日期﹕ 12/24/2006

經文﹕ < 馬太福音 >2 ﹕ 1-12

題目﹕與君王相碰撞

主旨﹕君王已經誕生﹐我們要順從和敬拜他

引言﹕

你知道今年在我們教會有多少個新生命誕生嗎﹖ (21) 嬰兒的出世是一件激動人心的事。當我們看到這些孩子以及他們的照片時﹐總是從心裡涌現出一股平安和祥和。但是﹐在平安和祥和的背後﹐也攙雜著一些雜亂無章的瞬間。他們時爾露出微笑﹐時爾卻哇哇大哭﹔有時乖乖地吃飯﹐有時卻吐得到處都是﹔父母之間會為了孩子是應該仰天睡還是俯身睡而爭論不休﹔對於應該讓孩子哭多久產生意見分歧﹐是讓他們哭一分鐘還是四十五分鐘好呢﹖我們應該等孩子滿月了才帶他出門還是要等他過了一百天之後呢﹖誰應該半夜三點鐘起來照看寶寶﹖

耶穌的誕生另我們聯想到什麼﹖從所有看過的圖畫和聽到的故事中﹐我們都感受到平安和喜樂的氣氛。這也是路加描繪耶穌誕生時的情景寫照 - 平安和喜樂。他在 < 路加福音 > 里的這段話成為了我們今天早上所唱的這首聖詩的基礎。但在另一方面﹐馬太看待問題的角度似乎有些不同。在 < 馬太福音 > 里﹐沒有天使﹐牧羊人和馬槽的記錄。如果我們聽聽馬太的旁白﹐就會發現耶穌誕生的那一刻實際上充滿了衝突﹐緊張和淚水。

整本 < 馬太福音 > 都是在描繪一副君王降臨的圖畫﹐一位以色列人長久期盼的彌撒亞來到人間。在起初的兩章里﹐我們看到了君王 來臨 時的情景。

今天早上﹐讓我們忘記過去對於這一幕的了解﹐卻假裝是第一次聽到耶穌誕生的故事﹐嘗試著站在第一世紀讀者的角度去感受馬太敘述耶穌誕生的真正意義。

I •  君王彌撒亞誕生的背景

2 ﹕ 1 “希律王執政的時候，耶穌生在猶太的伯利恆。那時，有幾個占星家從東方來到耶路撒冷。” 在這句簡單的描述里﹐馬太交代了故事的幾位主人公﹕耶穌﹐希律王和占星家。這個重要的交代對於故事的發展起了鋪墊的作用。讓我們仔細看一下這幾位故事的主人公。

首先是耶穌。在 1 ﹕ 1 ﹐我們得知他是亞伯拉罕的後裔﹐由童貞女瑪麗亞懷孕所生。“耶穌”這個名字的意思是把人們從罪中釋放出來。他是“以馬內利”﹐代表了神與我們同在。在 2 ﹕ 2 ﹐他被稱作“猶太人的王”。 2 ﹕ 4 ﹐他被稱作“基督”﹐就是“彌撒亞”的意思。猶太人都知道“彌撒亞” 的意義。他是先知們早在舊約時代就已經預言要降生的人﹐猶太人一直在等候“彌撒亞”的來臨﹐拯救他們脫離壓迫和苦難。在 2 ﹕ 6 ﹐他被稱作“領袖”和“牧者”﹐這是 按照 大衛以來就有的傳統。

換句話說﹐耶穌就是君王。這是我們在第一節經文里所領 聽見 的信息：希律王執政的時候，耶穌， 王 ， 生在猶太的伯利恆。我們看到故事的背景已經交代好了﹕在希律做王的時候﹐卻有另一個君王也誕生了。在故事的一開頭﹐我們就隱隱約約感受到了一絲緊張和衝突。

其次﹐讓我們來看希律。馬太沒有向我們提供太多有關他的 資料 。但是﹐我們可以從史書的記載中對他有更多的了解。希律是個有野心﹐能力和謀略的人。他是猶太人﹐被稱作“偉大的希律” ﹔他在公元前 40 年被羅馬議會任命為猶太地區的國君。他是一個富有的人﹐功勛卓著的政治家﹐受到幾任羅馬皇帝的欣賞。希律是一個傑出的行政官﹐在解決飢荒問題中立下汗馬功勞。他的權力慾望強烈﹐但是人民的賦稅壓力非常繁重。在他晚年時期﹐變得越來越偏執。希律十分殘暴﹐他出於嫉妒殺死了幾個與他關係親密的人﹐其中包括他的兩個兒子以及他的妻子 Mariamne 。希律死于公元前四年﹐這個日子使我們得知耶穌的出生日期應該再往前推兩三年的時間。被稱為“猶太人的王”的耶穌出生在希律的時代﹐而希律也被稱為“猶太人的王”。當我們聽到這時﹐就意識到一定會有一些衝突發生了。

