“Cost Benefit Analysis”

Matthew 2:1-12
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi from the east came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the east and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him, and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet:
‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.’ ”
Then Herod secretly called for the magi and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” When they had heard the king, they set out, and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen in the east, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

The infamous “12 days of Christmas” may have officially ended only yesterday on January 6th, but for most of us, Christmas feels lightyears away. We’ve packed up our decorations and moved on to New Year’s resolutions and the fresh feeling that comes with a new year. And yet, we still have one more Sunday that draws us back into the Christmas story. If you were with us for Christmas Eve, you might remember how we answered the question, “How does a weary world rejoice?” by saying, “We make room. “ We make room because love makes room. That’s just what love does. And Jesus was and is the physical incarnate representation and manifestation of God's love. On the night of his birth, perhaps he and his parents weren’t lonely out in a cold stable but squeezed into a living room in Bethlehem with distant relatives, a group of shepherds, and definitely some livestock. Love made room for all to belong in this special, holy community. 

Last year, as you know, my family moved from California to Washington and set about the task of making Tacoma home for the three of us. We set about the task of building community– friends, neighbors, and our church family. We can’t go through this life alone and so we needed to find our people. Building community is certainly something that most churches are thinking about, as we ought to. I think it’s one of our primary tasks as follower of Christ– to build a community where people from the margins to the center of world can belong. We often think about building community as something we do when we have something to offer. If we have resources, if we have something to offer, then people will come. And yet, that's not how it worked for Jesus. 

Jesus, like all newborn babies, had nothing to offer except himself and needed everything to survive. He needed care, and safety, and food, and shelter, and people– all things that newborn babies need. He didn't have anything to offer as a way to pay people back for their generosity and kindness. And yet it was out of his need that a community was formed. People showed up– they became the Love that made room.

I can talk a big talk from the pulpit about building community and being willing to ask for help, but it is still hard for me, just like it is for many of you, to ask for help, and harder still to imagine that I could build community out of my need. It feels backward and counterintuitive– we only draw people together when we have something to offer, right? But that’s not what I’m seeing in God’s grand entrance into the world. The incarnation begins not with having something to offer but in needing help from others.

Today is Epiphany Sunday, the start of what some traditions call the season of Epiphany– the time when church celebrates the Biblical events that revealed who Jesus truly is. There are three manifestations that we celebrate– the manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles, in the visit of the Magi; the manifestation of his divinity, in his baptism and in his first miracle– the Wedding at Cana. But first, we begin with the Magi. 

The Magi are so mysterious to us that over the centuries, a whole lore and mythology has sprung up around them, so much so that if we played a trivia game about what is found in scripture and what is not, I doubt any of us would ace it. Matthew doesn’t say that they were kings, or that three of them, or where exactly they came from. He just says they came from the East, following a star. Many scholars take this to mean that they were astrologers, perhaps Zoroastrians. Whatever the truth is, these Magi could not have been further from the Jewish faith. They were the ultimate outsiders.

And yet they followed the star because they knew something important had come. And they were looking in the right place!

 And because they believe that the star means the king of the Jews has been born, they went to the palace. They went to King Herod, the puppet king of Rome, and they said, “we've come to see the child who has been born king of the Jews.” And Herod, like all tyrants and despots, is terrified of any threat to his power. And since Herod was terrified, all of Jerusalem was terrified with him. And so all Jerusalem tries to figure out where this baby could be born? The location of a star in the sky is not quite so specific as Google Maps, of course.

And so they read the ancient texts and say, this child must be in Bethlehem. So the Magi go to Bethlehem, still not knowing what they have started and what a powerful man’s insecurity will lead him to do. When they find Jesus, Mary, and Joseph living in Bethlehem, they give him gifts of gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. Once again, Jesus still is receiving, not giving. This time, he is not just just making the incarnation manifest to the Gentiles, he is being cared for by the Gentiles. When we think about what it means to be in relationship with God, we often think about what God gives us. But the incarnation shows that God desires a relationship with mutuality. God believes that we have something to offer God in return! 

I wonder why the Magi brought these gifts to Jesus. There are lots and lots of theories and interpretations. Traditionally it is thought the gifts are representative:

• Gold - a kingly gift, a sign of Jesus the king of all

• Frankincense - a priestly incense used in rituals, a sign of his priestly nature

• Myrrh - an embalming oil and foreshadowing of his death 

But others think of these as gifts not for Jesus, but for Mary. Frankincense is calming– calming to a new mother and calming to a colicky baby. Myrrh was used at the time in postpartum healing. And of course, gold would be necessary there to fund the flea to Egypt that the wise man's arrival would soon cause. I don’t know why the Magi chose these gifts, but whatever their reasons, they chose them before they even met the incarnate Christ.

What we do know is that meeting Christ changed them for they did not return to Herod on their way home, as they had promised. They returned home by another way, refusing to give the tyrant the intel he sought.

I wonder, in what other ways did they go home differently than they had come? In what ways did their experience of witnessing the incarnation of God in human form change and transform them so they did not go home the same as they were?

This season of Epiphany is all about the manifestation of Jesus’ divine glory so the question is– how has your encounter with Christ changed you? When have you been transformed? Have you gone home by a different way, only to realize that home is not quite as comfortable as it once was? It’s a strange feeling to realize that home doesn't fit the way that it once did. There is sadness and freedom in knowing you have changed and the old clothes, old names, old ways of doing things no longer work for you. 

Maybe you hear of transformation and you think, “that sounds nice. I can’t say I’ve experienced it though.” I wonder, then, what God has in store for you this year. The magi followed a star into unknown territory, not knowing who or what they would find when they reached their destination. There was certainly risk in their journey and yet they made it anyway. I wonder where God might be calling you to seek and search this year and if you are willing to make the journey, what you might find at the end. May we be so bold as to follow the Magi’s path– from paying attention to signs to following where they may lead in the hope that where we go, we will find God there. 

Amen.