Rendezvous with God

Intro 

Have you ever had an epiphany, a special revelation from God? It is something that people who have had a near-death experience talk about. It could be a dream or even a vision. 

Goal 

Let us understand that encounters with God are not as rare as we might think. 

Sermon Plan 

We will look at a rendezvous with God, happy days, the two main theories about death, our failures, sacred places and some allusions in the transfiguration. 

A rendezvous with God 

When Jesus prayed it was a rendezvous with God, not just a speech. In one such divine meeting he was dramatically transformed. The Old Testament is sometimes spoken of as two major parts, the law and the prophets. The major figure of each was Moses and Elijah. How appropriate that in his transfiguration, Jesus spoke with those two people (Luke 9:28-43). God spoke directly so that others could hear only a few times in Jesus life, at his baptism and here, saying this is my beloved Son, hear him. In a society where Moses and Elijah were “heard” every week in the assembly, this was a new instruction. Is Jesus the one to whom we listen? When we pray, do we just speak to God or also await expectantly the possibility of a dramatic experience of God’s divine presence? 

Happy days 

What have been the happiest days of our lives so far? The birth of a child, a wedding, a baptism or confirmation, a special trip, a graduation, a party are all occasions to remember. What about a theophany, a special appearance of God. The disciples Peter, James and John experienced one of their happiest days as a time on the mountaintop with Jesus (Luke 9:28-43). It was a day of prayer and intimacy with God. Throughout history people have recorded those rare moments of a special appearance of God, a near-death experience, a dream or a vision. The transfiguration was a life-changing experience and it began with prayer. Prayer is an opportunity every day to change our lives. It is an encounter with God, a time for an intimate meeting with the ruler of the universe. Don’t miss out. 

In heaven or asleep 

Present or future, heavenly or earthly? Those are questions that many ask about the transfiguration in Luke 9:28-43. There are two main theories of eternity which struggle with this scripture. Are Moses and Elijah alive in heaven now or asleep and awaiting a resurrection? Was the vision Moses and Elijah as they are now, or as they will be after a future resurrection? There are also two main theories about our future. Will it be in heaven or on earth? Actually after Revelation, heaven and earth come together and the point becomes moot, but in the in-between time, there are two main theories. Are Moses and Elijah in heaven now, or waiting to reign on the earth after Christ’s return? I lean towards the popular belief, but the truth is, it is all a mystery. We’ll all know then. 

Failure in the valley 

Why is it that immediately after the “mountain-top” experience of a lifetime, the disciples failed in the valley (Luke 9:28-43)? They could not heal a demon possessed boy. But Jesus was with them and he healed the boy and gave him back to his father. They were all amazed at the mighty power of God, in the valley. Many Christians look for that mountain top experience, but we live in the valley. Sheep climb out of the valley to escape predators, but must go back to the valley to eat. The valley is where the food is. It is where we live. Though we meet God on the mountain top, he is with us also in the valley. Though we walk through the valley of the shadow of the shadow of death, let’s remember that he is with us. 

Sacred places 

The mountaintop became a sacred place during the transfiguration because the disciples experienced an incredible vision of Jesus, Moses and Elijah (Luke 9:28-43). The first such sacred place was the garden east of Eden, which our first parents regretfully disrespected. Other sacred places were the burning bush and the tabernacle. In all such sacred places we experience a taste of God. A sacred place can be where we pause for daily prayer. For me a forest pathway has always been a sacred place where I am reminded of the presence of God in the majesty of his creation. For most of us our church buildings become sacred places, because there we hear the word of God expounded, pray and sing praises to his glory. Sacred places can be anywhere that we are reminded of the ubiquitous presence of God. 

Allusions in the Transfiguration 

In the transfiguration are many allusions. It occurred possibly on Mount Tabor. Peter wanted to build something and something was finally built there, the Church of the Transfiguration. Jesus, Moses and Elijah had some similar experiences. Each fasted 40 days (Exodus 34:28; 1 Kings 19:8; Matthew 4:2). Elijah was lifted up into the heavens before he died (2 Kings 2). The discussion between the three during the transfiguration included Jesus’ upcoming exodus or departure from this life (Luke 9:28-43), an obvious allusion to Moses’ exodus. The passage also alludes to the eighth day, which in the early church was also a way of speaking about Sunday, a weekly memorial of Jesus’ resurrection. The appearance of glory uses words that are only found in places describing the return of Christ, an obvious allusion to the second coming. 

