WEBVTT 00:00:01.240 --> 00:00:05.000 God wasn't sending them on a scavenger hunt he 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:12.060 told them right there Micah chapter 5 Bethlehem 00:00:12.060 --> 00:00:15.359 and they wouldn't even walk down the road to 00:00:15.359 --> 00:00:24.640 look In Jerusalem, the questions start coming 00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:27.260 from the wrong direction. Strangers arrive from 00:00:27.260 --> 00:00:31.199 far away asking, but a king no one in town seems 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:34.939 to be celebrating. They've seen a sign. They've 00:00:34.939 --> 00:00:37.200 followed it. They want to know where the child 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:40.560 is. And the people who've spent their lives studying 00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:43.859 scripture don't hesitate. They know the answer. 00:00:44.439 --> 00:00:47.859 Bethlehem. It's written. It's clear. The prophecy 00:00:47.859 --> 00:00:52.850 is settled. And then, nothing. No journey, no 00:00:52.850 --> 00:00:56.409 movement, just directions given and doors closed. 00:00:57.289 --> 00:01:00.969 Knowledge does its job and feet stay planted. 00:01:01.909 --> 00:01:05.030 And if you're listening right now, you didn't 00:01:05.030 --> 00:01:07.930 plan on stepping into this moment, but you wandered 00:01:07.930 --> 00:01:10.849 into a small town church a Sunday or two after 00:01:10.849 --> 00:01:13.109 Christmas where the decorations are coming down 00:01:13.109 --> 00:01:15.890 and the miracle's already gone quiet. This is 00:01:15.890 --> 00:01:18.670 the season where faith stops glowing and starts 00:01:18.670 --> 00:01:22.409 asking, whether it still moves. So stay with 00:01:22.409 --> 00:01:26.329 us. This might be closer than you think. I'll 00:01:26.329 --> 00:01:36.930 see you on the other side. So I want to take 00:01:36.930 --> 00:01:38.989 real quick before I start the sermon, I just 00:01:38.989 --> 00:01:42.790 want to take a second to do just some quick formational 00:01:42.790 --> 00:01:47.170 work just to kind of actually highlight to us, 00:01:47.189 --> 00:01:50.920 point out. What we've actually been doing for 00:01:50.920 --> 00:01:55.760 a long time here on Sunday mornings. And if you've 00:01:55.760 --> 00:01:58.120 been tracking with us for the whole time, maybe 00:01:58.120 --> 00:02:00.799 you've noticed this. Maybe you have been tracking 00:02:00.799 --> 00:02:02.700 with us and you haven't noticed it at all. And 00:02:02.700 --> 00:02:03.939 you're like, I don't even know what this guy 00:02:03.939 --> 00:02:06.640 is talking about. That's okay. Let me take a 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:10.699 second to explain it. This story, we now, we're 00:02:10.699 --> 00:02:14.840 in Christmas time now. January 6th, that's tomorrow, 00:02:15.020 --> 00:02:18.680 is Epiphany. But we don't celebrate Epiphany 00:02:18.680 --> 00:02:22.680 Sunday until the Sunday after Epiphany. So next 00:02:22.680 --> 00:02:26.840 Sunday is actually Epiphany Sunday. And that 00:02:26.840 --> 00:02:32.199 kind of concludes Christmas time. Okay? But our 00:02:32.199 --> 00:02:36.939 journey towards that moment started way back 00:02:36.939 --> 00:02:42.199 like in October. And we started looking at these 00:02:42.199 --> 00:02:47.659 groups of series of sermons. Where each part 00:02:47.659 --> 00:02:51.780 built upon each part. And then we saw throughout 00:02:51.780 --> 00:02:54.460 the Bible, we started at the very, very, very 00:02:54.460 --> 00:02:59.639 beginning with Cain and Abel. And we saw God, 00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:02.680 despite our mistakes, continuing to pursue after 00:03:02.680 --> 00:03:06.639 us. The entirety of the Bible is a book about 00:03:06.639 --> 00:03:11.539 God's love being so vast that despite our mistakes. 