Following the Star Beyond Our Expectations
“After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. When they came to the house, they saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
I pray everyone had a blessed Christmas celebration. In my family, we're good about surprising one another with our gifts, even though we plan well with lists. Do you like being surprised with your gifts, or do you prefer getting precisely what you expect? These moments provide some insight into our walk with Jesus. It will be January when you read this, but we all remember that the Christmas season goes into January. More specifically, this month we’ll celebrate Epiphany, the day we remember the Magi's visit to honor the Christ child.
The Visit of the Magi is a familiar story, even though pop culture gets a lot of it wrong. We don’t know how many Magi visited the holy family. The number three arose from the gifts named in the Bible passage (Matthew 2:1-12). The Magi weren't kings. Their role combined scholar and priest, and they studied astronomy, astrology, philosophy, science, and spirituality. When the Magi saw the Star of Bethlehem, they responded to it because they understood that it meant something extraordinary had happened. The star was a powerful movement of God that spoke powerfully, even if Israel didn’t recognize what it meant. The Magi were compelled to respond, traveling hundreds of miles across treacherous desert to honor the newborn king.
The Magi expected to find a nation ecstatic about the birth of a new king. As such, they head for the capitol where one would expect to find a new king. Matthew tells us that both the Magi and King Herod are surprised by what they learn from one another. Herod has no idea what’s happened, and the Magi are taken aback that he doesn’t understand. God continues to surprise the Magi as the star leads them to a common house with a poor family in a small town. The Magi and their entourage moving through the streets of Bethlehem following the light of the star must have been a sight. What they found was so different than what they expected.
That’s our lesson. The Magi are willing to seek and find Jesus wherever He is and worship Him as He is. Let that lesson sink in as we move through the year. May we passionately seek, worship, and follow Jesus, no matter what our preconceived expectations of a season or circumstance might be. Do not let your desires keep you from honoring what God does because you thought it would be different. Jesus ultimately decides and leads. As His disciples, we go where He takes us, receive what He gives us, and worship Him as He is, not as we hope He might be. This is the part of the journey that is an epiphany, meaning a discovery or revelation. God reveals truths and glory in ways we can never fully anticipate. That separates the idea of God simply being Santa or a genie who grants our wishes from the reality of God, who blesses our lives in ways we can't possibly see coming. Follow the Magi's example this year. Seek the presence of Jesus, no matter the challenges or unexpected twists that happen on the journey. He’s worth it.
Pastor Scott
