The Plan of the Mystery

Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:1-12, Matthew 2:1-12

January 3, 2010

Rochelle A. Stackhouse

They came from far away, these magi; in the end, it doesn’t matter where they were born, what their native language or religious tradition was. What matters is that God called to them and, not even fully understanding what this call was about, they responded. In the beginning the star and the strange hold it had over them was a mystery, not only to them, but to their friends and family. Who was this divine figure who moved in the cosmos and put a star in their sight which pulled at their souls the way the moon pulls at the oceans and sends them ebbing and flowing? What was missing in their lives and belief systems that would send them on a months-long journey to find something they didn’t know was lost? What place in their hearts suddenly warmed and beat faster when they saw that star? It was like being in love, but not really knowing the lover.

They were the first seekers; those called by God (perhaps even against their will and good sense) to search for the way, the truth and the life. In their excitement as they drew close to the end of their journey, they could not imagine that others would not be as excited as they were, especially others who had already heard of the possibility of God sending a new prophet or ruler or savior or gift. Those who are new to faith are often surprised that sometimes a few of those who have believed long and heard the word of life since childhood can be so closed and hard of heart when God disrupts their carefully constructed lives with a new revelation, especially when it comes from an outsider. Skeptics and new believers are welcome, yet some of long faith will turn away if those newcomers bring tidings that feel like a threat to the status quo. So Herod acted strangely when they shared the revelation they had received. They could see excitement and anticipation on the faces of some of his advisors and fear on the faces of others. But they got enough information to keep the search going. So they left the great city with its beautiful Temple and traveled to the outskirts of town and a simple house.

They did not find exactly what they were expecting, but when they found Jesus, they knew immediately that they found what God needed them to find, and that they had been expected and were most welcome. How do you describe what it feels like to be in the presence of the holy? You know that you are known, and loved, and an odd mixture of fear and ecstasy fills you almost to bursting while making you as calm as you have ever been. That’s what they felt in the house with Mary and Joseph, and the little one born to be king, though not king the way Herod thought. They gave gifts, but they immediately knew they had received more from simply being in the presence of the child than they had given. The rest of their lives would bear witness to this moment, this encounter, this new presence in their spirits and bodies. When they told the story later, some would laugh and think them fools on a fool’s errand. No matter; their loss. As the years passed, they, like Paul a generation later, began to see more clearly the plan of the mystery they had been invited into, and their part in inviting others into that same mystery, that same relationship, that same love. Others would see and feel and know something worth having had been given them and would seek this new relationship with the God of love themselves, and that would bring these three seekers such joy, even into their old age.

There were those in Herod’s palace who held on tightly to the ways they knew and would die never having touched what was right under their nose all the time. Others understood that these strangers, these seekers from far away with strange accents and different ways actually had something to show them. When Jesus grew up, people like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, who might have been with Herod that day, were ready to receive him. For they saw clearly that we are expected always to keep part of our spirits open to receive those who seek for God, knowing that we have a responsibility not only to show them the way but to listen to revelations they may have received that we need to hear.

A new year is upon us. I am expecting seekers to come into my life and into this congregation, and I hope to have the good sense to listen to them and help guide them on their way. Today I come to this table as a seeker, and I invite you to do the same, feeling called by a mystery I can understand in fits and starts, but more than anything, a mystery I simply want to dwell in, knowing that I am known and loved and called.

Here is the table of Christ. “He is the way. Follow him through the land of unlikeness; you will see rare beasts, and have unique adventures. He is the truth. Seek him in the Kingdom of Anxiety; you will come to a great city that has expected your return for years. He is the Life. Love him in the World of the Flesh: and at your marriage all its occasions shall dance for joy.” (W.H. Auden) Amen.