00:03:13.069 --> 00:03:18.050 He continues to pursue after us. But there's 00:03:18.050 --> 00:03:23.650 a shift in the story here. Where God has pursued 00:03:23.650 --> 00:03:30.030 us to the earth in human form, but that realization 00:03:30.030 --> 00:03:36.909 comes with a response from us. So we're actually 00:03:36.909 --> 00:03:43.560 going to see the initial response to Jesus. And 00:03:43.560 --> 00:03:47.620 the reality that God is among us. And we're going 00:03:47.620 --> 00:03:51.199 to see it from one group today. And then on Epiphany, 00:03:51.219 --> 00:03:54.139 we're going to look at the wise men. And what 00:03:54.139 --> 00:03:58.800 their response to Jesus in the world was. But 00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:02.039 first, let's look at another group of folks. 00:04:02.099 --> 00:04:05.360 That's next week. But I want to look at this 00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:10.300 group of folks first. This is not about them. 00:04:10.379 --> 00:04:13.039 This is about us, especially if you're sitting 00:04:13.039 --> 00:04:18.540 there and you're thinking, I know my Bible front 00:04:18.540 --> 00:04:23.220 and back. I know every story. I know the meaning 00:04:23.220 --> 00:04:26.160 to the whole thing. I've got this whole Bible 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:31.360 thing figured out. Sometimes I wonder why I even 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:34.500 go down there on Sunday mornings. Because I'm 00:04:34.500 --> 00:04:36.939 convinced that pastor really can't tell me something 00:04:36.939 --> 00:04:40.720 about the Bible I don't already know. Now, you'd 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:42.740 never shake my hand and say that to me here at 00:04:42.740 --> 00:04:44.360 the back of the sanctuary, but you might get 00:04:44.360 --> 00:04:47.240 in your car and think it. And if that's you, 00:04:47.439 --> 00:04:51.600 I have written a sermon today specifically for 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:57.579 you. There's a moment in every story where somebody 00:04:57.579 --> 00:05:03.769 knows something important. and does absolutely 00:05:03.769 --> 00:05:08.430 nothing about it. They have the information. 00:05:08.430 --> 00:05:13.569 They have the expertise. They could move, but 00:05:13.569 --> 00:05:18.449 they don't. Last week, we talked about the scriptures 00:05:18.449 --> 00:05:21.610 and what they had already said, how Israel's 00:05:21.610 --> 00:05:25.930 waiting was shaped by promise, how God had been 00:05:25.930 --> 00:05:32.639 specific about Bethlehem. How expectation was 00:05:32.639 --> 00:05:39.259 meant to create readiness. This week, we are 00:05:39.259 --> 00:05:43.120 standing in the moment where that readiness gets 00:05:43.120 --> 00:05:49.100 tested. Child has been born. He's left Bethlehem. 00:05:49.100 --> 00:05:52.579 He's traveled, arriving in Jerusalem with questions, 00:05:52.620 --> 00:05:55.279 important questions, questions that should matter 00:05:55.279 --> 00:05:58.839 to people whose lives have been spent studying 00:05:58.839 --> 00:06:02.459 scripture. That answer those specific questions. 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:08.620 But here's what makes this moment so heavy. The 00:06:08.620 --> 00:06:13.639 people with the right answers never actually 00:06:13.639 --> 00:06:18.639 go looking for the child. They can quote chapter 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:22.819 and verse. They know Micah chapter 5 verse 2 00:06:22.819 --> 00:06:26.120 by heart. They tell the strangers who arrive 00:06:26.120 --> 00:06:31.680 from the east exactly where to go. And then they 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:36.279 stay put. This morning, we're not talking about 00:06:36.279 --> 00:06:39.079 the wise men yet. We're talking about the ones 00:06:39.079 --> 00:06:43.560 who knew better. The scribes, the priests, the 00:06:43.560 --> 00:06:48.379 keepers of Israel's memory. The ones could have 00:06:48.379 --> 00:06:51.399 walked to Bethlehem in half a day, about five, 00:06:51.699 --> 00:06:58.980 six miles, and never took one step. Knowledge 00:06:58.980 --> 00:07:03.800 is a tricky thing in the kingdom of God. It can 00:07:03.800 --> 00:07:08.220 illuminate or it can insulate. It can open doors. 