A Sermon from Last Weekend

Note: I preached this sermon on Sunday, January 7, 2007. I filled in at both chapels on base for Chaplain Rhoads. I always like preaching the same sermon twice in one day–I actually enjoy it the second time around! I’ve included below the sermon the scripture readings associated with it: Psalm 72 and Matthew 2:1-12. Both are the NIV translation. As this was Communion Sunday, the sermon is a little shorter than normal. –Peter

An Old Resolution for a New Year

Today marks the first Sunday of the year. One week ago many of us here were readying ourselves to celebrate the beginning of 2007 (and the football bowl games that were to follow). Some of us were probably still gathered with family, enjoying the afterglow of the Christmas spirit. A few of us may have still been out of town, maybe even out of state. But as we sit here today, 2006 is in our rearview mirrors and the recent holiday season is fast becoming just another fond memory. Now, I suspect that some of us here made a few resolutions for the new year. How many of you did? How many of you have already failed? How many of you just lied? I’ve never been one to make resolutions myself on December 31, because I don’t like being a failure for the next 365 days! However, there is one resolution that I make time and again, not just at the new year. I resolve that I will draw closer to God. There are times when I’ve just come back from a really awesome spiritual retreat or have been really inspired by a sermon. I’m on fire for God and things are going to change. I am going to have the closest walk with God possible, I’m going to pray for four hours every day and I’ll have the entire New Testament memorized before lunch. You ever been there? What often happens? In my own life, I let the stresses of my day-to-day routine crowd God out and I find myself once again spiritually lifeless. So again today I resolve to draw closer to God and maybe lose 10 pounds too!

Today’s scripture offers hope to all of us imperfect people who resolve to make ourselves better yet seem to find ourselves failing time and time again. You have heard the gospel lesson read from Matthew, a story familiar to all of us. Magi, bearing gifts, have come on a long journey from the east to visit Jesus, the King of the Jews. Their journey is not unlike the one that you and I are on and their resolve to seek the king can encourage those of us who seek to make our own resolutions.

First, the Magi had done their homework. Somehow they knew that a ing had been born in Israel. Now, we’re not quite sure exactly what Magi were, but we know that they were scholars of some sort, traditionally known as the “wise men.” It’s quite probable that they were astronomers, for they were alerted to Jesus’ birth by the presence of “his star in the east.” Even so, questions remain as to how they knew that this star pointed to the birth of a new king. Some argue that the Magi had studied Jewish prophecy and thus knew of the star’s significance. Regardless of how they knew, the Magi were not caught unawares by the appearance of this new star. They had done their homework. Doing one’s homework is the first step in making a resolution to change one’s life. If I’m trying to lose weight, I need to know how to do so. I must research the fat and calorie contents of my favorite foods. If I don’t, how will I know which is better for me? A plate of broccoli or a bag of chedder and sour cream potato chips. (I know which one tastes better!) I must study up on the multitude of exercise programs to find one that fits my needs. Should I run 10 miles every day [after I’ve prayed for four hours of course] or should I swim to the Channel Islands and back every weekend? How about just sitting on the couch and watching TV? Surely I burn a few calories every time I reach for the remote!

Spiritually speaking, how many of us resolve to draw closer to God and then never spend the time getting to know who God is and what God does? I encourage us this year to spend a little time each day in prayer and meditation on God’s word. When you pray, don’t just present a laundry list of requests to God as I so often find myself doing, but ask God to reveal himself to you. When you wake up in the morning, ask God to help you see your day through the eyes of Christ. If you do, I guarantee you that you’ll see people and places and situations in a new light.

Second, the Magi set a course toward Israel. Travel in the Middle East some 2000 years ago wasn’t easy. Most people walked, with camels or donkeys to help carry their baggage. They couldn’t just hop on a plane and be halfway around the world in one day! (Of course, given that my wife and I were snowed out of Denver for four days during the Christmas holiday, perhaps planes aren’t the most reliable mode of travel either). No, the Magi had to set a course to Israel that they could survive. They had to know where towns were along the way that had sufficient water and supplies. They had to know what areas of desert to avoid, which roads were safe and which were covered in highway robbers. The course they chose had to be precise or they would fail in their journey.

Back to losing weight. I can wishfully hope that I will lose 10 pounds this year, but if I don’t have a specific plan, I’m going to end up 10 pounds heavier instead. The Magi had to be aware of the desert, I need to be aware of the dessert! If I don’t force myself to eat right, and if I fail to schedule time every day to exercise, I’m going to fail! Spiritually, we need the same kind of discipline if we are to draw close to God. The Bible gives each of us a pretty clear road map on how to journey closer to God. We need to follow that map and stay focused on God, just as the Magi focused on the star. Looking neither to our right or to our left, we must look straight ahead if we are to arrive at our destination. “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face; and the things of this world will grow strangely dim....” That’s how the Christian walk is, right?

Of course, all of us have been tempted to take shortcuts in life and we’ve all turned away from God from time-to-time. The reality is that the world doesn’t grow strangely dim, rather, the temptations of this world are as bright and attractive as Times Square was this past weekend to all the New Years revelers. What do we do then? Well, the Magi too got off course. You see, they arrived in Jerusalem, not Bethlehem. Expecting a king they traveled to the capital city–it makes sense, right? Yet when they arrived and did not find Jesus the Magi asked for help. Through King Herod, they contacted the “chief priests and teachers of the law” to find out exactly where the Christ child was to be born.