第三﹐在故事里同樣扮演重要角色的是一群博士。 2 ﹕ 1 “希律王執政的時候，耶穌生在猶太的伯利恆。那時，有幾個占星家從東方來到耶路撒冷。” 博士與耶穌和希律同時出場。他們究竟是什麼人呢﹖在幾乎所有的聖誕故事和戲劇里﹐博士都被描述成一群富有和高貴的人。許多人在我們的一生中都有機會在聖誕戲劇里扮演一回博士。在兩個星期前﹐一個朋友問我﹕“你來觀看了聖誕音樂劇嗎﹖有沒有看到我出演博士﹖”那麼﹐第一世紀的讀者聽到這群博士時會聯想到什麼呢﹖他們是從東方來的﹐但是我們不知道確切的地點。有人推測他們是從波斯來的﹔甚至有人懷疑他們是中國人。他們有幾個人同行呢﹖我們也不太清楚。只是習慣上稱呼他們是三博士﹐因為聖經里提到三個禮物﹕黃金﹐乳香和沒藥。但是有可能是兩個人攜帶一件禮物﹐也就是六個人帶來了三件禮物。也有人猜想是四個人一起來的﹐但是第四個人卻迷路了。你自己可以為這第四個博士編一個故事了。他們的職業是什麼呢﹖占星家。他們擅長觀察天上星星的變化和遷移﹐從而占卜世上將要發生的事。這就像是今天的占星術。他們通常被帝王聘請擔任謀士﹐就像宮廷里的魔術師。猶太人是如何看待他們的呢﹖第一世界的猶太人往往會把他們和大衛時代的占星家聯繫起來。你或許還記得當時的那些占星家的占卜好像不太靈光吧﹐他們無法預測未來﹐也不能為皇帝解夢﹐無力解釋一些超自然的現象。在第一世紀的人眼中﹐這些占星家沒什麼了不起的﹐並不太受人尊敬。

這就是第一節和第二節交代的背景。在第一節的簡單描述中﹐馬太讓耶穌﹐希律和幾個占星家 ( 或者是魔術師 ) 一一出場。我想大家現在一定想知道他們之間是如何互動的﹐以及當時的讀者又是如何看待這些敘述的。

II •  君王彌賽亞的降臨是神的恩典的延展

當我們看這段描述的時候﹐發現東方三博士似乎在耶穌的誕生過程中扮演了重要角色。他們按著東方某顆星的指引﹐來到耶路撒冷﹐朝拜這位新降生的君王。接著﹐在 10-11 節﹐我們看到他們找到了耶穌誕生的地方﹐獻上禮物並且拜他。這些一定會令第一世紀的讀者感到出人意外甚至有些震驚。一群占星家 ( 或者魔術師 ) 怎麼可能來尋訪君王彌賽亞﹐並且如此自由地敬拜他呢﹖這簡直是一個 不可想像的醜 聞。

請等一下﹐如果你是個細心的讀者﹐就 記得 在 這故事 里還 有 一些出人意外的記錄。那就是在第一章里有關耶穌家譜的記載。居然有四位婦女的名字出現在他的家譜里﹐這一點和猶太人的傳統是不符的。她們是誰呢﹖首先是他瑪。她為了給以色列人的祖先之一猶大生子﹐假裝成妓女的樣子﹔其次是喇合﹐她在耶利哥當妓女﹔第三個人是路得﹐她是個摩押人。猶太人是不 能 和摩押人有什麼關聯的。然而﹐路得卻嫁給了波阿斯﹐然後生下了大衛的父親﹔最後一個女人沒有被提及姓名。她是烏利亞的妻子﹐所羅門的母親。人們都知道她是誰。她名叫拔示巴﹐和大衛之間曾有過姦情。為了掩蓋他的罪行﹐大衛謀殺了烏利亞。

這四個帶有醜聞 的 女人﹐ 又加 上 星占家，和彌賽亞的誕生緊密地聯繫在一起。這怎麼可能呢﹖在看重羞恥心的東方文化里﹐怎麼可能讓這些人如此隨意地和耶穌基督﹐彌賽亞﹐猶太人的王緊密地相連呢﹖