00:07:09.519 --> 00:07:13.560 Or it can build walls so high you forget that 00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:16.879 there's ever anything actually on the other side. 00:07:18.660 --> 00:07:23.980 And scripture warns us of this. Paul will later 00:07:23.980 --> 00:07:26.500 write to the Corinthians, knowledge puffs up, 00:07:26.600 --> 00:07:33.500 but love builds up. And not because knowledge 00:07:33.500 --> 00:07:36.800 is bad, but because knowledge without movement 00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:43.839 becomes its own kind of idolatry. You can be 00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:50.959 right about God and miss God entirely. You can 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:54.800 know the promise and refuse the fulfillment. 00:07:57.319 --> 00:08:01.860 You can stand at the crossroads holding the map 00:08:01.860 --> 00:08:10.240 and never take a step. That is the tension this 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:16.279 text hands us. And it's not comfortable. So friends, 00:08:16.600 --> 00:08:22.579 attune your ears to the words of Levi, the son 00:08:22.579 --> 00:08:27.300 of Alphaeus, later called Matthew. In his gospel 00:08:27.300 --> 00:08:29.879 account, the second chapter beginning in verse 00:08:29.879 --> 00:08:35.159 1. In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:38.779 born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the 00:08:38.779 --> 00:08:42.580 east came to Jerusalem asking, Where is the child 00:08:42.580 --> 00:08:47.080 who has been born, King of the Jews? For we observed 00:08:47.080 --> 00:08:50.899 his star at its rising and have come to pay him 00:08:50.899 --> 00:08:56.580 homage. King Herod heard this. He was frightened. 00:08:57.659 --> 00:09:03.220 And all of Jerusalem with him. And calling together 00:09:03.220 --> 00:09:06.679 all of the chief priests and the scribes of the 00:09:06.679 --> 00:09:10.519 people. He inquired of them where the Messiah 00:09:10.519 --> 00:09:14.059 was to be born. And they told him, in Bethlehem, 00:09:14.059 --> 00:09:18.340 in Judea. For so it has been written by the prophet. 00:09:19.629 --> 00:09:22.649 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are 00:09:22.649 --> 00:09:25.769 by no means least among the rulers of Judah. 00:09:25.870 --> 00:09:29.750 For from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd 00:09:29.750 --> 00:09:34.929 my people Israel. Then Herod secretly called 00:09:34.929 --> 00:09:37.450 for the wise men and learned from them the exact 00:09:37.450 --> 00:09:40.210 time at which the star had appeared. Then he 00:09:40.210 --> 00:09:43.330 sent them to Bethlehem, saying, Go and search 00:09:43.330 --> 00:09:46.549 diligently for the child. And when you have found 00:09:46.549 --> 00:09:50.990 him, bring him. Sorry, bring me word so that 00:09:50.990 --> 00:09:58.009 I may also go and pay homage. Friends, thus ends 00:09:58.009 --> 00:10:01.929 the reading of the word this morning. And we 00:10:01.929 --> 00:10:05.769 notice questions come from the outside, but the 00:10:05.769 --> 00:10:10.330 answer comes from the inside. And instead, nobody 00:10:10.330 --> 00:10:17.019 goes looking. And let's... Slow down here because 00:10:17.019 --> 00:10:21.320 the moment is stranger than we usually let this 00:10:21.320 --> 00:10:25.100 moment be because we've become so familiar with 00:10:25.100 --> 00:10:27.379 the story, we actually don't think about the 00:10:27.379 --> 00:10:31.740 words written on the page. Travelers arrive in 00:10:31.740 --> 00:10:34.679 the city of Jerusalem. Foreigners, outsiders, 00:10:35.100 --> 00:10:40.980 people who shouldn't know anything about Israel's 00:10:40.980 --> 00:10:45.269 Messiah. And they show up and they're asking 00:10:45.269 --> 00:10:49.070 all kinds of questions. And not vague questions, 00:10:49.230 --> 00:10:52.629 specific questions. Where is the child who is 00:10:52.629 --> 00:10:56.610 to be born king of the Jews? They have seen something. 00:10:56.789 --> 00:11:00.769 They've followed something. And they are looking 00:11:00.769 --> 00:11:06.070 for someone. And their arrival in the city of 00:11:06.070 --> 00:11:10.110 Jerusalem causes quite a reaction. Herod is frightened. 