Pastor Tom Johnson, January 8, 2012
Isaiah's prophecy speaks of a time the light of the glory of the Lord will overcome the darkness. The people in Jerusalem are reminded that they will not just be recipients of this light but bearers of this light. "Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn." The passage even predicts that dignitaries will come from distant lands with priceless gifts such as gold and frankincense. And that is exactly what happens. "Wise men from the East came to Jerusalem." It is a mystery who these men are. It is a mystery how many of these men came to Jerusalem. We get the number three from the number of gifts they brought.
What we do know is that these men were stargazers. They studied the night sky. They probably had decades of information about the movement of the stars. It may have been scientific or religious stargazing—or perhaps a mixture of both. If these wise men are Persian, their stargazing goes back at least 2,000 years before the birth of Jesus. They were able to predict with great precision solar and lunar ecclipses as
well as the movement of the planets. The details and accuracy of their calendars played a huge role in developing modern mathematics. We don't know exactly what this star is that they are following either. Some think it was an angel, a comet, some convergence of the planets or stars, or the predicted year that the Messiah was born according to the Hebrew Scriptures. The wise men had the correct time but did not have the exact location. And so they set out on a long journey and quest to find this newborn King. And they are drawn to the light through this star to Jerusalem.
It is sad and ironic that Herod, the king of Jerusalem, and the people of Jerusalem seem like they are in darkness. Those who are supposed to be bearers of the light don't seem up to the task. Fear has clouded their thinking. Their fear keeps them from a joining the wise men on their quest to find this Christ child. Herod calls for the biblical scholars, the priests and scribes, in order to determine the location. They give a united answer: Bethlehem in the land of Judah. Again, it is sad and ironic that God's people do not act on the knowledge they have but these wise men do. The wise men are drawn to the Light through the light of God's Word. God fulfills his promise to bring nations to his Light—even if it is in spite of God's people who should know better—even if we fail to act on the great amount light we have been given while others act on the little light they have been given.
When I was a student at Indiana University I saw the seal of the University everywhere—on buildings, documents, and clothing. The seal has an open book with light eminating from it with the words LUX ET VERITAS "light and truth." And certainly, there is a vast amount of light and truth to be discovered on any college campus. And, as Christians, we need not be paralyzed by fear like the people of Jerusalem were. At the time of the Reformation other stargazers including Copernicus and Galileo frightened many believers when they suggested that the Sun was the center of movement and not the earth.
All light and truth is God's light and truth. Like the Wisemen, we should never fear any light and truth. We may have to think a little differently about the world we live in, but no truth will upset the good news that we have in Jesus Christ. Like the Magi, we may have to leave our place of comfort and go on an uncertain journey, but God will lead us safely to Jesus who is the Light and the Truth.
One day I was walking across the campus of Indiana University with a friend who showed me something—
the seal of the university. But this seal was the original that was preserved from a building that had burned down long ago. I looked up at the seal and saw what I had seen many times before: "light and truth" but this time I read two English words written on the book: "HOLY BIBLE." There was a time the university was a seminary and confessed that not everything in life can be explained by what we can observe or proved in the laboratory. The Holy Bible is the ultimate source of light and truth. These men from the East spent countless hours of stargazing but they needed the light of God's Word to complete their journey to the King of kings.
the seal of the university. But this seal was the original that was preserved from a building that had burned down long ago. I looked up at the seal and saw what I had seen many times before: "light and truth" but this time I read two English words written on the book: "HOLY BIBLE." There was a time the university was a seminary and confessed that not everything in life can be explained by what we can observe or proved in the laboratory. The Holy Bible is the ultimate source of light and truth. These men from the East spent countless hours of stargazing but they needed the light of God's Word to complete their journey to the King of kings. Like the three wise men of old, we also can follow the light of human knowledge and discovery without fear. We can be confident that God is the Creator of all that is seen and unseen. We can be assured that he gave his Son to forgive all our sin and give us the certainty of eternal life. And what a great comfort it is to know that God draws people to himself through the light of knowledge and the light of the Scriptures. And what a great opportunity we Christians have to participate in what God is doing to bring his Light into the world through his Word.
The star was mysterious and glorious. But the Wise Men needed the Scripture—the written Word of God—and you and I are bearers of that Word and Light for the nations. “Nations shall come to the Light.” As God’s baptized children of Light, we should celebrate, participate, and facilitate that joyful journey to the King of kings.
No comments:
Post a Comment