Wise Men or Herod?

Matthew 2:1-16

Even though Christmas was more than two weeks ago, today we are still asked to remember a Christmas story — the story of the three Wise Men — Magi — learned men from the East who know the stars and understand their meaning. They are not Hebrews. They are pagans who, in Matthew’s telling, are representatives of unnamed peoples and ancient knowledge paying tribute to the Messiah, men searching for meaning and truth.

Herod, on the other hand, was a worldly ruler concerned only with his position and prestige. To him, the people he governed existed for only one reason — to serve him. Naturally, he was shocked and dismayed when these visitors from the East came looking for the “newborn king of the Jews.” This was an open affront to his power and authority.

The questions for us to ponder today are these: Why do we so quickly relegate major events of our Christian faith to short one-day celebrations? Why do we so quickly move on to more important” things? Why do we so often close our hearts to God’s grace? Perhaps it is because we are more like Herod than the Wise Men.

When we approach life as if things are owed to us and when we see others only as our servants rather than being of service to them, we are acting like Herod. When we enthrone ourselves as the lord of our life, we are acting like Herod. When we refuse to allow God to use us for His purposes, we are acting like Herod.

Jesus has been and always will be a threat to the self-centered and self-absorbed. And so, rather than dwelling on the mystery of a God-made man born as an infant in Bethlehem, we kiss the baby and quickly move on, leaving Him in the stable — a comfortable distance away where He lacks the power to change us. We don’t want the responsibility of raising that child in our lives because we know that the Jesus of Calvary makes serious claims on us. He challenges us to be more than we are. He challenges us to give more than we receive.

But this is still the season of hope and the Magi’s visit reminds us of the power of faith in someone beyond ourselves. Through their trust in God’s Word to them, they remind us to listen for God’s Word to us. May we see, as they did, the wisdom and power of God revealed in the infant Jesus and follow them to present to Jesus the precious gift of our lives.