00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:16.440 And that makes sense. Herod's whole life is about 00:11:16.440 --> 00:11:19.940 control. And the idea of another king threatens 00:11:19.940 --> 00:11:24.200 every single thing he has ever built. But then 00:11:24.200 --> 00:11:28.820 Matthew adds a detail that's very easy for us 00:11:28.820 --> 00:11:36.320 to miss. And all of Jerusalem with him. Not just 00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:42.179 Herod. The whole city. The religious leaders, 00:11:42.379 --> 00:11:45.980 the people who should be celebrating, the ones 00:11:45.980 --> 00:11:49.360 who have been waiting exactly for this moment, 00:11:49.460 --> 00:11:54.240 they are frightened too. And when Herod calls 00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:58.379 in the experts, the chief priests, the scribes, 00:11:58.379 --> 00:12:01.019 the scholars of scripture, they don't hesitate. 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:06.539 They immediately know the answer. Bethlehem, 00:12:06.539 --> 00:12:11.990 Micah 5, 2, they quote it perfectly. And then, 00:12:12.070 --> 00:12:17.250 apparently they go back doing whatever it was 00:12:17.250 --> 00:12:22.889 they were doing. Now here's what we need to sit 00:12:22.889 --> 00:12:27.870 with. These are not bad people. These are not 00:12:27.870 --> 00:12:32.710 ignorant people. These are keepers of Israel's 00:12:32.710 --> 00:12:37.470 memory. Their job was to preserve, interpret, 00:12:37.769 --> 00:12:40.789 and teach the scriptures. They knew the promises. 00:12:40.830 --> 00:12:44.350 They knew the prophecy. They knew Bethlehem wasn't 00:12:44.350 --> 00:12:51.190 just a town. It was a theological landmark. It's 00:12:51.190 --> 00:12:56.049 David's city. The place of humble beginnings. 00:12:57.629 --> 00:13:04.009 The location, the exact location God had named, 00:13:04.669 --> 00:13:09.309 centuries earlier and they could exegete the 00:13:09.309 --> 00:13:11.809 text they could trace the lineage they could 00:13:11.809 --> 00:13:14.990 connect the dots between Abraham's blessing and 00:13:14.990 --> 00:13:18.730 Balaam's star and Micah's ruler but when somebody 00:13:18.730 --> 00:13:23.970 shows up asking where is he they give directions 00:13:23.970 --> 00:13:29.269 and then go home what does it mean to know scripture 00:13:29.269 --> 00:13:36.320 so well that it stops surprising you What happens 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:41.799 when the text becomes so familiar that you forget 00:13:41.799 --> 00:13:47.799 it's alive? These scribes, these priests, spent 00:13:47.799 --> 00:13:52.000 their entire lives studying God's word. But somewhere 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:57.679 along the way, study became management. Expectation 00:13:57.679 --> 00:14:04.950 became expertise. Hope became doctrine. When 00:14:04.950 --> 00:14:11.269 God acted exactly as he said he would, they missed 00:14:11.269 --> 00:14:16.690 it. This is where Matthew's gospel does something 00:14:16.690 --> 00:14:23.009 brilliant. He puts foreigners, Gentiles, outsiders, 00:14:23.389 --> 00:14:29.230 people with no claim to Israel's covenant right 00:14:29.230 --> 00:14:33.860 in the middle of the story. And they're the ones 00:14:33.860 --> 00:14:39.159 seeking. Wise men don't have centuries of scripture 00:14:39.159 --> 00:14:43.779 behind them. They don't have the prophets memorized. 00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:49.820 They have a star and they follow it. Meanwhile, 00:14:49.879 --> 00:14:53.539 people who had everything, scripture, traditions, 00:14:53.860 --> 00:14:57.399 the temple, the priesthood, had settled into 00:14:57.399 --> 00:15:04.299 certainty. Certainty doesn't go seeking. Certainty 00:15:04.299 --> 00:15:09.320 calculates. It measures. It categorizes. It answers 00:15:09.320 --> 00:15:12.519 questions, but it doesn't walk to Bethlehem. 00:15:13.559 --> 00:15:19.759 God had been specific. He had said, Bethlehem. 