Matthew 2:1-12 Gifts Received, Gifts Given Grace
& Ada 1/2/2011
Christmas pageants
are notoriously inaccurate when it comes to some of the facts surrounding the
birth of Jesus. But I figured out very
early in my ministry that making a Christmas pageant more accurate didn’t make
it better so I just left it all the way it’s been for many years. For instance, every Christmas pageant I’ve
ever seen, whether they are garbed in truly kingly array or just bath robes and
Burger King crowns, has the three wise men showing up at the manger. That would have been a very crowded little
barn or stable or cave. But we know
that the Wise Men, the magi, didn’t show up at the stable. The reading in Matthew tells us that they
showed up at a house sometime after the birth of the baby Jesus. The pageants also tell us that there were
three magi. It’s a common supposition.
After all, the hymn tells us there were three. But for all we know there were only two, or maybe six or possibly
twelve. We don’t know because we are
not told. We know that there were three
gifts and so we automatically go to three gift givers. Inaccurate but unimportant. What
is important is that the magi came and that they brought gifts.
I talked about gifts
on Christmas Eve. About our over focus
on gifts at Christmas and that the real gift of Christmas is the gift which God
gives to us – Jesus - and the gift of eternal life through Him. But here in the story of the Epiphany, we
see gifts being given to the God-man Jesus.
Here we see that the magi bring gifts – expensive gifts – valuable gifts
– perhaps even unusual gifts: gifts of gold, frankincense & myrrh.
Gold is always a
gift appropriate for a king. In that
time in history, it would always have been given by someone going to visit a
king. In fact, it would have been the
expected gift for a king. And no doubt
Joseph and Mary could have benefited from this gift when they left to flee into
Egypt.
Incense was often
used as a part of temple sacrifices. It
both masked the smell of burning animal flesh and added a sweet aroma to the
sacrifice and so was symbolic of prayer offered to God. Frankincense was a very expensive kind of
incense which would be used by the Temple priests for special occasions. An
unusual gift for a newborn babe.
Myrrh was an
aromatic spice used in the preparation of a body for burial. An expensive spice with a fairly specific
usage. No doubt it was once of the
spices used for Jesus burial 30 some years later. Another unusual gift for a newborn babe.
Three gifts, which
are often seen as foreshadowing the life and purpose of this child born under
the star the magi saw. As the hymn
says: king and priest and sacrifice.
The magi came to Jesus bearing gifts.
What gift/s do we
bring to Jesus? Every gift we have to offer
has come from God to us first as you have heard in many stewardship sermons in
the past. All that we have is a gift
from God. So what do we have to offer
back to Him? What are the gifts
that God has given to you? They are your talents, abilities, aptitudes
and even events that have happened to you. These have shaped you, your
family, your health, your everything. Your gifts are the sum total of all
the resources that God has given to you. Your gifts are not just genetic
abilities and natural aptitudes, although these are part of your gifts.
Many of your most precious gifts are qualities and resources that have been
developed in you over time. Others are spiritually/supernaturally given
to you, for others.
In order to offer
our gifts to God, we must first know what they are. I am about to lay out a five step process for helping us in
this. Each of us is somewhere in this
process right now and we go through it many, many times in our lives.
The first step is to discover
your gifts, and you always discover
your gifts in relationship. This is one reason why being in relationship with
one another within the body of Christ is so very important.
The second step is to accept the
gifts that God has given you. Whatever the gift may be – accept it. Did you turn any gifts away this Christmas
either because you didn’t like it or you didn’t think you were worthy of
it? I didn’t think so.
The third step is to enjoy your
God-given gifts. Maybe you got something for Christmas you
didn’t like so much. Make the most of
it. And if you got something you did
like you probably won’t need much encouragement to use and enjoy that
gift. The year I got a guitar, I had a
great time with it and still enjoy playing even though that particular guitar
is long gone.
The fourth step is to develop
those gifts.
The year that my parents gave me a guitar I was very excited but I could not
play the guitar. I had to learn and
develop that ability and I did. But I
also stopped developing in that area and somewhere along the line I stopped
growing there altogether. I don’t play
any better than I did when I was about 24 but I do still play.
And the fifth step involves all of the steps, and that
is to surrender all your gifts to God. It means to give all of your gifts to Jesus
Christ. That’s what was wise
about the Wiseman. Their wisdom wasn’t merely giving their material gifts
of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They
also gave of themselves in their journey to find Christ. Their trip took time,
energy, education, money and commitment. They were totally devoted to the
mission of finding Christ, using all of their resources. Wisdom is giving
all of your gifts to Jesus Christ. .... If you don’t, you will use
your gifts for your own benefit...to glorify yourself or to satisfy
yourself. And it’s either/or; one way
or another; there is no middle ground. Either you give your gifts to the
service of Christ and His mission in this world, or you don’t.
So those are the
five steps about your gifts: discovering, accepting, enjoying, developing,
and surrendering them to the work of God in this world.
Now this sermon becomes
interactive. I
want you to write down on your bulletin or this 3x5 card five gifts that God
has given you. Please.
Everyone. Write down five gifts that God has given you, knowing that
you have been given hundreds. Remember gifts are talents, abilities,
aptitudes, events that have happened to you, some tragic, some great, and are
the sum total of all the resources that God has been giving to your throughout
your lifetime. ....
Now, would someone
share one of their gifts. Someone else.
Someone else. Someone else. (Discussion).
... Now, when you go home after church, I would be appreciative if you
would ask someone who knows you to add five more gifts to your list that God
has given you. Or ask five people to
add one gift to your list. That way the sermon can continue.
Now one last
thing. I would like to ask you to write
down on the same sheet of paper, two gifts that God has given to Grace Church (St. Andrew’s, Ada). …
Would someone share one of those gifts?
Someone else. Someone
else. Someone else.
Is it not amazing to
see how richly God has blessed us as individuals and as a church? Less us bless God in return by giving back
to God, for His purposes, the gifts that He has given to us. Amen