Two Ways

1.6.13 He was a schemer who took advantage of every situation in order to get to the top. He levied exorbitant taxes on Jewish citizens so that he could live lavishly, and finance his pet projects. He did all kinds of horrible things to remain in power - divorced his first wife, and sent her and their son away. He ended up having 9 wives, several of whom he had killed. He killed one of his wive’s brother, her grandfather, her mother, and two more of his sons. He was violently jealous, suspicious, and paranoid. As the years went by, as he gained more and more powerful, he grew more and more fearful of losing it all...and his dark and cruel streak grew worse. Family members – and a whole bunch of other people – never knew if they were in or out of favor...if they were on his good side or his bad side. In his world there was no room for anyone but himself=== and whoever he decided would fit, whoever he decided was acceptable, whoever he decided he liked --- at the time. His heart was small – he looked out for himself, was obsessed with what he wanted, disregarded the needs of others, offered no hope to anyone, protected himself and his own interests, ruled with fear. Toward the end of his life he ordered the murder of every child in and around Bethlehem who was two years old or younger. Because the wise men were searching for a child who was born king of the Jews. And the jealous, power hungry, paranoid, violently crazy ruler, could not stand the thought that a new king had been born - who would grow up to dethrone him...who might be better than him, who might actually be loved by the people. A grown man afraid of a child...a baby who threatened – and in his world all threats must come to an end. Herod, a man who could not stand the idea of a Jesus. Jesus – who shunned power and chose the path of peace; a man who was tender, showed compassion, and spoke of justice. A man who preferred the company of those who everyone else hated, ignored, avoided or feared. A man who spent his time with men and women with bad reputations, questionable pasts ..with those who were...unacceptable by cultural and moral standards...those who were sick and unclean. A man who broke into history – to serve and not be served, to sacrifice all, bringing with him an unknown hope and an unimaginable light to a despairing and dark world. Wise men from places about which we can only guess. Star-gazers who recognized the light of the world in the rising of a distant star. Wise men who packed a bit of hope in their bags and journeyed long and far - faithfully following the star that told of the birth of a king. The Magi who came from distant lands, would have been considered unacceptable and unclean because they were different – and unknown; and foreigners - Gentile foreigners at that. New Testament professor from Brite Divinity School comments: We do not see the rich, the powerful, the educated, the so-called “normal”...so... how can we miss the message of the gospel? When from the very beginning of Jesus’ life, we see only lowly shepherds and foreigners – they are the first to hear...it is to them that Jesus’ Kingship is revealed. At the very beginning of Jesus’ life the gospel reveals to us that in His kingdom the dividing walls between races and cultures, the prejudice between people who are different will be broken down. We just heard Isaiah say: nations shall come to your light; all will gather together; all will come to you; from far away, even the abundance of the sea shall come; they will come from places like Midian and Ephah and Sheba – all foreign places. If ever you believed that God was exclusive..if ever you believed that God came only for certain people...then you were mistaken. We have begun a New Year - A New Year in a world that has been labeled post-Christian, a world that is more and more secular, where church and her members are viewed with skeptical --if not indifferent eyes. And so, the church has to choose – we have to choose -- between two ways. Between the ways of the Herod’s of the world - and the way of Jesus Christ. We have to choose between Herod’s way of being so consumed with our own existence that we see nothing else, so consumed with keeping the circle of who is acceptable very small; we have to choose between protecting our own interests, choose between extending love, compassion, support and hope to only those who are on our side, only those who we like, only those who fit in the way we think they should fit. We have to choose that... Or Choose to walk with a loving, compassionate, inclusive Christ. A harder road to be sure, a narrower path without a doubt, a route – which much like the one taken by the Magi – will cause you to make a change. The road we walked before we heard the angels, before we came to the manger, cannot be taken again. We, like the magi - cannot go back the way we came, but we will travel by another – a new road. This new road is the one upon which the master insists we go – Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame ...go out into the roads and lanes and compel people to come in so that my house may be filled – yes filled, with every sad and sorry outcast you can find. Filled, with people who need to be fed, who need a human touch, and a voice of understanding, - fill my house with people who are tired of being hurt out there, and long to be safe in here. Fill my house with the lowly shepherds and the foreign magi’s of the world. The virgin will conceive and bear and son and he will be called Emmanuel – God with us. Not God with us...and then there is them....but God with us – all of us. Two ways – which will we choose...because we must choose.