00:15:20.200 --> 00:15:24.500 He had given Israel every single tool they needed 00:15:24.500 --> 00:15:27.899 to recognize the Messiah when he came and the 00:15:27.899 --> 00:15:33.179 religious leaders. Got it right. They quote the 00:15:33.179 --> 00:15:36.240 correct passage. They name the correct town. 00:15:36.559 --> 00:15:39.879 They give the correct answer. But correct answers 00:15:39.879 --> 00:15:45.019 without movement isn't faith. It's religious 00:15:45.019 --> 00:15:51.379 performance. Now, I also want to be careful here. 00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:57.200 Because this isn't about mocking the scribes 00:15:57.200 --> 00:16:02.570 and the priests. This is about naming a spiritual 00:16:02.570 --> 00:16:08.610 dynamic that is real for all of us. It is entirely 00:16:08.610 --> 00:16:14.169 possible to be deeply invested in faith and still 00:16:14.169 --> 00:16:19.269 resist God's actual presence. It is entirely 00:16:19.269 --> 00:16:24.730 possible to honor scripture and miss what scripture 00:16:24.730 --> 00:16:29.179 is actually pointing towards. It is entirely 00:16:29.179 --> 00:16:33.639 possible to be right about theology and wrong 00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:38.419 about Jesus. And the longer you've been at this, 00:16:38.539 --> 00:16:44.759 the easier it becomes. Familiarity is dangerous, 00:16:44.899 --> 00:16:49.080 not because knowing God is bad, far from it, 00:16:49.220 --> 00:16:53.220 but because the moment we think we've got God 00:16:53.220 --> 00:16:56.139 figured out, we stop listening for his voice. 00:16:56.750 --> 00:17:00.429 We stop watching for his movement. We stop expecting 00:17:00.429 --> 00:17:05.069 him to show up in ways that surprise us. And 00:17:05.069 --> 00:17:11.009 when that happens, we treat God like a subject 00:17:11.009 --> 00:17:15.910 to master instead of the divine creator to encounter. 00:17:17.109 --> 00:17:21.809 Think about all that the scribes and the priests 00:17:21.809 --> 00:17:25.980 were protecting. They were protecting Israel's 00:17:25.980 --> 00:17:29.319 identity. They were protecting the temple. They 00:17:29.319 --> 00:17:32.519 were protecting their role as interpreters of 00:17:32.519 --> 00:17:38.240 God's word. All of those good things. But when 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:43.519 protection becomes the primary posture, encounter 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:48.519 becomes a threat. And that's what this moment 00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:55.160 in Levi's, Matthew's account shows us. Wise men 00:17:55.160 --> 00:17:59.420 are a disruption. They arrive asking questions 00:17:59.420 --> 00:18:04.380 that shouldn't need to be asked. If the Messiah 00:18:04.380 --> 00:18:08.059 had been born, shouldn't Jerusalem already know? 00:18:09.700 --> 00:18:12.819 Shouldn't the priests already be leading the 00:18:12.819 --> 00:18:16.039 celebration? Shouldn't there have been some kind 00:18:16.039 --> 00:18:23.380 of official recognition? But there isn't. Because 00:18:23.380 --> 00:18:26.599 the system designed to recognize God's arrival 00:18:26.599 --> 00:18:30.119 had become more interested in maintaining itself 00:18:30.119 --> 00:18:34.400 than seeking God. And, my dearest of friends, 00:18:34.619 --> 00:18:39.200 when that happens, outsiders end up closer to 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:44.839 the truth than the insiders. Matthew puts foreigners, 00:18:45.180 --> 00:18:49.029 Gentiles, with no claim. To Israel's covenant 00:18:49.029 --> 00:18:52.009 at the center of this story. The people who had 00:18:52.009 --> 00:18:55.529 no business knowing about the Messiah are the 00:18:55.529 --> 00:18:59.609 ones actually seeking him. People who should 00:18:59.609 --> 00:19:03.569 have been first in line to Bethlehem stayed in 00:19:03.569 --> 00:19:07.630 Jerusalem managing their knowledge. And there's 00:19:07.630 --> 00:19:11.519 something deeply uncomfortable about that. idea, 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:14.660 that reality for those of us who have spent our 00:19:14.660 --> 00:19:17.480 lives in the church, who've studied scripture. 