Pastor’s Column 12/29/2024

PASTOR’S COLUMN

“After the interview, the wise men went their way.  And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!  They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary and they bowed down and worshiped Him. They opened their treasure chests and gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.”

Matthew 2:9-12, NLT

“Taking Another Route!”

There were not many professions in ancient times where their adherents followed a route so meticulously, as people who were trained in the knowledge of astronomy. For the Magi, “star gazers” as they often were called, the endeavor was more than field study. It involved discussion and debate over years of knowledge gleaned from probing both ancient texts and the universe.  Their attention was turned to the sky and the infinite possibilities of movements which occurred in the galaxies. The heavens above told stories, they believed, which impacted human civilization. Outside of reverence for the God of Creation, people looked to the galaxies above them to find explanations and answers to their human dilemmas. The prophet Isaiah noted, some people put more trust in astrology than in God.  The Scripture reads: “Where are all those astrologers, those stargazers who make predictions each month? Let them stand up and save you from what the future holds.” (Isaiah 47:13(b) (c), NLT). The Magi were different. They had studied the Scriptures concerning the coming of the Messiah. Undaunted, they followed the path to Bethlehem, after a brief delayand interrogation by King Herod in Jerusalem. Upon seeing the Child-Messiah, they bowed and worshiped Him. They gave Him gifts, and ignoring Herod; they returned home to Persia, taking a different route.  Warned in a dream, these wise men took another route home. No one after seeing the Savior can return home the same way! It’s the Savior who gives us joy for the journey! The Advent Season takes us into a New Year, which is a different route to our places of comfort and renewal! Amen!