In our lives, we often seek out advice and guidance. If I’m trying to lose weight, I join a gym and hire a personal trainer to tailor a workout program just for me. In the Navy, we constantly encourage our sailors to find a mentor to help them navigate the ins-and-outs of military life. Heck, in my own life my wife and I hired a woman to train us how to train our dog! So why is it that so many of us are reluctant to have spiritual mentors? I suspect that most of us don’t like to admit that we are spiritually lost and in need of a course correction. It’s not easy admitting that we are trapped in sin and surrounded by the temptations of this world–it is certainly not easy for me! I encourage all of us though to find someone whom we trust, someone who will not put us down when we confess our shortcomings, but a brother or sister who can encourage us and pray for us and worship and study with us as we journey through life. God did not create us to live alone; the life of a solitary Christian is choked with doubt and isolation.

Third, the Magi brought gifts with them–gold, frankincense and myrrh. I must confess that if I were in the Magi’s shoes I don’t know what I would have brought. After all, what do you give a king who has everything? We heard earlier today the majestic Psalm 72, of the one who will “judge [his] people in righteousness, [his] afflicted ones with justice,” the one who brings prosperity to the oppressed but crushes the wicked; the one who will rule from “sea to sea,” to the ends of the earth; the one to whom all kings will bow down; the one whom all nations will serve; the one whose glory will fill all the earth! That one is Jesus, what kind of gift does he need?!

The reality is that Jesus Christ didn’t need anything. However, he does desire a personal relationship with us. The Magi brought gold, frankincense and myrrh, all items associated with worship in the Old Testament. In Exodus 35, the Israelites brought forth an offering to help build the Tabernacle and its items of worship, giving untold pounds of gold. In Exodus 30:34 we discover that frankincense was a chief ingredient in the incense to be burned before the Lord in the Tent of Meeting. In Exodus 30:23 we discover that myrrh was a key ingredient in the sacred anointing oil, used to sanctify/purify the various instruments of the priests. The gifts of the Magi, were gifts of worship. In their gifts they acknowledged that Christ was not only king, but God and they offered up themselves in worship to him. What greater gift could they give, what greater gift could we give?

Perhaps you don’t see yourself as a gift worthy of God? Imagine for a moment that our lives were like paintings. Each thought and action that we’ve had becomes a brush stroke on our life’s canvas. If you are like me, there are some dark brush strokes you’d like to remove. Maybe you don’t think too much of your life’s canvas. In a world of Picassos and Rembrandts you see yourself like this picture I’m holding up before you. My parents are foster parents for two little children and this picture was scribbled out in marker by the five year old girl. If you take this picture to an art auction, you wouldn’t be able to sell it for very much, nor would any art gallery in town proudly hang this picture on their walls. Yet we’ve all drawn pictures like this when we were little kids. Maybe you remember the day that you presented a picture like this to your parents. Maybe you yourself have received a picture like this from a little one. What do we do with them? We put them on our refrigerators and every time little Tommy or Susie comes home from school and opens the fridge to get out milk for their after-school snack, there it is, hanging in all its glory! This little picture has worth because it has been accepted and is valued by the recipient of the gift.

I assure you, that even if your parents here on earth never hung your picture on the refrigerator, God, your Heavenly Father, desires nothing more than to receive the gift of your painting. I promise you that he will put you on heaven’s refrigerator door! As we conclude this Christmas season, the Magi remind us that God has come to earth so that we might worship him and draw near to him. What greater gift could we receive, what greater opportunity do we have to start the new year out right, than to draw close to God and to offer our lives–our canvases–as gifts of worship and thanksgiving in return? Who knows, we may even lose ten pounds in the process!

Amen.


Psalm 72
Of Solomon.

1 Endow the king with your justice, O God,
the royal son with your righteousness.

2 He will [a] judge your people in righteousness,
your afflicted ones with justice.

3 The mountains will bring prosperity to the people,
the hills the fruit of righteousness.

4 He will defend the afflicted among the people
and save the children of the needy;
he will crush the oppressor.

5 He will endure [b] as long as the sun,
as long as the moon, through all generations.

6 He will be like rain falling on a mown field,
like showers watering the earth.

7 In his days the righteous will flourish;
prosperity will abound till the moon is no more.

8 He will rule from sea to sea
and from the River [c] to the ends of the earth. [d]

9 The desert tribes will bow before him
and his enemies will lick the dust.

10 The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores
will bring tribute to him;
the kings of Sheba and Seba
will present him gifts.

11 All kings will bow down to him
and all nations will serve him.

12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
the afflicted who have no one to help.

13 He will take pity on the weak and the needy
and save the needy from death.

14 He will rescue them from oppression and violence,
for precious is their blood in his sight.

15 Long may he live!
May gold from Sheba be given him.
May people ever pray for him
and bless him all day long.

16 Let grain abound throughout the land;
on the tops of the hills may it sway.
Let its fruit flourish like Lebanon;
let it thrive like the grass of the field.

17 May his name endure forever;
may it continue as long as the sun.
All nations will be blessed through him,
and they will call him blessed.

18 Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel,
who alone does marvelous deeds.

19 Praise be to his glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.

20 This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.

Footnotes:
[a] Psalm 72:2 Or May he; similarly in verses 3-11 and 17
[b] Psalm 72:5 Septuagint; Hebrew You will be feared
[c] Psalm 72:8 That is, the Euphrates
[d] Psalm 72:8 Or the end of the land

Matthew 2

1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east[b] and have come to worship him."

3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ[c] was to be born. 5"In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:
6" 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'[d]"

7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east[e] went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming 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 and of incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.