January 2021

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First Reading = James 3:13-18

13Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. 14But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. 15Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. 16For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. 17But the wisdom from above is first pure,  then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good  fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. 18And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

Introduction

We are still in our series looking at the book of James and its challenge to have a serious faith that affects our daily choices. Last week, Pastor Carol encouraged all of us – not just 20% of us – all of us to do what we can to build the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

This week we are going to hear another challenging one. That’s James’ specialty. In our text today, we get to hear what James has to say about the words we choose and the words we let loose.

Sermon Reading = James 3:1-12

3Not many of you should become  teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will  be judged with greater strictness. 2For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone  who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole  body in check with a bridle. 3If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. 4Or look at ships: though they are so  large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a  very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! 6And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is  placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole  body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by  hell. 7For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. 10From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. 11Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? 12Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

Inconvenient

Well I have to confess…this is a rather inconvenient sermon. Very inconvenient sermon…for me. This last week I was angrier than at any point in my life – and my brother can tell you I was no stranger to being angry at him while we were growing up.

The national Presbyterian church switched our prescription insurance, and the new group kept messing up our son’s most important anti-seizure medication. It’s a weird medication, so I started the process three weeks early. The first week went by with no progress, but I wasn’t surprised. When the second week also disappeared even with multiple check-ins from me and my doctor, my worry and agitation started increasing exponentially.

As we got down to the last few packets of medication and they still couldn’t get it right, as I realized my son might not have his most important medication, as the ridiculous and needless roadblocks seemed insurmountable, I lost my cool. In fact, I was enraged. Not angry. Enraged!

James says in our text today, “How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire!” Well I wasn’t kindling a small fire with my words to the insurance company. I was in full, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” mode! As Bruno Mars said in the song “Uptown Funk,” I was so hot, I’d make a dragon wanna retire, man. Mars was talking about something else, but I can still apply it here to my angry words.

Faced with my child not having their medication, my words were more in the “scorched earth” department than the spring of fresh blessing intimated by James in our text today. And I’m still not ready to ask Jesus to forgive me on that, either! I’m still feeling rather justified in my dragon breath words! I’ll ask Jesus to forgive me eventually, but not yet.

And so I tell you that this is a very inconvenient sermon for me. I feel like I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t fess up to the least pleasant words I have used in at least a couple of decades the same evening I sat down to write this sermon. So there you go. This sermon is coming to you from a place of spiritual need, not a place of spiritual victory.

So as one fire-breathing dragon to another, let’s talk about our flaming tongues, shall we?

No Neutral Words

I mean, what role have words played in your life? What are some memorable words you’ve heard? Maybe you remember some famous words, like Al Michaels’ famous “Do you believe in miracles?” call at the 1980 Olympics. Maybe you remember some famous speeches. Maybe it’s more personal. Has someone given you a meaningful compliment that has stuck with you? Or has someone said something painful that is still raw?

Words matter.

In the comic Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin says to his tiger friend, Hobbes, “I feel bad that I called Susie names and hurt her feelings. I’m sorry I did it.” After a pause, Hobbes suggests, “Maybe you should apologize to her.” Calvin ponders this for a while and replies, “I keep hoping there’s a less obvious solution.” Can you identify with Calvin?

Words matter. Words can cause pain, as Calvin feels he did to Susie. Words can bring healing, so Hobbes suggests apologizing. Words matter.

In fact, there’s a book called The Power of Words and the Wonder of God, and one of the contributors to that book makes an interesting point. The author says, “The book of Proverbs is, in ways, a treatise on talk. I would summarize it this way: words give life; words bring death—you choose. What does this mean? It means you have never spoken a neutral word in your life.”

“Your words have direction to them. If your words are moving in the life direction, they will be words of encouragement, hope, love, peace, unity, instruction, wisdom, and correction. But if your words are moving in a death direction, they will be words of anger, malice, slander, jealousy, gossip, division, contempt, racism, violence, judgment, and condemnation. Your words have direction to them.”

