So if you have your Bibles with you this morning, or your phone, or in print copy, we're going to take a look at Matthew, the Book of Matthew, starting in Chapter 2: 1-12. Give you a moment to get those ready. And so it reads this. It says, After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, Where is the one who is born, King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose, and have come to worship him. When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. He called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, were asking where the Messiah was to be born. In Bethlehem, in Judea, they replied, For this is what the prophet has written, 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah. For out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people, Israel. ' Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, 'Go, search for, ' or sorry, 'Go and search carefully for the child, and as soon as you find him, report to me, so that I, too, may go and worship him.
' After they heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. They then opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankencense, and myr. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. Think for a moment about a time when you were searching for something deeply, something deeply important. Perhaps it was a place, a person, or even an answer that mattered greatly. Sometimes that search requires patience, trust, and perseverance. That is exactly what we see and read in today's passage. The Magi, wise men from the East, were on a journey. They were following a star and seeking a king. They left comfort and safety to worship a newborn saviour. As we gather here on this first Sunday of the year, we reflect on new beginnings, renewed hope, and the direction we are choosing for our lives.
Today's story shows us God's heart, demonstrates his faithfulness, and reminds us that his invitation to worship is open to all people. We're in a season of remembering the birth of Jesus, a time of new beginnings, new hope, new direction. As we step forth in this new year, be guided in God's truth as he leads us through ups and downs and helps us to trust him in all things. We open our hearts to worship and to follow the path the Lord has set for us. So who were the Magi? The Bible calls them people from the East, but they were not kings, as some traditions suggest. In fact, they were scholars, astrologers, interpreters of dreams and advisors in foreign courts. They were men of learning and influence. So then you might be thinking, how did they know to look for a Jewish king if they themselves were not Jewish? The answer goes back centuries to the Book of Daniel. Daniel lived in exile in Babylon. Daniel interpreted dreams in a Gentile court. After interpreting a king's dream, he was placed in charge of all the wise men. Essentially, he supervised the Magi. Daniel remained faithful to God while serving a foreign king, teaching that God, not the stars, rule history, raise kings, bring down kingdom, and reveals mysteries.
Generations of Magi would have been shaped by Daniel's teaching. They knew prophecies, including numbers 24: 17, which foretold a star rising to signal the birth of a ruler. When the star appeared, they recognised it. They responded with faith and action. Sometimes God will call us to fulfil his plan, and sometimes God calls unexpected people to fulfil his plan. You might be feeling unqualified, overlooked. But God can and does use outsiders to fulfil his purpose. You see, God is a God for all nations. His heart is with all nations. One of our most beautiful truths here is found in verses all throughout scripture. The Magi were Gentiles. Not Israelis, and God intentionally drew them to Jesus. I won't read all of it, but Romans 11: 11-31, it describes Gentiles as being grafted in or brought into, made into God's family, not replacing Israel, but graciously welcomed into the covenant. Think of like graffing in something. I know it comes to my mind is when you're sewing something, you're repairing something, you're putting it back together, or you're graffing in. I don't know if anyone of you bake. I don't really bake. I eat baking. I don't bake myself.
But when you're eating baking, you graft the things together. You mix it together so that the Gentiles were grafted in. They were brought into God's family, not replacing Israel, but welcomed into the covenant. All the way back in Genesis 12: 3, it promised Abraham that all nations would be blessed through his family. Now, the Magi were part of that fulfilment. They may not be Abraham's descendants, but they were blessed by meeting the Messiah. In Isaiah 49: 6, it declares the Messiah is a light to the nations, bringing salvation to the ends of the Earth. The star that guided the Magi is both literal and a symbolic light. Literal because stars produce light. We may not see it much here in the city with all the other light pollution and tall buildings, but if you ever leave Toronto and you go not even that far away, maybe an hour, hour and a bit out of the city, and you look up at the stars at night. It's quite a sight to see the light that the stars give out. So the stars are literally a light, but it's also symbolic. They followed this physical star but found the true light, and that true light is Jesus Christ.
So our application from this part, from all of this, is that God's invitation is not exclusive. His light crosses borders, cultures, and backgrounds. He calls us to reflect that light to others. As we look around our church or other churches, we all have different backgrounds. We've all come from somewhere different, but one thing brings us together, and that's God. Now, when we read the scripture and we hear Christmas stories, we read Christmas plays, we've been part of them one way or another. There's always the gifts. And as a kid growing up, I'm like, Oh, just gifts. Gold, frankincense, myr. What's frankincense? Probably some made up thing, myr, probably some old made up thing. But all of the gifts that were brought had specific meaning. And these gifts each reveal something profound about Christ. So gold, right? Most of us probably have gold, right? Somewhere we know somebody with gold, right? But gold, especially back then, was a royal gift for a king, the king of Kings, Jesus. Frankincense was in sense used in worship. It signified Jesus's deity, his Priestley role, and that he is Emmanuel, God with us. Myr, which I didn't know, was a burial spice, and it pointed to his death, His sacrifice, and the salvation that he would bring.