這正是馬太希望他的讀者們 要明白 的 事 。當神的國度來到人間的時候﹐他降臨到世間一 些 最卑微的人身上。在 < 馬太福音 > 後面的經文里﹐我們繼續看到耶穌經常和窮人﹐流浪漢和那些被社會所拋棄的人在一起。 這彌賽亞是充滿了恩典，祂是那位恩惠的神。 用一位解經家的話說﹐這是恩典的延展。

亞洲文化建立在強烈的羞恥心之上。 因 我做了這麼大的一件壞事﹔我沒有聽父母的勸告﹐去 用 了毒品﹔我現在已經聲名狼藉﹐給家人丟盡了臉﹔我不配做父親的兒子， 不配回家 。有時候我們也聽人說﹕我犯了這麼嚴重的罪﹐還怎麼去面對神﹐怎麼 能來這 教會 呢 ﹖這卻跟聖誕節的意義完全相反。耶穌來到一個黑暗﹐破碎和不公正的世界。他來到一群罪人﹐受壓迫的人和被人遺忘的人群中間﹐他來到你我中間﹐帶領我們走進神的國度。這是恩典的延展。

III•  君王彌賽亞的降臨使其他一切君王臣服

希律王又如何呢﹖當希律王間接聽說有外邦人來尋問猶太人的王降生的消息時﹐他是如何反映的呢﹖那要降生的可不是一般的君王﹐而是猶太人的王 ! 2 ﹕ 3 “希律王聽見了就心裡不安，全耶路撒冷的居民也是這樣。” 這要出生的孩子本應給人帶來平安和祥和。但是﹐對於希律來說卻是個麻煩的事。他的內心充滿掙扎﹐害怕和偏執﹐隨後他下令殺死耶路撒冷所有兩歲以下的孩子。這就好像要把我們教會所有的嬰兒和 幼兒 統統殺掉。希律為什麼這麼做﹖答案很明顯。當兩個君王彼此面對的時候﹐一定會有衝突和緊張。兩個君王只有在 戰爭 時才會見面。所謂一山不容二虎﹐在猶太的土地上﹐怎麼可以同時出現兩個猶太人的王呢﹖其中一個必須被消滅。不僅希律感到問題棘手﹐連全城的人都感到不安。這也不難理解。在那個年代﹐即便是在當代﹐如果政權發生更替﹐都一定會引發民眾的不安。國家軍隊也會處於高度戒備狀態。現在是希律王掌權執政的時代﹐卻同時誕生了另一個君王﹐那麼免不了會發生衝突和緊張。對於任何人都會有不安的感覺。希律拒絕讓步和 降 服﹐所以他立刻制定了計劃要消滅 這嬰兒 ， 另一個君王 -- 耶穌。

但是當我們要指責希律的同時﹐也不禁要捫心自問﹕我們各自裡面不也有一個希律嗎﹖照理說﹐君王就是那掌權和控制一切的人。我們時常聽人說﹕“我真是期待大學生活啊﹐可以完全獨立﹐沒有人會強迫我做這做那。我多麼希望能趕快畢業開始工作啊 ! 我就可以隨心所欲﹐去所有嚮往的地方旅行﹐可以遇到所有想認識的人。我早已制定好了職業計劃﹐在我三十五歲之前﹐我的公司 Mytube.com 將被 Google 或者 Microsoft 收購﹐這樣我就可以退休享受生活了。” 我們都想當君王﹐想完全掌握自己的人生。一旦遇到控制不了的事﹐就會感到擔驚受怕。這就是為什麼許多人不喜歡受人指使去行事的原因。

很多人喜歡聖誕節。我們嚮往這個節日里那夢幻般的平安﹔喜歡聖誕禮物和學校兩個禮拜的假期。然而﹐ 對很多人來說 ， 當我們要面對這位君王 -- 彌賽亞的時候﹐在我們內心深處﹐卻有一股不安和困擾。為什麼呢﹖當一個君王遇見另一個君王 -- 宇宙之主 -- 的時候﹐他一定要 降 服。

