Course Correction Needed
Written for Wollaston Congregational Church, Preached on Sunday January 8th, 2023
Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12
This week we return to Matthew’s gospel, following the Christmas stories of Luke. We will be staying with Matthew for the season of Epiphany. This is a time to settle in and imagine that we are members of Matthew’s community.
Matthew doesn’t pull any punches and still his story is quite wondrous. Matthew’s gospel lets us know that Jesus is born into a politically tumultuous time. Any mention of a new King of the Jews will be perceived as a threat by King Herod Antipas. Herod will stop at nothing – even commanding the genocide of infants – to protect his tenuously held power.
So far, according to Matthew’s story, Joseph has received a visit from an angel in a dream. This angel tells Joseph not to fear and to take Mary, who is already pregnant, as his wife. The child to be born is from the Holy Spirit and he will save the people from their sins. He will be named Emmanuel, God is with us. And so, Joseph marries Mary and she gives birth. They settle down in Bethlehem with baby Jesus.
This is the moment when the Magi enter the story, bringing color, pomp and circumstance. The Magi – or wise men – are the focus of the feast of Epiphany, which was officially celebrated on Friday January 6th. Epiphany means revelation. The coming of Christ is revealed to the Magi, who travel to Bethlehem from the east. The wise men are gentiles, not Jewish, and so the feast of Epiphany celebrates the revelation of Jesus to the gentiles.
The Magi are equipped with all sorts of resources. They are educated. They have studied astronomy and their own prophetic texts. They have probably been watching and waiting for the star that leads them to Jesus for many years.
They also have a travel budget and the leisure time to make the trip through many lands, until they find the newborn King of the Jews. The Magi are not just wise men, they are also wealthy. They bring their treasure chests with them, perhaps in order to fund their road trip. When they finally meet the baby Jesus they offer him the costliest gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
The Magi are likely accustomed to palaces and being entertained by rulers. Their guidance is often sought out by the rulers of their homeland. They are accustomed to five course meals with the finest wine. Naturally they seek out Herod’s guidance in finding this child who has been born to be King of the Jews. At this moment, we might wonder if they are so wise after all.
Any common citizen of Judea would tell them this is a rookie mistake. Herod is a petulant narcissist. Even the hint of a threat to his reign will send him spiraling into a rage. Those who have no escape from Herod’s wrath know better than to get him going.
Fortunately, the chief priests and scribes are able to re-direct the Magi. They pull out ancient texts which point toward Bethlehem as being the birthplace of rulers of Israel. The Magi accept this course correction. They are rewarded by another vision of the star they saw at the start of the journey. It leads them to the place where Mary and Jesus live. When they arrive they are overwhelmed with joy. They kneel and worship the child, offering him their lavish gifts.
And maybe this is another rookie mistake. What can a baby do with gold, frankincense and myrrh? I’ve heard it said that if the wise men had been wise women they would have asked directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, and brought practical gifts – like diapers and blankets. [1]
And yet, if the wise men had been practical women, the visit would not have been notable, would it? Who pays attention to humble wise women who just show up and do what is needed?
The Magi are notable because they are impractical and lavish. They are notable because they unintentionally alert Herod to this threat to his reign. They are notable because they do not expect to find the King of the Jews in a poor village like Bethlehem, living humbly with Mary and Joseph.
Having visited the infant and given their homage, they are ready to return to their homelands with joyful hearts. They would have returned to Herod as he asked and told him the exact location of the child. This would have been another rookie mistake. However, they receive yet another course correction in a dream. And so they return home by another road. Disaster is averted, at least for while.
The Magi may be remembered for the years they spent studying the stars and the prophetic writings. They may be remembered for their persistence on their journey made in winter over months, through hostile territory and wilderness. They may be remembered for their wealth and generosity. After all they bestowed the extravagant gifts on a humble little family living in the poor village of Bethlehem.
And yet, the Magi may also be remembered because of their acceptance of course corrections. Their learning and their persistence took them so far, but their openness to new wisdom from humbler origins brought them to Jesus.
Even though they looked for Jesus in Jerusalem, the center of religious authority, they were willing to receive a course correction from the Jewish scribes and head to the little village of Bethlehem. They were willing to follow the star, even as it led them away from Jerusalem. They were willing to experience Jesus as king, in whatever circumstances they found him.
And then perhaps most memorable of all, they were willing to be brought low by this child. They were willing to kneel and worship, and to open their treasure chests.
And after all that, they were willing to receive yet another course correction in a dream to return home on a different road.
Perhaps, after all, this is the meaning of the Epiphany, the revelation. The meaning is that we all have adjust our expectations – and make course corrections – in order to be led Jesus. Would it be a revelation if we found Jesus exactly where we expected him to be? Would it be a revelation if he was exactly who we expected him to be?
We may not think of the Magi’s course correction as a very big deal. It is part of a story that many of us have heard year after year. But, if we look back on our own lives, we may realize that making a course correction is a big deal. And it can take a good deal of courage.
It is hard to say “I made a mistake” or “I was going in the wrong direction.” Often we stick with a course of action even if we are unsure that it is still the best choice. That is so much easier than admitting that we need to change direction.
This is often true of in the work of discerning God’s purposes for ourselves and our church. I’ve worked in various faith communities and I’ve noticed that often people will think of discernment as a “one and done” thing. Whereas true discernment is a matter of seeking direction, going in that direction, and at the same time constantly seeking out a course correction. This is because we human beings are never truly aligned with God and God’s purposes.
My calling to Wollaston Congregational Church was a matter of discernment for myself, for the Search Committee and then for the congregation. After I came to be your pastor I began to talk the congregation about discernment for our future together. I think a few members of the committee were confused. They had done their discernment and had called me as pastor. But that was not enough. We need discern the next step in our journey continually and together in order to make whatever course corrections are necessary.
When I first began spiritual discernment I also thought of it as a “one and done” kind of thing.
I discerned the career that God had equipped me for, I made sure to get the education needed and then pursued a job in the same field. That should be one and done, shouldn’t it?
Perhaps you have discerned the life partner God has in mind for you, and so you meet and get married. It should all work out, shouldn’t it?
Perhaps you have discerned whether or not and how many children to have and you have been able to have them. It should all work out now, shouldn’t it? No further discernment or course correction needed. But none of these things work out without continual course corrections.
Is my relationship floundering? Improved communications may be needed. Confession and forgiveness may be needed. Counseling maybe needed. And, of course, prayer is always needed.
Did the career that seemed to offer so much in the beginning work out the way you hoped? Perhaps God was using this to prepare you for something else. Perhaps you have outgrown the need to be successful in this particular way. Perhaps a course correction is needed. And, of course, prayer is always needed.
Here at Wollaston Congregational Church our discernment led us to occupy a smaller footprint in this large old building. Our intention is to sell the whole property to the school using our space and for us, the church, to rent back this sanctuary area. However, the sale has not yet got through. Over the coming weeks we will need to discern together whether yet another course correction is needed.
There are many ways discern our way forward in life and in our faith community. We may study the scriptures, we may follow a star. We may learn from wiser more experienced people. How ever we discern the path to take, our destination is always the same. The destination is the love of God, made known to us in Jesus born in little Bethlehem.
When we see him – not where we expected, not as we expected – then we will be brought low, kneeling to worship. And, then, like the Magi we will return home by a different road.
May all God’s people say,
Amen
[1] https://markconner.typepad.com/catch_the_wind/2012/12/what-if-the-three-wise-men-were-women.html