So even if the Magi didn't fully understand the meaning of all of this, maybe they didn't understand why it was those gifts they were bringing, or why it had to be those specific items. God used these gifts to tell the story of his son. Worship requires thoughtfulness, requires sacrifice, and it requires understanding God's story. So I'm going to pose a question, and we're going to come back to the same question later, so we can think about it now, but we'll think about it again later. And the question in this moment is, what gift can you bring to Jesus this week? So Christmas stories and Frankincense Gold and Myr, Book of Daniel or Daniel looking over the Magi, the Wiseman. It's a lot going on. But all of this was a prophecy that was being fulfilled. In the Book of Micah, Chapter 5, verse 2, it prophesied that a Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, small and seemingly insignificant. Ironically, when Herod asked the religious leaders, they could quote the prophecy, but they didn't act. The Magi, Gentiles, acted immediately seeking the newborn king. Reminds me of something I learned as a kid. You would memorise things and you would work through things, but if you didn't know how to act on it or actually knew what it meant, were you really understanding what you were doing?
And so I think I envisioned Herod asking the religious leaders, and they could quote the scripture, they could quote the prophecy, but they didn't act because they didn't fully know what it meant. Whereas the Magi, they acted immediately and they sought out the newborn king. So a lesson we can take away from this is That knowledge alone doesn't equal worship. God often reveals himself to those who act on what they know. His plan is precise. His promises are reliable, even when we can't see the full picture. Isn't it amazing at times when stuff's happening and we don't fully understand why it's happening in a certain way or what really is going on. We start formulating in our own minds, maybe this is all just me, but we start formulating where we think it's going to go. We start trying to connect dots or follow the thing. I don't know. Well, some of us will remember, maybe as kids, you go to the restaurant with parents and they have connect the dots. They have the maze and you got to follow through. And you start doing that in your brain, trying to connect everything. But we can't see the full picture of what God has in store.
His plan is so precise, we couldn't even begin to imagine or begin to understand what it is. His promises are reliable. And so the story of the Magi is part of something much bigger in the life of the church. It isn't just a thing that happens at Christmas, we hear about them just at Christmas. It's part of something bigger. In this moment is what the church has often or long called epiphany. And the word epiphany, true story, a girl in my elementary school, her name was Epiphany, the only person I've ever met with the name. But the name epiphany comes from a Greek word meaning appearance, manifestation, or revealing. Epiphany celebrates the truth that God has revealed himself in Jesus Christ, not secretly, not partially, but open and Openly and intentionally. Everyone knew Jesus. Jesus didn't hide who he was. He didn't hide. He was the Son of Man, the Son of God. He didn't hide this. It wasn't a secret. It wasn't partially done. It wasn't only on Tuesdays or on Thursdays. It was every day that ended in Y. Jesus was openly and intentionally revealed. And so traditionally, Epiphany marks the end of the twelve days of Christmas, leading from Christmas Day to January sixth.
And what we celebrate at Epiphany is this, Jesus Christ has been revealed to the world, not only to Israel, but to the nations. And this is why the visit of the Magi matters so deeply. They were the first recorded Gentiles to recognise and worship Christ. From the beginning of Jesus' earthly life, God was declaring that his salvation would not be limited by ethnicity, geography, or background. Throughout scripture, Here in the New Testament, there's powerful language describing this revealing, this appearing of Christ. In 2 Timothy 1: 10, says that grace has now been revealed through the appearing of our saviour, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Titus 2: 13 calls us to wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and saviour, Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 4: 8 promises a crown of righteousness to all who have longed for his appearing. These verses can remind us that epiphany is not about Christ first appearing. It isn't about just his appearance or manifestation station. It points us towards his future appearing in glory. The Magi reminded us that God's revelation always demands a response.
It's not the same as the Romans. Herod was disturbed, as we read earlier from Matthew. Jerusalem, unsettled. But the Magi rejoiced, and they worshipped. Herod was scared. Herod knew something was going on. He was scared. The town was a bit unsettled. The Magi, these Gentiles, they rejoiced and they worshipped. Historically, the churches recognise three key moments of revelations celebrated at Epiphany. The Magi, Christ revealed to the Gentiles, they travelled far, they followed God's light, and they bowed before a child that would change the world. The baptism of Jesus, where Christ revealed as the Son of God. At his baptism, the heavens opened and the spirit descended and the Father declared, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. ' Jesus identified fully with humanity, anointed by the spirit, and revealed as Messiah. And the third is the wedding at Cana, where Christ revealed through power and grace, Jesus' first miracle. Call turning water into wine. This points to the new covenant in God's kingdom. The stone jars would normally have been used for washing. And these would represent the old covenant, the law. Jesus transformed them into aged wine, pointing to salvation through him in the coming feast in God's Kingdom.