00:19:18.019 --> 00:19:22.000 We think we've got a handle on how God works. 00:19:23.099 --> 00:19:26.539 This is not a new problem in scripture. Isaiah 00:19:26.539 --> 00:19:29.880 talks about it. These people honor me with their 00:19:29.880 --> 00:19:34.019 lips, but their hearts are far from me. Jeremiah 00:19:34.019 --> 00:19:38.140 warned about it. Do not trust in deceptive words 00:19:38.140 --> 00:19:42.059 and say, this is the temple of the Lord. Jesus 00:19:42.059 --> 00:19:45.619 will later warn about it. You search the scriptures 00:19:45.619 --> 00:19:47.880 because you think that in them you have eternal 00:19:47.880 --> 00:19:51.920 life, and it is they that testify on my behalf. 00:19:52.339 --> 00:19:59.019 Yet, he says, you refuse to come to me. Pattern 00:19:59.019 --> 00:20:04.059 in scripture is consistent. Religious certainty 00:20:04.059 --> 00:20:08.099 can become a shield against authentic encounter. 00:20:09.490 --> 00:20:13.170 Knowledge often becomes a substitute for real 00:20:13.170 --> 00:20:18.170 relationship. Expertise can become an excuse 00:20:18.170 --> 00:20:22.690 for staying comfortable. And when God acts, the 00:20:22.690 --> 00:20:26.029 people most equipped to recognize him are often 00:20:26.029 --> 00:20:30.910 the ones who are least willing to respond. Not 00:20:30.910 --> 00:20:33.849 because they don't believe, but because belief 00:20:33.849 --> 00:20:39.250 has calcified into their control. And here is 00:20:39.250 --> 00:20:44.589 where this weight really should land. Scribes 00:20:44.589 --> 00:20:48.130 and the priests, they weren't lazy. They weren't 00:20:48.130 --> 00:20:54.730 indifferent. They were busy. They had responsibilities. 00:20:54.769 --> 00:20:57.470 They had the temple to maintain, the Sabbath 00:20:57.470 --> 00:21:02.089 to protect, the law to interpret, the purity 00:21:02.089 --> 00:21:06.009 codes to enforce. They had congregations that 00:21:06.009 --> 00:21:08.990 they had to shepherd, questions to answer, disputes 00:21:08.990 --> 00:21:12.950 to settle. They had good reason not to drop everything 00:21:12.950 --> 00:21:15.529 and simply walk to Bethlehem on the word of some 00:21:15.529 --> 00:21:18.269 foreign travelers who showed up talking about 00:21:18.269 --> 00:21:23.250 stars. From their perspective, They were being 00:21:23.250 --> 00:21:28.650 faithful. They were being responsible. They were 00:21:28.650 --> 00:21:32.190 stewarding the tradition. They were protecting 00:21:32.190 --> 00:21:37.650 what God had already given them. And there's 00:21:37.650 --> 00:21:42.690 real nobility in that kind of commitment. These 00:21:42.690 --> 00:21:46.230 men had dedicated their entire lives to preserving 00:21:46.230 --> 00:21:49.589 and interpreting God's word. They knew the scriptures 00:21:49.589 --> 00:21:53.769 better than anyone. chapter and verse from memory. 00:21:54.289 --> 00:21:57.549 They understood the complexities, the tensions, 00:21:57.670 --> 00:22:01.569 the nuances. They weren't charlatans, nor were 00:22:01.569 --> 00:22:05.049 they hypocrites. They were serious, devoted scholars 00:22:05.049 --> 00:22:11.250 of the text. But that's the trap, isn't it? When 00:22:11.250 --> 00:22:14.569 faithfulness becomes about protecting what we 00:22:14.569 --> 00:22:17.809 already have instead of what God is doing now, 00:22:18.910 --> 00:22:23.869 In our lives, we stop being responsive. We become 00:22:23.869 --> 00:22:28.410 custodians instead of disciples. And custodians 00:22:28.410 --> 00:22:31.890 don't travel. They maintain. They preserve. They 00:22:31.890 --> 00:22:37.170 guard all important work. It's not the same thing 00:22:37.170 --> 00:22:41.109 as following. It's not the same thing as seeking. 