Isaiah 60:1-6,9
Psalm 72
Ephesians 3:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12
"...and they left for their own country by a different road."
They exchanged their worldly wealth for something far more precious: a new road, a different path. They hadn't come to conquer; they hadn't come to bargain or work out trade agreements; they hadn't come to make alliances with the ruling powers of the day. They had come to find a baby, a tiny human infant who was completely defenseless, who had nothing to offer or trade with them; and who had no power to use on their behalf... They came to find a baby. ...a baby that had already begun to turn the world upside down...
In our various readings since Christmas Eve, a whole cast of characters have been visiting, and proclaiming and prophesying about this little boy... A little baby boy who reflects something so compelling and so remarkable that angels and shepherds, a devout Jew and a prophet, even the stars in the sky seem to be talking with one another and announcing the birth of a new kingdom because of his arrival.
Now what could angels and shepherds, a devout Jew who came to the temple under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the aging prophet Anna, and three pagan kings possibly have in common? What on earth would draw such a diverse group of people together?
Let's go back to Christmas eve for a minute: Can you imagine the conversation over the babe as those dirty, loud, smelly shepherds peered down at him?
"He's not any bigger'n that runt lamb that was dropped this morning." "He sure don't look like his Daddy - do you see that?"
"Can't figure why we left our sheep out there alone to come and see this youngin... seems like we just had to come though."
"Do you suppose he's really the Messiah like them angels said?" " say, you did see them angels too didn't you?"
And when they leave, they find that their path looks different somehow - they comment to one another, "somethin's changed." "Don't make no sense - but the road looks different somehow...do you see it?" "Yeah, there's a light shinin' or somethin'."
And they begin to call out to others that they don't even know, "Hey, have you see that baby over there in that stable? Somethin' s different about him ...things ain't so dark somehow. It's like God's in that baby - and things are changin'."
"Come on, follow me I'll show you..."
So for those first days of his life, Jesus is peered at and cooed at and gazed at by common folks who somehow just KNOW that things are never going to be quite the same again...that the road has taken a different turn. And then it's time to go to the temple - as required by the Law, on the eighth day of the baby's life. The couple walks in to purchase a pair of pigeons and out of nowhere this quiet, reserved, scholarly man named Simeon just up and takes the baby right out of Mary's arms... and he begins praising God for allowing him to see the child who will be a light to the Gentiles and a glory to God's people - Israel. He's thanking God that he can finally go in peace now to walk that path of light that he's been praying and waiting for - for so long. and as Simeon leaves the temple, he runs into some excited shepherds who are going on and on about a baby who's making things different...and he smiles and nods, shaking hands and exchanging the peace of God with them... "yes, my brothers and sisters, we are going to be free now - for God is among us. God is here with us like never before." "Follow the light, and you'll stay on this new road." Neither this devout Jew - who spends most of his days studying the Scriptures - nor the shepherds who can't even read - think anything's odd about this unusual comradery...even though others look on with a certain distaste.
And what has happened to the old prophet, Anna? She's been quietly fasting and praying in a corner of the temple for years. Now she merely sees this wailing baby, and she starts running around cornering anyone she can find - telling them about the child and how he will be the redemption of Jerusalem. She was tolerable while she stayed in her place...but now, well , she's approaching people she doesn't even know and is brazenly talking to men - she's almost giddy with excitement. The temple priests are beginning to conjecture that she must be drunk.
But the usually quiet and unassuming Anna is completely unconcerned about the priests. Her time to prophesy has arrived and she will tell everyone she meets about the miracle that this child brings to earth. And much to the amazement and consternation of the priests, some people actually stop and listen to her - and the crowd that forms around her seems to vibrate with a certain light and joy that no one has seen in Roman-occupied Jerusalem for a very long time.
So by now, Mary and Joseph are completely befuddled.. Angels have been popping in and out since the conception of the child; then when he's born - loud, boisterous shepherds keep parading in and out to see him, to exclaim about him, to talk with Mary and Joseph, and with one another. Then when they take the baby to the temple for the customary circumcision and naming, a devout man predicts all manner of things about their son bringing light to the pagan world; and an old woman springs to life and goes bustling about telling everyone about their baby who is going to be the salvation of Israel - and as if that weren't enough, Now we have three gift-bearing magi asking to see the child!
So the conversation over the babe begins again. The magi talking about their journey and asking just when the baby was born. Mary and Joseph wondering why they've come from so far away to see their baby. The magi asking if they were aware of the brilliant star in the sky, explaining the significance of such a heavenly sign . And while they are quietly talking, some boisterous shepherds stop by with friends to see the infant, and once again exclaim how things have changed - what a wonder this child is. An old Jew comes in accompanied by an even older woman - they smile and nod at the shepherds as though they know them.. Children tiptoe up to the baby and slowly all the talk and chatter begin to quiet down and a great hush falls as they all gaze on this little baby boy who is somehow changing their lives... And the magi are filled with the same awe that struck the shepherds and Simeon and Anna. Here is something they have never seen before. Something that outshines everything they have ever known.
This child will indeed turn the world upside down. And slowly they begin to talk again - with Mary and Joseph, with the shepherds, the old Jew and his friend, even with the children... trying to grasp the magnitude of what has happened...God has come to earth - God is with us - God will die for us - and God will save all of humankind.
So here we are - with the most unlikely combination of characters one might ever imagine. The only thing that they all have in common is one tiny little baby boy whose presence is such that all the other differences simply melt away.
It's been suggested that perhaps Jesus' primary ministry, his most practical ministry, is that he has and he continues to bring people together - people who would otherwise pass one another by on the street and never know the other even existed. Were it not for the birth of that little baby boy 2000 years ago, we would probably never have met one another. We certainly wouldn't be together here in this church this morning. We wouldn't have discovered the gifts and joys we all have to share with one another. We'd still be lost in the darkness.
Now sometimes it's tempting to want to crawl back into that darkness where the world was much smaller and seemed more manageable; where the Law ruled and everyone thought they had right and wrong all figured out; where we knew who we should and should not associate with. But a baby named Jesus came and changed all that. He turned on a light that will not go out - no matter how hard we sometimes try to extinguish it.
And each time this little baby boy brings us together, we engage in the dangerous activity of conversation. Every time we open our mouths, we risk revealing something of ourselves that can change us and the world around us. We risk discovering that our perceived differences and uniquenesses aren't particularly important. We risk encountering God, and discovering that we cannot take the old road home any longer.
And so, like the magi, we too are drawn here today by the compelling presence of a little baby boy named Jesus. We are here with Jesus and with one another ,to grow a little wiser, and to return to our homes by that different road that the magi traveled so long ago.
AMEN.