Stouffville United Church
Rev. Capt. John Niles
Music by Stouffville Choir
Scripture:
Matthew 2:1-12
First Sunday After Christmas
Have you ever found yourself wondering if you missed the meaning of Christmas–that is, that somehow you have mixed up your priorities?
A church suddenly stopped buying pencils from a certain office supply. The manager called the preacher to ask what the problem was. The preacher, “We ordered some pencils from you to be used in the pews for visitors to sign their visitors’ card.” “Well,” the manager said, “Didn’t you receive them from us?” The preacher replied, “Oh, yes, we received them all right, BUT YOU SENT US SOME PENCILS STAMPED WITH THE WORDS, ’PLAY GOLF NEXT SUNDAY’!”
William Gladstone once said, “Tell me what the young men and women of England are doing on Sunday and I will tell you what the future of England will be.” I say, tell me what people are doing every day and every Sunday and I will tell what their future will be!
“Our text today tells us about some wise men. They are called magi. These were men of science, students of astronomy, and students of the body of knowledge of their day. They were seekers of the truth and they had come upon some very important knowledge. But that knowledge alone was not what made them wise. It is what they did with that knowledge. You see, these wise men knew how to apply the truth they had. And that is what made them wise.
What can these magi teach us today; so that we too can experience the genius of Christmas? What example do they give us to live by? As we look at several characteristics of their wisdom, if we will be open to follow their example, we may find the ability to live above the ordinary.
I
Things are not always what they seem, and if we look at life through cynical eyes, we will never be privileged to see what might have been if we had only dared to hope against hope.
The wise men were wise because they had an attitude of expectancy. The first characteristic which typified these wise men was an attitude of expectancy. Expectancy motivated them to seek out the child. Certainly they had knowledge that the King of the Jews would be born. They told Herod they had seen His star while they were still in the east. But merely having the knowledge was not enough. I’m sure others saw the star, and wondered about it, or even sought out its meaning. The Magi could have made note of the sighting of His star in their journal. They could have recorded it for posterity, but they wanted to see for themselves. They were filled with anticipation of what they might discover. So, they became people on a mission.
You find this characteristic in the magi but also in little children. Children live on the tiptoe of anticipation. Christmas is coming! My birthday is coming! Boy, I can’t wait till the weekend! When I grow up, I’m going to be a fireman, doctor, athlete, or scientist. Little children are always looking, with eager anticipation, toward the future. And Jesus said we must be just like that – like little children- in order to enter the Kingdom. You see, expectancy makes all the difference. It is a belief that something can happen, that the Lord can change things. It is a belief that He can do something in your life. Expectancy says that Christ can make a difference. On the other hand, if you look to life with a negative, cynical attitude, you never check out the possibilities. If that’s your attitude, then you’re doomed to live life in the realm of the “what has been” instead of the “what can be.” Things are not always what they seem, and if we look at life through cynical eyes, we will never be privileged to see what might have been if we had only dared to hope against hope.
A few years ago the psychology department of Duke University carried on an interesting experiment. They wanted to see how long rats could swim. In one container they placed a rat for whom there was no possibility of escape. He swam a few moments and then ducked his head to drown. In the other container they made the hope of escape a possibility for the rat. The rat swam for several hours before finally giving up. The conclusion of the experiment was just the opposite of our common conclusion. We usually say, “As long as there is life, there is hope.” The Duke experiment proved, “As long as there is hope, there is life.”
David Peterson, former pastor at the First Presbyterian Church in Spokane, Washington, told about a time when he was preparing his sermon. His little daughter came in and said, “Daddy, can we play?” He answered, “I’m awfully sorry, Sweetheart, but I’m right in the middle of preparing this sermon. In about an hour I can play.” She said, “Okay, when you’re finished, Daddy, I am going to give you a great big hug.” He said, “Thank you very much.” She went to the door and (these are his words) “Then she did a U-turn and came back and gave me a chiropractic, bone-breaking hug.” David said to her, “Darling, you said you were going to give me a hug after I finished.” She answered, “Daddy, I just wanted you to know what you have to look forward to!” One meaning of Christmas is that God wants us to know, through this miraculous celebration, how much we have to look forward to.
II
The Magi were wise because they had an attitude of expectancy, and because they embraced integrity. They were true to themselves and to God. They refused to appease or please – even a king.
Herod had heard of the magi and their search. And so, he determined to convince them to find the Christ child and tell him where He was. Herod’s purpose was not to worship Him, but to remove Him. Had they refused to heed the dream that warned them of the plot, because they wanted to please an earthly king, they would have failed not only God, but themselves.
Integrity is important. A few years ago, a retail firm in St. Louis was forced to lay off almost 20 percent of its employees. The personnel manager was asked what criteria he used to make the cuts. He said, “We looked closely at attendance, productivity, personality, and the measurable signs of success or failure, but our real goal was to retain workers who were of the highest moral character. We can never replace honesty and integrity.”
Michelangelo, who while painting in some dark corner of the Sistine Chapel ceiling was asked by his helper why he was investing so much time and effort in a part of the painting that no one would ever see. With conviction he replied, “I will see it. And God will see!”
III
The Magi were wise because they had an attitude of expectancy they embraced integrity, and thirdly because they sought out an opportunity. Not only did they exhibit a certain expectancy and integrity, but they also understood to experience that which they had hoped for, they needed to risk being wrong.
We’ve all heard the little cliche, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” There is truth to that statement. Jesus said it another way. He said, “Seek and ye shall find.” In other words, we must step out on our expectation if we would find what we are seeking. The Magi were willing to put their faith to the test and took action. When you think about it, risk can be faith in action. Risk is what puts the works to faith. It is the wise men hitching up to the camels and starting out across the desert following the star
You see, risk is precisely what we need. Risk is faith in action, and faith in action causes us to grow. Being willing to risk causes our faith to be stretched. It increases our capacity for being used of God. And ultimately, risk brings those things to pass which we seek. In the book of James, it says that faith without works is dead. The kind of faith some people say they have is lifeless and dull. But the kind of faith that will venture forth and act becomes exciting and alive. That is when a venture becomes an adventure
I once heard a story about a tourist who sat down for a rest on park bench. Looking over to an old man also sitting on the bench, the tourist asked, “Friend, can you tell me something this town is noted for?”
“Well,” the old man replied, “I don’t rightly know except that it’s the starting point to the world. You can start here and go anywhere you want.” You think about that.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.