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Life isn’t measured by time but by moments. When you think about how you got to this moment in your life, you don’t think about every minute of every day, you think about the moments that shaped you and changed you. The moment you met your spouse and partner changed your life. The moment God opened a door and you got accepted at college or were offered a new job shaped you. The moment a door closed and you experienced the loss of a job or the loss of a loved one also shaped you. All of us are where we are today and who we are today because of moments, holy moments.
When I look back on my life, there was a single moment that set the direction of my life. It was a question that came when I was a senior in High School and making college visits to MSU & Purdue. My visit to MSU was not great. It was snowing and cold and on top of that I had a cold and wasn’t feeling well. I had an appointment to meet with the someone from the business school but they didn’t seem prepared for me so that didn’t go well and my audition for the MSU marching band was a disaster.
A few days later I was visiting Purdue. It was a beautiful day. I was over my cold and feeling great. As we stood on campus looking at a map, several students asked if they could help us. When I showed up at the business school where I didn’t have an appointment, I was told no one was available to see me, but then a woman walked in and said, I’ll talk with him. Everyone in the office seemed surprised but I went in and spoke with her about the program and the university. I found out later she was the dean of the business college who just happened to be walking by. She was great. She asked if I had already secured on-campus housing, and I said no. She said that the dorms were already all full so she would send me information about off campus housing.
I met my mom outside and she said, what did you think? I explained the whole thing and how the dean of the college was willing to talk with me and she was great. I then said, I’m going to MSU. My mom asked why, if everything was so good. I said, because I would have to live off campus my first year and I don’t want to do that. A single question and answer sent me to MSU where I didn’t get in the marching band but got involved in a Christian Fellowship. That fellowship was where my faith grew and set me on a course of full-time ministry in the local church.
Our lives are shaped by moments. Mary, Joseph, and some shepherds all had their lives changed because of a message of an angel. Acting on what they heard, they each were able to experience the Son of God. Some others in the Christmas story also had their lives changed but this time it wasn’t one holy moment but three. A moment when they saw a new star in the sky, a moment when they heard a new truth, and a moment when they worshipped a new king. This group was the Wisemen or the Magi.
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 has been 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. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them 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 from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
After they had 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 worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. Matthew 2:1-12
Let’s first separate out some facts from fiction. While we sing about “we 3 kings” and put 3 kings in our nativity scenes, it doesn’t say that there were 3 kings just that there were 3 gifts. And while we put the wisemen and their camels in our nativity scenes, they don’t show up at a stable when Jesus is an infant, and we don’t know that they rode camels. When the Wisemen arrived, Jesus wasn't in a manger but a house. We take the birth stories of Luke and Matthew and mash them together, but they are different. The wisemen could have come weeks, months or even years after the birth of Jesus.
I’ll be honest, I’m not sure any of that is really important. What does matter is that there are 3 moments that changed the course of the wisemen’s lives. The first moment came when they saw a new star in the sky. The wisemen were most likely some kind of astrologer who read messages in the stars. When a new star appeared in the sky, it was a sign that a new king had been born in Israel. But this wasn’t any new king, this was going to be such a powerful king that his birth was announced in the stars. A new star was a divine message about a king like no other. This was a holy moment and the wisemen decided to go and find this new king.
It’s interesting that God didn’t send an angel to the wisemen to tell them about the new king but placed a star in the sky. God spoke to these men in a way that they could understand. God sent them a message in the stars because the stars were what they read and understood. God is always willing to meet us where we are and He comes to us in ways we can understand. A savior for shepherds wasn’t found in a palace or the Temple but in a manger. He came to a place where they could meet Him.
God came into the world as a person so that we could see Him and hear Him and experience Him. This means God is willing to come into our lives in ways that we can see Him and hear Him and experience Him. As busy as this season is, we need to open our eyes and our ears and our hearts to see the light of a star, or hear the song of an angel, or feel the love and grace of a savior. God has come to meet us – don’t miss that holy moment.
A holy moment when a new star appeared in the sky sent the wisemen on their way. They knew a king had been born in Israel and since kings are supposed to be born in important and royal cities, they go to Jerusalem. When they arrived they asked where the great king of Israel was to be born and they were told that the promised Messiah was not to be born in Jerusalem but in Bethlehem. This response to their question was another holy moment. This truth sent them to Bethlehem.