This miracle anticipates the last supper, which we'll have communion next week, in connexion with the last supper. The wine represents his blood, the new covenant and redemption that he brings. So we're here at a new year. It's 2026. It's the beginning. It's only January fourth, so we're only a few days in. Lots of time to still do your New Year's resolution, not to cancel that gym membership or reading books, all those things. And And as we're here with it on the earthly side, yeah, it's doing all those things, right? It's the New Year's resolutions. It's making a checklist of things to maybe do at home or in life, at work. But this story asks us some personal questions as well. It makes us wonder, what will we do with the light God has given us? Are we going to hide it under a bushel? No, we're going to let it shine. That's about all I can remember, so unless the band wants to jump up and play us through it. I'm joking. But yes, don't hide your light under a bushel. Let it shine. Let it shine. The Magi, they didn't nearly just observe a star.
They didn't just look up in the sky and see to his star and go, Oh, there's a star. I guess we're good. They followed it. They followed the star, and they rejoiced when it led them to Christ. They worshipped when they arrived, and they left changed. If you remember from the end of the verse, Having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod. Herod had told him, Go worship and then tell me where it is. I want to go worship, too. ' But they were warned in a dream not to. So they return to their own country by another way. And so there's three... I got three lessons for us to remember, to think about, or to take home from the journey of the Magi. First, seeking Jesus requires effort. You can't just sit at home and do nothing. We have to be active. We have We have to take part in worship. We have to take part in church. We have to take part in getting together with other Christians, reading our Bibles, praying. The Magi travelled far. They followed a star. The worship was intentional. We need to be intentional in all that we do, in all that we give God.
Worship is going to be costly. It can be costly, but it is rewarding. The Magi bowed in humility and brought valuable gifts. For us, the cost isn't necessarily bringing gifts. We don't have to bring something, a physical gift, every time we come to church. But we should come with open ears to hear the word, open eyes to see the word, open hearts to hear and accept the word. And it is going to be... Worship, the cost of worship, sure, it's time on a Sunday. It's time reading our Bibles. It's time praying. But the time we spent doing those things will be much more rewarding than if we didn't do them at all. God's guidance is personal. The star led them. Dreams warn them. God guides those willing to listen. And God will speak to you and show things to you differently. Everyone will have it differently. Some people, maybe it's through dreams, others through reading, some through hearing. We all experience God and his guidance differently. As Rachel will tell I like to ask questions. I like to ask questions. I'll tell her, I said, How am I supposed to learn something? How am I supposed to understand something if I don't ask questions?
And she will also tell you that sometimes my questions bug her. So these questions are not meant to bug you. They're meant to get you to think a little bit, whether it's internally, you're writing something down, taking notes, but just something to think about as we enter into 2026, into a new year, into a new time of worshipping God as there's opportunities to serve in different ways. Are we actively seeking Jesus in our daily lives? Are we giving our best in worship? Our time, our talents, our treasures, our spiritual gifts? Are we listening for God's guidance? Even when it's unexpected? Or maybe not the thing that we were hoping for? And so earlier, I asked a question, and I said, We're going to come back to this question. So I want us to take a moment, a moment or two, and consider one gift that we can give Jesus this week. It could be anything. It can be prayer, an act of service, generosity, forgiveness, obedience. Take a moment and think on what gift we can give Jesus. The question does say one gift, but we can give many gifts. We have many gifts to offer.
So if you can't think of only one, that's okay. If you can only think of one, that's also okay. So just as we get near the end, we want to reflect on the Magi and Epiphany. And remember, God calls us to seek him earnestly. He calls us to look for him. And the beautiful thing is God is everywhere, even in the situations where we're really just not necessarily feeling ourselves. We can still seek God. He includes all people in his plan. Imagine I were a Gentile He included them in his story. He's faithful to fulfil his promises. There are promises and professes in scripture that God fulfils. God is faithful to fulfil his promises. Worship requires effort, dedication, and an open heart. And so as we begin in a new year, let's follow the example of the Magi, seeking Jesus, Jesus diligently, bringing our gifts, and responding faithfully to God's guidance. As we ponder that and ponder the gifts we can bring, ponder how we can use the light God has given us, and take in the different lessons of seeking Jesus, requiring effort, worshipping costly but rewarding, and God's guidance is personal, I'm going to invite our band back up, and just as they get settled at the front, we'll close in prayer.
Heavenly Father, we thank you. We thank you for guiding us and calling us into your presence. Help us follow the star. Help us to follow you. Lord, help us to follow where you have us going in life. Teach us to worship you with our hearts, with our gifts, our abilities, and our action. May we leave comfort behind to draw near to you. May we step out in faith. May we take chances knowing that you are with us. May our lives reflect your light to all the nations, to all the people, whether here in our community or further away. Lord, I pray that we can be that shining light, seeking you, longing for you, being guided by you, worshipping you, loving you as you love us. Lord, I pray these things in your name. Amen.
