There's in intervention going on! And I'm not talking about a long discussion about the way you may have celebrated the New Year last night. I'm talking about the way God interacts with God's own creation.
Its different than the way we intervene in the affairs of the world. Most of the time when humans act it is out of a motivation for self preservation or selfish gain. God, it seems, intervenes out of love. God gets involved when God's purposes need to be realized. And God's purpose for us is to have life and to have it in abundance.
But in our short sighted way we often opt for temporary pleasure. We look for the quick fix rather than seeking out the will and the way of God.
In our Text today men from the East came seeking the one born to be king. They were watching and waiting for a sign, for an act of God and they saw one. They saw something that the writer of the Gospel describes as a star, and they followed it. They set out from Persia, and found themselves in Bethlehem, because of a sign they were sure would lead them to a special baby.
It's a beautiful story. It points to the divinity of Jesus; it points to the universal call to all people to the Lordship of Jesus. This story says to me that if we look for God's action in the world we will find it. Or more so: if we want to experience the presence of God we have to do something about it.
The Wise Men from the east saw a sign and set out to meet the very special baby and they were witness to the greatest intervention by God in human history. They brought gifts of Frankincense, gold and myrrh. But what a gift they received!
They went back to their home country by a different rout out of fear for Herod but they did go back. And when they got back don't you suppose life is different. As they have spent a lifetime seeking truth and were gifted with such and awesome experience I figure that they would have a new frame for their future explorations of truth.
I imagine the philosophical discussions thereafter often referred back to that special baby. Theories about God and what God does always have as a starting point what they experienced when they followed the star and found the baby.
Life is different when you experience Jesus. Life is different because God intervenes.
God doesn't just call us to belief and abundant life then is done with us. If we listen. If we search. If we ask; God will call us to a task or to his service. God is intervening in the affairs of humans on a daily basis, through those who have watched and listened and have responded to His call.
(Introduction of Mission Volunteer Deb Moore Deb Moore)
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| Happy New year my friends. May the coming year be filled with love and all the blessings of God. |
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| The culmination of the Ludington, MI ball drop. The lights on the ball didn't work. Oh well, the count down with several thousand people was fun. The fireworks were impressive. |
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