Learning a new truth can be a holy moment that can change the direction of our lives. A new truth changed my life. I used to think that the best life would be found in beautiful and exotic places around the world, that’s why I wanted to be a hotel manager. I wanted to live in a resort - what could be better. Then I discovered the truth that the best life isn’t found in resorts but in a relationship with Jesus. As I started reading the message of Jesus and the truth it contained, I heard Jesus give this truth. I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. John 10:10
This truth became a life verse for me. Full life is found only in Jesus. A life full is a life of purpose, meaning, joy, love, adventure, peace and courage and all that is found when we live in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. That truth shaped my life and sent me off in a new direction. God’s truth can do that, which is why we encourage people to read God’s truth.
More important than reading and studying God’s word is to just listen to it. Let the truth of God’s word wash over you and speak to you. If we listen, God will speak and God’s truth will guide us. The wisemen listened and God’s truth sent them in a new direction and to assure them that they had found the truth, the star once again showed them the way.
The star led them to a house in Bethlehem where they found Mary and the child Jesus. It wasn’t a stable or a cave, so this wasn’t the night Jesus was born, it was sometime later. We also don’t know how they knew this was the future king of Israel, but they did. Maybe it was because the star had clearly led them to this place and they found a child inside, or maybe something just clicked in their hearts and minds when they saw Jesus telling them He was the king. We don’t know how they know this is the king, but they are so sure He is that they bow down to worship Him.
The wisemen also give Jesus and His family gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gifts not fit for a child, but certainly fit for a king. We know this act of worship changed their lives because when they were warned in a dream not to go back to tell Herod about the child, they listened and went home a different way. Their lives had changed. Before, their allegiance was to a political king who held power over them, but now they followed a different king. Their allegiance was now to this child and they were willing to risk everything to keep Him safe. A holy moment of worship caused them to heed what they heard in a dream and go home a different way.
Three holy moments shaped the lives of the magi. They allowed a star to guide their way. A response to a question gave them a truth that changed their direction, and the worship of a new king changed their allegiance and their lives. Three holy moments that shaped their way, their truth and their lives. For these wisemen, Jesus was the way, the truth and the life that changed their lives.
Jesus said that He is the way and the truth and the life. The wisemen show us that Jesus can come to us in holy moments that can guide our way, shape our truth, and change our lives.
As we prepare for the celebration of Christ’s birth, we can’t forget to allow God to shine into our lives and light our way. Let the light of God’s grace forgive you. Let the light of God’s love heal you. Let the light of Christ shine in and through you to a world that needs it. Share God’s love so that others can find the way.
Take time to allow God’s word to give you truth that can shape you. Not just the truth about who Jesus is but the truth about how He lived and how He wants us to live. Take time this week to read again the stories of Christ's birth and then read the powerful words of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount where He gave the world a truth that can still give us direction today.
Most of all, take time to worship the newborn king and let that worship change your life. On Christmas Eve, on Christmas Day as a family, in your own heart as you reflect on all that God has done for us by giving us His son, worship God and give Him the gift of your heart. Ask yourself, what gift can you give to Jesus today as an act of worship. What gift do you think God wants from you? A gift of time? Obedience? Faithfulness?
In the carol, In the Bleak Midwinter, one of the verses says:
What can I give him, poor as I am.
If I were a shepherd, I would give a lamb.
If I were a wiseman, I would do my part,
But what I have I give him, I give him my heart.
What will it mean for you to give your heart to Jesus? What might need to change in your life? How might you need to change direction? That change might be the best gift you can give.
Jesus came to be the way, the truth and the life and in three holy moments, the Magi experienced Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life and their lives were never the same. This Christmas, in holy moments, allow Jesus to guide your way, be your truth and bring you all the fullness of life.
Next Steps
3 Holy Moments for the Wisemen
Read Matthew 2:1-12
The Wisemen experienced at least three holy moments during their search for the new king in Israel.
1. When they saw the light of a new star that would guide their way.
● Why did God choose a star to announce the birth of Jesus?
● How did this speak directly to these individuals?
● Has God ever spoken directly to you?
● How did He communicate His message?
How can you be open to the light of God in the new year?
2. When they learned the truth about the coming king.
● How did the Wisemen learn the truth about where the new King of Israel was to be born?
● Where do you need to turn to find the truth of God?
○ Directly to God’s word?
○ To God’s people in the church?
○ To more faithful times of prayer?
How can you make learning God’s truth the foundation of your life in the coming year?
3. When they worshiped Jesus.
● How do we know that the worship of Jesus changed the hearts and lives of the Wisemen?
● What changed in them?
● When has the worship of God changed you?
How can you allow the worship of God to change your heart and life in the coming year?
Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life.
How can this truth change you in the coming year?