I find that interesting – “you have never spoken a neutral word in your life.” Every word we speak has a direction to it. They say a business is always growing or shrinking – it doesn’t stay static. Or think about this church. I can’t say, “We should stay at exactly the same number of members.” We’re either growing or shrinking. And our words are never neutral – they direct people toward life or death.

So have your words been cultivating life? Or have your words been cultivating death? I encourage you not to think big-picture in this. I encourage you to think about individual people. So here’s another way to think about this. Make a list – in your head or on paper – of the people with whom your words have cultivated life. And make another list of people with whom your words have cultivated death.

In case you missed it, here’s that summary again. “If your words are moving in the life direction, they will be words of encouragement, hope, love, peace, unity, instruction, wisdom, and correction. But if your words are moving in a death direction, they will be words of anger, malice, slander, jealousy, gossip, division, contempt, racism, violence, judgment, and condemnation.”

I didn’t see anything about insurance companies on that list, so I’m good, right? And like I said before, I wasn’t angry. I was enraged! And rage isn’t on that list, so I’m good, right? And my words were directed at a company rather than a person, so I’m good, right? Of course not. But that’s the justification process we’re all probably going through in our minds right now. “Oh yeah, Pastor Cody. I agree that words of anger, malice, slander, jealousy, gossip, division, contempt, racism, violence, judgment, and condemnation are bad. But my case is different, you see!”

I can’t read your mind, but I know a bunch of people hearing me are thinking that. We’re human. Justifying ourselves is something we’re innately talented at. I get it. I do it, too. But would our excuses hold up to the gaze of Jesus? Really? Would they? Usually not.

So, I’m owning up to the fact that my words were in the “death” category this past week. My words were fine for week one and week two, but not week three. I challenge you to face the reality of your own words as well. No excuses. We don’t need excuses, because Jesus is ready to forgive us and help us cultivate a new and right spirit within us.

Words Shape the Speaker

And our inner spirit is definitely on the line when it comes to our words. Because our words not only create life or death in those who hear us, our words also shape our inner spirit as well.

James tells us in our text today “look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.” Our words steer our own ship! Our words steer our own hearts! Our words create a fount of living water within ourselves, or they create a cesspool of decay within ourselves!

The more we choose to speak angry words, the more angry our hearts become. The more we say, “Well I shouldn’t tell you this, but…” the more gossipy our hearts become. The more we speak judgmentally about other people, the more judgmental our hearts become.

And on the flip side, the more we choose to speak words of peace, the more peaceful our hearts become. The more we speak encouragement to others, the more encouraging our hearts become. The more hope we speak to others, the more hopeful our hearts become. The more lovingly we speak to others, the more loving our hearts become.

I’ve actually found that this principle goes one step further. Our internal monologue is also comprised of words. The more we stew on how someone annoys us, the more annoyed our hearts become. The more we think about all the things we “should have said” to really show someone, the more vindictive our hearts become. Our internal monologues matter, too. Those are words, too.

So your words – even your internal words – shape your heart. If you want to become less annoyed by someone, choose to list the ways they are a blessing or the ways you’re grateful that it’s not worse. If you are feeling hopeless, remind yourself or remind someone else of the hope that remains. It may not be hope that the situation will suddenly change, it may be hope that you’ll still be a child of God and still be surviving despite the situation. But that’s a different kind of hope, and it makes you more hopeful.

This is actually why singing is such an important part of our faith. When we sing words of hope, we become more hopeful. When we sing words of peace, we become more peaceful. When we sing words of faith, we become more faithful. If you want to try to change something within your heart, change what you’re listening to or change what you’re singing. That will help!

When I sat down to write this sermon after being so worked up by the insurance company, I chose to listen to very specific music while I wrote. I listened to Christian songs that were peaceful, slower, more mellow. It helped my soul calm down.

What we say out loud, what we say internally, and what we sing – all of those shape our own hearts!

How have your spoken words been shaping your heart? How have your internal words been shaping your heart? How has your music been shaping your heart?

