First Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6
Second Reading: Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon: Following the Star
Preaching: Pastor Jen
Sherman Street Church
January 12, 2025 - Following the Star
Our Old Testament reading this morning is from Isaiah 60 verses 1 through 6 which can be found on page 742 of the Pew Bible. And I noticed if you listen carefully you may hear a hint of...what am I trying to say? The prophecy, a hint of the prophecy of the wise men coming. So, Isaiah 60, 1 through 6, "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and a thick darkness is over the peoples. But the Lord rises upon you, and His glory appears over you. Nations will come to hit your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look about you. All assemble and come to you, your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. Then you will look and be radiant, and your heart will throb and swell with joy. The wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Hurds of camels will come, will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ifa, and all from Shiba will come, bearing gold and incense, and proclaiming the praise of the Lord." This is the word of the Lord. The second reading is from Matthew 2, 1 through 12, which can be found on page 966 in the Pew Bibles. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the East came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born, King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose, and have come to worship him. When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the peoples chief, chief priests, and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. In Bethlehem, in Judea, they replied, "For this is what the prophet has written, but you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah. For out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel." When Herod heard the Magi secretly, then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me so that I too may go and worship him." After they had heard the King, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where their child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. This is the word of the Lord. Good morning Sherman Street. So one time I was hanging out with my grandma and she was talking about this couple who had just gotten married, and she, you know, my grandma was great. She could be a little judgy. She said something like, "Oh, young people these days getting married outside as if it were God's house." And then she was quiet for a second, and she goes, "Oh, I got married outside." You know, wonderful human with flaws like all of us. And I just love that. I have no idea what she thought about her own marriage after that moment, but she was wrong that there is some sort of distinction between in here and out there. It's not like God only shows up in church. You know, I was reading this chapter from Barbara Brown Taylor this week from one of her books, and she said, "You know, how did I forget that the whole world was the house of God?" You know, in Genesis when we were created, and you know, when everything was perfect, there were no churches. There was only the great outdoors, a garden, where people walked with God. You know, people often say that they connect with God best in nature, and when I was younger, I'm sure I heard this from some pastors, like, "Well, those people should get into church, you know, kind of like my grandma's thing." But now I'm like, "Of course you do." Like, that's what we were created for, and actually our first calling was to care for the earth and its creatures. Before there was sin, that's what humans were for. You know, when Abraham and Isaac and Jacob were walking the scene, even Moses, there weren't even scriptures for them to turn to. There's only signs and stories and experiences out there. In the Belgic Confession, which is one of the summaries of our faith in the CRC, for as long as we're CRC, also in the RCA. I don't know, we're gonna keep it. In the Belgic Confession, which is one of our summaries of faith that we turn to, it says that there are two books by which we know God. The second one is the scriptures, and the confession says it is the clearer of the two. But the first book that we are given is creation. The universe is before our eyes like a book, it says, in which all creatures, great and small, are as letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God. You know, I think we come in here to church so that we can remember to pay attention out there. You know, since the fall, we have needed help. We've needed reminders and angels and burning bushes and scriptures and sermons to remind us. You know, in here, we hone our senses to the divine, immerse ourselves in the things of God, get reoriented so that when we go out there, we're more able to notice what God is doing and join in. Hopefully, church teaches us and invites us to experience God in such a way that we know a little better where and how to seek God in the rest of our lives. And what to do then when we catch a glimpse of God on the move, like the three kings did. They weren't actually kings, and there probably weren't three of them, and they probably weren't even all men. We're gonna call them the Magi. They were a group of unknown-sized, likely mixed gender, probably from Persia, which is modern-day Iran. And some people think that they were Zoroastrian priests, so that's one of the oldest religions, and it still exists in Iran. They were not astronomers, like scientists of the stars. They were more like astrologers, like Tony mentioned, that read meaning into the stars. So, more like horoscope-givers. You know, strangers from a different country with a different religion, a different way of seeing the world, but they were paying attention. They were paying attention in whatever way they knew how, and it seems like God honored that. Like, how many times in scripture are we invited, called, commanded even, to stay awake, stay alert, keep watch? And that's always been a little confusing to me, because, like, keep watch for what? Like, it doesn't ever say exactly what it is we're watching for. I think it's more of like a "you'll know it when you see it" kind of thing, and I think that's how it was for the Magi. You know, they were paying attention. They were watching, and when they saw something that caught their breath, they