Month: January 2018

This week I tried out a new restaurant and the experience reminded me of a spiritual truth.

A friend of mine and I had lunch at a restaurant – new to us and to our town – that specializes in a kind of Chinese food that I hadn’t had before: Taiwanese hot pots (no, not that kind of pot, even if it’s legal now!). This was different from other Chinese foods I have long enjoyed, such as Cantonese and Szechuan dishes, and even faux-Chinese foods such as chop-suey and fortune cookies (which are both American inventions). The new restaurant’s food turned out to be quite tasty, so I’ll find some excuse to go back there sometime in the future. Although, there are so many other restaurants I haven’t yet tried and really should: a man’s work is never done. . .

So what spiritual truth did I think about? Was it that gluttony is one of the “seven deadly sins” as decreed by Pope Gregory in 590 AD? After all, according to medieval scholar Thomas Aquinas, gluttony is not just eating too much food; it can also be committed by eating too expensively, too daintily, too soon, or too eagerly! (So maybe I do need to repent!)

No, the spiritual lesson that came to mind was the similarity between my enjoying new culinary experiences by trying out new restaurants and food varieties, and something that the Church has struggled with over the centuries, something that theologians refer to as, “novelty.” That is, the desire of people to seek novel, or new, spiritual ideas and experiences beyond what God has already revealed in his Word and in the historic Christian Church’s teachings.

This desire for spiritual novelty shows itself in several ways.

1. One way is by seeking new beliefs. The old beliefs may be difficult to understand or accept, so some people seek ideas that are more to their liking. They hear an interpretation that sounds better, so they abandon what they were taught for the “novel” idea. This is how many of the historical heresies arose; for example, when people found it hard to understand how Jesus could be both God and man, they fell into one of two opposite but equally false doctrines: adoptionism, which taught that Jesus was just a man chosen and empowered by God to be the Savior, and docetism, which taught that Jesus only seemed to be a man, but was in reality only God (or a god!). The Nicene Creed was written as it was primarily to counter a popular heresy of its day, Arianism, which taught that Jesus was just a man. Thus, the Creed states that Jesus Christ is “true God from true God, begotten not made, of one being with the Father.”

Paul refers to this tendency to seek other teachings in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

One of my professors at seminary warned us “budding theologians” against pursuing novel doctrines. He put it this way: because the Church has studied and wrestled with the Scriptures for a couple thousand years now, it has considered all the legitimate options for understanding any passage. Therefore, if you do your diligence and study multiple commentaries on a certain biblical passage, and you come up with a new interpretation different from all those you read, then you are wrong. Not just different, but wrong.

[If] you come up with a new interpretation different from all those you read, then you are wrong.

Another reason people seek new teachings is that the old ones are just that: old. As the saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt, and when people hear the “same old, same old” over and over again, they may become mentally bored with hearing the “old, old story” no matter how true and wonderful it is. A new teaching sounds exciting; it stimulates the mind and gets them thinking in new ways. They feel they are at the cutting edge of religious thought, and feel pride (another deadly sin!) in their intellectual ability. Besides, how could something written 2000-3000 years ago have relevance to today’s digital world and rapidly changing social norms? The truth that we are still the same people with the same sins and the same righteous Lord and Savior gets left behind in their drive to stay up-to-date.

You can understand the challenge Bible-honoring preachers face. We must take eternal, unchanging truths and make them understandable, interesting, and clearly seen to be relevant, to a culture that has “heard it all before.” We need to keep our message fresh to each new generation, and to those who have heard it their entire lives. And we need to do so again and again, never changing the core message. As one stand-up comedian said, “I could never be a pastor – to have to face the same audience every week and come up with new material each time just terrifies me!” Fortunately, we pastors have a great source book to draw from!

2. Another way is by seeking new spiritual experiences. People can hold to the right doctrines and still be given to seeking “novelty” in their faith by becoming addicted to the spiritual “highs” that come from certain religious activities. These may be conferences, retreats, mission trips, or small group meetings. They may include healing services, the use or witnessing of charismatic gifts, or a big-name evangelist’s crusade. Whatever the event, people go from one “mountain-top” experience to another, always restless with their mundane church life until they can go do something again to feel closer to God. They come back from the event or activity all aglow and happy, but after a while the glow fades as the daily grind takes hold. They begin to long for the next event to recapture the glow once again.