Summary

Sisters and brothers, words matter. And they have a direction. We do not have neutral words. They either cultivate life or they cultivate death. There are certainly degrees on that, but all of our words point toward life or point toward death.

I encourage and challenge you to think through your individual relationships and individual situations to see if you are cultivating death with your words. Because it doesn’t take a lot of poison to make a cup of water dangerous. You might only have one or two relationships where your words are bringing death. But that’s still poisoning your own soul. Would you like it if I poured just a little bit of arsenic in your water? No! It’s still poison! I’ll take the arsenic-free water, please!

Our spoken words point to Jesus or point away from Jesus. Our internal words point to Jesus or point away from Jesus. Our music and our songs point to Jesus or point away from Jesus. Our words cultivate death or life. Choose life. I need to as well. Amen.

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First Reading = 1 Corinthians 10:1-14

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our  ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3and all ate the same spiritual food, 4and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. 5Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.

6Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. 7Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.” 8We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. 10And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11These things happened to them to serve  as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the  ends of the ages have come. 12So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. 13No testing has overtaken you that is not  common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested  beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way  out so that you may be able to endure it. 14Therefore, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols.

Introduction

We are starting a new series looking at the book of James in the New Testament. It is believed that the author was James, the brother of Jesus. I would say there are two major themes in the New Testament letters. On one hand you have a lot of the letters of Paul encouraging people to accept that they are saved by grace through faith – not by their good deeds. And on the other hand you have letters like this one that encourage people to take their faith seriously through their actions.

These two ideas aren’t in conflict – they are complementary. A person’s grace-given faith should be evidenced by their actions in their life, but those actions aren’t what save a person. One way to think about this is to picture a parent who is proud of their child because of a decision they made or an action they displayed. Does the child’s decision determine their status as part of the family? No! They were born into the family! But making that decision or living that way makes the parent proud.

Or looking at it from the other side of the coin, when I was in high school my brother came home one day. And as he came in, he tossed his car keys to my parents and said, “If you don’t already know what I did, you will soon.” He knew the car keys would be taken away, so he just owned it. Did that choice that disappointed my parents make him lose his spot in our family? No! It lost him his car for a while, but he was still part of the family.

So as we look at serious faith through the book of James, just remember that your life choices can make Jesus proud or make Jesus disappointed, but he still died and rose again from the grave for you. You’re in the family without your good deeds, and you’re in the family even with your bad deeds. But why don’t we strive to make Jesus proud instead of disappointed? Are you with me? That’s how we will seek to have serious faith.

Sermon Reading = James 1:1-18

1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. 2My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, 3because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; 4and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. 5If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. 6But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; 7for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 9Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, 10and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field. 11For the sun rises with its scorching  heat and withers the field; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes.  It is the same way with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will  wither away. 12Blessed is anyone who endures  temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of  life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

13No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. 14But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; 15then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death. 16Do not be deceived, my beloved. 17Every generous act of giving, with every  perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights,  with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18In fulfillment of his own purpose he  gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of  first fruits of his creatures.

Temptation

My younger son’s most precious stuffed animal is Lambie. Unsurprisingly, Lambie is a lamb. And Lambie tags along with Caleb much of the time that he’s at home. Lambie is usually pretty happy and chipper, as Caleb is. But sometimes, you see, Lambie is a bit rowdy. Sometimes Lambie jumps on my face. Sometimes Lambie keeps pestering me while we’re reading a book to my son. Sometimes Lambie can be…annoying!

And when we ask my son to stop, his reply is pretty typical: it’s not me, it’s Lambie! Lambie’s doing that, not me! Have you ever heard that kind of excuse?

To take that a step further, have you ever heard or ever thought or ever said, “the Devil made me do it?”

I believe it is a common misconception that temptation arises from some place outside of ourselves. I believe it is a common misconception that temptation is a burden that is placed on our shoulders. James says in our text today, “But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin.”

