Matthew 2:1-12; Luke 1:46-55
When the star appeared, Herod the Great gathered the Jewish leaders and intercepted the Magi in Jerusalem, grasping for information on a rumored newborn “King of the Jews”, promising to go and worship him, too. By a dream, the Magi would see through the murderous king’s deception, refusing a partnership with power. After paying homage to Jesus in Bethlehem, they returned home by “another route”. In doing so, the Magi lead us not only to the manger but towards a different kind of power. A power in weakness. Even now we are tempted to fall for the way of Herod, the promise of power. But in the manger, God calls us to the way of Jesus, the power of promise. This sermon will stress the importance of vulnerability, for God has “lifted up the lowly…just as he promised.”
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Sermon Summary |
A problem with this impatient rushing to the next is that we might end up forgetting the promises of God. We might even miss “new life” that God has been giving us along the way.
What if God became small because this is how things get done? This sermon will stress the importance of humility because it’s in the ordinary, common routines that we subvert the order of things.
Two thousand years is a long time to wait for things to change; yet that’s how long it’s been since Jesus said a change was coming. Perhaps we should look for something else. Maybe change comes like an infant born and growing up. Maybe it doesn’t come from the top, but from the bottom.