Is there anything wrong with those activities I mentioned? No, such things can be God-honoring and believer-edifying. We all enjoy some of them from time to time. The problem comes when they serve as an addictive drug for the participants, when the activity, rather than Christ, takes center stage. The events become an end in themselves. We participate to get our “fix” rather than fixing our eyes on Jesus, “the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).

Another problem with seeking new experiences is that they can deceive us. Just because something makes us feel good or spiritual doesn’t mean that it is from God or beneficial to us and our faith. An experience may touch us deeply, evoking powerful emotions and giving us a sense of release and healing, yet not be good for us at all. Our subjective feelings are not a good indicator of true spirituality. Like the former hit song, “If loving you is wrong, I don’t want to be right,” we can find many reasons to validate our feelings, even when they go contrary to God’s will and Word. Doing something that feels right to us is no defense either in a court of law or before God.

The other problem with seeking new experiences is the tendency it creates to minimize the objective truth of the Scriptures. Our faith is based on God’s Word, and is true however we feel about it. Whether we feel sad or happy, angry or peaceful, strong or weak, the promises of the Christian faith are there day after day and are unchanging. When we base our contentment on how excited we feel, we diminish God’s promises and the solid fact of what Christ did for us. Does my knowing about Christ make me happy? Absolutely! But even if I don’t feel happy, I still know what Christ did for me on the cross, and that is enough!

But even if I don’t feel happy, I still know what Christ did for me on the cross, and that is enough!

3. Finally, people may seek novelty in a new church: Just as hearing the same doctrines may get old to us, sometimes we just get tired of the same songs, the same decorations, the same order of service, and dare I say it – the same preacher(s). We want something new and more exciting. We’re feeling a little bored at church and know that out there somewhere is the perfect church just waiting for us: a fast-growing church with great music, happy and sinless people, rousing preachers, and a feeling of being where God is doing a special work.

There may be good reasons to change churches: your current church or denomination may have departed the faith and started teaching heresies (that is what brought Karen and me to The AALC and St Peter’s). Or you are genuinely called by God to change churches for the purpose of serving a church where God has a place and mission for you (again, relevant to Karen and me coming to St. Peter’s). Or if by staying, you would damage the current church or cause a schism to develop and split the congregation (not relevant to Karen and me). Or, of course, if you move away. The biblical example of separation is the split between Paul and Barnabas, who had worked together on their first missionary journey, then split and led two different missions with other partners – to the end that twice as many people were reached with the Gospel.

But unless there is a genuine call from God to leave your church and join another church, there are real problems with church-shopping or church-hopping. One is that you never really belong to one body; the more you leave over whatever reason, the easier it is to leave the next time. When Karen and I moved to Indiana, it took a couple years before we joined a church. Even though we attended services, we kept looking for the right church to join and didn’t find it – until we went ahead and joined a church anyway – the church where I would eventually receive my direct call from God into the ministry.

Another problem is that whatever issues you had in your previous church, unless they are resolved, will carry over spiritually into your new situation. If you had something against the pastor, guess what – that will eat at you even years later. And of course, the other big problem with looking for the perfect church is: there is no such thing. There is no perfect church out there – this side of heaven – that will make you happy.

As with job changes, sometimes it is better to change yourself in your job, than to change your job. Sometimes it is better to examine yourself, repent, and let the Spirit change you in your current church, than to change churches. A new and better you is better than a new church, any day!

A new and better you is better than a new church, any day!

So is it wrong to try out new foods or restaurants? No, of course not; Jesus himself showed that all foods were permissible (Mark 7:19 – “Thus he declared all foods clean.”). But don’t let that enjoyment of new experiences at the table intrude into your faith, for it is a precious and life-giving food which was “once and for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3). That’s better than spiritual gluttony. Chew on that!

