The Trouble with Christ, First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 12/26/2010

The Trouble with Christ
By Rev Steven R Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 12/26/2010
Based on Matthew 2:1-12


When you stop to think about the four differing seasons that we live our lives by, Christmas has to be one of the most amazing times of our year! It comes in the dead of winter. In many parts of the world, the temperatures are below freezing and snow often accompanies these low temperatures. Just a few days ago, the shortest day of the year occurred. When you look out the window, it can easily become depressing, knowing that you might be getting up in the dark, going to work in the dark and at the end of the day, coming home in the dark.
This particular year, the snow that fell this last week, was a wet snow, and if that isn’t enough, the following day, we had freezing rain, making driving on certain streets rather dangerous. There have been multiple times this past week that I was very thankful that the signal lights at many of the intersections that I found myself starting to slide through, when trying to brake, changed to green giving me the right of way, helping reduce the chances of my meeting another car in a rather unpleasant manor.
Yet, with all this bleak winter weather, there is in general an excitement that comes as well. We many times tend to bemoan this time of the year along with our heightened sense of expectation. The majority of us tend to feel that this particular time of the year focuses too much on consumerism. For those of us who are at least a thousand years old, remember when stores didn’t display their Christmas merchandise, and decorations until the day after Thanksgiving. These days, it isn’t uncommon to see Christmas displays being put up before the arrival of Halloween.
Now we celebrate the day after Thanksgiving by paying homage to a thing called, “Black Friday” and for those of us who are not into the huge crowds at Herberger’s and Wal-Mart, there is a growing tend to go on-line and do our Christmas shopping on the following Monday, allowing us to have those same savings but not the stress of fighting over merchandise in a crowded store. It is true, for many Americans, Christmas has become a very stressful holiday, with expectations that seem to go beyond the limits of sanity. There is a culture that has developed, especially for people who have no exposure to a church that understands Christmas solely as a time of the year where consumerism runs out of control.
The flip side to the out-of-control commercialism that plagues us during this time of the year, is that of time intentionally set aside to be with family and friends. About 10 days ago, Paul and I made a fast trip to Western Kansas in order to spend a couple of days with two daughters, five of my grandchildren and my mother. As a bonus, my sister and her partner drove across the state to join us for our last night in Garden City,KS. Even though the trip was long and the time spent visiting was too short, I had a sense of satisfaction of being able to physically connect with part of my family.
Once we arrived home, to Rock Springs, the marathon of Christmas week started with the Christmas Pageant that the children presented last Sunday. Then two nights ago, we gathered for a candle light service on Christmas Eve, where as extended families, we listened to familiar scriptures speaking about Jesus’ birth, and sang carols that herald that event some two thousand years ago; afterward, going home or to someone else’s home to continue celebrating familiar family traditions. Yesterday, being Christmas, was again filled with continued celebration.
And here we are today, the day after Christmas, with all the presents unwrapped, looking forward to eating leftovers, and having homes that are once again quiet as friends and family have left to return to their own homes. What a letdown. After all the anticipation of the last four weeks of Advent, buying and wrapping gifts, baking and cooking; all the planning for what has happened over the last couple of days, we are left with nothing to look forward to. That can be truly depressing.
Do you know what would have been more depressing? If I had followed the lectionary which talks about the disaster that happened to many people in Bethlehem, after Herod discovered that the “new king” of the Jews had been born. So I thought I would just touch a little bit on the alternative lection text, which we will revisit more fully in two weeks.
Today we listened to the story of three amigos who traveled from their home land after seeing a star in the heavens, which to them symbolized a sign of someone great coming into this world. When they neared Jerusalem, the star had stopped shining, so they began inquiring around the city hoping to find where this new king was at. I suspect they assumed that Herod had become a new father or possibly a grandfather of this new king. Yet, they discovered that their quest for this new king wasn’t over yet. They then are asked by Herod to go on and find this new king of the Jews so he too could go pay homage to. Scripture says that after they left Herod, the star once again appeared to them and leads them into Bethlehem, where they finally found Mary and baby Jesus.
What I would like to point out are three aspects of this text. The first aspect is the star and what does it signify. Without getting caught up in what might have caused this light that guided these men to Jesus, I think the importance of this star is to look at what its function was about. The star is a vehicle in which Christ is revealed. It was a signal to these men that we now call the “Wise men”, that something important had taken place. It was through their observing eyes that they were directed to where Jesus was living. Once they had discovered the location of Jesus, the star disappeared, never to be seen by them again.
I think (metaphorically speaking) each one of us has the opportunity to see this same star that the wise men saw. All we have to do is be open to seeing it. In the same respect, we can be like Herod and totally miss the star that can lead us to Christ. This star comes differently to each one of us. It will come to us in the form that will speak most intimately to us. For me this star came while I was thirty thousand feet above the earth, flying back from a conference I had attended in New Jersey. It came at a critical point in my faith development. I think the only reason why I was open to seeing that star, was because I was searching for some truth in my life.
The next piece of this story that I would like to touch upon, comes with the differing behaviors between the wise men and that of Herod. The wise men, were guys who were looking at life beyond themselves, which allowed them to recognize the star. Once they found Jesus, the very first thing they did upon entering the house, was to bow down before Jesus and paid homage to him.
Herod on the other hand, was not searching the heavens thereby missing the signaling of the birth of Christ. This is a very poetic way of saying that Herod was so full of himself that he didn’t have the desire to know what was going on beyond his own life. When he discovered that a new king of the Jews had been born, he became fearful of losing what he possessed. This can be each of us. If we think of our “egos” as Herod, we often do not wish to give something or someone else first position within our life, but would rather keep control of what we think we possess. Instead of us humbling ourselves, this letting go of our own personal interests, and allowing God’s spirit to enter into our hearts, we truly act out the same way as Herod did. We try to destroy that which we perceive to be more powerful than we.
So the day after Christmas can be either a letdown for us in a spiritual sense or it can be the beginning of a journey. We can recognize the star that comes to us in the night as either promise of hope, joy, and peace, or we can see this star as a threat. If we celebrate Christmas with the spirit of consumerism, then today is truly anticlimactic. If however we celebrate Christmas as not being a “season”, but rather as part of a life style, then we are at the threshold of a great adventure. Amen.