當這位君王 -- 彌賽亞來到我們中間的時候﹐他要求我們跟隨並且順服他。他或許會要求有些人放棄現在的學業和工作去全時間服事神﹔他或許會要求有些人順從他﹐與配偶﹐家長﹐孩子或者社團里的其他弟兄姐妹和好﹐他要我們順服父母﹐愛其他的弟兄姐妹﹔他也可能要求有些人主動去向那些有意無意間被我們得罪和傷害的人道歉﹔他或者會要求有些人遠離某些令人難以抗拒的誘惑。當兩個君王相遇的時候﹐其中的一個必須要退出。

結論﹕

耶穌平安地降臨人世﹐但這一切的背後卻是希律和全耶路撒冷人民的心裡充滿不安和煩惱。但是﹐這節經文的結尾部份非常特別。 2 ﹕ 10-11 “他們看見那顆星，歡喜極了；進了房子，看見小孩和他母親馬利亞，就俯伏拜他，並且打開寶盒，把黃金、乳香、沒藥作禮物獻給他。” 在這裡我們看不到希律內心的掙扎和不安﹐卻是一派祥和平安的景象。占星家在敬拜這位剛降生的君王。他們不是一群地位顯赫的人﹐也不受人們尊敬。但是﹐他們卻 順服從上來的引導 ， 認出了這個君王﹐謙卑自己來敬拜他。他們是一群真正內心有平安的人。

有一個故事講到一艘船正在黑夜里行駛﹐她看到對面有一束光照向她﹐於是她也發出信號﹐“請向左轉 15 度” 。對面的那束光所傳回的信息是﹕“不 ! 你朝右轉 15 度”。當她們越靠越近的時候﹐對面的光發出信號﹕“請立即右轉﹐我是燈塔 ! ”

我們也是同樣如此啊 ! 每 一個 聖誕節﹐我們就要和這位 恩惠的 君王面對面相遇。如果我們偏行己路的話﹐是十分不明智和危險的。當我們和這位君王， 創造之王， 萬主之主 碰撞的時候﹐是不是非常難受呢﹖唯一能夠經歷聖誕節的平安和喜樂的方式﹐就是完全俯服在他面前﹐並且敬拜他。我們要放棄自己內心原有的那個君王﹐接受耶穌成為我們永恆的君王。

Date:   12/24/06

Text:   Matthew 2:1-12

Title:   Clash of the kings

Theme: With the coming of the King, we are to submit and worship Him.

Introduction:

  Do you know how many babies were born in this church, this year? (21). The birth of a baby is always an exciting event. When we see the babies and their pictures, there is that sense of peace and tranquility. However, we know that underneath that tranquility are moments of chaos. One minute they are smiling, and the next, they are screaming on the top of their lungs. One minute they are drinking milk, and the next minute they’re spitting it all over the place. Sometimes the parents would be arguing whether the baby should sleep face up or down, or how long they should let the baby cry, 1 minute or 45 minutes. Should we take the baby out at 1 month or 100 days? Who should get up at 3 am?

  What do we associate with Jesus' birth? From all the pictures we see and stories we hear, it is one of peace and joy. This was how Luke described the circumstances surrounding Jesus' birth. It was peaceful and Joyous. His words in the Gospel inspired the great hymns we sing this morning. On the other hand, Matthew seems to look at it from a different perspective. There were no angels, no shepherds and no manger. If we listen to Matthew’s narrative, we’ll hear conflicts, tensions and tears surrounding the birth of Jesus.

  The overarching purpose of Matthew’s gospel is to describe the coming of the King, the Messiah whom the Israelites had long waited for. In the first two chapters of Matthew, we are given a glimpse what it is like with the King’s coming.

  This morning let us pretend that we know nothing about this story and hear it for the first time. We want to understand what the 1 st century readers heard as they listened to Matthew’s narrative of Jesus' birth.

I.   The setting for the coming of the Messiah King.

  2:1, “ 1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, …” In one simple sentence Matthew tells us the major players in this story: Jesus, Herod and the wise men. He also sets the stage for what is to follow. Lets take a closer look at the major players.

  First, there is Jesus. In 1:1 we are told that He was a descendent of Abraham. He was born of the virgin Mary. The name Jesus means he would deliver his people from sin. He is Emmanuel, meaning God with us. In chapter 2:2, he was referred to as the king of the Jews. 2:4, he was called Christ, meaning Messiah. The Jewish people understands who the Messiah is. Messiah is the son of God, he is God. He is the one prophesied by the OT prophets. They had been waiting for him to come to deliver them from their political oppressors. 2:6, He was the ruler and shepherd, after the tradition of David.