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: 2 Timothy 4, Hebrews 12

 

 

 

 

By now, just about everyone has heard about the false alarm sounded in Hawaii last Saturday morning. A government emergency management employee pushed the wrong button during a test of the state’s emergency notification system, and a million people received a text message that a ballistic missile was inbound on Hawaii. It told people to seek shelter and ominously added the warning: “This is not a drill.”

For thirty-eight minutes, until the state sent a new message saying the alert was a false alarm, people scrambled to find shelters such as bathtubs, storm drains, and reverse slopes of nearby mountains. Many thought the end was near, with one newlywed couple despairing that their new life together would end as soon as it had begun. When the alert was cancelled, the people certainly felt relief, but also anger that such a scary mistake had even happened. Others have since expressed my concern that the false alarm could have a “boy who cried wolf” effect, so that any future real emergency alerts could be ignored.

When I heard about the false alarm, I thought back to my early grade-school years. During those days, the nuclear threat from the Soviets seemed very real. Civil Defense groups and shelters were organized (I remember one being in the basement of the YMCA building where my dad worked), some people built underground fallout shelters in their back yards, and schools held air raid drills. Yes, I grew up with those: when the school alarm sounded, we all had to leave our classrooms and line up along the hallway walls, with our hands on our heads and our heads tucked between our knees. They never told us what we were to do next if there had been an attack, but since they were just drills, we always went back to our desks and classes resumed.

Later, when I was in college, someone had a poster in his room which gave the same air raid instructions, but with a slight twist: the final line read, “Tuck your head between your knees and kiss your (you-know-what) good-bye.” That irreverent poster poked fun at the naïveté that thought our actions would save us from a real atomic bomb, but you have to remember those days were less than 15 years from the end of World War II, during which people did survive bombs and missiles. Also in defense of those drills was their usefulness in doubling as tornado drills; the procedures were exactly the same, and the likelihood of a tornado was much greater.*

Today (January 15) I was listening to Tom Sullivan’s talk radio show, and after talking about the false alarm in Hawaii, he asked a very good question: “What would you do if you heard that a nuclear missile was headed your way?” The responses were all over the place: one caller said he would go up onto his roof to watch the fireworks, another said he would start drinking because he heard that radiation cannot pass through alcohol (he was joking), while others said they would just express their love to those they care about and wait for the end. People generally realized that trying to evacuate their city would just result in massive traffic jams, and that there was nothing they could do to survive the attack. I guess those fallout shelters of the 1950’s and 60’s weren’t such a bad idea after all . . .

Tom’s question and the various answers seemed to center on practical, physical actions that people might consider when faced with such an impending disaster. Would they try to flee, hunker down in their homes, or seek better shelter nearby? That’s an interesting question, one that everyone should at least consider. Having a family action plan in preparation for any disaster is a good idea, whether that be for a tornado, a hurricane, an earthquake, a volcano, a riot, the zombie apocalypse, or a nuclear attack. Having a few provisions, extra food, water, and clothing on hand is always prudent.

But while practical actions can be important, I am more concerned with people’s spiritual preparation for the end. If you knew absolutely that today is your last day on earth, what would you do about it? How would you spend your day?

• Will you try to avoid thinking about it by keeping entertained or by self-medicating with drugs or alcohol?
• Will you contact all your friends and family to tell them you love them and say good-bye?
• Will you reconcile with those whom you have wronged, and forgive those who wronged you?
• Will you spend your last hours in prayer, reading the Scriptures, confessing your sins and receiving forgiveness?
• Or will you charge up a bunch of stuff on Amazon and opt for same-day delivery?

The question about your spiritual preparation for “the end” is not an idle, hypothetical exercise. After all, we all face the end in one way or another. If it’s not a nuclear missile flying our way, it could be a car accident, a wildfire, a mudslide, a sudden or chronic illness, or a violent crime, to name just a few dangers. However our lives end, they will end, unless the Lord returns before we die – and if he does, then spiritual preparations will mean everything!