00:22:41.289 --> 00:22:46.589 It is not. It is not the same thing as being 00:22:46.589 --> 00:22:50.359 willing. To leave behind what you know to find, 00:22:50.519 --> 00:22:55.720 God is revealing. The wise men had nothing to 00:22:55.720 --> 00:22:59.680 protect. They had no temple, no tradition, no 00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:04.160 theological framework to defend. All they had 00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:06.700 was a star and a willingness to follow it. And 00:23:06.700 --> 00:23:09.859 that made them more responsive to God's movement 00:23:09.859 --> 00:23:13.700 than the people whose entire lives had been built 00:23:13.700 --> 00:23:22.960 around being ready for exactly this moment. And 00:23:22.960 --> 00:23:28.799 that should scare us. Because it means that sometimes 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:31.660 the very things we think prepare us for God can 00:23:31.660 --> 00:23:36.319 actually insulate us from him. Our knowledge 00:23:36.319 --> 00:23:40.099 can become a fortress. Our expertise can become 00:23:40.099 --> 00:23:44.079 the moat. Our certainty can become the very thing 00:23:44.079 --> 00:23:48.200 that keeps us from encountering God. And it's 00:23:48.200 --> 00:23:54.599 a God who refuses to be managed. So here's where 00:23:54.599 --> 00:24:00.400 this lands today. We are not the ancient scribes. 00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:07.140 We are not first century priests, but we are 00:24:07.140 --> 00:24:11.779 people who live with scripture. We are people 00:24:11.779 --> 00:24:16.569 who have a history with God. We're people who 00:24:16.569 --> 00:24:19.190 know the stories, sing the hymns, recite the 00:24:19.190 --> 00:24:23.250 prayers. And the question this text asks is actually 00:24:23.250 --> 00:24:27.250 very simple. Does our knowledge create in us 00:24:27.250 --> 00:24:32.289 readiness? Or does it create in us distance? 00:24:34.430 --> 00:24:38.990 And when someone shows up asking about Jesus, 00:24:39.109 --> 00:24:41.849 do we point them in the right direction and stay 00:24:41.849 --> 00:24:48.990 put? Or do we go with them? The wise men, foreigners, 00:24:49.109 --> 00:24:51.369 outsiders, people had no business knowing about 00:24:51.369 --> 00:24:55.609 this Messiah, were willing to travel thousands 00:24:55.609 --> 00:25:00.269 of miles to follow a star. Meanwhile, the people 00:25:00.269 --> 00:25:02.809 who had scripture, prophecy, and proximity to 00:25:02.809 --> 00:25:06.670 Bethlehem stayed home. They knew, but they did 00:25:06.670 --> 00:25:10.930 not seek. They had the answer. They didn't move. 00:25:14.920 --> 00:25:22.940 And listen, I know how this can feel. I know, 00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:27.099 I do. I know what it's like to think I've got 00:25:27.099 --> 00:25:32.039 God all figured out. I know what it's like to 00:25:32.039 --> 00:25:34.140 be so familiar with the gospel that it stops 00:25:34.140 --> 00:25:40.829 being good news and starts being just news. I 00:25:40.829 --> 00:25:43.470 know what it's like to quote scripture accurately 00:25:43.470 --> 00:25:49.210 while avoiding the uncomfortable places God might 00:25:49.210 --> 00:25:53.329 actually be showing up. And I'll tell you what 00:25:53.329 --> 00:25:57.349 I've learned. God doesn't show up when we've 00:25:57.349 --> 00:26:01.750 got him cornered. He shows up in the places we're 00:26:01.750 --> 00:26:05.130 not controlling, in the questions we didn't expect, 00:26:05.490 --> 00:26:10.029 the people we didn't invite. and in the disruptions 00:26:10.029 --> 00:26:14.750 that we did not plan for. And if we are too settled, 00:26:14.890 --> 00:26:20.829 too certain, too invested in being right, then 00:26:20.829 --> 00:26:24.349 we'll miss him. Just like the scribes, just like 00:26:24.349 --> 00:26:27.990 those priests, just like everybody in Jerusalem 00:26:27.990 --> 00:26:30.890 who heard the question and gave the answer and 00:26:30.890 --> 00:26:34.329 never took one single step towards Bethlehem. 00:26:36.970 --> 00:26:41.490 So what do we do with this? Well, here's what 00:26:41.490 --> 00:26:46.109 we don't do. We don't turn this into one more 00:26:46.109 --> 00:26:50.569 thing to feel guilty about. And we don't make 00:26:50.569 --> 00:26:53.549 this about performance. We don't start measuring 00:26:53.549 --> 00:26:56.369 faithfulness by how many times we physically 00:26:56.369 --> 00:27:00.269 go looking for God. That's just another form 00:27:00.269 --> 00:27:05.029 of control. Instead, we acknowledge the truth 00:27:05.029 --> 00:27:08.849 that the text hands us, that God is not ours 00:27:08.849 --> 00:27:13.910 to manage. He's ours to encounter. And encounter 00:27:13.910 --> 00:27:18.390 requires openness on our part. It requires humility. 