followed it. And that's how Moses met God too, right? He was hiding out in the desert, tending sheep, trying to avoid a murder charge, and he saw something that caught his attention, and he moved toward it. In Exodus 3, it says that at Mount Horeb, the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in the flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire, it did not burn up, so Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight why the bush does not burn up." And listen to this, in verse 4, "When the Lord saw that Moses had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush." Moses, Moses. "When the Lord saw that Moses had gone over to look, God called to him." Like what is it about Moses stopping to take a look? But that's what made Moses Moses. For both Moses and the wise men, they didn't have everything figured out. They certainly weren't perfect, but they were watching. And when they caught a glimpse of something, they followed it. They both also had to have their courses adjusted kind of midway. For Moses, the burning bush wasn't enough, even though he was standing on holy ground. Moses culturally came when God spoke, and throughout his life, Moses would be directed and redirected by the Word of God, speaking to Moses, right? For the wise men, they got a good start with the star making the long journey from Iran to Israel, but it seems like they lost their way somehow. Maybe they lost sight of the star entirely. Like I wonder on this very long journey how discouraging that was. But you see it because instead of going straight to Bethlehem, they go to Jerusalem. It seems like they're still following the logic of the kingdoms of this world. They went straight to the halls of power looking for Jesus. But what they found there was fear and violence, coercion and control, the farthest thing from what Jesus was bringing. And they needed the words of Scripture, which were supplied to them by the chief priests and the teachers of the law, like ironically by Herod himself. They needed the words of Scripture to reorient them to backwater Bethlehem. And once they turned in the right direction, they caught sight of the star again, and it led them to God in the flesh. And somehow they knew enough to know that this poor baby, likely a toddler actually at the time, by the time they got there, to know that he was someone to be worshiped. And they didn't have it all figured out. All the steps were not laid before them. They didn't understand the ins and outs of every theological nuance, or even like what their lives would be after this, what it would mean for them, but they paid attention. And when they caught a glimpse, they followed it. I think you could, like, that's more or less how my life with God started, too. My family didn't really go to church except for when my grandparents came to visit. But we had some, like, Bible-y things around our house. I bet those were gifts from my grandparents, too. At some point I picked up a book of Bible stories and read them. I don't remember how old I was, but I remember feeling like I was too old for this book. So I felt kind of, like, embarrassed reading it. But it was my burning bush. I fell in love with Jesus in those stories. I caught a glimpse of something there. But then after that it was years of pursuing Jesus, of trying to find some way to connect someone who would tell me about him some way to know God, trying some ways that didn't really seem to work and some people that didn't really seem to help. And in some ways I'm still pursuing God in exactly that way. Even as I think God also pursues me. I don't have it all figured out. I didn't then, and I don't still. Sometimes I feel like I've less figured out. I've had my course corrected many times over the years, and I expect that that will continue. And I hope that I will keep paying attention and keep adjusting course, keep pursuing the God who so often seems hidden, even as God pursues me. You know, I don't know what God was doing during those years that I was, like, searching. But I have a hunch that it might have been something like Shasta's experience in the, if you've read The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis. In that story, Shasta, who's the main character, he goes on this long, dangerous journey to warn Narnia of an impending attack. And Shasta throughout his journey is feeling terribly sorry for himself, and he is lonely and he is scared. And rightly so, several times during his journey, he's attacked by lions. Of course, what we know that Shasta doesn't know is that the lion, Aslan, is Lewis's depiction of Jesus. And Shasta feels so desperate and alone, and Aslan is right there with him, terrifying him, actually. He just doesn't know. Like maybe he's not paying attention, or maybe he doesn't know how to pay attention, or what to pay attention to, whatever it is, what Shasta saw as the perils of his journey were actually his salvation. Aslan was near him, guiding him, protecting him, even as Shasta felt abandoned. Henry now says that whereas the way of the world is to insist on publicity, celebrity, popularity, and getting maximum exposure, God prefers to work in secret. And that he says if we don't accept that, we will forever be looking at the wrong things. Frustrated that God doesn't seem to be moving, because God moves quietly behind the scenes, visible only to those who are paying close attention. In the parable of the sower, Jesus tells us that the Father is sowing seeds everywhere, just liberally, right? Like in the soil, yeah, but also along the path, and in the rocks, and among the thorns, the farmer is throwing seeds every which way. But they're, you know, they're just seeds, they're tiny little things. You might miss them. It seems to me that the wise men caught one of those seeds tossed with abandoned, and they were the plant, you know, that comes up between the cracks in the cement. That parable too, I think, is an invitation to pay attention. Not just here in church, but everywhere, in everything. You know, I just flipped yesterday, I just flipped through the pages of the gospel, gospels, to see all the different things that Jesus invites us to pay attention to, like through conversations, and parables, and his actions. He points to regular things of life that we might learn something of God from them. My list is way longer than I expected, and these are just some of them. I