“Then, Opening Their Treasure Chests, They Offered Him Gifts…”

Matthew 2:1-12; Isaiah 60:1-6

Epiphany/Ordination/Communion

Isaiah 60:1‑6

{1} Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. {2} For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. {3} Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. {4} Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses' arms. {5} Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. {6} A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD.

Matthew 2:1‑12

{1} In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, {2} asking, “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.” {3} When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; {4} and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. {5} They 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.’”

{7} Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. {8} Then 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.” {9} When 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. {10} When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. {11} On 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. {12} And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

The Sermon

Sometimes, they’re called “the wise men.” Sometimes they’re called the Three Kings, although that’s not what they were. Sometimes they’re referred to as the Magi, a special category of astrological philosophers. They weren’t sorcerers; they were apparently Zoroastrian priests.

They studied the stars, and were skilled in the interpretation of dreams.

But their story invites more questions than it provides answers, and those questions have captivated countless generations.

Did one of them see something unusual in the sky, and maybe even, at first, doubt that he could really be seeing the sign that he thought he was seeing?

Or were they participating in one of their usual rituals when suddenly, each of them felt what you and I would call the tug of the Holy Spirit, leading them to go outside and take a look?

Something caught their attention, whether they were waiting in anxious anticipation or just going on about their business; and I guess that part of the reason we’re so captivated is that the same thing could be said for every one of us in this room. Something caught our attention

Some of us are here because, somewhere along the line, we felt the irresistible tug.

Some of us are here because we finally looked deep within ourselves, and we found God there, waiting for us.

Some of us are here because it’s just what we do—we were raised to worship, or we just have learned that worship, communal worship, is right; it’s the right thing to do; and every once and so often, not always, but more than occasionally, something holy happens to us when we’re here. But even if we don’t feel it on that day, we still want to be here for everyone else when something holy happens for them.

Today in our worship at least two holy things are happening.

One is that bread and grape juice will become for us the body and blood of Christ and we will be physically, tangibly, and spiritually nourished for continuing service in his name.

The other is the ordination of elders, an ancient ceremony that’s made new every time a new elder is set aside by God for the holy calling of being an elder in the Church of Jesus Christ. Hands are laid on the shoulders of those who are ordained, by those who themselves have been ordained, meaning that the hand on the shoulder can be traced back, and back, and back through history.

It staggers the imagination to speculate the extremely likely circumstance that one of us laying on hands today can trace that line all the way back to the very first generation of the church. It didn’t just start somewhere. One of us, maybe most of us, who participate in that ritual, are passing on a mantle that was initiated by one of the original disciples.

We pass it on like all things that are passed on in the church: they were never ours to begin with; we are only temporary and provisional stewards of them. Ordination doesn’t belong to us. This building; the teaching and learning of Bible stories; the fellowship of the Holy Spirit—these don’t belong to us. We only claim the privilege of being able to tend to them for a while, and then pass them on.

And the laying on of hands is just the same. None of us owns the blessing of ordination; we simply play our part in our time.

A thousand years from now, if it is God’s will, people will wonder at the fact that today in this church we passed on the blessing of ordination and that somehow that line continued up to and beyond the time of our unimaginably distant descendants.

And so today, a new group of elders joins that endless historical line of people who are called by God, in that private, mysterious, and utterly individual way.

It’s not for the rest of us to know or understand what the moment was like when each of these people felt the assurance from God that this was their call.

Maybe they were waiting for it; maybe they were actively looking for a sign; or perhaps they were just receptive enough to hear a faint signal from a distant star; life in some far away place calling out to them, saying, “Come to Bethlehem; come to the table; come and bring your gifts.”

And like all of us who make this mysteriously taxing sacrifice to show up for worship, they will open up their own treasure chests, and offer their gifts.

They will find among their treasures an ability to listen for God’s guidance.

They will find untold reserves of compassion—for their fellow elders, for the people of the church, for the community and the world that the church serves.

When they offer up their treasure chests, they will find depths of love and dedication they may not even have known they had.

To be called to servanthood as an elder in the church of Jesus Christ is not a three-year stint on a task force. It is a holy calling, and a call to holiness. And they will serve only as examples of what we all are meant to be.

This Epiphany, we all come to see what God has revealed in Jesus Christ.

When you come to Bethlehem, what will find to offer, when you open your treasure chest?

Keith Grogg

Carolina Beach Presbyterian Church

Carolina Beach, NC

January 6, 2008