00:27:18.670 --> 00:27:22.269 It requires admitting that no matter how much 00:27:22.269 --> 00:27:27.029 we know, we have not even come close to exhausting 00:27:27.029 --> 00:27:34.160 the mystery of God. We'll see what happens when 00:27:34.160 --> 00:27:37.019 these seekers finally find what they're looking 00:27:37.019 --> 00:27:40.220 for next week. But this week, right here, right 00:27:40.220 --> 00:27:42.559 now, we're still sitting with the ones who stayed 00:27:42.559 --> 00:27:45.640 home. The ones who knew the answer but didn't 00:27:45.640 --> 00:27:50.140 go looking. And the question is simple. What 00:27:50.140 --> 00:27:54.259 are we holding on to that keeps us from seeking? 00:27:55.599 --> 00:28:02.509 What certainty are we protecting? It makes us 00:28:02.509 --> 00:28:08.210 resistant to surprise. What knowledge are we 00:28:08.210 --> 00:28:12.430 managing instead of encountering? Whatever it 00:28:12.430 --> 00:28:16.569 is, the need to be right. The comfort of having 00:28:16.569 --> 00:28:19.950 God all figured out. The security of settled 00:28:19.950 --> 00:28:26.809 answers. Friend, lay it down. Because the gospel 00:28:26.809 --> 00:28:30.769 is not looking for experts. It's looking for 00:28:30.769 --> 00:28:36.410 seekers. The promise is still the same. Those 00:28:36.410 --> 00:28:39.910 who seek will find, even if they have to travel 00:28:39.910 --> 00:28:43.990 from the east, even if they only have a star 00:28:43.990 --> 00:28:47.789 to follow, even if the people who should know 00:28:47.789 --> 00:28:54.069 better stayed home. God is not hiding, and he 00:28:54.069 --> 00:28:58.680 will not be managed. So, may the God who names 00:28:58.680 --> 00:29:01.160 Bethlehem give us courage to walk towards it. 00:29:01.900 --> 00:29:05.099 May the Christ who disrupts our certainty meet 00:29:05.099 --> 00:29:07.619 us in our seeking. May the Spirit who moves where 00:29:07.619 --> 00:29:10.759 she will keep us open, awake, and responsive. 00:29:11.019 --> 00:29:14.240 May we remember the right answer is not the same 00:29:14.240 --> 00:29:17.119 as the right posture. Knowledge is not the same 00:29:17.119 --> 00:29:21.559 as faith. God's presence is no reward for expertise. 00:29:21.619 --> 00:29:25.279 It is just a gift for those of us willing to 00:29:25.279 --> 00:29:51.259 move. Amen? Amen. We stopped believing. We stopped 00:29:51.259 --> 00:29:54.720 because life got heavy. Routines settled in and 00:29:54.720 --> 00:29:57.500 faith learned how to sit quietly on a shelf. 00:29:58.119 --> 00:30:01.299 If this message stirred anything in you, let 00:30:01.299 --> 00:30:05.140 it be an invitation, not shame. Christ is not 00:30:05.140 --> 00:30:08.920 offended by slow feet. He's patient with those 00:30:08.920 --> 00:30:11.339 who are learning how to move again. You don't 00:30:11.339 --> 00:30:13.900 have to fix anything today. You don't have to 00:30:13.900 --> 00:30:17.240 prove anything. Just stay open. Stay listening. 00:30:18.630 --> 00:30:21.170 Sometimes epiphany begins not with a star, but 00:30:21.170 --> 00:30:24.029 with the uneasy realization that God might be 00:30:24.029 --> 00:30:27.009 closer than we are allowing ourselves to notice. 00:30:27.650 --> 00:30:30.430 And if what you heard today met you where you 00:30:30.430 --> 00:30:33.470 are, if it helped you breathe a little easier 00:30:33.470 --> 00:30:36.369 or think a little deeper, you're welcome to support 00:30:36.369 --> 00:30:38.769 this work the same way you would in a small church. 00:30:38.829 --> 00:30:44.099 Just drop your like in the offering plate. And 00:30:44.099 --> 00:30:45.740 if you'd like to keep walking with us in the 00:30:45.740 --> 00:30:48.559 new year, go ahead, tithe your subscribe. That 00:30:48.559 --> 00:30:50.980 way you'll know when it's time for church. Hey, 00:30:51.059 --> 00:30:53.660 until next time, friend, be blessed.