Temptation arises from within ourselves. It’s not a weight added to us by others. It’s not a weight added to us by circumstances. No. Temptation arises from within ourselves. Others might make it harder on us. Circumstances might bring our temptations to light. But they exist because of what’s beneath the surface of our hearts, minds, and souls.

Christian author Ruth Haley Barton wrote of a trip she took to Florida by herself to rest, walk the beach, and swim in the ocean. One day while she was swimming alone, a fisherman came running down the beach yelling, “Get out of the water! Get out of the water!” She swam as fast as she could to the shore with her heart pounding.

“Is it a shark?” she gasped. “No! It’s a saltwater crocodile!” She had never heard of saltwater crocodiles, but the locals knew they were one of the most aggressive creatures and very dangerous to people.

She took a faith lesson from that experience. She wrote, “what lies beneath the surface – of the ocean or our lives – really matters.”

Temptation arises from what lies beneath the surface of our lives. You can’t erect a fortress against something that’s already inside the walls. But that realization is the first step to living a different kind of life.

British author GK Chesterton realized this. A newspaper once asked him to write an essay about what is wrong with the world today. Chesterton wrote in reply, “Dear sirs, I am. Yours faithfully, G.K. Chesterton.” What plagues us is trouble beneath the surface of our hearts, minds, and souls. When those saltwater crocodiles within us get called out and unleashed, that’s what’s wrong with the world. I am what’s wrong with the world. You are what’s wrong with the world. We are all what’s wrong with the world. It’s inside of us.

We can’t point a finger at Lambie or the Devil and let ourselves off the hook. We can’t blame the universe without including ourselves in it, either. Darkness lives within us. That’s why we need a savior. That’s why I need a savior. Let’s just go through the seven deadly sins, shall we? The problem with the world is that pride lives within me! Greed lives within me! Wrath lives within me! Envy lives within me! Lust lives within me! Gluttony lives within me! Sloth lives within me!

And unfortunately, it lives within you, too. And everyone else, too. That’s why we need a savior.

Do you know that you need a savior? Do you feel how you need a savior? Would you agree with GK Chesterton that you, me…we are what’s wrong with the world?

Formed By Trial

And yet, James writes in our text today, “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”

So whenever we are tested, whenever we are stretched, whenever we are strained, whenever we are at our supposed breaking point, there’s also an opportunity, according to James. Those moments are an opportunity to develop endurance in our faith and life.

Last year I started 3D printing masks to help kids like our oldest son who chew on their cloth masks. And I started offering them to schools and therapy centers and eventually to a whole rare disease group across the country.

When I started offering them more widely, I got a very sudden rush of orders. My one little 3D printer couldn’t keep up. The nice 3D printer I wanted to buy was back-ordered for months. So I found one in stock online that was, and I quote, “mostly assembled.” No problem. I’ve disassembled and reassembled 3D printers. I could handle “mostly assembled.” I just needed to get it up and running quickly with the orders.

But then the printer arrived. It was in a distressingly small, flat box. And I told my wife, “Uh oh. That doesn’t look ‘mostly assembled’ to me. That looks like an Ikea box.” It turns out “mostly assembled” in this case meant, “all the parts you will need are in this box…probably” It took me several days to assemble, and the orders kept coming in.

That was an unexpected challenge. But I decided to do it right. I looked up some assembly videos from a guy who’s known for being very persnickety. I replaced some stock parts with better parts. I measured and tweaked and calibrated everything. I removed and re-installed an eccentric nut that was one of the very few things actually pre-assembled at the factory, because it was installed incorrectly. I got it to the point where the nozzle of the 3D printer was level to within the thickness of a single piece of paper across every point on the build surface.

It was very annoying! But all that investment of time made that printer my most accurate one. It is more accurate than my more expensive, professionally-tuned machines. I could have slapped it together. But I decided, “If I’m going to have to ‘mostly assemble’ this thing, I’m going to do it as accurately as I possibly can.” And now I get to enjoy the fruit of that labor.

I am not glad that I had to do that much assembly when I didn’t have the time and I had orders coming in. But I’m very glad now that I have such an accurate 3D printer. And I know that machine backwards and forwards, inside and out now.