So how do we prepare? God’s Word gives us instructions:

1. Recognize that we are mortal, and that we will die. “For dust you are and to dust shall you return.” (Genesis 3:19) and “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27) and “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls.” (1 Peter 1:24). These are just a few among many passages that affirm our mortality.
2. Rejoice that God loves you and has provided a way for you to overcome death and live forever – through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ. John 3:16 summarizes God’s love and provision through Christ; other verses include 1 Peter 3:9, which says that God does not wish “that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” And let’s not forget Jesus’ own promise in John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”
3. Realize that the time of our departure is not up to us. Jesus told a parable about a rich farmer who delighted in his bounteous crop and built bigger barns to hold all his harvest. “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you!” (Luke 12:20). Similarly, Jesus warned that no one knows the day or hour of his own return; he said he would return like a thief in the night, so we should always be ready. (Matthew 24:43, also in 1 Thessalonians 5:2)
4. Reconcile to God through faith in Jesus Christ, and to others with whom you may have hard feelings. “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;” (2 Corinthians 5:18). Ask forgiveness for the wrongs you have done, and forgive others who have wronged you. As Jesus said in Matthew 5:23-24, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
5. Receive God’s own peace, the peace that passes understanding, that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-39)

These are good practices whether we know a missile is on its way, or not; after all, even though we pray that day will never come, our own personal time is approaching. And as for putting your head between your knees, how about just putting your knees on the floor, bowing your head, and spending time in prayer to your Creator and Redeemer instead?

After all, this is not a drill!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen.

Read: John 3, 1 Thessalonians 4

*(In fact, a tornado hit a church preschool in Franklin, Indiana during a tornado drill, destroying all the classrooms but not harming anyone, since they were safely in the hallway, heads tucked between their knees . . . I spoke with one of the firemen who responded to the tornado; he said that it happened on a beautiful day, and that the preschool director ordered the drill after a passing thought that they hadn’t had a drill in a while. When the fireman arrived on scene, he was in horror and expected to find bodies everywhere, but found instead that no one was hurt. He said it was absolutely God’s protection that saved the children.)

 

 

It has now been one full year since I retired, and one year that I have been writing my blog. It’s hard to believe that twelve months have gone by so quickly!

1. Karen and I have enjoyed the lighter schedule and increased time together, and we have been able to get some household projects done (and to do some travel when we were tired of doing household projects!). We visited family and friends back in the Midwest twice, once in May and the second time in October. And, we drove to Oregon in August to get a better view of the eclipse and learned that our best tent camping days – no, make that, all our tent camping days – are behind us.
2. For the first time in my adult life, I was no longer under an employer’s health plan, so we had to navigate the uncharted waters of our changing health system. Being of mature age, I came under Medicare, and found I needed to pursue not only supplemental and drug coverages, but also locate a doctor who was taking on new patients. Without going into too much detail, let me just say that after two months, I finally got hooked up; which was after being assigned to a retired doctor no longer in practice, then to a doctor who quit halfway through my first exam with him (was it something I said?), then to an obstetrician (true!) before finding the right physician.
3. We have continued to worship at St. Peter’s, and have enjoyed friendships and participating in events sponsored by the men’s and women’s groups. Karen has continued to be active by leading the very-busy email and daytime Prayer Chains, and by coordinating funeral luncheons for the church’s Women of LIFE.
4. As far as my ministry involvement, I conducted four funeral services, filled in to preach and teach one Sunday, taught a couple advanced Bethel Bible Series classes, and conducted a chapel program for our church’s school. Then, in the fall, Karen and I attended the AALC’s 500^th Anniversary of the Reformation celebration in Minnesota. While there, I gave presentations as Martin Luther during the two luncheons. Other than not being able to fully relax until the second presentation ended, I enjoyed the chance to teach and entertain with the Reformation and Gospel truths which brother Martin discovered. The new issue of the AALC newsletter, The Evangel, has a wonderful article about the celebration and the part I played.
5. And then there’s the blog . . . I remember the second article I wrote last January in which I pondered what I might write about next (“Okay, Now What?” Jan 19, 2017). I was afraid I would run out of ideas before last February, but then I thought, “Hey, I’m a pastor! I’m used to speaking and writing about all kinds of things!” What’s even better, since I can’t see my audience when blogging, I don’t get discouraged to see people sleeping, checking their phones, or leaving in the middle of my sermon! As it turned out, last week I posted my 45^th blog! It’s still hard to believe there have been that many. Of course, each time I sit down to blog, I still ask myself, “Okay, now what?” but the ideas come and my fingers start flying across the keyboard (Okay, that’s a euphemism for my typing style known as “hunt and peck” or what a German friend once called, “Die Adler Methode [the eagle method] – hover and dive!” Personally, I call it the “Biblical Method” – “seek and ye shall find”. . .). If there is one thing about my youth I would change if I could, I would have taken typing in school. (“Typing” is an archaic word that meant, “keyboarding” and was done on a manual typewriter using an inked ribbon. You can Google those terms if you are under 40.)
6. Your responses to my articles have been especially gratifying; some of you have written comments which show up in the blog, others have sent email notes separately, and still others have spoken to Karen or me personally with requests to keep blogging. Whether you actually enjoy the blogs or just want to keep me busy and out of trouble (“Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”), I am grateful for your encouraging words.
7. There are two things that I was sure I would get done in 2017 that are still in the “unfinished” category:

