Matthew 2: 9-15 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On 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, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
Humans often want to believe in their importance in carrying out God’s salvation plan. We have gurus on television or experts of all kinds offering healing for needy souls. Receiving much attention, these people sometimes collect a great following because of their perceived intellect, knowledge or insight. Their lectures are listened to attentively, and their books are read voraciously. People follow people, looking for answers. Even in the Christian circles, we see the same slavish behavior of following the ideas of individuals. When reading a religious book, we see quotations from important people. Are we really so significant when we think of God’s plans? In today’s account, as with all God’s dealings with mankind, his plan is carried out regardless of the status or righteousness of the men or women involved. We see the Magis in the center of this story even though they are occult people who probably believed in many gods. To them, Jesus was just a king of the Jews. They did not follow Jewish law or believe obedience to the commandments would make them acceptable to God. They were seeking truth through the stars: astrologers. Yet, we see them taking an integral role at the coming of Jesus, arriving at a later time as they bowed down and worshiped Jesus. They were the first that we know of who bowed before the Lord. They came because God brought them. No matter their purpose in seeking the king of the Jews, they were led by the Creator of all things for his purposes, not theirs. God interacted with them in a dream, instructing them to go back to their own country in a different way to avoid King Herod, God’s enemy. God had conditioned these astrologers to believe in dreams, so they heeded this warning. God is the authority in this account. We also see God directing Joseph by an angel. Joseph is the least in this story, for he had no part in birthing Jesus; yet, we see God imprinting on Joseph the need to protect Jesus. He heeds the angel’s visitation, taking Mary and Jesus to Egypt immediately. So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. He did not tarry, thinking the angel was some sort of bad or troubling dream. No, he believed God’s direction came in this dream. How many of us have acted on a dream in such a drastic way? Probably, not many. Joseph, immediately moved his family to another country, leaving in the middle of the night. In this account, as with so many others in the Bible, we see God fully involved, moving people here and there as a chess master would move pieces on a chessboard. His hand always directly involved in every move, He advances the least and the greatest for his purposes. He moved the occult people for his advantage. He moved Joseph, a more important piece, as He desired. He kept Mary safe, protected by others, and of course, the baby Jesus was always the first to be considered in every move. Jesus, the king on the chessboard, had to be protected. He alone would sweep the board clean, making the salvation plan of God complete. Sometimes, we consider ourselves so important in God’s plan of salvation, but He is the one who draws people to himself. He pushes the pieces forward for his own purposes. God’s infinite mercy and grace govern his salvation plan. All the moves reveal his great love for his creation, humankind.
The prophets spoke of God’s intention of saving mankind through Jesus long before the above events. And so was fulfilled what the LORD HAD SAID through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” A couple of examples: But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. (Micah 5:2) For to us a child is born to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulder. And he will be called, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9.6) Of course there are others, but what the prophets foretold was God’s intention to bring a permanent solution to man’s waywardness, his lack obedience to the Creator of all things. Man broke the covenant with God at the beginning of time in the Garden. Rather than stay in communion with God, following God’s directions and his authority, Adam and Eve decided to place their decisions above God’s authority. Once that incident happened, men and women fell out of communion with God. Humans became wanderers, without a permanent home and without eternal life in their beings. Because God alone possesses eternal life, restoration can come only under his authority. When mankind broke from God’s authority, people prevented themselves from inheriting everlasting life. We know Jesus, the Son of God, is the only answer to heal this broken relationship between man and God. The message of the Bible from the beginning to the end is the story of eternal life given back to mankind. To do that, a penalty must be paid for sin: the lack of allegiance to God as the Creator of all things, the Designer of all that was made. Since the time of the fall, an angel has blocked man’s return to the Garden. Men and women have suffered under their own decision of removing themselves from God’s authority. Adam and Eve’s decision to govern themselves by implementing the tree of knowledge: right and wrong; good and evil, has led to an environment of chaos, evil, and death. Rather than achieving peace and goodness over all the earth, man’s self-centered decisions have brought conflict and trouble wherever people have gone. All of this self-directed activity and decision-making has caused sickness and death to reign in every land. However, the prophets predicted a day when salvation would come to a creation in trouble, to a sinful and chaotic world. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6) Hidden in the prophets’ words was the Good News coming to a sinful world. For a child would be born in Bethlehem to a virgin. He would heal the land; a new creation would come from his sacrifice. Through his Son, God would make new creatures to abide with him forever, known as his children.
We who are alive IN CHRIST are members of God’s divine household. God authored today’s story. He moved the pieces on the board. Sometimes, we begin to think of ourselves in the body of Christ as more essential or important than we really are. In our arrogance, we believe we found the truth, but in reality, God led us to the truth. Jesus said, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them and I will raise them up at the last day. (John 6:44) Obedience is important, but more important is humility in following his guidance, willingness to move. The Magi traveled far to find Jesus. They probably had days when they wondered what they were really doing, but they were driven by God’s inspiration to complete their task. They kept following the star. Surely, Joseph was anxious about moving his family to a foreign land. Why pick up and leave everything he has ever known, taking a young woman and her baby, not his own? Why should he disrupt all their lives? But he did it. Joseph was the chess piece pushed forward. He moved. God’s plan for every Christian is to be ready to move. Sometimes we move because of fear as the early church moved from city to city because of fear after Stephen’s stoning. They moved, the virus of that day was in the hands of murderous men who intended to wipe out this cult of the Good News. The people of God moved as God pushed them forward in his plan to win salvation for everyone. They traveled to other lands because of fear and anxiety for their own well-being, but behind all of this activity was God’s hand. The Good News quickly spread everywhere during this time. People picked up their belongings and fled Jerusalem. No angel involved, but people quickly hurried to other areas. Of course at the time, the people involved were not aware of what God was doing; but now we understand God’s hand of grace and mercy was involved in all of this activity. God’s intentions were to fulfill his promise to Abraham: The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and ALL PEOPLES on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:1-3) Abraham, himself, moved when directed, believing God, not his circumstances. We should be willing to move, to change the direction of our lives, that is the walk of faith. As Paul told the church, For we live by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) God should be in control of everything. The Magi’s moved, Joseph moved, Abraham moved—we should move as God directs. Our part is obedience to his hand. The Spirit has come to us richly; He dwells within us. No man needs to teach us because the Holy Spirit teaches us. Someday, the Spirit will move us to heaven; our resurrection with Christ. The Spirit’s power will lead us to the table of God. As we sit around this breakfast table; God asks us to be pliable, allowing the Spirit to mold and to move us. We are but a part of his great plan of salvation. As He brings us to his table, we should desire more people to sit at God’s table of restoration. We are chess pieces in God’s hands. Let us be willing to hear God’s voice. God pushes every piece on the board as He desires. Pray that God’s Spirit will make us moveable, creating in us a desire to follow God’s will and to praise his name.
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