Outro/Take Home 

We often think of an epiphany as a special revelation from God, but it can be an everyday experience as well. God gives us every breath, ever heartbeat and every mouthful of food comes from his creation just for us. We encounter God all throughout the day. God is ubiquitous, omnipresent. Let's give God thanks for his minute-by-minute Providence.

Xenophobia and Jesus

Intro 

We all have bigotry to one degree or another. What does Jesus say about bigotry? 

Goal 

Let us understand that Jesus loves the whole world. 

Sermon Plan 

We will look at jingoism, the danger of telling the truth about national bigotry, xenophobia and God's love for all people. 

Jesus’ challenge to jingoism 

Jesus’ home crowd praised his preaching, but he knew their bigotry. Like much of American Christianity is mixed with nationalism so was the religion of the Jews. We sing God bless America and think of ourselves as deserving blessings above others. Some churches try to counter this by making their altars a flag-free zone. That may be worthwhile but flags are not the point. Jesus told the jingoistic crowd that even in their Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament, God healed gentiles when he could have healed an Israelite (Luke 4:21-30). There are no special nations in the Gospel, except that spiritual nation to which all Christians belong. Heaven’s message is without borders. It is for all people. Jesus did the one thing you are not supposed to do in a bigoted crowd, tell about God’s love for all people. 

Telling the truth can be dangerous 

What caused the crowd in Jesus’ hometown to want to kill him (Luke 4:21-30)? A recent book is called “A Patriot’s History of the United States.” It may be a good book, but for a lot of people the definition of a patriot is to gloss over a nation’s sins and only tell those parts of the story that make us look good. I doubt that such a book would tell of our war crimes, political and industrial corruption, or our terrible treatment of the poor, numerous ethnic groups, the unborn and immigrants. In fact, when people are brave enough to address such themes they are hounded off the air or boycotted, and at times the Mccarthyists have falsely accused them and even tried to put them in prison. Like Jesus’ home crowd, we don’t like hearing the truth. 

We love to believe lies 

We love to believe lies. Here is a short list of popular lies in today’s media: Obama is a socialist. NRA executives get a cut of assault weapon sales. They want to take away all our guns. Romney’s son owned voting machines in Ohio. Obama gave Alaskan islands to the Russians. General Motors is becoming China Motors. The debt has not increased under Obama. Obama gave stimulus money to China to build US bridges. According to factcheck.org all of these are false, but we love to believe lies that support our prejudices. When someone comes out with the truth we try to shut them up, denigrate them or find some other excuse to deny the truth. Like Jesus’ hometown we sometimes even want to kill those who tell the truth (Luke 4:21-30). The truth will set us free. 

Lies about Christianity 

Here are a few lies about Christianity: “God does not want you to suffer.” Wrong! All who live godly lives in Jesus will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). “Doctrine does not matter only love does.” Wrong! Love is a doctrine, the most important one (Matthew 22:34-40). “God helps those who help themselves.” Wrong! The Spirit helps in our weakness (Romans 8:26). “Sin is fun.” Wrong! Sin is short-term fun and long-term heartache eventually paying wages of death. “Christians are divided.” Wrong! Christians agree more than they disagree, especially on God’s gift of eternal life through Jesus (Romans 6:23). “Christians must be anti-intellectual.” Wrong! Christ taught us to love God with all our heart, soul andmind (Matthew 22:37). People don’t like the truth and that is one reason why Christians are persecuted (Luke 4:21-30). 

Questions about truth 

If Jesus confronted us with truth like his home crowd (Luke 4:21-30), how would we react? Are we offended when someone in our midst is promoted over us or does better than us? Are we bigoted against other nations or ethnic groups? If God blessed a neighboring nation and not ours, would we be angry at him? If Jesus healed people in the next town and not ours, would we reject him? If we heard that Jesus brings good news for all people, why do we reject some people? Do we reject the poor, prisoners, the blind and the oppressed to whom Jesus was sent? Who are the oppressed? Is it foreigners, migrants, minimum wage earners, single mothers, disabled people, ethnic minorities, the elderly or all of these? Jesus’ truth may offend us, but it is still the truth. 