• Cleaning out the clutter and accumulation of books and other stuff from the 20 years we have lived in our current home, not to mention our 43 years of marriage (See “Too Much Stuff” from Feb 18, 2017 for more details). We are discussing the options: storage shed, storage unit, large dumpster, or moving away quietly in the middle of the night. No decision yet . . .
• Finishing and publishing my book, Raising Ebenezers, which is in the revision stage. I really must complete it so I can get on to writing the Great American Novel. I actually have one in mind; it starts off with a clever opening, “It was a dark and stormy night . . .” I will announce publishing plans and progress for Raising Ebenezers as soon as I know them.

8. Finally, there’s one spiritual matter I’d like to share briefly, and that has to do with how retirement has affected my understanding of who I am in Christ. After five years preparing for ministry (part-time and full- time seminary studies), a year of internship, and 22 years of pastoral service, it was quite a change to no longer be a pastor of St. Peter’s. I was used to people seeing and talking to me as their pastor, asking my counsel, and offering their help in areas of ministry. I was used to many meetings and staff working relationships. In a sense, I defined myself by my work (as men usually do) but more so because I was serving the Lord. Now, as a retiree, I still have friends at church, but the relationship is necessarily different – not worse or better – just different.

Likewise, my self-understanding is different. Who am I in Christ? I am still me, the person God has called and saved as his own. I am loved of God and love him in return (“We love because he first loved us.” – 1 John 4:19). That has not changed. After all, I don’t believe in Christ because I was a pastor; I was a pastor because I believe in Christ – and was called by him to serve in that calling.

A year ago I wrote this in my first blog: “I understand my retirement as not so much retiring from one vocation, as retiring to a different one, a new vocation. This new vocation is also a call from God to serve Him, but in a new way.” Only by recognizing that God calls us into different seasons in our lives, have I been freed to relax and enjoy this time, even as I stay alert to new calls which God may give in 2018 (such as my recent appointment to the AALC Clergy Commission). Please pray for me to always be faithful to Christ and his call, whatever that may be!

Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read:  1 John 4

During the final weeks of the old year, there were many parties and other celebrations which commemorated the birth of Jesus Christ – at least in our circles. For many other people, the parties were more about the onset of winter and the arrival of a new year. But for us, Christ was at the center. So, with many of our church friends, we attended our school’s elementary Christmas program, the Sunday school program, a Christmas Choir Cantata, the Christmas Home Tour, and a house party. To ensure good parking places and good seating – not to mention politeness to those hosting the events – we made a point of arriving on time, or even early. It was the right thing to do!

Likewise, the shepherds were on time to their Christmas party. They made it on time, of course, because they were in nearby fields when Jesus was born, and they were summed by what you might call a “singing telegram.” (And yes, you can still send them!) You can almost hear the angel’s words as recorded in Luke 2 announcing the birth and commanding the shepherds to go and see for themselves: “Stop shaking and get off your duffs and go check out the stable . . .” Well, actually, it was more like, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12) They made it to the party on time, and got to see their newborn Savior with his mother Mary and Joseph. That just started their celebration, for we are told that they went from there, glorifying and praising God for what they saw. Party hearty!

