WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:15.599 Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah. 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:20.480 ! It is wonderful that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah, 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:25.679 either by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all, would you pray for us 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:32.159 that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people like yourself? 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:37.359 The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian, 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:42.159 we really, I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:48.799 Bible, they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will do 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:55.120 what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're a non-Christian, 00:00:55.119 --> 00:01:00.320 checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't hesitate to send us 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:05.280 questions. It helps me actually to know, as I'm preaching, how to deal with the types of things 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:07.759 that you're really struggling with. So God bless. 00:01:13.519 --> 00:01:15.599 Let's pray. Would you pray with me? 00:01:17.599 --> 00:01:23.439 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, 00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:26.159 O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen. 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:27.679 You may be seated. 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:43.680 So, as George just said, today is Epiphany Sunday. 00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:52.240 And in the rhythm of the church year, this is called a feast. It's like a celebration. One of the high 00:01:52.240 --> 00:01:59.200 points of the church year. Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, these are all feasts. And the point of 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:06.719 that is that we are to sort of unplug a little bit from the Christmas busyness and focus our attention 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:13.120 entirely on what God has done for us in Christ to achieve our salvation. That's what these feasts 00:02:13.120 --> 00:02:19.520 are for. They're big moments in the life of Christ and also major events that where God has accomplished 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:26.400 our salvation. Those are feast days. Okay. So today's Epiphany. What on earth does Epiphany mean? 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:30.960 George already told us, but I don't see if you remember. 00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:32.800 It's a story, brother. 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:38.319 In our culture though, like in modern English, when we talk about Epiphany, 00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:47.520 we often think about psychological things. So we think about like a light bulb moment, 00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:52.560 where you get a new piece of knowledge or you see something different. You see something from a 00:02:52.560 --> 00:03:00.879 new perspective. But culturally, the assumptions we build into that are that an Epiphany is private. 00:03:02.080 --> 00:03:09.199 It's individual. It's out of the blue, unexpected. The idea is culturally, we think of Epiphany as like 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:17.360 a subjective experience. Well, by the biblical view of Epiphany is very different. It means something 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:25.120 much bigger. It means something objective. So rather than a private experience, a biblical Epiphany is 00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:32.800 public. Rather than coming out of the blue, a biblical Epiphany is the fulfillment of promises 00:03:32.800 --> 00:03:40.320 made thousands of years ago. And rather than giving us just a new perspective or new information, 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:53.120 a biblical Epiphany involves God giving us himself in Christ at a specific place in a specific time. 00:03:53.120 --> 00:04:00.639 You know, in the Ephesians reading today, Paul calls this a mystery. He doesn't mean like a whodunit, 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:05.919 where you put the clues together. He means something that was hidden by God in ages past and has now been 00:04:05.919 --> 00:04:12.799 revealed, has now been manifest. That's what Epiphany means. A manifestation. 