Provocative Jesus 

We love the little baby Jesus meek and mild. We do not want to hear the provocative Jesus (Luke 4:21-30). But how might our politics look if we allowed Jesus into the debate over immigration reform? How might Jesus inform political opinion about foreigners and similar outsiders? We don’t have to agree with someone to love them. Jesus even told us to love our enemies. But in the political arena, such commands fall on deaf ears. Why do so many Christians claim to follow Jesus, when our political opinions are often the exact opposite of what he taught? But that’s the same in many areas. We claim Christian standards that neither Jesus nor the Apostles claimed as criterion of Christian behavior and we ignore those that they did. Why do we not ask, what would Jesus do or teach? 

Xenophobia and Jesus 

In school I found foreigners to be very interesting people. I was the only white boy on our high school sports team. The rest were foreign students. Living in other countries I learned to love different accents, cuisines and cultures. Many people are xenophobic, fearing strangers. As a foreigner in different countries and even at times in my own, I have experienced ignorant prejudice. It is that precise attitude that Jesus challenged in Luke 4:21-30. America was founded on multiculturalism. Swedes, Scots, English, Germans, Spanish, Africans, Italians and more melted into a multicultural pot. One common thread runs through all cultures worldwide: people just want to live, love, laugh and have happy families. When we focus on bigotry and hatred we miss out on experiencing the variety of God’s wonderful creation. And the Gospel must also go to them. 

Good things I learned from foreigners 

In Australia I learned to laugh at myself. Among the Chinese I learned how parents sacrifice for their children. Among the Bedouin I learned about hospitality. Among the English I learned about good manners. Among the Dutch I learned about tolerance. In Germany I learned about hard work and thoroughness. In France I learned about diplomacy. In Poland I learned about the love of children. From Africans I learned about faith and how to simplify. In America I learned about big thinking and a can do attitude. In North Carolina I learned about the importance of encouraging our children. In Maryland I learned to respect those who work with their hands. In West Virginia I learned about being sensitive to people’s feelings. How silly it is to be bigoted against strangers when God loves us all equally (Luke 4:21-30)! 

Outro/Take Home 

If we are going to take the Gospel into all the world, we cannot afford the luxury of bigotry. Let us allow Jesus to remove all bigotry from our hearts.

Jesus' vision statement

Intro 

What is our purpose as a church? 

Goal 

Let us understand that Jesus had a purpose. 

Sermon Plan 

We will look at the gospel to the poor, Jesus' vision statement and our freedom in Christ. 

When churches neglect the poor 

Some Christians say they take the Bible literally, but then twist Jesus’ teachings about the Gospel for the poor (Luke 4:14-21) into spiritual poverty and preaching the Gospel alone without lifting a finger to help. We ought to take Jesus’ instructions about the poor more literally, because a part of bringing the good news is to live it out here and now. Half of Americans will experience poverty at some time. Income is declining for everyone except the very wealthy. A quarter of Americans earn poverty-level incomes. Educational costs are becoming impossible and yet low education causes poverty. Single and abused women are more likely to be poor. Only about a third of disabled people are able to find work. Jesus brings good news for the poor, and he expects us to deliver it not just in words alone. 

What Jesus said about the poor 

Jesus said the Gospel is good news for the poor (Luke 4:14-21). What else did he say about them? He told a rich man to sell everything and give it to the poor (Matthew 19:21), that we always have the poor but not him (Matthew 26:11), that the poor are blessed because the kingdom of heaven is theirs (Luke 6:20), giving to the poor cleans us on the inside (Luke 11:40-41) and provides us treasure in heaven (Luke 12:33). We should invite the poor to our parties (Luke 14:13) and the poor can be more generous than the rich (Luke 21:1-4). Some of us just play church, warm a pew, or pray and await a spiritual experience. And some of us know that real worship is taking good news to the poor. 

Jesus’ vision statement 

Many churches have a vision statement. After months or even years of discussion, that vision is summarized in a few succinct words. Jesus also gave a vision statement of sorts, and he quoted parts of Isaiah 61 to do so (Luke 4:14-21). He implied that the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, because he had anointed Jesus to preach the gospel to the poor. He had sent Jesus to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Is that a part of our vision as well? Is our primary purpose to preach, heal, deliver, give sight and liberty, or are we so tied to our ways that we are unwilling to follow after Jesus? 

