Scripture References: Matthew 2:1-11; Luke 2:8-12

Those Who Seek Jesus

If swaddling clothes, a manger, and a star tell a lot about the child who was sought, they also tell a lot about those who sought Him then, and those who seek Him now. What those things tell about the seekers is this: We bring to Christ what we know, we understand Him in terms of what we experience.

The shepherds knew about swaddling clothes, sheep and shepherds, cattle and mangers. They didn’t borrow from anyone else. They brought what they had and identified the Christ child in terms of their own experience.

The wise men were probably astrologers and rulers from the far east, most likely in the region closest to India. They studied the heavens and the stars, believing that the destinies of people and nations are controlled by the stars. And one night as they scanned the heavens they saw a new star in the western sky. It was so brilliant and lustrous that they may have exclaimed: “A new king has been born!” So they traveled westward until they found the small child, no longer a newborn infant. Just as did the shepherds, they brought what they had. They were astrologers, students of the heavens, and a star from their own knowledge guided them to where the child was.

What if the shepherds had tried to borrow the knowledge of the wise men? What if the wise men had tried to use the simple experience of the shepherds? Their missions would have failed. But both, being true to themselves, their own integrity, and the leading given them, successfully concluded their mission. They found the child.

Just so with us. We bring who we are, what we know, and what we have experienced. We do not have to learn a new language, have some strange experience, or give a password. There is only one requirement: that the vessels of experience, no matter how simple or sophisticated which we bring, carry love, trust, desire for relationships, and openness to a new life.

So we come to this Christmas, this time in our lives. Some of us are simple like the shepherds. Our experience is very bounded and limited. We are very local and parochial in the way we think. Some of us are learned and sophisticated like the wise men. We come talking about rockets, satellites, planets, space, and stars; and Christ looks at what we bring and says a wonderful thing: “It is enough!”

So we come from diverse ways and experiences, discovering the same Christ, whose birth is dated, and whose life is historical, yet who is universal; and the ground at the manger, like that of the cross, is made level. There is room for everyone. The shepherds were natives, the wise men foreigners from the far east. They found no barriers there and they made a common response. They worshiped the Christ child. The shepherds worshipped the baby, the wise men, most likely a toddler; but both parties worshipped Him. That is the best response we can make. Let us heartily worship the God who sent His Son into the world to save us and who demands we bring only that which we have to our Savior.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
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