00:04:15.039 --> 00:04:21.120 It's about the fact that the light has arrived. And whether you or me are looking for it or not, 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:31.120 the light has arrived. And the story of the Magi tells us that. So I want to look at together the 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:37.920 story of the Magi in Matthew 2, which George just read and ask, what does this Epiphany, 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:44.480 this manifestation, what does it tell us about the Gospel, about the good news, about the Christian 00:04:44.480 --> 00:04:49.120 message? And I'll tell you, I'm going to suggest three things. And I'll tell you what they are and 00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:57.840 we'll go through them. The first is the Gospel gives us a person, not a system. A person, not a system. 00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:10.159 The Gospel is a manifestation, not a reward. And third, the Gospel forces a choice. And the choice 00:05:10.159 --> 00:05:19.199 is worship or hostility. There it is. So the first point, the Gospel gives us a person and not a system. 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:26.399 All right, let's look at the drama in Matthew. It's a great story. It involves Magi, which is plural for 00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:36.399 Magus. And some translations render it wise men. Some even say astrologers. But these are basically 00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:44.560 Eastern men who are experts in what you might call maybe esoteric knowledge. And they're used to looking 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:51.600 for signs, including looking in the heavens for signs. They're not part of the Jewish people, 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:57.519 the God's covenant. They are from far away. And they're looking in the sky for signs. 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:10.159 And they get called by a star. And they go looking for a king. And when they get to Jerusalem, 00:06:10.159 --> 00:06:17.519 if you're looking for a king, they go to the palace. It's a good place to look for a king. 00:06:17.519 --> 00:06:27.799 And they see King Herod. Now, the text tells us that Herod was troubled, which is like a bit of an 00:06:27.799 --> 00:06:32.299 understatement, I think. Like Herod the Great, they called him Herod the Great, okay? He was a man 00:06:32.299 --> 00:06:39.419 who spent his entire life building and protecting his kingdom. He's a man who murdered his own wife 00:06:39.419 --> 00:06:47.199 and some of his sons to ensure that no one touches his throne. So is he troubled by a potential rival king? 00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:56.039 Yep. He sure is. It's not... When the Magi show up and say, where's the king of the Jews? 00:06:56.699 --> 00:07:03.819 Herod thinks, wait, I thought I was king of the Jews. Who's this other person? Okay? And the Romans 00:07:03.819 --> 00:07:09.659 gave him that title, king of the Jews. That's Herod. But it isn't. 00:07:09.660 --> 00:07:18.720 You see, it's specifically, and don't miss this, it is specifically the kingship of Jesus 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:25.860 that makes Herod so upset, that makes him so nervous. The kingship. And I, you know, I think 00:07:25.860 --> 00:07:36.660 this idea of Jesus' kingship, the fact that Jesus is a king, is, I think, muted and undervalued 00:07:36.660 --> 00:07:42.420 undervalued in the church today, in different kinds of churches. So in evangelical circles, 00:07:42.420 --> 00:07:48.940 we talk about Jesus being our personal savior. That's true. Thank God that's true. I mean, 00:07:49.420 --> 00:07:57.780 it's a precious thing. But Jesus isn't only that. See, if Jesus was only that, it wouldn't have bothered 00:07:57.779 --> 00:08:05.539 Herod. Herod doesn't care if you have a private spiritual life. Just keep Jesus away from the palace 00:08:05.539 --> 00:08:10.219 of real world decisions. That's what Herod's worried about. You can have your own private 00:08:10.219 --> 00:08:18.919 spirituality all you want. Just stay out of the palace. In more progressive or liberal churches, 00:08:19.219 --> 00:08:26.459 you hear about Jesus being sort of a prophet of social justice or a teacher of values like inclusion, 00:08:26.459 --> 00:08:35.120 tolerance, and so on. Herod wouldn't have been threatened by that either. See, the Roman Empire 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:41.279 was just as pluralistic as modern-day Canada. They're happy to integrate new value systems, 00:08:41.439 --> 00:08:49.879 new ethical teachings, whatever. Just stay out of the palace. See, Herod was threatened for one reason 00:08:49.879 --> 00:09:00.080 and one reason only, and that's that Jesus is a king, king of the Jews. See, if we reduce Jesus to a 00:09:00.080 --> 00:09:09.879 system of ideas or a set of moral principles, then he lives safely in our heads. We can manipulate ideas. 00:09:10.039 --> 00:09:16.879 We can edit principles. But see, the text says, the Magi followed the star until it stopped over a house. 