This post, by Elaine Poproski, is a reflection on “A Tale of Two Kings” sermon as part of the “Looking for Jesus” sermon series.
As I listened to “A Tale of Two Kings”, the sermon preached this past Sunday by Heather Weir and based on the Matthew 2:1-12 story of the Magi’s visit to Jesus, I found myself picturing these men on their knees, foreheads to the ground, as Mary and Joseph looked on. In my mind’s eye, this is a weird and humorous image.
Everything we know about Mary and Joseph suggests they were regular people without much wealth or property. By the time the Magi showed up, the family had probably moved into a more permanent dwelling than the stable where Jesus was born, but it would likely have been quite modest. Mary and Joseph were also likely hard workers – Joseph as a carpenter, Mary as a mother and homemaker. They almost certainly weren’t sitting around waiting for important people to show up and meet their young son.
And then the Magi appear. (Did they ride right up to the house on their camels or leave them parked somewhere else?) They’re wearing fancy, foreign looking outfits, carrying gifts more expensive than anything Mary or Joseph or their neighbours have ever seen. They knock on the door. Mary lets them in. Joseph hears them from the workshop and joins his wife, covered in sawdust and sweat, hastily wiping his hands on his pants. Jesus is there too. Maybe he’s fast asleep or maybe he’s wide awake. Does he crawl right up to the strange visitors or does he hide in Mary’s skirts?
We don’t know at what point in the visit it happened – I’m guessing pretty near as soon as they first saw Jesus – but at some point these strangers fell to their knees and dropped their heads to the ground in one of the most profound outward signs of worship known at the time. In this way, their deep respect for the child’s authority and status was obvious to everyone who saw it. And I wonder how my worship of Jesus measures up.
Would I embark on a long (it’s possible the Magi travelled a year to find Jesus) journey into the unknown to be with Him? Would I willingly protect my most valued and costly possession, no matter what trouble or hardship came along, to ensure I could give it to Jesus? Would I express my devotion and my valuation of His authority and status in such a public way?
I hope the answer is yes to all of the above. But I also know that even my best intentions are sometimes insufficient motivation in the day-to-day grind of life as a follower and worshiper of Jesus. And yet, when I was baptized many years ago, that was me declaring alongside the Magi, that Jesus is my king. Even though there are times I don’t protect my best so that I can give it to Jesus, even though there are times when I haven’t been willing to express my devotion publicly, He is my king and I am a citizen of His Kingdom. Even when I mess up or forget for a moment or more what it means to be a citizen of Jesus’ Kingdom, he doesn’t kick me out. He forgives me. He restores me. He challenges me and equips me to do better next time. This is the comfort and the challenge I need heading into a new year. Perhaps it is the comfort and the challenge you also need.