In a similar way, when we face trials and temptations, it’s not fun. But we have the opportunity to create value, to create endurance in the midst of those trials and temptations. If you’re going to face a trial or temptation, if you’re going to need more assembly on your life than an Ikea box, you might as well get something nice out of it!

For instance, this pandemic stinks! It certainly qualifies as a trial. But did you know that we can become better people and better followers of Jesus through this trial? It’s not the default setting, but it’s definitely 100% possible for each of us to become better people and better followers of Jesus as a result of our choices during this pandemic.

But picture a long-distance runner. Let’s fast-forward to mile 20 of a marathon. That’s about where my wife used to ask me to jump into the race with her because that’s when it got really hard for her. So we’re at mile 20 of a marathon. What would happen if she decided to stop running? How far her momentum carry her? Five steps? Maybe six! A runner only keeps going when they choose to keep running. By default, they stop. It takes a choice each and every step to keep going.

When we are in a trying time, a difficult time, a trial or temptation, by default we will drift from Jesus and the problems that dwell beneath the surface of our souls come out looking for food.

But if we choose, like a runner at mile 20 choosing to keep running, to focus on Jesus even when it’s hard to do so, we build endurance. We become better people and better followers of Jesus. That 3D printer won’t assemble itself. When we put in the work when it’s hard, we grow.

But James takes down one thing I’ve heard quite frequently. Have you ever heard, or ever thought, “Why is God making me face this?” But James took this on directly in v13. “No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one.”

When I read that, I come to the conclusion that God doesn’t send junk into our lives to make us better people and better followers of Jesus. Instead, I believe God gives us his own presence to enable us to choose to become better people and better followers of Jesus through the junk that happens in our lives. God is the one enabling the good on the other end of the bad. God isn’t sending the bad to create the good in you. There are probably some exceptions to that, but I believe they’re pretty rare.

God gives us the opportunity to become better people and better followers of Jesus through the trials and temptations in our lives. This past year has been a rough patch for most of us. Have you invested in becoming a better person and better follower of Jesus?

Putting In the Work

So what can you do if you don’t think you’re becoming a better person? What can you do if you don’t think you’re becoming a better follower of Jesus? What can you do if you’re stopping instead of running?

One problem is that we can feel overwhelmed and not know where to start. There’s an old tale from the desert fathers. A monk succumbed to temptation one day, and in his distress he stopped practicing his monastic rule. He longed to take it up again, but he said to himself, “When shall I be able to be holy in the way I used to be before?”

One of the older monks learned of his distress and told him this parable. There was a man who had a plot of land, but it got neglected and turned into waste ground, full of weeds and brambles. So he said to his son, ‘Go and weed the ground.’ The son went off to weed it, saw all the brambles, and despaired. He said to himself, ‘How long will it take before I have uprooted and reclaimed all of that?” So he lay down and went to sleep for several days. His father came to see how he was getting on and found he had done nothing at all.

Why have you done nothing?’ he said. The son replied, ‘Father, when I started to look at this and saw how many weeds and brambles there were, I was so depressed that I could do nothing but lie down on the ground.’ His father said, “child, just go over the surface of the plot every day and you will make some progress.’ So he did, and before long the whole plot was weeded. The same is true for you brother; work just a little bit without getting discouraged, and God, by his grace will reestablish you.

This is the spiritual version of the five minute rule. As we approached Christmas, we realized we needed to clear out the toy closet a bit to get ready for the new stuff. But it was overwhelming and disorganized. It started off halfway organized, but two boys can do a number on any organizational system, let me tell you! So my wife and I each agreed to set a timer, and we were committed to that amount of time clearing out the closet. We each chose to continue past our timers, but we needed to focus on those first few minutes to get started.

Just pick one way that you have been sliding away from Jesus. Work on that. Pray on that. Just do a little bit. As the desert father said, “work just a little bit without getting discouraged, and God, by his grace will reestablish you.” Just do something! Even if it’s a five minute timer in prayer.