00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:22.519 And there they found not a set of principles or religious teachings. They found a person 00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:31.620 in a specific place with specific people at a specific time. A person. A person. You know, 00:09:31.639 --> 00:09:37.039 there's an old epiphany tradition. I don't know if any of you have done this, but it's called the Magi's 00:09:37.039 --> 00:09:42.539 blessing. And people would take chalk and they'd mark their door frames with the year, so 2026, 00:09:42.539 --> 00:09:50.259 and they'd write the letter CMB, which are the traditional names of the Magi, not in the Bible, 00:09:50.379 --> 00:09:57.839 but in the tradition. And it also stands for the Latin phrase, may Christ bless this house. 00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:07.639 So the gospel, friends, is the news that the king, the real king, has moved into the neighborhood. 00:10:07.639 --> 00:10:16.779 Christ isn't a system. He's a person. It's not a set of ideas you subscribe to. 00:10:17.460 --> 00:10:27.460 He's a real person you can encounter. And if he's the king, then he lays claims to your household too. 00:10:27.460 --> 00:10:33.480 Not just that living room chair where you maybe do your devotions, your Bible reading and prayer. 00:10:34.300 --> 00:10:41.600 Jesus lays claims to your kitchen, your bedroom, your office, the whole thing. 00:10:43.280 --> 00:10:47.800 So we meet Jesus on his terms, or we don't meet him. 00:10:49.560 --> 00:10:54.660 Even if we think we do. You meet him on his terms, or you don't meet him at all. 00:10:54.659 --> 00:11:02.360 So the gospel involves a person, not a system. 00:11:03.100 --> 00:11:03.579 It's a person. 00:11:04.079 --> 00:11:08.100 Okay. Point two. The gospel is a manifestation and not a reward. 00:11:08.519 --> 00:11:11.679 So the gospel is a person. 00:11:12.360 --> 00:11:16.100 Then the question naturally follows, well, how do you find this person? 00:11:16.199 --> 00:11:17.799 How do you find the king? Where is he? 00:11:17.799 --> 00:11:28.319 In our culture, we are trained, from when we're very young, to believe that the best things in life are things that you earn. 00:11:28.459 --> 00:11:29.079 They're rewards. 00:11:30.279 --> 00:11:32.299 We work hard. We study. We strive. 00:11:32.659 --> 00:11:34.139 And eventually, we get the prize. 00:11:34.539 --> 00:11:35.500 Whatever the prize is. 00:11:35.659 --> 00:11:40.179 A good job, or a big house, or a partner we want, or whatever. 00:11:40.319 --> 00:11:40.899 I don't know what it is. 00:11:40.899 --> 00:11:43.079 But you basically earn it. 00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:44.620 That's the cultural narrative. 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:48.459 And we often can fall into treating our spiritual lives this way. 00:11:48.579 --> 00:11:56.199 So if I pray enough, or if I learn enough, I know enough Bible, or if I get my act together, then I will find God. 00:11:56.379 --> 00:12:00.699 So the assumption is, God is at the end of a long human search. 00:12:01.639 --> 00:12:02.939 That's the cultural understanding. 00:12:02.940 --> 00:12:06.640 But look at this story. 00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:08.240 See, it's full of irony. 00:12:09.900 --> 00:12:13.900 The scribes who are talking to Herod. 00:12:14.220 --> 00:12:18.900 Herod asks them, where is the Messiah to be born? 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:21.460 And why would he ask them? 00:12:21.520 --> 00:12:23.000 Well, these are the Bible scholars. 00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:26.400 These are the PhDs in Bible, in theology. 00:12:27.060 --> 00:12:29.720 And when Herod asks where the Messiah is to be born, 00:12:30.600 --> 00:12:31.740 I mean, they don't miss a beat. 00:12:31.740 --> 00:12:33.779 They don't even have to look it up. 00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:34.440 They know. 00:12:35.580 --> 00:12:36.019 Bethlehem. 00:12:36.220 --> 00:12:36.440 Yeah. 00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:37.960 Everybody knows that. 00:12:38.120 --> 00:12:38.560 Bethlehem. 00:12:38.600 --> 00:12:39.299 That's where he's going to be born. 00:12:40.560 --> 00:12:42.480 You know, they've got this information. 00:12:42.600 --> 00:12:45.120 They've earned their status as guardians of the truth. 00:12:45.340 --> 00:12:47.460 But here's the sad thing. 00:12:48.779 --> 00:12:51.259 They don't move an inch. 00:12:52.560 --> 00:12:54.159 The Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem. 00:12:55.200 --> 00:12:56.159 But they don't go. 00:12:56.159 --> 00:13:07.219 It can be easy to have Jesus be a theoretical reward for your study. 00:13:08.439 --> 00:13:10.639 But not a living reality to be encountered. 00:13:10.799 --> 00:13:11.120 I know. 00:13:11.240 --> 00:13:11.899 I've met people. 00:13:12.019 --> 00:13:12.799 They've got PhDs. 00:13:12.799 --> 00:13:13.299 They're very smart. 