The Road Isn’t Straight

Isaiah 43:16-19, Matthew 2:1-12

Series: Words for the Beginning: Reminders for New Seasons

Jan. 5, 2025, Epiphany Sunday

Rev. Cynthia Cochran-Carney, First Presbyterian Church, San Rafael, CA

16 Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters,

17 who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:

18 Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.

19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:16-19

1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, "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." 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

6 "And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.' "

7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage."

9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Nativity Scenes

Did you notice the nativity scene displayed by the stained glass windows or the one in the chapel? How many of you had one on display in your house this year? Look today at the figures there. One of my favorite outings when we lived back east was to go to Bethlehem, PA about 1 hour from our house in NJ. We would go into amazing Moravian bookstore and gift shop on Main st. And they have some of the most interesting, unusual and beautiful nativity scenes for sale.

Our traditional notion of who belongs in the Christmas nativity scene comes from a blending of two different Christmas stories. In Luke’s Christmas story you’ll find Joseph and Mary traveling to Bethlehem, no room at the inn, the stable, the sky filled with angels, the amazed shepherds, but no kings.

You have to go to Matthew’s gospel for the kings, except they aren’t kings, they’re Persian astrologers, “magi.” What’s more, it doesn’t tell us there are three of them, only that they brought three gifts. There could be 2 or 20, for all we know. And they don’t find Jesus in a stable or place for animals; they find him in a house.

Biblical Background

As Rev. Joanne Whitt writes, Matthew’s magi have seen a special star, the sign of a new king. They go to Jerusalem and take gold, frankincense, and myrrh, apparently appropriate gifts to give to a baby in those days, or at least, a baby king. But when the current king in Jerusalem hears about this, he’s not at all happy. Herod the Great, a vassal of Rome, built his kingdom on political tribute and bloodshed. A new king would mean a new political rival, and as with his other rivals, Herod makes plans to eliminate him. (1)

The magi travel the nine miles from Jerusalem and Herod, from what is corrupt and deadly, to Bethlehem, to what is humble, loving, and world-changing. Matthew’s Christmas story is the story of two different human communities: Jerusalem, the center of the elite, and Bethlehem, with its rural peasants. The Magi have not traveled in a straight line from their homes to Jerusalem to Bethlehem and then home by a different way.

Guided by dreams and stars, their journey was filled with royal encounters and unforeseen detours. Their experience teaches us a comforting lesson about our winding paths: feeling uncertain or lost is okay. We don't need to have everything figured out.

Like the Magi, we are often called to take unexpected paths and find new ways. Every journey carries risks and revelations, but God actively carves paths in the wilderness,

No Straight Line

Too often, we’ve been told that a successful life is a linear one. But in reality, our lives unfold with many unexpected twists and turns. The Magi follow a star, embarking on a long journey in a foreign land in order to honor the newborn Christ. Instead of returning to Herod as commanded, they trust their dreams and go home by another way. Their road isn’t straight, but God “makes a way in the wilderness” (Isaiah 43:19) as they follow their intuition and diverge from the expected path. God guided them and us through uncharted territories with the promise of making all things new.

I am struck by how their long and unexpected journey resembles a core truth for us all: life will unfold with unexpected turns.

Detours

During December I was thinking about that first pandemic winter in 2020 as a season of journeys and detours for many of us. We had one way of living, and the pandemic asked us/told us—like the Magi of the Epiphany story—to take another road. So many things changed in daily life and in the church and the world. I imagine that the Magi neither expect to be on the road to Bethlehem in the first place nor anticipate a detour on the way home.

The writer of the Gospel of Matthew sets up two diverging roads when contrasting the brutal Herod the Great with the Magi, visitors from the East who were likely Zoroastrian astrologers. Herod is fearful; the Magi are faithful. Herod deceives to cling to power; the Magi bow before the young Jesus. Herod is Rome’s client king; the Magi seek the true one with power that transforms for good and is rooted in God’s divine love.

This text is chosen for the feast of Epiphany, in part because of the revelation of Jesus’ birth to gentiles—in this case the astrologers from the East. An epiphany is a revealing, a manifestation, a sudden knowing. We might have an epiphany, a dazzling experience of God, in a way that’s predictable and expected—at worship, at a retreat or camp, through a friend of deep faith, in a sacred place – a thin place —but we might also take a different road to Christ, as the Magi do. The Magi come to Jesus in a way that is outside the norm. Epiphany reminds us that God is available to all and is found along unexpected paths, including paths that we wouldn’t have taken or that make us uncomfortable.

The scripture readings for the season of Epiphany feature stories in which God is made manifest in surprising and life-changing ways—the wedding at Cana, a miraculous catch of fish, the healing of the sick. These manifestations of God lead to some extraordinary journeys—the disciples drop their nets and follow Jesus, for instance. Might this Epiphany season invite us on a journey too? How might God reveal God’s self in an ordinary place in our lives? How might we be invited to go another way in a situation where we currently feel stuck? Might we find God in the detours, wrong turns, and changes of plans? (2)

Jimmy Carter

Thinking about Jimmy Carter this week and all the tributes. I think he would say his journey through life had many twists and unexpected turns. And yet his faith and following the ways of Jesus to be a person of honesty, compassion, justice and peace remained. Two stories stood out for me on how his life and leadership went in directions that may have seemed unexpected and yet were evidence of the Spirit. In the peace talks with leaders of Egypt and Israel, he took the bold move to have them together and even lock the door to force negotiation. But when it wasn’t working, he began meeting with the Israeli and Egyptian teams separately. Taking his own copious notes, he would rush back and forth between the two camps, often negotiating far into the night. It worked. (3)

And there was his truly amazing journey of building homes with Habitat for Humanity into his 90’s. Impressive, amazing and to some unexpected. And yet, he followed the ways of Jesus to love your neighbor. As one writer put it, Carter followed his North Star. His life took turns and was guided by following deeper truths and traveling unexpected paths.

I don’t particularly like detours on my journeys, but I trust that God is found on those roads too. Sometimes we are invited on another road. With God, all those roads lead home.

Star words

What the wise men recognized in the star was the confirmation of Isaiah’s promise that God’s light would shine on the world. And so they sought the light of the star. They testified to the light. They experienced joy there in the presence of this mystery, this child.

And then they returned home, by another way, to share the light they had seen.

Last year, you might recall, we passed out stars to you, inviting you to take a star word and to let it be a reminder to you that God’s light does shine in the darkness.

Each paper has a word on it. I invite you to consider how that word might speak to your life in this new year. Perhaps you could use it to lead your prayers this year. Perhaps you could tape your star to your refrigerator or bathroom mirror, and when you see it, remember that you need to look up, look to God, and follow the star that is guiding you. An invitation for a word to inspire and guide while knowing there are detours along the way. To commit to love and light and to resist injustice, hate and violence. The road isn’t straight.

Perhaps it can be your reminder that what you do with the light that has shined in your life does matter. Arise! Shine! For your light has come, and the light of the Beloved shines through you. Amen.

This sermon included content from our Advent/Christmas 2024 materials published by A Sanctified Art

1) Rev. Joanne Whitt, “Which Story?” 12/30/24 Solve by Walking blog

https://solve-by-walking.com/2024/12/30/which-story/

2) Rev. Lisa Smith, Lectionary Jan. 6 Epiphany, The Christian Century Jan. 2025

https://www.christiancentury.org/lectionary/january-6-epiphany-matthew-2-1-12-0

3) https://www.history.com/news/jimmy-carter-camp-david-accords-egypt-israel