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SERMON
The familiar Christmas carol "We Three Kings" is the
story of the wise men and the gifts they brought to the baby Jesus. But
they were Magi, not kings. The idea that they were kings is tradition,
and not what Scripture says. And three of them? Perhaps, but we don't
know. We assume there were three of them because they brought three
distinct gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. What we know is that these
Magi (who were most likely astrologers and probably from Persia)
followed a remarkable star until they came to Jerusalem. And there,
realizing that they must be close to their goal, they sought advice from
King Herod.
When you embark on a journey, it's usually sufficient to set out in the
general direction, knowing there's plenty of room to make course
corrections. But the closer you get to your goal, the more precise your
moves must become. One bad move and you could miss your goal. One wrong
choice and you could lose the thing you'd been seeking all along.
So, wisely, the Magi went to Jerusalem, to the heart of Judaism, to the
King, for definitive guidance. And King Herod's advisors provided them
with the crucial information they needed, the missing piece of the
puzzle. They quoted the ancient words of the prophet Micah: "But you,
Bethlehem...out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my
people Israel." So the Magi, with that last clue, set out on the
final leg of their long journey to honor this unknown infant king whose
birth announcement was a star. And they brought gifts: gold,
frankincense, and myrrh gifts more precious and more appropriate than
they could have realized.
Think for a moment about the gifts that you give. We all want to give
gifts that not only express our love, that are not only appropriate, but
gifts that we know will be appreciated because they're the very thing
the person wanted most. But how do you know what a person really wants
most unless they tell you? Well, if those wise men had been able to read
a little further in Micah's prophecy, they would have found in that
timeless scroll God's own "wish list" for his Son's birthday. In chapter
6 Micah wrote: "God has already shown you what is good. And what does
the Lord require of you? To do justice and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God." That's what God wants.
Now, there is no evidence that the Magi had read that list. They simply
brought gifts that, at the time, must have seemed appropriate: gold and
frankincense and myrrh. I can't help but wonder if those wise men had
any idea of the depth of meaning behind each of those gifts? Gold was a
costly gift one fit for a king. And though Jesus was only a child, he
was (and still is) the King of kings. Incense was a gift fit for
worship. And though Jesus was only a baby wrapped up and laid in a
feeding trough, he was (and still is) Lord of lords. And then there was
myrrh, a bittersweet ointment used to prepare a body for burial. It must
have seemed strangely out of place at a child's birthday celebration.
Yet it was a gift like no other, a gift fit for a savior. And though
Jesus was only a baby, he was (and still is) our one perfect Sacrifice.
What does the Lord want for Christmas? For a few minutes I want to
explore with you what, to me, is an intriguing connection between the
gifts of the Magi and God's "wish list" in Micah. I wonder, is there a
connection between gold, frankincense and myrrh doing justice, loving
mercy and walking humbly with our God?
1. First, I wonder about the connection between the gift
of gold and doing justice? Justice is a huge topic. So let
me focus on just one aspect of what it means to "do justice." Often when
we talk about "doing justice" to a person, what we mean is that we want
them to be all they can be, to do their best. For instance, if Emma
Thompson or Meryl Streep were given a poorly conceived, sloppily written
script, I'm sure someone would say that the part did not "do justice" to
their abilities.
If you want to do justice to people's abilities, you challenge them to
do their best or better than their best. Incidentally, that's one of
the things I appreciate about Sean Warren. Occasionally he will assign
the choir a piece of music clearly beyond its ability. The marvelous
thing is that occasionally we will perform better than anyone expected
(including ourselves).
How do you do justice? One way you do justice is by allowing people to
do things you may not think them capable of. But because of your
confidence in them, they may not realize they're incapable of it, so
they go ahead and do it (to everyone's surprise and delight). I daresay
that when we do justice to others that way, that is a gift as precious
as gold and it must please God immensely. What does the Lord want for
Christmas? Consider doing justice to others and allowing people to grow
into all they can be.
2. Then let's think for a moment about the connection between the
gift of frankincense and God's desire for us to love mercy.
Notice that he doesn't say we should "like" mercy or "feel good about"
mercy. God wants us to love mercy. It's interesting that the word we
find in Micah, as well as in the New Testament the word translated
into English as "love" is the Greek word
agaph. But
unlike our common ideas about love,
agaph is
perhaps only ten percent feeling and ninety percent decision. So how do
you "love" mercy in that sense? I'll tell you how. You decide to be
merciful, whether you feel like it or not. You choose to be merciful,
even though you may not want to.