00:13:13.419 --> 00:13:15.399 They've got PhDs in religion or Bible. 00:13:15.399 --> 00:13:18.199 But they hate God. 00:13:19.879 --> 00:13:24.259 You can love studying the Bible and hate God. 00:13:25.340 --> 00:13:26.879 You can love religion. 00:13:27.439 --> 00:13:29.600 You can love Anglican liturgy and hate God. 00:13:30.419 --> 00:13:34.319 The whole thing about being a Christian is you encounter a real person. 00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:40.280 And that person is not rewarding you for your hard work. 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:42.940 That encounter is pure grace. 00:13:44.340 --> 00:13:45.480 Look at the Magi. 00:13:47.300 --> 00:13:49.060 So they're Gentiles. 00:13:49.180 --> 00:13:49.940 They're not Jewish. 00:13:50.060 --> 00:13:51.060 They're not part of this covenant. 00:13:51.220 --> 00:13:53.680 They're not experts in the Old Testament. 00:13:54.620 --> 00:13:55.300 Have they read it? 00:13:55.400 --> 00:13:56.100 Who knows? 00:13:56.300 --> 00:13:57.020 Maybe not. 00:13:57.019 --> 00:14:04.439 But God hangs a bright star in the sky for them. 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:12.179 Paul says in Ephesians in that reading that this is the manifold wisdom of God. 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:17.779 That the Gentiles, which is most of us here, are grafted. 00:14:17.779 --> 00:14:18.579 This is Paul's language. 00:14:18.759 --> 00:14:22.419 Grafted in to something that's Jewish. 00:14:22.419 --> 00:14:31.799 If you're not Jewish, you're a Christian, you've been brought into something that in its origin was fundamentally Jewish. 00:14:33.559 --> 00:14:33.740 Okay? 00:14:34.979 --> 00:14:38.360 So the Gentiles are fellow heirs. 00:14:40.139 --> 00:14:45.539 These Magi, though, didn't earn the right to be called fellow heirs. 00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:48.939 They were invited by a light. 00:14:50.059 --> 00:14:51.819 And that light made the first move. 00:14:52.419 --> 00:15:00.939 I think about, makes me think about, the idea of God's will. 00:15:01.539 --> 00:15:06.839 You know, the anxiety that people feel about discerning God's will. 00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:08.079 And I felt that in my life. 00:15:08.659 --> 00:15:15.919 I remember when I was in my maybe early 20s and I was thinking about, what do I do with my life? 00:15:17.059 --> 00:15:18.379 It feels so monumental. 00:15:18.379 --> 00:15:25.220 I remember those feelings like being young and you're making a decision here that's going to impact your entire life and shape the way that life unfolds. 00:15:25.539 --> 00:15:28.840 It felt, in some ways, it felt paralyzing. 00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:33.399 Like, there's a fork in the road and I better pick the right one. 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:35.340 If I don't, I'm doomed. 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:36.000 That kind of thing. 00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:42.399 Again, it's treating guidance from God as a sort of reward for being a really good discerner. 00:15:42.399 --> 00:15:46.379 But look at the Magi, though. 00:15:47.299 --> 00:15:56.279 So they get to Jerusalem and they go right to Herod, which is either a really bad miscalculation or a really dumb decision. 00:15:56.279 --> 00:16:03.659 Because if you find out there's a rival king, don't go to the king in power and tell him that. 00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:06.819 Just in case you're ever in that situation. 00:16:08.339 --> 00:16:11.299 You know, it could have gotten Jesus killed. 00:16:11.620 --> 00:16:15.679 And as we'll see in the next story, all the infants do get killed. 00:16:16.139 --> 00:16:16.740 Except for Jesus. 00:16:16.740 --> 00:16:23.860 So if the gospel is a reward for them being wise or whatever, they would have failed. 00:16:25.659 --> 00:16:32.840 But see, because the gospel is a manifestation, God's initiative, God is infinitely resourceful. 00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:35.840 Little setbacks like that are not a problem. 00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:41.019 God just warns them in a dream and they go and God leads them back another way. 00:16:41.259 --> 00:16:44.139 So, God's not hiding from you. 00:16:44.139 --> 00:16:47.439 God's not hiding his will from you. 00:16:48.019 --> 00:16:50.139 Just one step in front of the other. 00:16:51.740 --> 00:16:52.299 Listening. 00:16:54.120 --> 00:17:00.740 So even when they and when we make a mistake, God's light keeps shining to guide us. 00:17:01.580 --> 00:17:05.759 Because ultimately the gospel is not about how hard we search. 00:17:07.139 --> 00:17:10.599 It's about whether or not we're willing to be found. 00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:14.859 I'm just going to say that one more time. 00:17:15.379 --> 00:17:19.219 The gospel is not about how hard you search. 00:17:20.379 --> 00:17:22.839 It's about whether or not you're willing to be found. 