Going Home Another Way
Going Home Another Way
Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
First Sunday After Christmas
Detours. One of the things we hate to see on the road, especially if we are in a hurry. We don’t want to have to take another way, a way that may be more difficult than the route we know. And yet detours area part of life. Here in Denver as we see growth we see many road detours. Our life takes detours too. Too often when we think that things are going according to plan we hit a detour. Maybe it is a job change, illness, or family trouble that we had not expected. We make plans and then they change. We all want to be in control of our lives and we don’t like detours. We want life to go smoothly. We want life predictable. But our plans aren’t always the best or the ones that will take place. Proverbs 19:21 states, “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.”[1]
A detour is what happened in out story today from Matthews Gospel. Joseph and Mary with the Christ child had to make a detour in their plans. I am sure that after Jesus was born Joseph probably had plans to head back home or stay in Bethlehem and establish a home for his new family. But that wasn’t going to happen, at least not right away. Herod had other plans that conflicted with Joseph’s. Herod was a paranoid king to put it mildly. It is reported that he killed most of his family because he didn’t want anyone taking his throne too soon. And now wise men from the east, from a country far away, had come to find a new king in Bethlehem. Herod was not going to let this happen so he devised a scheme to kill the “new king.” And to make sure he got it right he would kill all male infants approximately 2 years old and under. A detour was happening for Joseph and his family.
God warns Joseph to flee to Egypt. So Joseph follows God’s direction and takes a “detour” with his family. But we see in the midst of this “detour” God working out his plan. Two prophecies are fulfilled in this detour. The first, “out of Egypt I have called my son” Literally takes place but also harkens back to the first exodus where God freed Israel from the bondage of slavery. Now the Messiah has come not only to free us from slavery to this world but also to ultimately take the sins of the world and give to us new life in Him. The second prophecy was where Joseph, Mary and Jesus end up, in Nazareth. As they return they realize that Herod’s son is now on the throne and so they take the “long way” back to Nazareth. God works what seem to be detours for the good of His plan and His people.
The same is true for us. We all face detours, things in life that take us away from our plans. Detours remind us that we are not in control of our lives. Often these detours can be described as suffering. Lose of a job or income, an illness that affects you or a family member, people that come into our lives and disrupt them, natural or man-made disaster, etc. all these things contribute to suffering or detours in our life that we did not expect. And we don’t want to suffer. We want the road to heaven, our real home, to be smooth. But it isn’t because of sin. 1Peter 4:12-19 states this well.
12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. 13 Instead, be very glad—because these trials will make you partners with Christ in his suffering, and afterward you will have the wonderful joy of sharing his glory when it is displayed to all the world.
14 Be happy if you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God will come upon you. 15 If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. 16 But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his wonderful name! 17 For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin first among God’s own children. And if even we Christians must be judged, what terrible fate awaits those who have never believed God’s Good News? 18 And
“If the righteous are barely saved,
what chance will the godless and sinners have?”
19 So if you are suffering according to God’s will, keep on doing what is right, and trust yourself to the God who made you, for he will never fail you.[2]
Basically what Peter is saying is that if Jesus suffered, and He was perfect, how can we, who are imperfect, expect not to suffer. It is unfortunately a part of our sinful existence here on Earth. Or maybe it is fortunate, not that bad things happen, but that God can use even the bad for our good. A detour may not be a bad thing but something that will lead us closer to God. Suffering can be used for good.
Now to try to explain suffering is impossible for us. Is suffering a punishment? Maybe. Will suffering bring us closer to God? Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. Will suffering make us stronger? Again, sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. So what can we say about suffering? Suffering is a result of sin and not created by God. But God can use it to our good or the greater good of His plan. What we can say with confidence in the midst of a life detour or suffering is that God will be there for us. He never fails us. So we cannot eliminate suffering, but we can rely on God more and more for guidance and strength.
I have been using the analogy of a detour which gives the illusion that life is like a road. We follow a road that may have detours and signs but basically it is a road we journey on, or at least that is how the analogy goes. But that analogy is flawed. It assumes that we can see in front of us, that we have some idea of what to expect in the future. But if we are honest with ourselves that is not true. We don’t know what tomorrow holds. Things may change in an instant and be out of our control. So maybe the better image for life is a sea or ocean and we are a ship on it. In fact the early Christian church often used the image of a ship to portray the Church. Maybe it harkens back to Jesus miracle of calming the storm while they were out on a boat. Or maybe it is an accurate image of life here on earth.
If you are out on the ocean in a boat how do you find your way? There are no signs to guide you. If you stare at the ocean it changes all the time. There are probably no landmarks either to guide your way. And if you look to the horizon it will look the same if you are heading North, South, East or West. So how do you find your way on the sea? Sailors long ago, long before GPS systems and satellite maps used one thing to help guide them, the North Star. They looked at something that was fixed in the heavens to guide them. No matter where they were in the world they could always find the North Star to guide them. It was a constant in the midst of an ever-changing sea.
In every Bible you can turn to the last chapter and find a “guide” for our ever-changing life. Revelation 22:16 states
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star.”[3] (emphasis added) Jesus is our North Star. In the midst of our suffering, in the midst of our detours, in the midst of our uncertain lives, Jesus is our constant. I think it is no mistake that God used a star to lead the wise men to Jesus and that in the last chapter of the Bible Jesus refers to himself as a star. He knew that this is the perfect image of what Jesus is to us in our lives. If we fix our eyes on this life and try to find our way on our own, we will be lost. But if we look heavenward, if we “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith[4]” we will not be lost but will find a guide no matter where life takes us. Jesus Christ is our North Star. It seems that God always wants our eyes fixed heavenward to not get caught in staring at this life. He has lead His people with heavenly objects, a pillar of cloud and fire, a nativity star, an ascension in to heaven, and a returning in the same manner. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus. Let us use Him as our North Star, our constant guide in the midst of this ever-changing life. And may we know that no matter what detours we have in life God can use it for our good and the greater good of His plan. Fix your eyes on Jesus and you will not be lost!
Amen
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[1]Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997 (Pr 19:20-21). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House.
[2]Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997 (1 Pe 4:11-5:1). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House.
[3]Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997 (Re 22:15-16). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House.
[4]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Heb 12:2). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.