And remember one other aspect of that story from the desert father. Was God the one keeping the fallen monk away? No. He did that to himself. He couldn’t imagine or accept God’s forgiveness. He did that to himself! Not God! God was ready to welcome him back and help him build a more faithful life once more. God’s ready to welcome you back, too. God’s ready to help you build a more faithful life, too. God’s grace is given to you, too.

Summary

Sisters and brothers, temptation is just a manifestation of something already churning beneath the surface of our hearts, minds, and souls. Like the saltwater crocodile, what’s beneath the surface matters.

Times of temptation and times of trial and difficulty are opportunities to invest and alter and indeed improve what’s going on beneath the surface of our lives. It doesn’t happen by default. We have to choose to improve our souls during challenging times, just as a runner has to choose to keep running at mile 20.

But it just takes a little start. Even five minutes. That’s enough to start a change over time. Because our God doesn’t require fourteen hours of penance and nineteen push-ups and four Our Fathers to come back into his presence. He gives his presence to us freely and helps us live better lives going forward.

How will you invest in your own spiritual endurance this week? Even if it’s hard. Even if you’re overwhelmed. Even if you don’t know where to start. Even if you think you’re too far away for God to welcome you back. That just means you need a savior. Thankfully, God already sent Jesus to do the saving. Amen.

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First Reading = Matthew 2:13-23

13Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, 15and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

16When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. 17Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: 18“A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”

19When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 20“Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” 21Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. 23There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.”

Introduction

This week we are focusing on the arrival of the wise men from the East. And for annual pastoral service announcement, the wise men shouldn’t be in your nativity set because they didn’t arrive for about two years. If you want to put them off to the side so they’re “on the way” to meet Jesus, I won’t quibble. But if I’m in your house in December and the wise men are standing next to Mary and Joseph? I might just palm them on my way out to increase your nativity accuracy!

Next week we are going to start a series looking at the book of James in the New Testament. I’m calling this preaching series, “Serious Faith,” because James is encouraging his readers to take their faith seriously every day.

But today we’ll give the wise men their due. If I’m going to harp on their absence at the birth of Jesus, I should give them their proper time to shine.

Matthew 2:1-12

2In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 3When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” 7Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”

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. 12And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

The Big Picture

Well, my younger son likes Legos. Hold on a sec, he really likes Legos. Actually, he loves Legos. Who am I kidding? He is passionate about Legos! Perhaps he is even addicted to Legos! Do they have a group for that? It probably meets at Legoland.

Now, I can’t cast any stones on this one lest my glass house be exposed. When I was a kid, we had a table that lowered from the ceiling that was filled with Lego. And when my parents wanted the mess gone? Up went the table to the ceiling! I still don’t know how my dad convinced my mom that was a good idea. I think he just thought it would be cool and figured out how to justify it. Regardless, I loved Legos when I was growing up. I even taught Lego robotics in an elementary school in Austin when I was a young computer programmer.

Given his love for Legos, I made him a deal. If he could learn how to follow the instructions and build sets on his own without help, I promised to build him a Lego table. Challenge accepted, and miraculously the very next day he discovered he didn’t need my help to build small and medium-sized Lego sets.

But I made a costly mistake on this deal. You see, I was picturing a flat table covered in those Lego base plates. That would have been pretty straightforward to build. But here was my costly mistake: he saw me looking at Lego table designs on the Internet. And his eyes were drawn to the one with a moat around the edges and a raised building platform in the middle. I had to admit that it looked cool in the picture on the Internet. I mean…not as cool as a table that raises and lowers from the ceiling…but still cool. So the project…expanded a bit.

But it started with just a big picture idea – build a Lego table! But that led to some question about the implementation. Where will the table live? What dimensions make sense? How can I make it at the right height for today but not be too small in a year? What lumber do I need? Oh, wait, you want that design? Back to the drawing board!

I started with the big picture idea, the destination, the goal – build a Lego table! But then I had to back up and figure out the steps.