I'm sometimes visited by a fleeting nightmare. It goes something like
this. I step into the pulpit on Sunday morning to deliver a message,
when suddenly it occurs to me that I have absolutely nothing to say.
I've drawn a blank. Now let's suppose that really happened one Sunday
morning. Suppose I stood here and told you that I simply didn't have
anything to say today. I thought about it all week but nothing came
together. What would you do? (You'd probably all go out to an early
brunch.) No, I would expect you to at least be thinking: "Wait a
minute. What are we paying this rabbi for if he can't even come up with
a simple thing like a sermon? And here he has the audacity to tell us
that he has nothing to say?" That has to be a preacher's worst
nightmare.
But what if it weren't a nightmare? What if something like that really
happened? Suppose someone you were counting on disappointed you? How
would you handle it? How would you behave toward that person? Would you
be merciful? You might not feel like showing mercy. But remember, Micah
doesn't say that God wants you to feel merciful. He says God wants you
to love mercy which, remember, has little to do with feeling and
everything to do with decision.
One of my favorite hymns is "O Brother Man, Fold to Thy Heart Thy
Brother." I'm sorry it's not in our hymnal, because it expresses
so well a great truth about mercy. It says, in part: "For He whom
Jesus loved has truly spoken. The holier worship which He deigns to
bless, restores the lost and binds the spirit broken..." The song
reminds us that when we show mercy to others, we honor God we truly
worship.
I realize there's a proper place for discipline, and I understand that
people need correction. I just don't want us to lose sight of the fact
that, when we berate those who have failed us (even if they deserve it),
we usually end up compounding the problem, rather than helping to solve
it. Speaking from personal experience, what those who have failed need
is the healing touch of forgiveness in the correction. And those who
love mercy that way discover they are performing an act of worship every
bit as sweet and pleasing to the Lord as the most fragrant incense. What
does the Lord want for Christmas? Try loving mercy, even if you don't
feel like it.
3. Finally, let me comment on a connection I see between
the gift of myrrh and God wanting us to walk humbly with
him. It seems to me that one aspect of walking humbly with God is being
willing to give God less than our best. I know how the old hymn says:
"Give of your best to the Master," and the Hallmark folks remind us
that we should "care enough to send the very best." But Micah
reminds us that there's something to be said for giving God our worst.
It's true, God deserves the best we have whether it's our time or
talents or resources. But you can take that idea too far. Some folks do.
There are people who sincerely believe that, since God deserves nothing
but the best, they don't dare give God anything less than perfection. So
they put on their Sunday best along with a happy Christian face. They
hide their guilt; they mask any character flaws, and flatly deny any
pain in their relationships. Do you know anybody like that? The last
thing they want is for God to see how bad they really are. And why do
they do that? It's because they think God would be dissatisfied with
anything less than perfection. And that, dearly beloved, is both a shame
and a sin.
When you try to hide from God your brokenness and need, when you feel
like you have to pretend to be better than you know you really are, when
you refuse to let God see you at your worst, you are robbing God of one
of the most precious gifts you could ever give him: and that is your
willingness to let him heal you. You have to deal with the brokenness to
be made whole. And that, to me, is where the gift of myrrh makes sense.
I have a theory that "We Three Kings" has never made it to
the top of the Christmas Carol charts because of the fourth verse. Do
you remember how it goes? The third king says: "Myrrh is mine, its
bitter perfume breathes a life of gathering gloom: sorrowing, sighing,
bleeding, dying, sealed in the stone-cold tomb." That doesn't sound
like Christmas! And if that was where the song ended, I think it would
easily qualify as the world's worst Christmas carol.
But that is not how the song ends, is it? That is the next-to-the-last
verse. The final verse cries out: "Glorious now behold him arise,
King and God and Sacrifice. Alleluia, Alleluia, sounds through the earth
and skies!" Jesus knew that he had to be broken before he could rise
triumphant. And he willingly suffered it for you and me.
Now we begin to understand that the gift of myrrh not only speaks of the
way Jesus was broken for us. That myrrh reminds us of our own
brokenness. And it beckons us, in all humility, to place ourselves in
God's hands so that he might give us new life as well. What does the
Lord want for Christmas? I believe he wants you, in all humility, to
give him yourself, just as you are, with all your faults and
shortcomings, so that he can make you whole. Because in the last
analysis, that is what Jesus came to do.
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