But for some people, some very important people, you might say they were late to the party, They didn’t make it there for the blessed event because they began their journey far to the East. These “latecomers” were the wise men – magi as the Bible text of Matthew 2 calls them – who also received word of the birth. Their notice was by way of a special star that rose, signalling the birth of the Messiah – the King of the Jews. Whether the star appeared at the moment of Jesus’ birth, and it took a while for the magi to prepare for their trip, or whether the magi set out as soon as the star appeared later on, we don’t know  – the Greek words in verse 2 can be translated either as “For we saw his star when it rose,” or “For we saw his star in the east.” – though I favor the first translation based on what happened later. Either way, they saw the star, knew its significance, and set out to see Christ, and to bring him gifts to bless and honor him. So in their case, the “baby shower” came after the birth! And how many magi were there? Answer all together now, “We don’t know; all it says is that they brought three kinds of gifts – gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Correct! The names often ascribed to the magi – Balthazar, Melchior, and Gaspar (or Caspar) – come from an Armenian tradition and not from the Bible.

The evidence that they arrived long after the birth is found in Matthew 2.

1. The first point is found in verse 11: “And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him.” House, not stable. There’s no mention of the manger, so it is obvious some time has passed with Mary and Joseph staying in Bethlehem with the infant Jesus until the time was right to leave.
2. The second point is the Greek words used to describe Jesus: Luke calls him a brephos (baby), while Matthew uses the term, paidiov, (little child). This difference implies some aging between the two events.
3. When King Herod decided to kill Jesus to remove any potential rival to his throne, he ordered the murder of all the boys in Bethlehem, and in the region around it, who were two years old or under. Why that range? Verse 16 tells us that age was “according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.” which meant from when the star first appeared. This event is called the “Massacre of the Innocents,” and those murdered boys are considered the first martyrs for Christ.

Since the wise men weren’t at the stable, does that mean we have to clean up our manger scenes and get rid of the (always) three wise men figures, their camels, and their gifts? You can if you want, but I’ll keep them in our nativity sets, especially the one made of balsa wood that I hand-carved for our first Christmas, 43 years ago. Because even though the magi were late for the first party, they threw an incredible second party when they finally got there! And the point of the manger scenes is to celebrate Christ taking on flesh and becoming one of us, regardless of who got there or when.

There’s also a special reason to celebrate the arrival of the wise men, and that is the fact that the magi were Gentiles – non-Jews – to whom the Savior was revealed, and who came to find and worship Christ as King. Their arrival is celebrated today, January 6, and is the start of the Church season known as Epiphany. Epiphany means “manifestation,” or “appearing,” and marks the revealing of Christ as the Son of God to the world, including both Jew and Gentile. During this season we mark the arrival of the wise men, the ministry of John the Baptist and the baptism of Christ, Jesus’ first miracle at Cana, Peter’s confession of Jesus as Christ and Son of God, and Christ’s Transfiguration before his closest disciples. Together, these events signify Christ’s true identity and nature.

There’s another reason for the delayed arrival of the wise men to Bethlehem, and it leads me to the opinion that maybe the magi weren’t late after all: maybe they arrived perfectly on time and according to God’s plan. For their job was not only to announce that the kingship of Christ would be for the whole world, it was also to provide the material riches they bestowed on Jesus and his family. Sure, their gifts had powerful, symbolic meanings, but they were also valuable resources that would provide for Jesus and his earthly parents during the years they fled to Egypt. The magi also indirectly triggered the escape by informing Herod about Jesus’ birth without returning to Herod to tell him Jesus’ specific location. Their gifts kept Jesus safe until Herod died, and fulfilled the prophecy that God would call his Son out of Egypt (Matthew 2:15).

So in God’s plan, the shepherds had one role, the wise men another, and you and I have still another. The story of the wise men should encourage us all in our faith, for no matter how “late” in life we come to believe, God has a place for us in his eternal house, and he promises that the party will be absolutely AWESOME!

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Matthew Chapter 2