The wise men from the East experienced a bit of a Lego table moment in our text today. As I’ve shared before, it was not common for ancient astrologers to make long journeys to celebrate the birth of a foreign king. They were careful observers of the stars, and they had intricate rules for interpreting things like the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn that we got to see right before Christmas this year.

So it wasn’t strange for the astrologers to notice something in the sky and try to interpret the sign. It wasn’t strange for them to associate an occurrence in a particular patch of sky with a particular group of people. But it was very strange for them to journey for two years across the desert bringing gifts to celebrate the birth of a foreign king.

So here’s how I picture it. I picture the three of them comparing notes about the movement of the stars. And one of them says to the group, “Hey, did you see that new star? Jimmy – you’ve got the notes on interpreting that section of the heavens. What does it mean?”

Jimmy is a very common name for Persian astrologers, as we all know. And Jimmy says, “Here on scroll 42, it says a new and special king must be born in…the land of the Hebrews.”

So the third one, Carlos, another common Persian astrologer name, says, “I had a dream last night where we crossed the desert together. Perhaps this means we should go see him!”

And so all three of them decided that was their goal for the next few years. Together, they would go celebrate the birth of this new, special king of the Jews!

Now, I’m using my sanctified imagination here, so I could have some details wrong, here. But that’s where I imagine that they all went home. And they excitedly told their wives about this special mission from the gods. And that’s when the questions started popping up.

“Oh, really? You’re going to leave us here for how long? What are you going to wear? Who is going to cook for you? Because I’m not crossing that desert for some king I’ve never heard of! And are you going to bring a housewarming gift? Or do you just plan to show up in your dusty robes and expect to be welcomed with open arms? Do you even know which way to go?”

They knew their divinely-inspired goal – go see this new, special king of the Jews! But then they needed to back up and fill in the details.

Sometimes, God gives us a big picture idea or a destination or a goal. And that eureka moment is great! But then we have to back up and figure out the details. What kind of Lego table? What gifts should we bring across the desert?

Is there anything – big picture – a destination – a goal – that God is leading you toward?

Maybe God is leading you toward a relationship to restore. If so, how can you start? Why would they want to hear from you or care what you have to say? What do you need to own personally in that relationship? Those are some details you might need to fill in.

Maybe God is leading you toward a cause or a group to support. What skills or experiences do you bring to the table? How can you make a difference? Who should you contact? Those are some details you might need to fill in.

Maybe God is leading you toward something internal – an attitude to change or some investment in your soul or character. How can you cultivate what is God-honoring? How will you change your time to invest in that internal change? How will you know if you’re making progress? Those are some details you might need to fill in.

Sometimes, God gives a big picture idea or a destination or a goal, and then God expects us to fill in the details. Like figuring out how to cross the desert and honor a foreign king. Like going from Lego table to actual plans and materials. Is God leading you toward something big? If so, how can you fill in the details in a God-honoring way?

The Next Step

Now, I generally do not watch much television, and I especially do not watch reality TV. But there is one show I watched a handful of times and enjoyed: The Amazing Race. The basic concept is that several teams try to follow the clues to reach the next pit stop on their journey. The first team to arrive at the pit stop gets a bonus. The last team to arrive gets eliminated or gets a big disadvantage.

But they don’t get an address for their destination. That wouldn’t be dramatic enough for a show that has racked up 32 seasons! No, they get a clue like “the westernmost point in mainland Europe” or just a picture of a flag. They also may be required to get there a specific way – walking, or biking, or flying, or renting a Jeep. And then there are detours and roadblocks and challenges, too. One team had to attempt to eat four pounds of barbecue to overcome their roadblock!

The show doesn’t dole out the final destination. They give a steady drip of clues and pit stops, and the teams are expected to figure out the destination along the way.

The Amazing Race is the opposite of what we just talked about. Instead of getting the destination ahead of time, they just get the next step, and the next clue, and the next challenge. They know there is a destination, but it’s hidden at the start of the episode.