Jesus’ homecoming debut 

Homecomings can be awkward. Old friends find it hard to accept the new you. You have finished your education and are now a respected professional in your field or worse, a preacher. Preachers find it hard to pastor their home churches, because a prophet is not without honor, except among his own down home neighborhood folk. So what was Jesus going to do for his homecoming debut before a familiar crowd (Luke 4:14-21)? Would he shrink back and pretend he was not on a special mission from God or would state his purpose plainly and bluntly? Imagine the gasps and whispering as he told it like it was! The prophecy that Jesus read from Isaiah was fulfilled in their presence that day. He was not ashamed of it. He was not bragging. He was simply declaring a mind-blowing fact. 

Free or squashed 

A lady visiting a church was told that only prostitutes wear makeup. She never went back. A man was told that tattoos defiled the temple of the Holy Spirit. He thought that he was decorating the temple. A preacher once danced to Cossack music and was criticized for not acting dignified. A churchgoer practiced hard to become a champion poker player. Some people gossiped saying he had a "gambling addiction." They had a "gossip addiction." The judgmental, restrictive yoke that many churches have become, tends to squash people into a prison of negativity and discouragement. Are we free in Christ, or in a religious prison, squashed, oppressed, and stunted? Let’s take the freedom that Jesus gave us! We are free to be who God made us to be, so forget the criticism of others (Luke 4:14-21). Let’s live free! 

Free from ungrace 

Since coming to mainstream Christianity I have experienced much wonderful grace. Superintendents, mentors and guides have accepted me with open arms and overlooked my many faults. I remember such wonderful grace in my grandmother and in my father in his old age. However, I spent years in a more legalistic part of the Evangelical world which rarely understood such wonderful grace. In discussion, one former district superintendent suggested that the theological basis of depravity prevented some Christians from seeing the good in people. Thankfully, some Protestant churches have retained our ancient heritage of remembering what God said of the original creation, that it was good. That foundation of goodness from creation sets us free from the prison of judgmentalism and oppressive negative thinking prevalent in some Christian denominations. Coupled with God’s forgiveness we are truly free indeed (Luke 4:14-21). 

Human nature good or evil

Is human nature good or evil? It depends where we start. If we start with the fall of man, then naturally we would be inclined to call human nature evil. However, those who say that human nature is good start earlier than Adam’s sin. They start with God’s original creation when he concluded that it was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Catholics and Orthodox and mainstream Protestants say that the human nature that God gave us is “very good” and that claiming human beings are in “total depravity denies the image and likeness of God in mankind.”[1] On the other hand a positive theological anthropology sees that even in the vilest of human beings there is good. Such a worldview proclaims freedom for those held imprisoned by a negative perspective and freedom from depression and cynicism (Luke 4:14-21).

[1] http://www.orthodoxchristianity.net/forum/index.php?topic=787.65;imode

Outro/Take Home 

Jesus was concerned that the gospel went especially to the poor. What is the purpose of our church. Is it not to take the gospel to the poor, freedom for prisoners and setting the oppressed free?

Jesus making good better

Intro 

What do wine and weddings have to do with you and me? 

Goal 

Let us understand that Jesus makes good better. 

Sermon Plan 

We will look at weddings, making good better, abundance and the best from Jesus. 

Something always goes wrong 

Few weddings go off without a hitch. Something always goes wrong. In a recent family wedding the groom got a little ahead of things and started to lift his bride’s veil, much to the enjoyment of the preacher and the audience. The wine preparations for the wedding at Cana went south (John 2:1-11). It’s not clear whether the wine ran out or some was discovered to have already turned to vinegar. Bottom line: there was not enough for a week long celebration. The Bible describes wine as a blessing from God but like many blessings, dangerous if it's abused. In that society hospitality was much more highly expected than today. Jesus saved the wedding from a very embarrassing social catastrophe. As Christians we have the right and the privilege to ask Jesus for a miracle when something goes wrong. 

