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“What to Give to the God Who Has Everything”
The Reverend Mark Byers
Episcopal Church of the Apostles
La Quinta, California

January 6, 2008

First, our background work.

This story takes place in Judea, on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The year is approximately 4 B.C., or a little before. It is one of history’s pleasant little oddities that Jesus was probably born, according to the best research of historians, before he was born. The King of Judea was a man named Herod the Great, of a family which had been powerful in the region for about a generation or more before him, and which remained powerful until about a hundred years after his death. His realm was a client state of the Roman Empire, the ruler of which at this time was Emperor Augustus. (Many of us recall the birth story in Luke, which mentions the emperor by name.)

But the story began many, many years before, and continued to the point at which we read today. Scripture begins with Creation, continues with the Fall, and then very decisively, in comes Abraham, who makes a covenant with God, and thus gives birth to God’s chosen people, the Jews. And then, briefly, the Jews eventually migrate to Egypt, where first they are privileged people, but then become slaves when Pharaoh becomes threatened by them. God hears them crying in bondage and sends Moses to deliver them. Moses guides them at last to the Promised Land, where they settle down and live as a nation. Because they are human beings, and as prone to sin and injustice as any human beings, they fall away from God, periodically being called to return to Him by the prophets. Then, finally, they are conquered in stages, first the Northern Kingdom, called Israel, then later Judah, the Southern Kingdom. Many of the people are taken into exile in Babylon, where they live for generations.

And of course, during all this time, they lament that everything went wrong, that they no longer have a country, and that they can’t worship God in their temple, which was destroyed when they were conquered. The story of this people, in our terms, is partly prophetic or religious and partly political, but they would never have made a distinction. For these people, the fate of their country was deeply connected with their relationship to God and what God had promised them.

Even after their return to their homeland, there was not much resolution. They didn’t get to rule themselves, except during a period following a revolt against their overlord. And they still lamented and sensed that things hadn’t been restored to the proper balance with God. Herod the Great began rebuilding the ancient Temple, which had been the center of the Jewish world, the place where the Tablets of the Law had resided, where God’s own presence resided. Kings in the ancient world, much like rulers in our time, and presidential candidates, know the power of having God at your back, even if it is only for appearance’s sake.

One might think that rebuilding the Temple was an unqualified good thing. It might be seen as the one thing lacking in Judea: “We’ve got our own king, we’ve got our land, and now we’re going to get the Temple built again in Jerusalem. Maybe God is with us again.” In the old days, the Kings had been so intertwined with God’s purpose for the Jews, at first for sometimes for good, and then later most often for ill. But Herod was not by any stretch of the imagination a Godly Jew. He was ruthless and shrewd and did what people like him have done throughout history: whatever was necessary to keep power and wealth and prestige.

Then one day, these men come from the east, from beyond the borders of Judea, and even beyond the eastern frontier of the Empire. And they say to him, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” And Herod, like a good despot, got scared, as did all the elite of Jerusalem. Powerful people don’t fear “spirituality” or “beliefs.” They fear those who claim power in opposition to them. And the wise men didn’t say that a new “guru” or “teacher” had been born: they said a KING had been born to the Jews, and they had come to pay him homage.

So Herod asked the religious authorities about the Messiah, and where he was to be born. They all knew the scriptures, what had been written in the books of prophecy. And they said, “In Bethlehem.” Because they remembered the words of the prophet Micah. And they remembered a lot more, of course. Hundreds of years of waiting, of yearning, not just for a new ruler, not just for their land, but for the restoration of their relationship with God to its proper status. God’s chosen. Blessed, and a blessing to all nations. And Herod must have been something of a disappointment to people who wanted these things, but sometimes people will choose something that seems a little bit better, even if it’s still not any good.

You heard what he did. He tried to use the wise men to destroy this possible rival for power. They, meanwhile, found Jesus, knelt before him, and gave him rich gifts. Not Herod. A baby born to normal, humble people, but wise men could tell he was a King. And in those days, being a king meant that you had, or at least could claim you had, the favor of your god or gods. God was far more political then. He actually cared who spoke in his name and endorsed or threw down rulers and nations. He’s semi-retired now and only comes out during elections. Or so you’d think. And of course, when the wise men left for home, being wise, and knowing who the real king was and what the false king might do, they didn’t say a word to Herod.

This brings me to the title of the sermon:

“What to Give to the God Who Has Everything?!”