So sometimes God gives us the destination and wants us to fill in the details. But other times God gives us just the next step, or the next clue, or the next challenge along the way. We have to trust that God has a destination in mind, but we don’t know it yet. I believe this happened a few times in our two texts today.

For example, the gifts brought by the wise men. Frankincense was a high quality incense or perfume. Gold, I’m guessing you’re aware of. Myrrh was another perfume that also had some medicinal uses. Perfume, medicine, and gold. These are still some of the most expensive things by weight. If you doubt me, may I interest you in some of Jean Patou’s Joy Baccarat Limited Edition perfume? To quote the marketing materials, this perfume is created with, “an astonishing 10,600 jasmine flowers and 28 dozens or roses per bottle. This limited-edition marvel ups the ante even more with a keepsake Baccarat bottle—an expression of Joy that isn’t fleeting.” All of this is available to you for the cool price of $1,800 per bottle. And the bottle isn’t exactly Costco-sized, even at that exorbitant price.

So the three wise men chose gifts they thought would be worthy of a king – extravagant, expensive items that would be valuable in any country at the time. They also had to schlep these gifts across a desert, so they chose kingly gifts that were lightweight and portable. These kingly and highly portable gifts were about to play a much bigger role than the wise men ever imagined. But they didn’t need to know about that destination. They just needed to do their part, their one step in the ultimate plan. They just needed to bring those gifts to the parents of Jesus.

Stay with me, because that gold and frankincense and myrrh are about to become really useful to Mary and Joseph. We heard in our other text today what happened right after the wise men left. “An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’”

What if an angel told you to leave for another country…tomorrow? And your accounts will be frozen, your house will be seized, if you have a stock portfolio it will be seized as well. So all you can bring with you is what you can carry. You have 24 hours to prepare. Would that be scary? What would you bring?

And then…what if you were as poor as Mary and Joseph? And it’s not like Joseph can load up his woodworking shop and cart it off on the back of a donkey. They had so little, and Joseph probably couldn’t even bring many of his tools of the trade. They just had to leave…tomorrow…for another country…and “remain there until I tell you.” Can you imagine?!?

First off, let’s stop and notice that Joseph’s vision is another example of receiving the next step in the plan instead of the ultimate goal. Just go to Egypt until I bring you back! Trust me!

But second, do you know what would be really, really useful in this situation? Some highly valuable, highly portable, universally valued wealth to finance this little refugee operation. Maybe something like…gold…or frankincense…or myrrh? How about all three!

I’ve known refugees who were respected doctors back home, and they became janitors at first in their new land. If you’re a refugee, you don’t need knowledge or skills or a trade at first. You need cold, hard, cash. Joseph and Mary had none of that. Until the wise men brought them gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

These wise men never knew that their gifts financed Jesus’ family fleeing execution by Herod. They just did their one part, their next step. God took care of the destination. And when they went home? God told them to go back without going through Jerusalem again. That actually wasn’t super easy, by the way. They had to go a considerable distance out of their way to travel safely, or risk some very sketchy roads. They didn’t know why. They just followed that next step. God took care of the goal.

So maybe instead of God leading you toward a big picture idea or a destination, maybe God is instead just giving you the next step. It may not even make sense. It might send you off across the desert, packing a bottle of perfume for a baby king in a foreign land. When God gives you one step at a time, he wants you to trust him with the big picture.

So has something been poking around in your mind lately? Has someone been on your heart lately? Has an idea been noodling around? Take one step and trust God with the next one.

Summary

Sisters and brothers, sometimes God gives us a big picture idea or a long-term goal, and he expects us to fill in the details. To summarize what the wise men heard: “You! Wise men! Cross the desert! And bring something nice for the baby king!” They had to fill in the gaps.

Other times God gives us just one step at a time. “Joseph, leave for Egypt tomorrow!” Or “Wise men! Take the long way home!” In that case, he expects us to trust that God can see a much bigger picture than we can.

What has God been whispering – or shouting – to you? Even if you don’t understand where he’s going yet, will you follow him? Amen.