Making good better 

One Bible commentary describes the miracle of turning water into wine as not making “bad good, but good better” * (John 2:1-11). So, the institution of marriage is a good thing whereby a man and a woman become one flesh. Yet without Christ, a marriage is like water, good but not better. When we invite Christ as a guest into our marriages, he can turn the good water of human relationships into the better wine of heaven. Jesus provided the best wine at the wedding feast and provides the best wine to bless our marriages. And just as at the wedding feast Jesus does not do so by skimping, but generously. When Jesus blesses a marriage he does so abundantly. God gave us good things in all of life, but if we let him Jesus can make the good better. 

* Jamieson, Fawsset and Brown. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. 1871. Web. January 15, 2013. Grand Rapids: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. <http://www.ccel.org/ccel/jamieson/jfb.pdf> 

Theology of abundance 

What is a theology of abundance? It is not reckless destruction of the environment because of a belief that natural resources are unlimited. It is a belief in spiritual resources beyond our limited world. It is faith that God will provide abundantly and so we can be generous rather than greedy. We could believe that what we have is all that God will provide and so hoard things and bury them in a napkin rather than work to grow God’s gifts. A theology of abundance is based on faith in the acts of God such as Jesus feeding the 5,000 with only a few fish and loaves. It is a belief that Jesus can turn water into wine (John 2:1-11). It is a belief in the midst of the ordinary that the best wine is yet to come. 

A Jewish wedding 

What kind of wedding were Jesus and the disciples invited to at Cana (John 2:1-11)? In those days marriages were not a state or even a church affair, but a family one. The parents of the prospective couple were the authorities that approved the marriage and the engagement was as binding as a marriage contract is today. Once agreed to, the groom may have taken a year to build a house or addition onto his parents’ home. Then he came for his bride. With great celebration they entered their new dwelling to consummate the marriage. Only then did the festivities begin. and lasted a week with the whole community celebrating. A large amount of food and wine was needed, that’s why Jesus’ first miracle of turning water into wine may have supplied perhaps as much as 120-180 US gallons. 

The best wine 

When Jesus’ turned water into wine (John 2:1-11) it was described as the best wine. What makes the best wine? Let’s ignore the snobbery that goes along with brand names and regions and look at some things that make for real quality. Let’s focus on high quality dessert wines. They take more effort than an ordinary table wine. For an ice wine, the harvest is made at precisely the right moment when the grapes freeze while on the vine and pressed overnight while still frozen. This yields a more concentrated and sweeter wine than than an early harvest wine and is more expensive. Other dessert wines like Sauterne or Trockenbeerenauslese are also late harvest wines squeezed when the grape is almost dry yielding less wine per pound of grapes. That’s why quality dessert wines are sweeter and more expensive. 

Outro/Take Home 

Just as Jesus' mother Mary asked him to make good better,so too do we have the right and privilege to invite him into our lives and make good better.

Babylonian Captivity & Christmas

Intro 

What do the Babylonian Captivity of Israel and the visit of the Magi 500 years later have to do with each other? What can we learn from the story of the Magi? 

Goal 

Let us understand that God loves all peoples. 

Sermon Plan 

We will look at the Babylonian Captivity, the Magi and the gifts. 

Babylonian captivity & Christmas 

How does Israel’s Babylonian Captivity tie in with Christmas? What if our country was conquered by a foreign nation and large numbers of our population were exiled, taken captive for about 60 years? We have never experienced that, but historically native Americans and African Americans have. English history in Australia and the U.S. State of Georgia was begun by exiling prisoners to form a population base. During Israel’s captivity the current Babylonian Hebrew alphabet began. Jeremiah, 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Daniel and several deuterocanonical books recorded it. Many Jews never returned home. It was probably also their first major contact with the Magi, who were the sacred class in ancient Babylon. Their knowledge was a mixture of astrological superstition, semi-scientific alchemy, magic and early Zoroastrianism. It was descendants of this group who honored Jesus’ birth (Matthew 2:1-12). 

