⁹When 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. ¹⁰When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. ¹¹On 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.

Tonight I want us to do something a little different than usual.  We read so many scriptures this time of year that we don’t always experience them.  I preached a full sermon on this text on December 3^rd for our Campus Candlelight Service and another one earlier tonight at 7.  I want to invite you to develop the sermon at this service, just before the clock strikes midnight on Christmas morning.  So I invite you to listen to the scripture again and spend a couple of minutes in silence listening to what God would have you hear in this scripture.  In order to participate at this level in the sermon you will need to get in a comfortable position.  I find it helpful to remove all materials from my lap, uncross all my limbs, and take a deep cleansing breath.  I often close my eyes so that I can see the scripture unfolding and listen to the Spirit speaking.  I take a deep breath imagining that I am breathing in God’s peace and then slowly exhale as if I am breathing out the stress of the day.  I take another deep breath, breathing in a sense of readiness and breathing out all distractions.  I consciously relax my body bit by bit, moving from my toes to my head and all the way down my arms.  Now at this point of readiness I invite to hear the Word of God as if for the very first time, paying close attention to what God would have you to notice in this passage.

⁹When 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. ¹⁰When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. ¹¹On 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.

 (Spend a couple of minutes in reflection.)

I love this scripture.  I thought it might help for me to share with you some of the things that I have discovered over the years that I have spent with it.  I want to briefly unpack three words: star, joy, and gifts.  I am not going to do much application.  Tonight I am leaving that up to the Spirit.  I just want to say a few things about these words:

·         Star – It is hard to imagine what the world was like 2,000 years ago, but it is safe to say that it was a very different world.  Stars were not something to be discovered, named, and have their distances determined.  They were celestial messengers.  When something different happened in the sky, it was the heavens declaring that something significant had happened on earth.  Alexander the Great, Caesar Augustus, and Nero the Emperor all claimed some kind of stellar attestation to their ascension to power.  Magi looked to the stars for a sign and God spoke their language.

·         Joy – verse 10 states, “they were overwhelmed with joy,” but the Greek text of this passage uses a verb, a noun, an adjective, and an adverb to describe the response of the magi when they saw the star stop over the house where the child was.  The literal translation of this phrase is, “they rejoiced extremely with great joy”.  Matthew pulled out all the stops, using every possible modifier to describe the joy that the Magi felt.  This was no ordinary joy.  I suggested at the earlier service that it was overjoy, which is to joy what belly laughter is to laughter.

·         Gifts – The wise men desired to worship the baby and present him with gifts.  Three gifts are mentioned and that’s why so many people believe there were three wise men.  Their giving is significant.  Presents are exchanged tonight and tomorrow because we want to express our devotion and love to the recipients.  Their gifts were also significant. 

o       They offered gold, even today a precious metal, selling at over $1,090 an ounce.  This was a symbol of royalty.

o       They offered frankincense, a white resinous gum that was used for medicinal purposes and in worship settings.  It was a symbol of divinity.

o       They offered myrrh.  Myrrh is a small tree that produces a resinous gum that was used in burials.  This word occurs twice in the New Testament – as one of the three gifts of the wise men here and as one of two things that Nicodemus used in the burial of Jesus in John 19:39.  Myrrh was a symbol of passion and burial. 

Just three words: star a message from God about something spectacular on earth, joy (or overjoy) that exceeds most expressions of joy, and gifts that seem to be saying even more about the recipient than they do about the givers.  So perhaps that unpacking of the scripture may assist you as you listen for the sermon from the Spirit.

I invite you to return to that comfortable position one more time.  Take the deep breaths - breathing in God’s peace and breathing out all stress, breathing in a sense of readiness and breathing out all distractions.  As you continue this rhythmic breathing relax your body from your toes to your head and all the way down your arms.  I am going to read the scripture to you one last time and we will spend a couple of minutes listening for God.  What is God inviting you to do today through this scripture?

⁹When 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. ¹⁰When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. ¹¹On 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.

 (Spend a couple of minutes in reflection.)

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for this time together listening for your Spirit.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

The Star that I encounter in this story is still leading.  I see it in the reflection inside this cup.  I see it in the glistening eyes of God’s children coming to taste of his grace.  I see it in the lights of the candle that will soon be glowing in this sanctuary.  Always it leads to Christ the Lord.  Amen.