Sermons for the Month
"It's a Boy!"
DATE: January 1st, 2006
SERVICE: Epiphany Sunday
TEXT: Matthew 2:1-12“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
This week I found myself thinking about, of all things, birth announcements. Twenty or so years ago, when my friends began welcoming children to the world, birth announcements were sent out in the mail. The purpose was to proclaim the baby's safe arrival and to inform friends and family of the child's sex, name and size - which were not known until he or she arrived. People then had enough information to buy a gift for a boy or a girl, something just for that little one. Of course, Miss Manners would insist that birth announcements were not requests for gifts, but that's what happened nevertheless. I'm not sure how it works now. I suppose birth announcements are sent out electronically with photos attached, but since the sex and name of the baby are often known long before he or she is born, perhaps the incentive to buy a gift that is specific to this child also is gone. However, the purpose of proclaiming the baby's safe arrival still prevails. These reflections on birth announcements were stirred up by one that I saw in the paper last Sunday, Christmas Day. It does what all birth announcements do; it proclaims the safe arrival of a precious child. Let me show it to you. In the middle of this full page ad, white letters printed on black, announce, "It's a boy." At the bottom are these words, "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. - Luke 2:11" Underneath that it says, "If you would like to know more about Christ, call 1-888-Need-Him. That's quite an announcement, don't you think? It was placed by the Hobby Lobby Company, which has a store in Medina. According to their website they have been placing full page Christian message ads in all of the newspapers in which they advertise since 1997, on Christmas, Easter and one year on Thanksgiving. This ad was in 275 newspapers in 28 states with a readership in excess of 47 million. Just think, a birth announcement going out to millions of people. Of course, by the time I saw it I knew the details of the baby's birth. But, I wonder if it caught the eye of people who had not heard the proclamation of Jesus' arrival? There's no way to know who might have been moved by this birth announcement, perhaps some unlikely people. Maybe folks like the Magi of today's Gospel lesson who did not know exactly what to expect, but they still responded. We met the Magi in this morning's dramatic reading, three non-believers from the land of Persia who looked into the night sky and saw an unusual birth announcement. That infamous star captured their attention; since any alteration of the heavens signaled an important event they considered the options and narrowed it down to the birth of royalty. They knew that the Jews were anticipating a new King, so they set out on a politically motivated mission to honor him and thus get on the good side of his family. But what should they bring as gifts? What gifts would be appropriate for royalty, would impress his parents, and would survive the long journey? With these criteria in mind they took what was valuable and what was portable, and set out on their mission. The Magi's gifts are interesting, aren't they? We usually focus on their symbolism; they were gifts fit for a king, for a priest and for a crucified Lord. But, as we consider the gifts there is an interesting twist. Some scholars hypothesize that it was these gifts that financed the Holy Family's trip to Egypt. You'll recall that they fled there to escape King Herod, who was so threatened by the prospect of a rival that he ordered the murder of all male children age two and under in and around Bethlehem. He wanted to get rid of the competition. So, the expensive gifts from Persia were sold to provide food and shelter for Jesus and his parents in a foreign land. Now, let's pause and think about that for a moment. (I know, that's asking a lot on New Year's Day.) The Magi show up at King Herod's palace in Jerusalem. That's only natural; where else would one look for a new born king? How could they know that Herod suffered from debilitating paranoia, and an evil streak too, and that their inquiries would stir up his fear? They were sent to Bethlehem, where the prophet had predicted a king would be born, but when the Magi finally find the child he is in humble surroundings, with his most un-queen-like mother. Yet, even if they had misgivings, they left the expensive gifts. And, they did not return to Herod to report on Jesus' whereabouts, but instead listened to the message that came in a dream, and went home by another way. This account is such a revelation into how God is at work in the world. Herod is the living example of free will, and of the effects of sin, gone awry, inflicting pain. The Magi represent another way. Not fully understanding what was to be, they responded to the announcement in the night sky, they did what made sense and gave what seemed good, and listened when God spoke to them. And, although all did not turn out perfectly - because of Herod's choices and the innocent suffering it created - the hand of God was at work, the good gifts of the Magi became food and shelter in a time of need and the story of Jesus did not end in Bethlehem. Isn't there a message in this for us as we begin a new year? Not knowing what it all might mean or what exactly might happen, what if we responded to the many "announcements" that come to us from God. For the Magi the announcement was a new star, for us it might come through scripture, through other people, even through an ad in the newspaper. What if we acted, doing what makes sense, giving what seems good? For the Magi acting involved making the long journey from Persia to Palestine, and giving gifts appropriate for a king. For us it might be identifying a need and giving of ourselves to meet it. And what if we paid close attention to that inner voice, to the Holy Spirit, directing us on the way? For the Magi it was a dream directing them not to return to Herod, for us it might be a quiet, internal voice urging us toward an unexpected path. Just as was true for the Magi, all may not turn out perfectly, but we can be assured that the hand of God is at work, and the risks we take and the good we offer will be transformed. Not one of us here knows what will happen in our lives in 2006 any more than the Magi had a clue what was on the horizon when they packed their camels and left Persia. What we do know is this … "It's a boy!" Jesus has arrived, and if we are paying attention, that's an announcement that will change us. AMEN