By another road

“By another road” The Dover Church
January 3, 2009 – Epiphany Scripture: Matthew 2: 1-12

If I really had to, I bet that I could repeat pretty accurately from memory the story of the kings following the star. It’s worked its way right into the core of my consciousness, what with all the Christmas Cards, Christmas movies and children’s TV shows, and, of course, the carols. So I was surprised this year when something new popped up and spoke to me. It took to the very last phrase of the story which, until now, I sort of skimmed through, but there it was: “they left for their own country by another road.”
An Ah-ha moment for me…Not to sound too dim-witted, but if they left for home they obviously did not stay with Jesus. These kings, wise men from a far who had followed a star a great distance, these seekers who were some of the first people to experience the Christ event, they did not stay after having found the baby. They did not become the first disciples, the founders of the Christian religion and church. No. They went home, to their own country, by a different road.
“What’s so striking about that?” you might be wondering. “Of course Christmas guests eventually go home. Ours certainly do. Sometimes not a moment too soon.”
What struck me is how I never noticed this before, how it had never registered in my mind. Their departure seemed beside the point. Which got me to thinking about what else I take for granted.
The traditional Christian understanding of this story goes like this. We believe that Jesus was the moment when God decided to burst the boundaries of Israel to include all humanity in the salvation story. The wise men and the star is the first manifestation of this boundary bursting, of God's light reaching outside of Israel and welcoming people on the outside into God's shalom. The image of seeing a star in the distance and then following it into the light is a lovely vision for all creation, isn't it? Light, love, justice, mercy, and peace, with everyone sharing the abundance of creation with one another. As a Christian, I would say “yes.” But have you ever thought about all the people who are out there and not in here with us, what they might think of our lovely little image?
Think about the movement of the story of the kings and the star for a moment. Here are these people who see a star in the distance, implying that they are far from God. They come away from where they were and into this new place. The star does not come to them. They have to change places. From the Christian point of view, this story tells us two things: first, that our vision is the only correct one; and second, that everyone else who has a different vision should get with our program.
We had a lot of other Biblical support for this way of seeing things. Take John 14:6 as an example, where Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Or how about some of Jesus' last words in the Gospel of Matthew? “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”(28:18b-19) Pretty exclusive statements that don't seem to leave any room for other ways, truths or lights, wouldn't you say? For many Christians, this is not a gray area. God has told us what to do. It’s black and white, so let’s get with it.
In my heart, I know that there is something wrong with this. I know the Bible says it, but I just know that Jesus would not agree. Many Christians take the easy path and just believe and do exactly what the Bible says. Our tradition, however, is one that values reflection and reason. We have always tried to find “the core Jesus,” the inescapable bedrock of who Jesus is and what he taught, and then bring that to what the Bible says and see what we see, each new generation reading afresh.
So what is “the core Jesus”? In one word: Love. This is what God in Jesus Christ is all about and this is what God in Jesus Christ would have us be about. Everything else about God and ourselves as God's people depends on this primary attribute. I am not pulling that out of thin air either. When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was, he answered, ““You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.””(Mt 22:37-40).
But there is more. Jesus also told us one thing we should not do. “Do not judge, so that you not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?” (Mt 7:1-3).
Religious differences are threatening and frightening, because we want to get something as important as God and faith right. We have been trained in the other parts of our lives to think that there can only be one right answer. We think that if we're right they must be wrong. Or if they think they're right, they must think we are wrong. I have found that while the things of God generally transcend our categories of thinking, far too many faithful people try to squeeze God into the limits of their imagination. The Apostle Paul tells us, “For now, in this life, we know only in part...but when the complete comes, when we stand face to face with God, the partial will come to an end....For now, in this life, we see as in a mirror dimly, but then, we will see face to face. Now, in this life, I Paul know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now, in this life, faith, hope, love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.”(1 Cor 12: 9,12-13).
Wanting to be right is a hard thing to let go of. I have found that only love can make any of us want to take that leap. I have found that when being right has been the most important thing in my life, I haven't been very loving. But when love has been the most important thing in my life, my life has come out all right.
So where am I going with this? Is Jesus the Christ my Lord and Savior? Yes. Do I believe that following Jesus is the way for me in life? Yes. Do I believe that in following Jesus I am finding the truth? Yes. Do I believe that in following Jesus I am receiving new and abundant life? Yes. And what's more, because God came among us as Jesus of Nazareth to show us how this love and non-judging is done, and because God raised Jesus from the dead, there's nothing for me to fear. I am set free from everything that would keep me from living God's shalom. Because God raised Jesus from the dead, I have the confidence to go for it and keep going for it. Having gone for it I know through experience that it is real and I am part of it. We are part of it, even now, both as individuals and as members of the Church. It is my life and my life's work.
Love and not judging others, these are the things of God to build a life on. This is the light God sets before us, a light which shines more brightly than we can begin to imagine until we choose to follow and become one with it. The kings went home by another way, yet we still celebrate them. Their departure doesn’t make them wrong or us more right. It’s not about being right. It’s about being light. It’s about seeing the light and following, which is lot more challenging than being right.