Walking another way
Sermon for Epiphany Sunday, year C
Bible reading: Matthew 2:1-11
There is a deep hunger in the human heart, which can only be satisfied by the true God.
There is an incessant searching in the human spirit, which can only be satisfied when we are found by the true God.
There is an unquenchable thirst in the human soul, which can only be satisfied by drinking deep of the water of life.
There is a God shaped vacuum in the human heart, which can only be filled by Jesus.
Of course:
- Retailers say:
‘buy my products, and you’ll be satisfied’
. - Sportsmen say:
‘play sport and you’ll be satisfied’
. - Entertainers say:
‘have fun and you’ll be satisfied’
. - Religions say:
‘practice us and you’ll be satisfied’
.
But at the end of the day, or the year, or our life, we are still not satisfied, we are still searching, we are still restless, and as St Augustine reminded us so long ago, after all his restless searching, we will remain restless until we find our rest in the true God
.
Do you know what I’m talking about? Have you experienced this hunger, this search, this restless searching to fill the vacuum in your heart?
2000 years ago there were some men somewhere in the East, maybe Persia, who had tried everything but still sought for more. These Magi were priests, wise men, teachers, skilled in philosophy and medicine and astrology. But they were still searching for more. Then one day they saw a star, and followed that star, and their lives were never the same.
That star led them to Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life
, all that they were searching for. That star led them to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Lord of lords and the King of kings, the only One who can satisfy the human heart, and fill it with all the treasures that can only be found in Jesus Christ.
Doesn’t God work in bizarre ways? He places an especially bright star in the sky to draw restless worshipers of foreign gods to travel hundreds of kilometres, to find the one who is born king of the Jews, in order to worship him
. In other words, they travel all this way because they believe the true God has come to this earth, and they want to worship him, they want to give him their allegiance. They don’t come out of curiosity, or out of a desire to get something from this new king, or in order to make an alliance. We have come to worship him
, they say.
God still works in bizarre ways. Our government sets up moneymaking schemes to educate people from Asia and Africa, and what happens? Very many of them become Christians and fall down in worship before the true God, and give Jesus Christ an allegiance which often shames us long time believers. I met Pastor Joel from St Stephens in the supermarket yesterday. He told me that last year they had 20 people at their Chinese church for Christmas worship. This year they had 80, and now have to meet in the church for worship. God still draws people from far away so they can meet his Son Jesus, and through him meet the true God, and fall down and worship him, and discover the meaning of life, and go on their way rejoicing
, loved, forgiven, fulfilled, at peace.
The wise men are not satisfied until they worship the newborn king. And neither will we be. We are made to worship the true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If we fail to worship the true God, we will worship some false god, some created person or thing, which we elevate to the status of God, which we give our time and attention to.
Whatever we trust in, whatever consumes our attention finally becomes our God, whether it is a person we become obsessed with, or our work, or our drive for success, or material possessions. Our own language reveals our false gods. We call our pop stars idols, and our sporting heroes messiahs. But none of these things or people can satisfy for long, let alone a lifetime and not to mention eternity.
Today God reveals his own Son, Jesus Christ to us and says: ‘this is the true God; worship him. I have sent him into the world to show you how much I love you, how much I am prepared to suffer in order to forgive you and rescue you, how far I am prepared to go to become like you, in order to give you are new birth and new life to become like me.’
Today we see clearly how much God loves us. God comes to take Isabel into his family, to wash her clean, and to make her holy, to welcome her back home, and as she grows up to feed her with the bread of life, so she will be satisfied with God, and worship him, and live with him on earth, and long to live with him forever in heaven.
Worship seems such a waste of time, and so boring to people who don’t believe in God.
But worship is what God has made us for, to let God be the centre of our lives, to fall at his feet in adoration, to stand before God with open hands and hearts, to receive his love and forgiveness, to give God our total allegiance and follow no lords but the Lord God.
No wonder we often call them the wise men. They came from one end of the earth to the other, to find the true God and to worship him. Yes, they brought the new born king their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh
. You can’t come into the presence of a king empty handed. You need to pay tribute to a king somehow, with material gifts, and even better by offering your life to him. Take my life and let it be, consecrated Lord to Thee
, we sing.
But these wise men got more from Jesus than they gave. They got a new life. And so it always happens in true worship. We give God the best we can, our praises, our thanks, our adoration, our gifts for his service, we even offer ourselves, we even more importantly give him our sins to dispose of. But what is all that in comparison with the love he gives us? He takes our sins, and gives us his forgiveness. He takes our broken down life and gives us a brand new, eternal life. He takes our feeble promises to do better, and fills us with his Holy Spirit to walk a brand new way.
And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another way.
They might have gone back to where they came from, but the wise men went back another way. Instead of going back via the way of death with Herod, they went back via the way of life with Jesus. They followed their God given star to get to Jesus and now they follow their God given dream to return home. But they were not the same men.
Whoever has met Jesus, and worshiped him, is a changed person, and now walks a brand new way. From today a baptised baby walks a new way, the way of Jesus. And you? You have been in the presence of Jesus, you have heard his word, you have worshiped. Will you go back the same way, to live the same life? God forbid! As you met with Jesus in worship, he changed you to worship God and enjoy God and his ways forever. Amen.