The Wise Men Were A Long Way Off

Matthew 2:1-4

Christmas Eve Meditation.

Tonight, I am thinking of the wise men and what they mean in this Christmas Story.

I don’t want to burst anybody’s bubble, but I want to talk about the fact that during the night of the Nativity, the Wise Men were actually a long way off.

There are too many miracles to talk about that night. So, I want to focus on the miracle that relates to them.

That night, when Christ was born, God lit up a sign that the whole Northern Hemisphere could see.

A Star appeared above Bethlehem. It had a miraculous quality about it, because it pointed the way to Bethlehem and it signified that a King was born.

As soon as this meditation is over, we are going to hear the music to my favorite Christmas Carol: O Holy Night.

The 2nd verse says, “Led by the light, of faith serenely shining…” and then it segues to “…a star gleaming…” and then “…here come the wise men…”

The implication is that on this Holy Night, the wise men appeared.

But on that night, they were a long way off.

They saw the star. So what did they do first? The next day they got out the ancient books that told them about the signs in the heavens. They probably found a piece of writing from the Prophet Daniel that told of a star appearing the night that the King of Kings would be born.

Then they have to plan a trip across a desert, they have to provision themselves, they have to open up the treasury and pick out gifts for this newborn King.

They make the journey across the desert, by now, it is a month, maybe two, maybe a whole year. And since they know that a King is born, they don’t go to Bethlehem, to a manger in a stable, but instead they go to nearby Jerusalem, to Herod the King and ask him to see his new child.

Herod is shocked, no child is born to his home but he puts on a front. He asks them when did the star appear? And they indicate that it was less than two years ago. But by the time they get there, that holy night had passed somewhere from a month, to two years before.

When the star appeared the wise men were a long way off.

And it wasn’t merely distance that had separated them.

They were far apart in so many ways.

But they came. Why?

What strange force brought them there?

Just like every culture, we believe that what we do in our culture is the best way to do things.

To worship this King, they not only had to cross geographical boundaries, but also the distance in religion, philosophy, ideology, and economics.

They gave that up, in order to worship something new to them.

They crossed the boundary of their faith, their culture, their society and the core of their beliefs.

They came a long way.

And that is wonderful. How did they know? No one really knows, but I suspect that they actually came from the area that was once Babylon and they read the writings of the prophets Daniel and Ezekiel. But they could have come from as far away as India, or China.

Somewhere, in that completely different culture, God left a witness to Himself and the coming of Jesus.

God overcame that obstacle in order to lead them to His Christ.

And they were willing to follow.

So the song says, “Led by the light of FAITH…” I would have thought that it would say led by the light of the star.

But these men overcame their differences in order to come.

To me, it shows the global nature of God’s redemption. God apparently didn’t care that they were pagans; He lit a light in the sky to draw not only the Jewish people to Jesus, but also to everyone, everywhere.

That is why the angels said: “This is good news for everyone” as Eugene Peterson puts it in the message: “Everyone, worldwide.”

Kathy and mom outdid themselves this year decorating the inside of our home for the holidays. The mantle has an angel overlooking it, with gold and silver ribbon, a Christmas spray that we bought here at the bazaar, with white, gold and maroon candles. The base of the fireplace is decorated with our own collection of nativity sets. It is very beautiful.

But mom was also thinking about the distance between the wise men and the Jewish people and how God made it clear in the nativity story that God was investing in the time and energy to reach out to the entire world.

Because sometimes, we can be right next door to someone and still be a long ways away. The geographical distance between the Wise men and the nativity was not as big as the other differences. And those differences can be just as great with a next door neighbor.

So, on the mantle, mom put a Menorah. She put it there because she has befriended out next door neighbor, a sweet, charming, intelligent, funny Jewish woman.

God bridged the gap between Himself and humankind when He came to earth as Jesus. He also bridged the gap between people groups who have at times been bitter enemies. God reached out and made the effort.

So the song says that the wise men were led by the light of faith. God gave that light of faith to draw everyone to Jesus. It is different in different cultures and if we can appreciate that difference, we can experience that peace He talked about.

Mom reached out and made the same effort with our neighbor.

Jesus truly is “the Prince of Peace.”

Let His peace reign in you as well.