didn't like read carefully for all the things, but listen to this. Jesus invites us to, you know, consider the lilies of the field, which you probably remember, along with the sparrows and the hair on your head, but also ravens, the grass, trees and their fruit, weather, plants, soil, seeds, weeds, grapevines, furniture, sheep, gates, grief, yeast, water, salt, coins, weddings, banquets, funerals, the sun, the moon, the stars and heavens, weights and measured, open and closed doors, light and darkness, day and night, children, fishermen, shepherds, builders, farmers, human health, treasure, dirty dishes, renovated buildings, what people do when they lose things, workers response to their pay, relationships between tenants and landlords, workers and bosses, parents and children's thieves and homeowners, political relationships, the practices of the rich, our own needs, our own proclivities towards greed and mercy and duplicity and anxiety, our own words and actions and then of course especially to attend to the prisoners, the sick, the hungry and thirsty, the strangers, those in need, unless we forget the peacemakers and the meek and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and so many more. It seems that the whole world is alive with God and we should pay attention. It seems like we can look for God in all of the nooks and crannies of life and for someone who knows how to look well like Jesus, God will be found. You know our work here on Sunday mornings is to hone our attention, to sharpen our focus, to ready ourselves to turn aside when something catches our breath, to learn that we shouldn't be looking towards Jerusalem but Bethlehem, to learn that the lion might actually be Jesus, and that what looks like death might in the end be resurrection. Our God is near, everywhere, in these walls and outside them and like the Magi, God will give us what we need, both to see and to follow whatever star we catch a glimpse of. So we do this on Sundays and there are also things that we can do to train our attention throughout the week because Sunday is not really enough and I thought that this morning we could end my sermon with the practice. I'm sure some of you have practiced the examine before, some of you have maybe never heard of it. It's from St. Ignatius who Tony, when did he live? 16th century, Spanish mystic, the 16th century, there you go. He taught a lot about prayer and discernment and the examine, he's also like kind of the father of the Jesuits. So if you love Father Boyle like I do, he's kind of my hero right now, he's a Jesuit. So people who, the Jesuits follow kind of his practices, his way of life. So we're going to go through the exam and I'm going to lead you through it, a very short version. I won't, you can do this at home, it's easy and if you want to find the steps after this, you can either ask me or you can just Google it because it's everywhere in the internet. But this is a way, a daily practice, the Jesuits practice it twice a day at noon and at night, most people who do it I think just do it once a day, but it's a way of looking over your day to attend to where God was present and to attend to the ways that God is moving in your life in the nooks and crannies. So I'm gonna invite you to look over the last day, so start yesterday morning. If you need to like pull out your calendar, I have a terrible memory, so I have to look at my calendar to know what I did yesterday. So I won't judge you for that but don't text, don't get distracted. All right, so I'm going to invite you into prayer. I think that regular practice of this is a way of teaching you every day to keep your mind attentive. So let's do this together and you can take it home if you want. All right, so let's just take a minute, you can close your eyes if you want. I know it's going to be hard for you, for those with kids, just take that as a, you know, maybe God has something to give you in the children. So just take a moment to become aware of God's presence. Augustine says God is nearer to us than we are to ourselves. Lord, we pray for grace to understand how you are alive and moving in our lives. Then we give thanks. So you can take a minute to give thanks for, you know, things that have happened for God's love for people. If you are in a space that you cannot summon gratitude today, that's okay. You can say that to God too. And then after gratitude we review our day, hour by hour. So think, I'm going to invite you to think through your day. And as you do to remember specific moments and how you felt at the time, Ignatius is big on paying attention to your feelings. Reflect on what you did or said or thought in those moments, were there times when you are aware that you were drawing closer to God? Are there times when you feel like maybe you were drawing farther away? You can give thanks for those moments of light and if you need to confess and receive forgiveness. So beginning yesterday morning, I'll give you a few minutes to review your day, attending to moments of light and darkness. [ Pause ] [ Pause ] [ Pause ] [ Pause ] [ Pause ] I know this is not a lot of time. You can take more time at home. But as we finish reviewing our day and praying through those moments, kind of looking for God in the mundane, then we turn towards the rest of tomorrow of the next day. So maybe the rest of today. And we can think through what is coming up. And ask for wisdom and guidance and particularly attentiveness to God's presence in each moment of the coming day. And maybe in the place that you have reviewed your day, you have noticed some change that you want to make, something that you want to do in response. So maybe you think about how that might fit into the day. [ Pause ] Lord, we thank you for [ Pause ] how you toss seed everywhere. [ Pause ] How even these stargazers are welcome in. [ Pause ] How you led them to yourself. [ Pause ] Lord, we pray that you would give us such attentiveness. [ Pause ] That we would watch for you in the mundane of every day, in the secret, in the quiet. [ Pause ] And Lord, that we would turn aside to have a look. [ Pause ] That when you lay a trail for us, we would follow it. [ Pause ] Lord, may we know you in our every day. May we see you working and join in. In Jesus' name, amen.
First Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6 Second Reading: Matthew 2:1-12 Sermon: Following the Star Preaching: Pastor Jen