00:17:25.240 --> 00:17:26.439 That's true of the Magi. 00:17:26.500 --> 00:17:27.579 That's true of us. 00:17:28.259 --> 00:17:32.759 So the gospel is a manifestation, not a reward. 00:17:32.980 --> 00:17:33.519 Third point. 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:33.579 Third point. 00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:36.779 The gospel forces a choice. 00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:43.500 The choice is between worship or hostility. 00:17:44.940 --> 00:17:53.000 So if the king is a person, a real person, and if he has manifest himself to us, the Gentiles, 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:57.460 then to the nations, then we're left with a choice. 00:18:00.059 --> 00:18:04.200 In the gospel of John, Jesus is often called the light. 00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:06.960 And it's kind of interesting how it says, 00:18:07.359 --> 00:18:13.519 the simple fact that the light appears is itself an act of judgment. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:14.819 Well, why is that? 00:18:14.819 --> 00:18:18.039 Because the light shows what's there. 00:18:19.559 --> 00:18:21.500 Judgment is about distinguishing. 00:18:22.539 --> 00:18:22.679 Right? 00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:23.960 So the light shows what's there. 00:18:23.980 --> 00:18:25.500 It doesn't just illumine the path. 00:18:26.399 --> 00:18:28.759 It distinguishes what's in the heart. 00:18:29.240 --> 00:18:30.519 It acts like a divider. 00:18:31.980 --> 00:18:35.099 Because notice the same news, which is the king is here. 00:18:35.179 --> 00:18:35.740 That's the news. 00:18:35.799 --> 00:18:36.500 The king is here. 00:18:37.379 --> 00:18:41.759 That lands very differently on Herod as it does on the Magi. 00:18:42.279 --> 00:18:43.119 Herod's troubled. 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:47.979 And the Magi are overjoyed. 00:18:49.899 --> 00:18:55.139 The light of Christ reveals who we really are. 00:18:57.899 --> 00:19:00.419 That's a bit uncomfortable, but that's what it does. 00:19:01.799 --> 00:19:07.079 It makes all the difference, though, that that light is coming from God's infinite love. 00:19:07.079 --> 00:19:21.319 I remember Christopher Hitchens, the atheist intellectual who died about 15 years ago, said he couldn't imagine being a Christian and believing in a God who knows everything. 00:19:21.439 --> 00:19:23.579 It'd be like living in North Korea, he said. 00:19:24.859 --> 00:19:28.240 It would be, except God is love. 00:19:28.240 --> 00:19:35.339 And if that light reveals what's there, comes from a place of love, then you're safe. 00:19:36.039 --> 00:19:37.779 You should want the truth. 00:19:37.900 --> 00:19:38.940 We should want the truth. 00:19:39.099 --> 00:19:39.200 Okay? 00:19:40.339 --> 00:19:47.120 The light shows who's willing to bow and who's determined to stay on the throne of their own life. 00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:51.959 Look at the Magi's gifts. 00:19:52.199 --> 00:19:55.179 Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:56.979 These are really expensive items. 00:19:56.980 --> 00:20:02.480 We might be tempted to think of these as like donations to a good cause. 00:20:02.620 --> 00:20:03.880 These are actually tributes. 00:20:05.500 --> 00:20:13.420 So, if you come and give gold to a king, you're essentially acknowledging that that king has the right to your gold. 00:20:13.920 --> 00:20:18.539 You're basically saying, hey, King Jesus, I thought this gold was mine. 00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:20.620 Silly me, it's yours. 00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:21.299 Here you go. 00:20:21.559 --> 00:20:22.099 It's a tribute. 00:20:22.099 --> 00:20:22.500 Okay? 00:20:23.379 --> 00:20:28.799 It's a recognition of the claim that the king has over your life and the entire world. 00:20:29.819 --> 00:20:31.899 What I once thought was mine is yours. 00:20:32.119 --> 00:20:33.419 That's what's being said in these gifts. 00:20:34.399 --> 00:20:36.719 What I once thought was mine is yours. 00:20:38.740 --> 00:20:47.079 You know, worship is the, let's say, the ultimate form of surrender. 00:20:47.079 --> 00:20:53.599 When you come and you worship, you stop being a seeker and you become a subject of the king. 00:20:54.839 --> 00:21:05.279 The Magi opened their treasures because in that little house, in that little manger, they found a treasure that was more valuable than all the gold in the world. 00:21:06.980 --> 00:21:08.879 So, parting with that was no big thing. 00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:27.320 In that Ephesians reading, in chapter 3 of Ephesians, Paul says that when you worship, when a Christian's gathering for worship, we're making God's wisdom known to rulers and authorities. 00:21:27.319 --> 00:21:32.439 It's a witness to someone, something. 