FOLLOW THAT STAR
Matthew 2:1-12
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Pastor Londia

          There are many stars — celebrities are called stars: movie stars, TV stars, Broadway stars, soap operas stars, singing star sensations, star athletes, all kinds of entertainers are called stars. The Hollywood Walk of Fame has stars engraved into the sidewalk. You have to be popular for a long time to get there.

          When the entertainment industry calls people stars, they are making a reference to some quality that sets them apart from others. These people shine. Stars shine. It may be due to acting, singing or dancing abilities, or because they are beautiful or handsome or provocative, or they may have charisma, wit, charm, a great body, connections to other famous people – something that makes them stand out, something that makes them shine.

And what happens with these stars? They develop a following – fans, paparazzi, entourages of managers, personal assistants, makeup artists, hair dressers, and groupies. Their lives are changed forever. They can no longer go out to dinner or shop or walk down a street without being stopped. People ask for their autographs, reporters shove microphones in their faces, photographers jump from behind bushes to snap pictures of their children. Envious people spread vicious rumors or file frivolous lawsuits hoping to get fame or money. Being a star, and especially a superstar, must be a strange life –- being expected to “shine” all the time, look good all the time. Being asked your opinion about topics on which you know little or nothing, and being criticized when you say or do the wrong thing. The fans who worshipped you one year may refuse to buy your next CD, or see your next movie, abandoning you when you show signs of aging, or getting hooked on drugs, labeling you a has-been. Your glow dims, your sheen fades away, like wax on a new car.

Today’s theme is about a star. Not a human star, but a celestial point of light, a heavenly body, a large stationary planet that twinkles at night. The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 2, tells us what happens after Christmas: Epiphany. It means the “manifestation of the Lord” and it centers on the Magi, a Greek word for “wise men,” who brought gifts to the Christ child. They were astrologers who traveled from an unnamed eastern land, and they were pagans or Gentiles, not Jews. They studied the stars and were intrigued by spotting this new one. They tracked the star to Jerusalem and then on to Bethlehem. Perhaps you’ve noticed already the uniqueness of this star – it moves. Pagan beliefs associated the discovery of a new star with the birth of a new ruler, and Jewish tradition referred to the coming Messiah as the “Star out of Jacob.”

In Jerusalem, the Magi received an audience with King Herod. It was a logical place for foreigners to go seeking a new ruler. They asked for the location of the King of the Jews so they could worship him. The request upset Herod and the whole city because they already had a king. Put yourself in Herod’s shoes. Imagine some foreigners asking Queen Elizabeth of England, “Where’s the queen?” His heirs held the rights to the throne, but Jews didn’t consider him their king because he was not Jewish. So the Magi’s inquiry posed a threat to his kingdom. In envy he called the Jewish chief priests and scribes together to learn about the history of the promised Messiah. And they told him that the prophet Isaiah foretold that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem of Judea. Then Herod talked to the Magi again, told them to find the baby in Bethlehem and let him know so he could also visit. Yeah, right!

So the Magi began the second leg of their journey. Verse 9 says they FOLLOWED THAT STAR and it guided them straight to Mary and Joseph. They knelt before Jesus and presented him with three significant gifts – gold, which was always given to royalty; and frankincense and myrrh. Frankincense was burned in worship services to honor the divine, and myrrh was a rare and precious oil. Frankincense and myrrh were expensive, highly fragrant and gummy scents made from bushes in the eastern region. When the wise men slept that night, they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, so they took another route home. That’s the Epiphany story. Its purpose is to make sure that everyone who hears it knows that Jesus was not just another beautiful baby. He was the fulfilled promise of God, the Messiah, the true king of the Jews and the whole world, the manifestation of the Lord.

Now I have a question for you. The chief priests and scribes, the learned teachers of the law, the experts on scripture and tradition, had been studying and teaching about the coming Messiah for centuries. They knew that a new star would signal his coming. Why do you suppose that when the Magi spotted the star and showed up looking for him they did not say, “Hey, we’ll come with you. We’ve been waiting all our lives for this moment. We can’t wait to welcome and worship our new king.” Why do you suppose they did not FOLLOW THAT STAR? Perhaps they did not want their king. They knew from scripture that he would change the world. They were looked up to, sought after for advice by kings and commoners alike; on good terms with Herod.  Could it be that they did not FOLLOW THAT STAR because, like Herod, they were envious, afraid of losing their status in society? Afraid they could not control the Messiah’s agenda.

The wise men, the so-called pagans, were the obedient ones. They followed a natural phenomenon from their home country to a distant land so they could worship. Today, following God’s star remains a sign of obedience. We should FOLLOW THAT STAR to let the light of Christ shine in and through us so that others will welcome him into their hearts.

Our culture produces temporary stars. Rather than following them and their lifestyles, Christians should follow the star that burns as brightly today as it did over 2100 years ago. The Epiphany star remains as a beacon of light for the whole world. And if we FOLLOW THAT STAR it will lead us to Jesus, our eternal home. Amen.