Well, with the benefit of hindsight, we know that not only can Jesus claim the title King, then and now, but he is also God made flesh, who lived as one of us. And the wise men were on to something. There are two reasons to give gifts to a king. First, because a king, as the person anointed by God, or the gods, is worthy to receive honor and treasure and praise. Responsibility for the safety and prosperity of all the people rests with him. The maintenance of justice and the ability to condemn or to have mercy belongs to him. He commands armies. He wields power over every realm of life in his kingdom. So every person’s existence and quality of life depends upon what the king does, and how well he does it.

The second reason to give gifts to a king is to curry favor, to make the king think favorably about the giver.

What if the king in question is in reality what other kings really only brag that they are? Obviously, any good king tries to do well the things I talked about above. And every king, good or bad, whether he calls himself king (or herself queen) or is democratically elected president, prime minister, chairman, or premier, CLAIMS to do these things, even when they don’t.

But Jesus is God’s only begotten Son, and as such, what should we give him, and why? And why give him anything? Doesn’t everything in Creation belong to God anyway?

I can remember Christmas growing up, and shopping for my family. Before we would go out, my parents would give us a little money, to supplement any that we already had saved. Of course, pretty much everything I had saved came from them, too, at that age. So whatever gifts I gave to my mother and father, they were very much gifts that they themselves had made possible. I suppose, if one were being clever, it might be pointed out that I could have made something for them, or sung them a song, sort of like the “Little Drummer Boy.” But even then, the fact that they brought me into existence in the first place would make those, in the end, also gifts they made possible.

I was still a child when I realized, intellectually, that it was silly to imagine I was “giving” my parents anything, on the one hand. Yet I also realized that there are times when giving, even from things that don’t truly belong to a person, can mean a great deal.

What can I give to God that means anything?

Let’s look at what the wise men gave. Of course, the first thing they gave is that they recognized him for who he was and travelled far over difficult territory to be in his presence. Let’s consider this metaphorically: we give to God, we give to King Jesus, the journey itself. Not because it’s some sort of “extreme sport,” like those silly reality shows where people get dropped in the middle of nowhere and then try, supposedly risking life and limb, to get out again. Real life is difficult, whichever way we travel, and even more difficult is reaching for God, travelling to find God. The great illusion of secular life is that we can find “comfort” and “security.” Wise men and women know that that which is most worthy of our efforts is not comfortable or secure.

They gave their homage. They paid respect and honor and knelt down before God, who is infinitely worthy of all honor and glory. It is a gift to God to behave in a way that shows we know who God is and who we are.

Know that this is God’s story and be attentive to this. This is a mistake that Herod and many powerful or wealthy people make. Even when Herod is reminded, indirectly, that what is happening in front of him is part of God’s unfolding story, he chooses to respond as if it is HIS story. “I’m the king. I’m rebuilding the Temple. I have the power and wealth. There can be no one else called king in my land.”

Another gift is generosity. We’re all generous, given the right circumstances. When we have guests over, we treat them to good food and kind hospitality, because we know that any guest in our home deserves no less. When we visit others, often we bring something for them, a gift, because we are honored by their invitation, or because of the affection we have for them, or both. Wise men came before Jesus and gave him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Many of us grew up in churches and have heard people grouse that churches are “always after our money.” Yet if we went to those same peoples’ houses, they would treat us like family. The fact of the matter is that generosity, including generosity to God, costs us something. And just as I learned about giving my parents gifts as a little boy, wisdom means that we realize that even if it belongs to God anyway, we give the gift. It means we love God and want to be part of what God is doing. It isn’t a gift to a church, or a gift to the pastor. It’s a gift to God through the community of faithful people who do ministry in God’s name for God’s purposes.

When we see crèches, often the three figures representing the wise men are carrying packages meant to represent the gold, frankincense, and myrrh. This would imply that they took everything they had and gave it to Jesus. While it is true that God is the source of all that we have, notice that scripture actually says that the wise men opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts. Presumably, they left some in there, too. God intends for us to be generous to our families as well as to God’s mission.

Finally, wisdom, appropriate in wise men, which really summarizes what I’ve already said. Do that which God desires and deserves. Don’t do things that undermine, deny, or destroy God’s purpose, realm, or creatures.

Of course, the great irony of this story, the one that makes Christian gift-giving to God and to God’s purpose different, is that the King’s throne room is not a palace, but a small humble place, with a carpenter and his wife the King’s only attendants. No guards or armies, no chariots or black limousines, no enormous buildings, or rich cloth, or fine food, or back room politicking. Nothing but the baby and all of God’s compassion and love and promises, going back to the beginning and all the way into eternity.

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