  In other words, this Jesus is the King. So this is what we hear as we listen to vs.1, Now after Jesus the king was born in Bethlehem in the days of Herod the king.” A king, of a very different order was born when Herod was the king. The stage is set, right? Another king was born while Herod was the king. We can almost see conflict and tension rising at the very beginning of this chapter.

  Secondly, let’s take a look a Herod. Matthew did not provide us with much information here, but we know him very well from historical records. Herod was a man of ambition, strength and strategy. He was a Jew and was called Herod the great. Named by the Roman senate in 40BC to be the king of Judea . He was wealthy and an effective politician that enabled him to gain favor of several Roman emperors. He was an excellent administrator, did a superb work in famine relief. He loved power but placed heavy taxes on people. During his later years, he became more and more paranoid. He was cruel and out of jealously killed his close associates, including at least two of his sons and his wife, Mariamne. He died in 4 B.C. This date of death would push back Jesus' birth by 2 or 3 years. Jesus, the King of Jews was born during the time of Herod, also the king of Jews. As we listen to this, we know something is coming.

  Thirdly, another prominent group of people that occupy an important place in this narrative is the wise men. 2:1, “ 1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem…” they were introduced in one breath with Jesus and Herod. Who are they? In almost all the Christmas stories and drama, the wise men were portrayed as individuals with wealth and dignity. They are wise. Many of us, some time in our life, may have played the role of a wise man in one of those Christmas drama. A friend asked me two weeks ago, ‘Did you come to the Christmas pageant? Did you see me as one of the wise men?” Now, what did the 1 st century readers associate wise men with? They were from the east, but we don’t know where. There had been speculations that they were from the Persian area. Some even suggested that they may be from China . How many of them? Again, we don’t know. We called the 3 wise men because of the 3 gifts: Gold, frankincense and myrrh. It could be two persons bringing with them 3 gifts or 6 bringing 3 gifts. Some have also suggested 4, and that he lost his way. So you have stories about what happened to the 4 th wise man. Who are they? They were astrologers. They were good at looking at the stars and their movement, trying to predict what will happen on earth. Yes, you are right, its like today’s horoscope. They usually served as advisors in the eastern kings’ court. They were like the magicians. How did the Jewish people view them? The 1 st century readers associated them with those astrologers in Daniel’s days. You remember those astrologer were really not that capable, right? They could not foresee the future nor understand the king’s dreams or other supernatural phenomenon. Besides, magicians were condemned by God in the scriptures. And above all, in Matthew’s narrative, they were gentiles. They were not held in high esteem in that 1 st century. They were not the respected ones.

  This is the setting of vs.1-2. In that simple sentence in verse 1, Matthew presented Jesus, Herod and the astrologers or magicians. Now we are curious to see how they interact and how the readers interact with them in this narrative.

II.   The coming of the Messiah King is a reach of Grace.

  As we listen to this narrative, it appears that the magi played an important role in this story of Jesus' birth. They followed a certain star, came to Jerusalem , to the palace looking for a king. And then in vs.10-11, we heard them finding Jesus, gave him the presents and worshipped him. This must have surprised or even shocked the 1 st century readers. What, these gentile astrologers/magicians came to seek the King, the Messiah and so freely worshipped Him. How could this be? It was like the scandal of the astrologers.

  But wait a minute, an alert reader would have also noticed something else was kind of strange in this narrative. It is about Jesus'' genealogy in Chapter 1. Against the Jewish tradition, 4 women were mentioned in this genealogy. Who were they? First, Tamar. She pretended to be a prostitute in order to be impregnated by Judah, one of Israelites forefathers. Then Rahab, a prostitute in the city of Jericho . Thirdly, Ruth. She was a Moabite. The Jews were not supposed to have anything to do with Maobites. Yet Ruth was married to Boaz, and later gave birth to the father of David. The fourth one was not even mentioned by name. Simply, the wife of Uriah, mother of Solomon. They knew who she was. Her name was Bathsheba who had that adulterous relationship with David. In an attempt to cover up his sin, David manipulated to have Uriah killed.

  These 4 women, all with some scandalous association, and now the astrologers were closely involved in the birth of the Messiah. How can this be? In a shame based eastern culture, how can these individuals so freely mingle with the birth of Jesus, the king and the Messiah?

  This is exactly what Matthew wants his readers to understand. When God's kingdom arrived on earth, it reached deep down to the most shameful persons. And later on in the gospel of Matthew, we’ll continue to see how Jesus reaches out to the poor, the outcast, the sinners and the ones whom the society despised. This Messiah is full of grace. He is the gracious King. In one commentator’s words, it is the reach of grace.

