The Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to Matthew.

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 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.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

`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.'”

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 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.” 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. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 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. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.  Mt 2::1-12

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Do you know where the name for Boxing Day came from?  The day after Christmas Day in the homes in Britain that were -shall we say – better-off, was the day when the tradesmen would come by and be given a gift. The gifts were wrapped – boxed – early that day, and the name for the day after Christmas got its name from that custom.

In ancient days I don’t think it was the custom to wrap gifts. I would be interested to know when that started. But in paintings depicting queens and kings being given gifts, you can always see what the gift is, can’t you. Maybe the giver knew that the recipient couldn’t delay gratification and had to see what they were getting a soon as possible.

In paintings of the Magi kneeling at the feet of the baby, and holding out gifts, you can see what the gifts are.

The point is though, that the Magi were there because they knew what the gift of Jesus meant to the world.

They were not Jews, but they came to pay homage to this child, destined to be a king – although not an earthly king – but a king over all peoples.

Jesus was and is for all mankind.

Paul writes about this in his letter to the Ephesians. Paul sees this news as a secret that only a few people were privy to. But it was revealed in Jesus Christ, and Paul saw himself as chosen to bring the message of the Gospel to the Gentiles – to you and me.

And it is strange, isn’t it, that Jesus was, by and large, rejected by his own people, and accepted more so, by non-Jews.

Paul was gifted by God with the ministry of telling people that there was a God above who loved them. Further, that God so loved them that in His goodness, he reached out to them in the person of His Son Jesus.

But  Paul had  first to be gifted with that knowledge himself. You see, he had been a Pharisee. He had been of the mind that he could save himself by keeping strictly to all the laws, and regulations that had been laid down over hundreds of years.

When Jesus called him to serve, and when Paul found out the depth and the breadth and the height of the love that God has for us, and the freedom that experience gave him, Paul could not help but answer God’s call to bring that wonderful story to the world.

I am reminded of a story I read just the other day about another man named Paul.  He received a new automobile from his brother as a pre-Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when this Paul came out of his office, a street urchin was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it. “Is this your car, mister?” he asked.

Paul nodded, “ My brother gave it to me for Christmas.”

The boy looked astounded. “You mean your brother gave it to you, and it didn’t cost you  nothing? Boy, I wish…..”

He hesitated and Paul knew what he was going to wish. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the lad said, jarred Paul all the way down to his heels, “ I wish,” the boy went on, “ that I could be a brother like that.”

Paul looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively asked, “Would you like to ride in my automobile?”

“Oh yes, I’d love that.”

After a short ride the urchin turned and with his eyes aglow, said, “Mister, would you mind driving in front of my house?”

Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the lad wanted. He wanted to show his neighbours that he could ride in a big automobile.

But Paul was wrong again.

“Will you stop right where those two steps are?” the boy asked.

He ran up the steps, then in a little while, Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast.

He was carrying his little polio-crippled brother. He sat him down on the bottom step, then sort of squeezed up against him, and pointed to the car.

“There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas, and it didn’t cost him a cent. And someday  I am going to give you one just like it. Then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in the Christmas windows I have been telling you about.” 

Paul got out and lifted the little lad to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable holiday ride.

That older boy wanted his brother to share in his happiness, by giving him the same gift he had been given, a ride in a new car. And also, to  promise him something even better in the future.

For the Apostle Paul, the knowledge that God’s overwhelming love was for everyone, not just the Jews, was something  that just had to be shared, and like that little boy, he couldn’t wait to share his gift.

He shared it, even at the risk of  being imprisoned – in fact it was his zeal to convert Gentiles, that landed him in prison.

And so we turn back  to the story of the Magi. We may think it to be a mythical story, but maybe not.  It is exactly the kind of thing that could easily have happened in the ancient world.

When Jesus Christ came, the world was in an eagerness of expectation. People were waiting for God and the desire for God was in their hearts.  They had discovered that they could not build the golden age without God.

Isn’t this world like that now? Despite the wonders of science, despite all that humankind has accomplished, isn’t it obvious that nothing real, nothing lasting, nothing that is simply good, can come without Jesus? There are indications that people are looking for something beyond the material, for satisfaction.  Will they turn to Jesus?

The Wise Men represented the world beyond Jerusalem. Their visit to Jesus symbolised the need of their world for His love.

The world is still in need, and that need will not be met; unless we Christians, like that small boy, are so excited about our joy,  that we can’t  wait to share it with someone. 

Children know it, don’t they?

When they open a gift, at Christmas time, the first thing they do is show  it around, with an excited, “Look what I got! Look what I got!”

If we can carry the excitement of Christmas in our hearts throughout the year, and share it with someone, in our daily life, then we will be helping bring about the promise that the Magi saw in the birth of Jesus the Messiah.

And we will be giving someone else the opportunity of knowing and experiencing what we have experienced.

Amen.