00:21:33.659 --> 00:21:35.619 It's a subversive act. 00:21:35.779 --> 00:21:36.359 Worship is. 00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:42.139 You might think you're just coming here and it's very nice and very tame thing to do on a Sunday morning. 00:21:42.319 --> 00:21:42.859 It isn't. 00:21:42.919 --> 00:21:44.099 It's a subversive act. 00:21:44.099 --> 00:22:07.639 Because you're telling, when you worship Jesus as the king of the world, the king of the Jews, and now the king of the Gentiles, you are telling every Herod in your life, whether the Herod manifests as guilt and shame, or the need for human approval, or the fear of not being enough, or demonic powers and influence, or addictions, or whatever. 00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:24.440 Anything hostile to God, anything that works against human thriving, you're telling that Herod, you're telling these rulers and authorities that they no longer have jurisdiction over you. 00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:26.220 Do you see? 00:22:27.600 --> 00:22:31.780 To worship is a witness, not just to the world that we can see, but to the world we can't. 00:22:31.779 --> 00:22:39.160 When you bow to the king in that little house, the king in the palace loses its power. 00:22:39.319 --> 00:22:39.839 You see what I mean? 00:22:40.539 --> 00:22:42.839 When you bow to Christ, Herod loses power. 00:22:45.859 --> 00:22:53.799 So the story ends with a detail that we often overlook. 00:22:54.879 --> 00:22:59.259 The magi, at the end, departed to their own country. 00:22:59.619 --> 00:23:00.480 This is what it says. 00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:03.099 Departed to their own country by another way. 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:10.860 So they go home a different way than they came, which you read that, you think, okay, they took a little detour. 00:23:12.099 --> 00:23:18.660 But I was alerted to a deeper meaning here by Augustine, or Augustine, whatever you want to call him. 00:23:18.700 --> 00:23:27.079 He was an African bishop, North Africa, and in the early centuries of the church, 4th, 5th century. 00:23:27.079 --> 00:23:30.019 And he says this about that verse. 00:23:30.279 --> 00:23:33.799 The magi departed to their own country by another way. 00:23:34.579 --> 00:23:37.679 Augustine says, the way was changed. 00:23:38.639 --> 00:23:38.899 Yeah. 00:23:39.659 --> 00:23:43.220 Their way of life was changed. 00:23:43.220 --> 00:23:49.140 See, the going back another way is a spiritual transformation. 00:23:50.740 --> 00:23:56.000 Because once you've knelt before the true king, you can't go back to the old roads. 00:23:56.059 --> 00:23:57.579 You can't go back to the old systems. 00:23:57.740 --> 00:24:01.240 You can't go back to the striving and self-defense and the me, me, me, me, me. 00:24:01.240 --> 00:24:01.980 You can't. 00:24:03.460 --> 00:24:06.259 Because there's a new ruler at the center. 00:24:08.500 --> 00:24:12.519 You don't have to live in that paralyzing anxiety of the fork in the road. 00:24:13.160 --> 00:24:15.539 Because the king is driving the ship. 00:24:15.880 --> 00:24:17.259 The king is steering your life. 00:24:17.779 --> 00:24:18.420 You can rest. 00:24:18.420 --> 00:24:25.340 And if you're a Gentile, which means you're non-Jewish, you're no longer an outsider. 00:24:25.779 --> 00:24:27.060 You're a fellow heir. 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:28.259 That's Paul's words. 00:24:28.300 --> 00:24:28.940 You're a fellow heir. 00:24:29.060 --> 00:24:30.120 You're brought into something. 00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:31.440 Bigger than you. 00:24:31.600 --> 00:24:32.420 Way bigger than you. 00:24:34.220 --> 00:24:43.620 So, as we leave today, let's let that call of epiphany sink deep in us. 00:24:44.860 --> 00:24:46.779 We don't need to manage Jesus. 00:24:46.779 --> 00:24:50.259 He's not a system of ideas or morality. 00:24:51.779 --> 00:24:52.879 We meet him. 00:24:54.539 --> 00:24:56.940 We don't have to earn his presence. 00:24:58.519 --> 00:24:59.539 We surrender. 00:25:02.660 --> 00:25:07.619 We can follow the star out of the palace of our own self-absorption. 00:25:09.799 --> 00:25:12.639 We don't have to be the boss, the expert, the protector. 00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:14.440 We don't have to have it all together. 00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:19.600 Follow the king out of the palace of your own ego and your own striving. 00:25:21.120 --> 00:25:26.019 And go into that little house, metaphorically speaking, where the king is waiting for you. 00:25:28.259 --> 00:25:30.000 In other words, go home another way. 00:25:31.559 --> 00:25:32.680 Go home changed. 00:25:33.279 --> 00:25:34.740 Go home as a subject of the king. 00:25:34.740 --> 00:25:38.599 recognize that he has manifested his love for you. 00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:40.099 That's good news. 00:25:40.099 --> 00:25:41.160 Amen. 00:25:41.160 --> 00:25:42.579 Amen. 00:25:42.579 --> 00:26:12.559 Thank you.