  The Asian culture is a shame based culture. Since I have done such a bad thing; I have not listened to my parents and got into drugs; I am now a bad person and have brought great shame to my family name; I am not worthy to be my father’s son. Or we have also heard that since I have committed such gross sins, how can I come before God, or come to this church? This is exactly the opposite of the Christmas story. Jesus came to a world that is dark, broken and unjust. He came to the sinners, the oppressed, the unlovable and the shameful ones. His grace reaches to you and me, bringing us into his kingdom. He is a gracious King. This is the reach of grace.

III.   The coming of the Messiah King requires all other kings to give in.

  Now, how about king Herod? What happened when Herod indirectly heard that foreigners had come and asked about the birth of a king? Not just any king, but king of the Jews. Vs.3, “ Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;…” The child that was born was supposed to bring peace. But to Herod, it was trouble. There was turmoil within him. He was so afraid and paranoid, that later he ordered the murder of children under two in Jerusalem . It’s like wiping out all the babies and toddlers in our church. Why did Herod do this? The answer is quite obvious, right? When one king faces another king, there will be tension and conflict. The only time we have two kings together is when there is a war. We simply cannot have two kings of the Jews. One will have to go. When king Herod clashes with the King of Peace, King of the creation, there will only be turmoil. Not just king Herod was troubled, but the entire city was also troubled. That is understandable, right? In those days, even in countries today, where there is a change of government, there would be unease. The military may be put on high alert. So now, if one king of the Jews is born while another king of the Jews is around, knowing Herod, something would definitely happen. It is definitely troubling for all. Herod refused to give in and he devised a plan to eliminate this child Jesus, the other king of the Jews.

  But before we point our fingers at Herod, we need to ask ourselves this: Don’t we all have a king Herod within us? By definition, a king is someone who has authority and in control. We have heard individuals say, “I can’t wait till I go to college. I will be on my own; no one will be there to bug me to do this or that. I can’t wait till I finish school and start working. I can do whatever I want, go wherever I like, meet whoever I want to. I’ll have my career all planned out. By the time I turn 35, my company Mytube.com will be bought out by Google or Microsoft and I can just retire and enjoy life.” We all want to be king. We want to be in control of ourselves. Being out of control really scares us. That is why so many of us don’t like anyone telling us to do anything.

  Yes, many of us like Christmas. We like those surreal peaceful feelings about Christmas. We like the presents and especially 2 weeks off from school. Yet, to many of us, when we come face to face with this King, the Messiah, deep in side us, there is unrest, there is trouble. Why? When one king meets another king, the king of the universe, king of the creation, one would have to yield.

  You see, when this king, the Messiah, comes to us, he wants us to follow and be obedient to him. He may want some of us to give up our present pursuit of studies and career and go into full time ministry. He want some to submit to him and be reconciled to our spouse, parents, children or another brother or sister in this community. He wants us to obey our parents and love our brothers and sisters. He wants others to apologize to those we may have wronged and hurt, either intentionally or unintentionally. He wants us to surrender ourselves, and learn to be gentle and humble just as He is. He may want some of us to flee away from certain temptations that we are very vulnerable to. When one king meets another king, one will have to go.

Conclusion:

  Certainly underneath that tranquil birth of Jesus, there was trouble and unease for Herod and the citizens of Jerusalem . However, this portion of the narrative also ends in a special way. Vs. 10-11, “ 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” In contrast to the turmoil in Herod, this was a very peaceful scene. The astrologers worshipped the King. Yes, they were not held in high esteem, not really respected by others. Yet they were obedience to the guidance from above, they recognized the king, humbled themselves and worshipped him. They were the ones truly at peace.

  There is this story about a ship sailing at night. It saw another light coming towards her so she signaled, “Please turn 15 degrees to the left.” The other light responded, No, you turn 15 degrees to the right. As they approached each other more closely, the other light signaled: please turn immediately; THIS IS the lighthouse.”

  Isn’t this true with us? Every Christmas, we are brought face to face with this Gracious King. It is very unwise and dangerous if we insist on our ways. When we clash with this King, the king of creation, the Lord of all, its very painful, isn’t it? The only way to experience the peace and joy of this season is to submit ourselves to Him and worship Him. We are to let go of our kingship and recognize him as the King and Lord in our lives.