Grace
to you and peace from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
The
text for this meditation is written in the 2nd Chapter of the Gospel
according to St Matthew: Verses 1 – 12:
After Jesus was
born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east
came to Jerusalem 2 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.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all
Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all
the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the
Messiah was to be born. 5 “In
Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘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.’”
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from
them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 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.”
9 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 the child was. 10 When
they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 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. 12 And
having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their
country by another route.
I have
no idea what you think of Woody Allen, but today’s Gospel reminds me of
something he said, “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him about your plans.”
- I believe the original
is an old Yiddish proverb “We plan, God laughs.” but you
get the idea. This is also
highlighted in the Psalms: [Psalm 33:10] “The LORD brings the
counsel of the nations to nothing; He frustrates the plans of the peoples”.
The Epiphany account of the magi very much demonstrates the plans of people are
not always God’s plans for us.
For
example, the angel Gabriel appeared to a young virgin named Mary. Mary did
plan to have children … someday … after she married Joseph. God had
other plans. [Isaiah 7:14] “Behold, the virgin shall
conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel”.
What
about the place of the birth? Mary probably had in mind a bed at home
with family around her. God’s plans were written in [Micah 5:2]
“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of
Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose
coming forth is from of old, from ancient days”.
Then
there are the magi. What were these wandering Philosophers up to when a
light in the sky, unlike any light they had seen before, caused them to set out
in search of a newborn king?
Herod
had plans. Herod planned to rule indefinitely. Herod murdered
friend, family, and enemy alike in order to keep himself on the throne in
Jerusalem. His plans to use the Magi to locate Jesus, was ruined by a
dream that sent these men on a different path home. Herod was furious and
ordered the murder of all small children in Bethlehem, thinking Jesus would be
among them.
Again God
had other plans. [Matthew 2:13] “An angel of the Lord appeared to
Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Rise, 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’.” Herod’s plan failed. Not only did he
not murder the new born king, but he also died … and when he died no one
mourned.
Joseph planned
to marry Mary and then be the father of her children. He didn’t
plan to be the step dad of a child conceived by the Holy Spirit. He
probably never planned to do any international traveling either … much less to
Egypt.
If you
want to make God laugh, tell Him about your plans. The entire account of
the visit of the magi … indeed the entire historical content of the Bible
constantly shows us that God’s plans always come to pass while man’s plans are
very much subject to change.
Did
Noah plan to build a floating zoo? Did Joseph plan to get sold into
slavery by his brothers and then become Pharaoh’s right hand man? When
Moses planned to deliver Israel from slavery, God sent him out into the
desert for forty years. Then, once Moses turned eighty and gave up on
his plan to deliver Israel, God came to him in a burning bush. Saul planned
to travel to Damascus and arrest Christians, but God struck him to the ground
in a bright light so that he became Paul the Apostle. These are but a few
examples of God changing people’s plans.
God
inspired Isaiah to prophesy, [Isaiah 55:8–9] “My thoughts are not
your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and
my thoughts than your thoughts.” We can be very, very glad that God
changes plans. We can be very, very glad that God’s plans for us are not
what we expect.
When
Adam and Eve sinned, they brought a curse on all of creation. They
expected punishment. They ran and hid. They did not expect God to
promise a seed who would crush the serpent’s head. I would have expected God
to erase His creation and start over. He didn’t do that. He sent a
saviour, instead. Instead of punishing His creation or erasing His
creation, He redeemed His creation.
Even
the way that the redeemer did the redeeming did not fit the expectations of mankind.
The people who had God’s promises … the people who should have known better …
even these people expected a king of earthly power and glory. Herod most
certainly expected a king of power and glory. That is the reason he was
troubled. If Herod had understood the true nature of the new born king …
that His kingdom is not of this world … Herod wouldn’t have cared.
Mankind’s
plans expect a redeemer who makes laws, not one who lives under
the law, but the Bible tells us:[Galatians 4:4–5] “When the
fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under
the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive
adoption as children”.
Mankind’s
expectation is a redeemer of great power and wealth. Never the less,
God’s Word says, [2 Corinthians 8:9] “you know the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor,
so that you by his poverty might become rich”.
Although
the prophets foretold the suffering servant of God, even Jesus’ disciples did
not expect Jesus to suffer and die. Even so God’s Word says, [Galatians
3:13] “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse
for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.’”
The
resurrection did not fit the plans of the Pharisees and the chief priests for
we read: [Matthew 27:62–64] “The next day, that is, after the day
of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and
said, Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After
three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until
the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people,
‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.”
The
guards at Jesus’ tomb didn’t plan to see an angel, but God changed their
plans. [Matthew 28:2–6] “An angel of the Lord descended from
heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance
was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him
the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the
women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was
crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said”.
If you
want to make God laugh, tell Him about your plans. Pagan philosophers
from a foreign land come to worship the Christ child. At the same time,
the powerful in Jerusalem … the high priests … the scribes … the man on the throne,
chose to ignore the Old Testament prophecies in favour of their own ambition!
This
account of the magi visiting the Christ child once again shows us that our
lives are truly subject to God’s plan, not ours. As the Holy Spirit
inspired Paul to write: [Philippians 2:13] “It is God who works
in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure”.
Fortunately
for us, it is God’s good pleasure for us to spend eternity with Him. His
plan is to work our salvation. As the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write:
[Ephesians 1:4] “He chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of
the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him”.
God’s
plan of salvation for us has been in place since before He created the
world. It is that plan of salvation that was at work as He revealed the
Saviour to the magi by way of the star. It is that plan of salvation that
is still at work in us as He reveals and gives that same salvation to us
through His blessed, holy word and sacraments. It is that plan of
salvation that will one day take us from this valley of sorrows to live in His
eternal presence in holiness and joy forever. As we launch into this new
year may we continue to seek guidance and wisdom from the Holy Scriptures and embrace
His means of Grace that our joy may be complete. Amen
The
love and peace of our great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment