Stewardship Sermon: Matthew 2:1-12 - The Magi’s Lessons for Us
From Seeking to Worship to Giving: The Magi’s Lesson for Us
Matthew 2:1-12
Introduction
Today, this passage is being fulfilled in your presence. Believe it or not, today we are replicating this passage. It’s true. The journey of your life has brought you here to worship in the presence of Christ, to lay your gift at his feet, and you will depart back to your home to live your life in gratitude and service. See?
Remember, the Bible isn’t just about what happened; it’s about what happens.
Just as the wise men were drawn by something beyond themselves—a bright star in the heavens, a divine nudge in their hearts—you, too, have been drawn here. Maybe it was family or religious tradition that brought you, or a sense of duty, curiosity, or an event. Whatever it was, you came, you are here and that’s good.
The light of that star is shining,
And still on this night it is ours;
The star of Bethlehem is shining,
With a light that is more than ours
.
They saw the star, and followed it,
Not knowing where it would go,
A
nd the glory of God that burned in it
Did give them grace to show.”
Henry Vaughan, “The Star of Bethlehem”
But what if, like the wise men, your journey isn’t just about arriving at a location? What if it’s about finding what you truly seek, the Lord, and that you want to respond with something meaningful from your life out of a sense of gratitude for both prompting, the journey, and the finding?
The Universal Impulse to Seek
There is something within us that seeks. As you know, I’ve ministered all over the country to all sorts of people. I’ve pastored farmers and factory workers and firefighters. I’ve pastored real estate developers and entrepreneurs. I’ve pastored Nobel Prize nominees, Oscar winners, musicians, artists, stay-at-home parents, people whose yearly bonus was almost equal to my salary, and people who hit rock bottom and were actively rebuilding their lives.
You get to know them and you quickly see that they have this magnificent, beautiful thing in common – they are seeking fulfillment beyond themselves, their circumstances, or their careers.
There is this impulse, this nudge that speaks to them and says, “There’s more. I’m more than my mistakes. I’m more than my accomplishments. I’m more than my possessions or what I can produce. I’m more than the role I play in this family, community, or organization.”
The wise men had to cross mountains, rivers, and arid plains, driven by a divine call to seek and find the newborn king.
And if you ask them, you eventually find out that God put some star in their life to guide them. Perhaps not a bright, luminescent one in the sky, but something or someone nudges them to seek, to go on a spiritual journey. Sometimes that guide is their intuition or a memory of going to church. Sometimes a friend helps them by giving them an invitation to worship with them. Sometimes they say, “Oh, why not, I tried everything else, why not the church?” Whatever the case is, the journey brings them to Jesus.
And as they start to meet Jesus, as they start to hear the gospel, sing the songs, pray on their own, read and participate in the liturgy, they are drawn to Jesus. They hear about grace, reconciliation, mercy, purpose, forgiveness, and destiny and they are transformed by it. They want to respond and they do by joining the church, serving, volunteering, and giving back in one way or the other.
This passage is always being lived out.
The writer of Ecclesiastes wrote, “God has placed eternity in the hearts of people.” There is something within us that thinks beyond the here and now. It wants it. We want to connect with it, to have it, to enjoy it.
Perhaps you resonate with that, and that description overlaps with you. For some of us, the journey is longer and for some of us the journey is shorter, but we are all being led, and we all arrive.
The Journey of the Magi
Imagine their journey. They are persuaded that at their end they will find a king. That’s a good thing. That would be motivating, but first, they must travel in the dark, at the most inconvenient time, so they can see the star—at night.
Next, they agree to follow the star until it stops over a place, and it is there they will find what they are looking for.
Where do you think the star will stop? Maybe it will stop over Babylon, or Susa, or Damascus. These are great influential centers of culture, wealth, and power. These were places that might have seemed to be the logical stops for a star that heralded the birth of a king.
Perhaps they thought the star would stop over one of these grand cities, where the great rulers and temples stood. But no, the star did not stop in Susa which had a population of 50,000 and was the ancient seat of Persian kings.
The star did not rest over Damascus with a population of 60,000 and was the heart of commerce and culture like New York City or Los Angeles.
The star did not stop in Babylon, once the largest city in the world, which had 150,000 people in its confines. Surely such an event in the sky would direct them to such lofty places.
No. The star led them instead to Bethlehem, with a population between 300 and 1,000 people, a small, humble town where, if it existed at the time, your cell phone would consistently drop your calls.
Big things come in small packages. Kings are not always born in palaces and power is not always displayed with pomp and grandeur.
The Presence of Christ and Our Response
The star stops over Bethlehem and they accept it as fact. Eventually, they find Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. And when they do, they find the king, not in a grand hall, but in a house. Instead of sitting on a throne, he sits on his mother’s knee. Instead of issuing decrees, he is cutting teeth and toddling around the house. This baby is God with us.
Here is the mystery, the marvel, the man, and the Messiah.
And they respond not with analysis but awe because sometimes worship begins where certainty ends. They rejoice, worship, and give, because we can find joy in the journey and the discovery, even when the discovery remains a mystery.
Their joy is seen in their response. They worship and offer gifts that are practical and personal.
Gold is to cover expenses. Frankincense was used in religious rituals and as perfume. Myrrh was used as medicine.
These are practical, costly, and good gifts. They give gifts that mean something and do something.
A Call to Live the Magi’s Lesson
They return a different way, not listening to Herod, but showing allegiance to Jesus. Jesus has changed the path of their life forever.
Today we are reenacting this passage. We remember the guides in our lives who pointed us to Christ: Sunday School teachers, pastors, elders, deacons, family members, friends, or experiences that prompted us to move forward in our spiritual journey.
We give thanks for God’s sustaining grace that led us every step of the way, even in the dark times, even when we met ideas or people like Herod who would harm our faith or be enemies of Jesus. For the Spirit who nudged us, illuminated our path, and taught us that God’s majesty and glory are found in the humbleness and cross of Jesus.
And today we respond with worship and our gifts. As we gather our pledge cards during the offering today, we do so with gratitude and not compulsion. We’ve prayed and asked God and we take this next step in faith, asking for God’s blessing for us and our church so that Jesus’ name may be praised. We also understand that we do not make this journey alone: this community is here to help in times of need.
We lay our offerings and pledges at the feet of Jesus and say, “These are yours now. You use them for how you see fit.”
And like the Magi, we will depart—back to our homes and lives—having experienced the presence of Christ, the grace of God, and the joy of giving. Let us go, seeking always to find, to worship, and to give. Grateful all the while to the king of kings and lord of lords. Amen.