Former captors celebrate Jesus 

Jews were deported from their own land into Babylonian captivity during the 500’s BC. At that time the chief of the magi was Nergal-Sharezer. They were the wise men of Babylon, priests, physicians, alchemists and astrologers. Their influence was widespread throughout much of the middle east. They most likely came into contact with teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures during the Jewish Babylonian captivity and mixed them into their own religion. Many Jews did not return from exile in Babylon and may have had further influence on the religion of the magi. The particular magi who came to visit the baby Jesus (Matthew 2:1-12) could have come from virtually anywhere east of Jerusalem such as Persia, Babylon, Arabia, or India. It was 500 years later, a long time. National tragedy can be used by God to bring people to Jesus. 

The Magi 

Ever since we were children we have heard of the visit of the Magi after Jesus was born (Matthew 2:1-12). Who were they? The Greek term is magoi. Friberg [1] defines this as wise men of the Magian religion, magicians or sorcerers. Louw and Nida prefer “men of wisdom who studied the stars.” [2] An ancient historian, Herodotus of Halicarnassus [3] called them interpreters of omens and dreams [4] who perhaps still sacrificed to Persian gods. They were possibly baptized into the church many years later by the apostle Thomas while on his way to plant churches in India [5]. Why did pagans show more belief than followers of God? Herod had access through the Jews who had even easier access, but most of them chose not to be interested. What is our reaction to the birth of Jesus? 

[1] Friberg, Timothy, Barbara Friberg, and Neva F. Miller. Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament. Baker's Greek New Testament Library. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000. BibleWorks, v.3 

[2] Louw-Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 1989, United Bible Societies 

[3] http://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodotus/herodotus01.htm 

[4] http://www.livius.org/maa-mam/magians/magians.html

[5] http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2009/12/magi-and-star-orthodox-understanding.html

Magi facts and fiction 

The western tradition of three magi comes from the number of gifts that they gave. Eastern traditions suggests that there may have been twelve.[1] While they were certainly high officials, it is a myth that they were kings. That idea possibly arose around the 8th century in trying to retrofitPsalm 72:11 which was not meant to be quite that time-specific in nature. The names Melchior (a Persian scholar or king), Caspar (an Indian scholar or king) and Balthazar (an Arabian scholar or king) are also probably 8th century embellishments. The Christmas Nativity Scene is often but not always a montage of two events, Jesus born in a stable and the magi visiting him later in a house (Matthew 2:1-12). What is significant is that among the first to recognize Jesus as ruler of Israel were foreigners. 

[1] http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/356642/Magi 

Killing our children 

One of the saddest stories of Christmas is the murder of the children (Matthew 2:13-23), yet we are no different. We decry the senseless murder of innocent children at a school and the perverted treatment of little ones in child porn and then turn a blind eye to the greatest abuse of our children, abortion. Legitimate medical reasons for choosing between a child's life and its mother’s exist, but we kill innocent children mostly for convenience. We are a terribly hypocritical uncivilized peoples. We abhor rape and rightly have sympathy for our women. Yet we also punish the wrong people, the innocent children who had nothing to do with the crime, but are just as much victims as the mothers were. We decry all kinds of terrorism except our own homegrown terrorism against the innocents. When will we stop? 

Bringing pagans to Christ 

How can we bring people of different religions to Christ? Over the years I’ve seen many different approaches all the way from outright insults to arguments showing them the “error of their ways” and numerous more tactful approaches. How about letting God bring them to Christ? That’s what happened to the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12). How God did it is also interesting. Magi were astrologers among other things. How would God bring an astrologer to Christ? God has used many ways to reveal himself to people. In this case he used their own religion and revealed his purpose in a manner that they would understand, a star. There is nothing to be found of Old Testament language of condemnation for these pagans, but rather a gentle leading to the place of Christ’s birth even using elements of their own faith. 

A gift to bring 

Three foreign dignitaries with a completely different religion recognized Christ and brought a gift. Herod did not. Instead he plotted to kill the Christ child. What gift do we bring (Matthew 2:1-12)? The powerful often do not seek to give others recognition but to remain in power. It’s something that we see in our western democracies and is the same story no matter the form of government down through history. The story of the wandering astrologers, the Magi tells us that things are about to change. Non-Jews would soon be embraced by God. Herod did not offer a gift. He feared change, feared that his position may be about to be taken away. When we hear of a change in God’s way of doing things, we can choose to fear and threaten or bring a gift to the Messiah. 

Outro/Take Home 

How do we celebrate Jesus like the Magi or like Herod? Is he a threat to us or a joy?