Matthew 2:1-12 “Who Shall Seek Him?”

There is a very short story by Henry Van Dyke that I would like to share with you this morning entitled The Story of the Other Wise Man. It tells the tale of a wise man who was not part of the group that reached Bethlehem. He too saw the star rise in the sky. He too had heard the prophecies. He invited other wise men to come to his home and he told them that he was going to venture off to see the King with gifts of precious jewels. The other men the room just starred at him at first. Then they started to come up with excuses. This wasn’t truly the fulfillment of the prophecy. Others thought he was crazy. One could not leave his office. Another was too old. Yet another had a wife and children to think of first. Another stated that he was ill. So the wise man was left to venture out with a small group of other pilgrims. 

As I was first reading this story, I had to wonder how many of us wouldn’t have sought out Jesus if we lived during the time. How many of us would have made excuses? Or wondered what other people would think of us for going on such a pilgrimage? How many of us would truly set out on a journey based on a prophesy and a star? To an unknown place for an unknown period of time. 

The truth that stings just a little is many of us probably would have reacted just as the many wise men in that house in Van Dyke’s story. We wouldn’t have made the journey that took years - almost two years in fact - because we could have thought of a thousand reasons not too. And probably the men who made the journey could have thought of some of those same reasons not to go, yet they went anyway. 

Their journey brought them to the palace of King Herod where they blatantly asked him “where is the child who has been called the King of the Jews?” Now maybe they thought that Herod already knew about the new King’s presence, or maybe they thought that was just as excited as they were at the thought of the promised one, but Herod didn’t quite respond the way they expected. He responded with fear and he sent the wise men to search for the child on his behalf.

The question of the wise men and Herod’s reaction still apply to us today. The wise men arrival would not have been a common thing in the palace. The fact they were foreigners from so far away made them exotic and novelties. Yet, they had a purpose in their visit, even if it concerned Herod, they had come to see the King. Not him, but someone greater than him. What do you think the Magi thought when they found Jesus? Was he the type of King that they expected to find? Or the one that we would expect to find? Probably not. Because of his birth. His parents. His followers. His death. Jesus was not the King that everyone expected.

And yet, maybe that should have been the type of King they expected. For the God of the Jews, not their God, had reached out to them through a star, something they studied and knew, to lead them to this unconventional place after a long, unconventional journey. That’s why we still celebrate the Wise Men today, and even have a day set apart in the Church Calendar for them. The Sunday we celebrate Epiphany is a testimony that God uses unusual means to reach people exactly where they are. God can show up in the midst of the expected or the unexpected. This is the day that we celebrate that God showed the way of Christ to the gentiles. But we also celebrate that God still shows up today, with new spiritual insights or perspectives, that we may or may not expect. 

But Herod did not see the wise men’s presence or proclamation as a good thing. He didn’t have eyes and a heart that were open to see the appearance of the star from the same perspective that the wise men did. So he acted out of fear - fear of losing his power and place. But don’t we act the same way from time to time as well? We try to control Jesus and his message and story because we are fearful that it will make us unpopular? Or will lead to us losing our place in society, or amongst are friends and family? So we send out others to search for Jesus, not because we want them to have a relationship with Christ, but to make us more popular with them, when they come to believe. 

Back to the story of The Other Wise Man. At one point the other wise man became separated from his companions when he stumbled across someone on the road in need of medical assistance. He offered the struggling stranger the last of his supplies before heading back from the way in which he came in order to sell one of his precious jewels in order to get enough supplies to make the rest of the journey. As a result he missed the arrival of the wise men at the home where Mary and Joseph were staying. 

We are told in the Biblical account that the wise men had come to pay homage to the baby Jesus and when they reached where he and his parents were staying that they were “overwhelmed with joy”. They didn’t come to study Jesus, or just to see him - they had come to worship this child they had went lengths to meet. Can we say the same today? Do we come to church because we feel like we have to or to learn something new? Or do we come to truly have our hearts open to worshipping Christ? 

When they went to present the child with their gifts - they weren’t exactly what you would call child appropriate. Right now I am preparing for the birth of my first niece. Every time I seem to turn around in a store, I find another cute thing for her. Or another thing her parents are going to need. But the wise men brought gifts that weren’t necessarily useful - gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They were however, gifts that proclaimed just how precious they believed this child King to be. And were generous. In the words of pastor William Arnold, “spiritual maturity inspires us to be generous.” Are we as generous with giving Jesus our treasures today? Or do we worry more about what he may ask us for instead of what we are to give? Are we concerned about giving him too much or too little? Does the use of resources proclaim just how precious we believe Jesus to be?

The story of the other wise man doesn’t end quite as one would expect. He did arrive at the home of Mary and Jesus, but only after they had fled to Egypt. He was there during the raid when baby boys were killed, but he gave away another of his precious jewels in order to help save a child’s life. He made it his life mission to find the one who was King of the Jews, and he finally did, over thirty years later, as Jesus hung on the cross under a sign proclaiming that title. But the man was transformed by his search for this King.

And so it was with the wise men. They too were transformed by their journey and worship of the Christ Child. After praising him, they were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, as he was seeking to kill the child. So they left home by another way. But Pastor James C. Howell wonders if this is not true for all of us who encounter and fully worship Jesus. Aren’t we too transformed? Isn’t it true that we can no longer take the same road which we came on? Isn’t it true that nothing in our lives is ever the same?

I have to wonder what stories the wise men had to share when they returned to their group at home. How did those who made excuses feel about missing this opportunity to meet the True King? Did their excuses seem silly now? Did they wish they could have such a transformative experience as well? 

My hope and prayer for us this day is that we are transformed. That we do truly worship the Christ child instead of just studying him and give to him our very best. I pray that we approach the news of his birth, life, death, and resurrection, not out of fear, but out of utter excitement, even if he is not exactly the type of King we expected. May we, like the wise men, encounter him and be transformed.