Following the Stars | A Sermon from Matthew 1:18-2:2

Introduction
I almost lost my phone this morning.  It was still dark when I left the house.  But I needed to hook up my trailers so I could bring a manger I built for the Christmas display to the church for the Advent season.  I set my phone on the edge of my truck and used the flashlight pointing down on my trailer hitch so I could see to hook everything up.  Then I got in the car and drove away without retrieving my phone!  I was at least two miles down the road before I realized my phone was missing!  So, I turned around and headed back toward home, praying I would find my phone.  Luckily, the flashlight was still turned on and I was able to clearly see my phone lying in the road with the flashlight facing the night sky like a beacon.

God gave that illustration this morning as an example for the Advent season.  Advent and Christmas are full of signs and symbols that point us to Christ like a beacon in the night.  The question is, are we ready to see the symbols and hear God’s voice leading us to Christ in the season?  I hope this message will prepare us to be more in tune to God’s Holy Spirit this Christmas season.

Matthew 1:18-25; 2:1-2
¹⁸ This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

²⁰ As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. ²¹ And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

²³ “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
    She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
    which means ‘God is with us.’”

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus. 
¹ Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, ² “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

From a Star to a Manger
Following God’s guidance can feel like connecting the dots in a constellation of stars.  I've never been that good at identifying constellation--you know one is supposed to look like a crab and another like a bear.  The only one I really know is the Big Dipper; and that's good because it helps you find the North Star so you always know which way is north.  

For Joseph, the angel’s dream message was as clear as a bright star shining in the night sky.  It told him what God wanted him to do.  But for us, the signs are often harder to see. It takes prayer to help us listen to God’s voice, reading the Bible to understand His plan, and worship to bring the pieces together.  God’s guidance becomes clearer when we spend time with Him and trust that He is leading us closer to His purpose.

The Wise Men are a big part of the Christmas story. They are known for following a star to find Jesus. But how did they know the star was pointing to the Christ King? And what kind of King would they find? Maybe they are called “Wise” because they understood how to follow signs—signs that are not always as obvious as Joseph’s dream.

The Wise Men saw a star rise and knew it meant the birth of a great King.  But the star didn’t lead to a palace—it led to a manger.  Who would expect a King to be born in a feeding trough for animals?  It was not what anyone imagined. What about you?  What are you expecting when you look for help or direction from God?  Are you open to seeing His signs, even if they lead somewhere unexpected?

From a Manger to a Cross
Following God’s plan doesn’t mean life will suddenly become easy or free of challenges.  In fact, following Jesus can sometimes lead us to face new difficulties we didn’t expect—just as the path from the manger ultimately led to the cross.  Jesus came into the world as a humble baby, but His journey was marked by rejection, suffering, and sacrifice. Yet, it was all part of God’s perfect plan to bring salvation to the world.  When we choose to follow God’s plan for our lives, it may bring its own share of struggles, even pain. But we can trust that His plan is always for our good in the long run, even when it’s hard to see in the moment.  The cross was not the end of the story, and neither are the challenges we face.  When we trust and follow Christ, we walk in the assurance that, ultimately, His plan leads us to a far better future.  And sometimes the suffering we must endure, is a refining fire that purifies us and makes us all God wants us to be.

From a Cross to and Empty Tomb
The cross was not the end of Jesus’ story.  The Word tells us that three days after He was crucified, He rose from the grave, leaving the tomb empty.  This is the cornerstone of our faith, the bold claim that changes everything.  While it can be hard to believe, we have the testimony of witnesses—those who saw the risen Christ and whose lives were transformed by the truth.  We may also personally know people who testify that faith in Jesus had changes their life.

Even so, it takes faith to accept.  The resurrection is a mystery and a miracle, but it is also the foundation of our hope.  And the empty tomb is a bright shining star that symbolized the hope we have in Christ.

