When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, 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.
No angels with wings unfurled here! No cute baby in a cute little manger! No poor shepherds kneeling in a stable!
Matthew wants us to know! We are dealing with royalty. We are dealing with a King.
But where is the palace? Where are the royal entrapments? Where are the royal attendants?
Magi rejoiced at a simple rented house. Just a poor, rented house where Mary and Joseph stayed while they paid homage in Bethlehem. Inside, only a poor mother with child in her arms. No fatherly King with broad smile passing out cigars. No elaborate furnishings. No guards asking for ID’s as the Magi entered. No royal caretakers of a new prince.
Matthew wants us to know! This King is unexpected. This king won’t be recognizable. This is not the universe as usual. This is the universe turned upside down. This is the unaccepted. And the world order is turned around.
This will be the King of the disenfranchised! This will be the King of the poor in spirit! This will be the King of the mourners, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the persecuted, the oppressed. This is the New Order. So, Rejoice!
Matthew wants us to know! Rejoicing in tribulation is now possible. Not because everything is all right. Not because everything will end happily ever after. Not because life is without suffering, free from poverty and starvation, full of getting what we want. Not because evil world orders have been conquered.
But because Magi rejoiced over finding, not a palace, but a simple house with mother and child. To this child, not to a palatial prince, they offered gifts.
My wife, Susan, often shames me without so much as a spoken word. She rejoices in helping. Or so it seems. Rides for friends to a multitude of doctor appointments and hair appointments. Rides for a bothersome, mentally challenged woman to weekly meetings they share and the multitude of phone calls she places each week that Susan patiently answers. The multitude of things she does each week for our church, our family, our neighbors with no complaint. One can hear the joy as she talks about each of these, and others, when finally arriving back home, often tired and hurting from afflictions. I have learned to bite my tongue and find joy in her joy. I should probably say that to her more.
Matthew wants us to know! The Magi, searching for a King, rejoiced over finding a simple house with mother and child. Finding real joy, too, is different now. It’s found in ways we help others, not in gains for ourselves! It’s found in not in thinking inwardly, but acting outwardly. It’s found in simple, little, mostly unnoticed acts of love.
It’s found in a simple, poor house where lives mother and child, not a palatial palace.
Written by Rev. Cuyler V. Smith
What am I passionate about at Heritage?
The mission and outreach programs of the church that meet the New Testament imperative to “feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the prisoners,” etc.
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