Epiphany Sermon: January 6, 2013

Epiphany Sermon: January 6, 2013

Matthew 2:1-12

“Can’t Buy My Love”

"The Magi" by He Qi, China

PREACHER: Pastor Carrie Smith 

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sometimes, you just have to take the backroads home. When my family drives each summer from Chicagoland to Lubbock, Texas, we sometimes take Route 66 instead of the huge multi-lane highways. These days, Route 66 is not only a back road—in many places it’s not a road at all! Most of the time, it’s the back, back, back road. But by taking this backroad home you see lots of fun stuff you would miss on the interstate: the world’s largest bowling pin, for example, and a motel made out of teepees, some awesome caverns, a few exotic petting zoos, and lots and lots of potholes.

Other times, the backroad simply gets you to your destination faster. When I was a country pastor up near the Wisconsin border, I often ignored my GPS and instead took the back country roads to make pastoral visits. I was amazed at how fast I could zoom through the countryside (unless I got behind a tractor, in which case, you could forget about getting anywhere!)

The most common reason to take the backroads home, however, is not for the scenic view or to make good time, but to avoid the main road. This is exactly what the Wise Men did after visiting the infant Jesus in Bethlehem. Matthew chapter 2 says: “Having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.”

Wait…did you forget the part of the story where the Wise Men escaped via the backroads? If so, you’re not alone. We hear this story every year. The Three Kings may even appear on our Christmas cards! And yet, these Wise Men (or Magi, or Kings from the East) are such familiar, warm and fuzzy characters that we often miss the lying, the intrigue, and the scandal they represent!

We always remember that the wise men came from afar to the village of Bethlehem. We know they rode on camels, followed a star, and brought gifts. Some of us might even know their traditional names: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar.

But we don’t often remember that they first stopped in Jerusalem to ask for directions, catching the attention of the king. King Herod was none too pleased to learn that a potential rival had been born nearby. So he did what every powerful leader does when he senses his authority being threatened: he tried to get the new guy’s entourage to work for him.

Herod sent for the three curious travelers and said to them (probably over drinks and dinner): “Listen: I want to worship this new baby king, too! You go find him, and then come tell me so I can worship him, too.” Wink, wink, nudge nudge…

If the Epiphany story were a television drama, can’t you just hear the ominous music that would be playing in the background? We, the viewers, would know for sure that Herod had no intention of worshipping the baby Jesus. If only the Wise Men could hear the music, too!

Maybe Herod thought the men would be easily conned because they were foreigners, or because they were brown, or because they spoke with an accent. But, as it turns out, these visitors would not be remembered as the “Three Gullible Guys” or the “Three Easily-Swayed Travelers”. After drinks and dinner, these scholars from the East continued on to Bethlehem, where they found the baby Jesus lying in his mother’s arms. They unpacked the precious gifts they had brought and bowed down to worship the newborn king. And then…they went home by the backroads. Sorry, Herod. You can’t buy my love! You can’t finance my faith! You can’t pay me to pay homage to anyone! Just like Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego in the fiery furnace, we won’t bow down to your idols! We came to see the king….and his name isn’t Herod. Amen!

Today, rather than thinking of the Three Wise Men as foreigners or interlopers, tangential figures in our beloved Christmas story, I wonder if we can identify with them. After all, we, too, want to see Jesus. Many of us can tell of journeys of faith that have brought us from afar. And now that we’re here, there are always those who, like Herod, want to buy our affection, win our allegiances, or demand our devotion. Some of them even do it in the name of Jesus.

How many mailers did you receive during the holiday season, asking you to give money to this or that “Christian” cause? Some are worthy organizations, but others use more of your money for administration than for helping hungry children.

Have you received calls this week asking for you to share your political views and voting habits? I was hoping these were done after the November election, but this week I’ve answered several phone surveys testing my support for a number of so-called “Christian” or “family” causes. It’s interesting how many of these automated surveys are abruptly ended when I answer a question in an unexpected way. Taking the backroad still surprises people, it seems.

As a pastor, I get many calls asking me to focus my congregation’s efforts toward one cause or another, always in the name of Jesus. Again, some of them are truly working for Christian values that you and I might share, but others seem sketchy, at best. One man tried to get me to hold a boat sale at Bethany during the month of December. I’m not sure how that furthers our Christian mission and ministry, but what do I know?


The thing is, there are always kings and causes, ideologies and worldviews which will try to buy your love away from the newborn King. Why? Because we may be outsiders, outcasts, or outlaws, but those of us who follow the star are threatening to the powers and principalities at work in the world. We, who bow to worship the newborn king, do not bow to the others who claim to have the answers, who promise security and privilege, and who wear the crowns of worldly power, tradition, and “the way we do things around here.” And this is troubling to the powers-that-be.

If you don’t believe me, take a look at what the troublemakers around here are up to:

Here at Bethany, we stand against the idea that homeless people deserve their lot in life or are less than human. By housing, feeding, and clothing more than 50 men on Sunday nights at our PADS ministry site, we proclaim “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Through Good Samaritan and the Crystal Lake Food Pantry, we “fill the hungry with good things and lift up the lowly.”

When we welcome the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts for meetings, free of charge, and provide space for HeadStart for more than thirty years and the Bethany Preschool for ten, we proclaim that children matter more than money. “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

On Sunday mornings when we welcome everyone to the Lord’s table, regardless of the ability to give and always without a reservation, we stand in opposition to a world where dinner tables, conference tables, and even school lunch tables usually gather those of like income, of the same race, and of similar opinion.
Let’s not forget how Christians actively pray and work for peace and justice; how we speak out for those who have no voice; and how we minister to the elderly and the very young, for “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5)

Most scandalously, we, followers of the star, forgive one another time and time again—a truly troubling act in a world in which even our political leaders play the game of tit for tat, hold grudges, and seek revenge.

These spiritual practices which seem so natural to lifelong Christians are, in fact, pretty strange things to be doing. It’s easy to forget that being a follower of Jesus is not just a “nice thing to do” or to be: it’s a subversive act. It’s a challenge to the assumed order of the world. The story of the Wise Men and Herod we heard on this Epiphany Sunday begs the question: if we aren’t troubling the powers that be, are we really following Jesus? Are we keeping the star in our sights and following the light of Christ, or have we lost our way?

As you go out from here, I invite you all to follow the example of the Three Kings, who came from afar to kneel at the manger, and who wouldn’t let anyone buy their love or devotion away from the One they came to see.

Sisters and brothers, keep the Light of Christ in your line of vision this coming year. Take the backroads home, if necessary! Give to Jesus the best you have to offer. And know that Jesus Christ, who was born in a manger, died on a cross, and rose from the grave, has already given you the gifts of peace, forgiveness of sins, and the promise of eternal life. Ame