For those who believe, Jesus promises eternal life. This hope sustains us as we follow His way, even when the path is hard or leads to suffering. The cross reminds us of the cost of discipleship, but the empty tomb assures us of the victory.  Just as Jesus rose to new life, so too will we, if we trust in Him.
This is the hope that gives us strength to endure, courage to persevere, and joy in knowing that the story God is writing for us doesn’t end in death—it ends in life.

Advent Challenge
As we enter this Advent season, I want to invite you to make a commitment—a commitment to spend intentional time seeking God.  Just as the Wise Men followed the star to Jesus, we need to follow the signs God gives us to draw closer to Him. It can be hard to see those signs in the busyness and distractions of life, but prayer helps us tune our hearts to His voice.

That’s why I’m challenging every one of you to stop by the church at least once a week during Advent—between now and Christmas—and spend some time in prayer in our newly renovated Prayer Room.  It’s open to you any day and at any time. (Call the church and we can give you a code that gives you access to the church through the kitchen door.)
Whether it’s early in the morning, during your lunch break, or late at night, I encourage you to come.  Use this time to pray, reflect, and listen for God’s direction in your life—even if just for a few minutes.

Following God’s plan isn’t always easy.  Sometimes, the path feels unclear, and we need to connect the dots. But when we spend time with Him—when we pray, study His Word, and worship—we begin to see His purpose more clearly.  So, come to the Prayer Room.  Bring your questions, your hopes, and even your struggles.  Let this Advent season be a time when you seek Him intentionally,
knowing that God is leading you toward His good and perfect plan.

Put Away Your Sword

Introduction
I had not planned to speak on this subject today.  I planned to begin a sermon series called “The Way of Christ”.  But because of the events of this week, I felt compelled to change today’s message.  Those reading this include Republicans, Democrats, independents, progressives, and conservatives and everyone in between.  I’m not taking sides.  I love you all and what I have to say is for everyone. 

The Gospel of Matthew tells the story of Jesus' arrest.  Jesus had just shared the Last Supper with his disciples and walked to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray.  Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus to the authorities and the led a crowd of his enemies to the garden to arrest him.  

Matthew 26:52-56

⁵¹ But one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and struck the high priest’s slave, slashing off his ear.

⁵² “Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those who use the sword will die by the sword. ⁵³ Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? ⁵⁴ But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?”

⁵⁵ Then Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I some dangerous revolutionary, that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there teaching every day. ⁵⁶ But this is all happening to fulfill the words of the prophets as recorded in the Scriptures.” At that point, all the disciples deserted him and fled.

Peter Cutting Off an Ear

This story about one of Jesus' disciples cutting off a man’s ear is so important that all four Gospel include it—Matthew Mark, Luke and John.  The Gospel of John says the mob was a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards.  Matthew, Mark, and Luke simply said it was a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs.  The Gospel of John says it was Peter who cut off the man’s ear.  The other Gospel’s don’t tell us who did it.  The Gospel of Luke says Jesus healed the man’s ear.

The incident was very chaotic and happened so fast.  There wasn’t anyone standing by with a smart phone recording it all.  I’m sure it was hard for all the disciples to remember all the details perfectly.  It's no wonder their accounts vary a bit.  However, there is one thing they all reported.  Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all remember that Jesus told them not to fight.  In John 22:51, Jesus said, “No more of this!” And in Matthew 26:51, he said, “Put away your sword!  Those who use the sword will die by the sword.”

Dying by the Sword

Jesus is the most influential figure who ever lived.  He changed the world so drastically, we divide history by whether it happened before or after Jesus lived.  There have been many people who sought to change the world with the sword (or guns or missiles or bombs), but none has even come close to the influence Jesus had on the world.  And he did it all without a sword.  In fact, Jesus was able to have so much influence because he didn’t use a sword.

 

And I believe Jesus message to us today is the same he said to his disciples on that that dark night of his arrest.  “Put away your sword!”

 

We’ve had our swords out for a long time in this country.  And it’s gotten exponentially worse over the last decade.  I realize none of you are literally walking around with a sword.  But figuratively, we carry a sword.  The sword of which I speak is not a weapon with a long metal blade.  The sword we carry is an attitude that we have to fight each other to make life the way we want it to be.

 

Jesus said, “He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword.”  What we have been seeing more and more in our country and communities—what we saw vividly splashed across our television sets on January 6^th as rioters stormed the Capital building in Washington DC—is what it looks like to die by the sword.  It's not necessarily a physical death--though 5 people died.  It's a spiritual death.  It's a moral death. It can even be the death of ideas or the right to influence public opinion.

 

What led us to this place—a place where thousands of people would gather at the capital and violently and foolishly rush past barricades and overwhelm law enforcement and illegally occupy the Capital for several hours?  What makes people act like this? 

 

We are so divided.  It’s not just that we don’t agree on everything.  (America is too big and too diverse for us to agree on everything; that’s never gonna happen.  We've never in our history agreed on everything.)  The problem is we are so angry we want to swing a sword at people with whom we disagree.  And maybe, we’ve been cutting off each other’s ears so long now that we don’t have any ears left to listen.  We don't use swords, but we cut off ears with words and insults and accusations and mistrust and disrespect.

 

There are times when it is necessary to draw a sword (or a knife or a gun) to defend yourself, but using a sword is not the way to make the world a better place.  It’s not the way to make America great.  And right now, we need to hear Christ’s words when he says, “Put away your sword!”  This is not the way.  Violence is not the way.  Fighting is not the way to make America great or the world the way God wants it to be.

 

The Way of Christ
Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior of the world.  The people of Israel thought the Messiah would come to save them from their enemies—that he would fight for them with a sword and liberate them from the Romans.  Jesus knew that would never work. 

 

Jesus could have easily beaten the Roman army.  He said in Matthew 26:53, “Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?” Certainly, God’s angels could defeat the Romans.  However, Jesus knew a violent uprising would never work because it’s not how you change people hearts.  Only love can change people’s hearts.  

Love is how Jesus changed the world.  And love is how Jesus wants his followers to make the world a better place.  Love is how Jesus wants you to make America a better place.

 

And this is a message for everyone—Republicans, Democrats, independents, progressives, and conservatives and everyone in between.  It’s time to stop pointing fingers at everyone else and saying how evil they are.  It’s time to stop calling people names because of what party or philosophy they follow.  It’s time to start treating everyone with respect.  It’s time to start listening and learning from each other.  (You don’t have to agree with someone to respect them, to listen to them, and learn from them.)

 

It’s time to start living by love or else we will die by the sword.

What does that mean for you? The details may vary from person to person. Some suggestions might be to stop calling people names becasue of their political party or ideology.  Maybe you need to change your attitude and understand that people with whom you agree probably believe what they do for good reasons. They are not the enemy.  Quite often they share the same values as you, but just prioritize them differently.  

Most importantly, if you are a Christian who has committed your life to follow Jesus as your Lord, recognize your role and work as hard as you can to do things the way Jesus would do it.  Perhaps the way of Christ is best summarized in the prayer of St Francis of Assisi.

The Prayer of St Francis of Assisi

Lord make me an instrument of Your peace

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness joy.

O Divine master grant that I may

Not so much seek to be consoled as to console

To be understood as to understand

To be loved as to love

For it is in giving that we receive

And it is in pardoning that we are pardoned

And it is in dying that we are born

To eternal life.

Amen.

 

Will you live this prayer?  Peter boasted he would die for Jesus.  I'm sure the other Disciples thought the same.  But we see in our scripture, they all fled.  They were probably willing to die for Jesus on a battlefield, but not on a cross.  It’s easy to pledge you will die for Jesus.  But will you live for him—even if it means dying on a cross instead of dying in glory on the battlefield?  Jesus' way is the way of the cross.