&nb= sp;

STARTING OUT RIGHT

&nb= sp;

Matthew 2:1-12

&nb= sp;

What gifts do you bring to the King?<= /span>

A sermon preached by

Dr. William O. (Bud) R= eeves

First United Methodist Church

Hot= Springs, Arkansas

January 4, 2009

Pastor and author Rick Warren has a picture of himself as a three-year-old, standing next to a birthday cake for Jesus, complete with candles. The ca= ke was his idea. As a toddler, Rick = asked his mother, "Why do we have Christmas?"

His mother explained that Christmas is a celeb= ration of Jesus' birthday. In a burs= t of preschooler inspiration, Rick responded, "Well then, we should have a birthday party! We can have cake and Kool-Aid and sing happy birthday to Jesus!"

His mom said, "Okay, we will!"

Thus began a five-decade Warren family tradition, having a birth= day party for Jesus every Christmas Eve, complete with angel food cake and candles th= at the youngest child (now Rick’s grandchild) gets to blow out. Four generations now participate in= the party.

Besides singing carols and reading the Christm= as story from the Bible, each family member takes a turn sharing his or her answers to two personal questions: "What, from the past year, are you thankful to God for?" and, "Since it's Jesus' birthday, what gift will you give him this next year?" These two simple questions have prompted some of the most profound and moving moments in the Warren’s family's history.= = [1]

Those are pretty good questions to ask, don’t you think?&n= bsp; What are you thankful for, and what gift are you going to give to Je= sus this year? As we start off 2009, I know we all want to start off on the rig= ht foot, so let’s think about the second question today. What gift would you like to bring = to Jesus in this New Year?

I think the Wise Men were trying to get Jesus started off on the right foot. They had made this long journey to see him, and they brought him gifts. What can we learn from these three = gifts in the Scripture that will help us know what to give this baby God?

First there was gold. We understand the gift of gold. With adequate financial resources,= Mary and Joseph could raise Jesus in a comfortable home, with all his needs met. He would not have to suf= fer poverty or malnutrition. He c= ould develop more of his full potential.

There is an obvious stewardship point to be made here. We do want to give of our wealth to Jesus, and in turn become wealthy spiritually. All I want to say about that is if= one of your spiritual goals for this New Year is to be a better giver, don̵= 7;t wait until June to start. Beg= in now with the commitment you have made, and you will much more likely reach your goal and celebrate a personal victory.

However, I think the W= ise Men’s gift of gold is about more than wealth. Gold was the most valuable substan= ce in the ancient world. The gift o= f gold was the gift of the very best they had to offer. What we want to give to Jesus is n= othing less than our personal best.

There is a great story= about former President Jimmy Carter when he was graduating from the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. He had applied to be an officer on a nuclear submarine, but before he = could be considered, he had to interview with Admiral Hyman Rickover, a legend in= the Navy and the head of the nuclear submarine fleet. Admiral Rickover was stern and int= imidating, and the interview was known to be a grueling experience.<= /p>

When Jimmy Carter went before the admiral, they spent two hours together, with the admiral proving over a wide range of subjects how very little Carter knew about anything. Carter recalled being saturated wi= th sweat.

Finally the admiral as= ked a question Carter could answer with confidence: “How did you stand in y= our class at the Naval Academy?" Carter was proud to tell the admir= al that he was 59^th in a class of 820—a good showing in a very competitive environment. He r= elaxed a little and waited for the admiral to congratulate him. Instead the admiral fixed his gaze= on him and asked without smiling, “Did you do your best?”

Let me share with you = in his own words how Jimmy Carter answered Admiral Rickover:

I started to say, “Yes, sir,” but= I remembered who this was and recalled several of the many times at the Acade= my when I could have learned more about our allies, our enemies, weapons, strategy, and so forth. I was= just human. I finally gulped and s= aid, “No, sir, I didn’t always do my best.”

He looke= d at me for a long time, and then turned his chair to end the interview. He asked one final question, which= I have never been able to forget—or to answer. He said, “Why not?” I sat there for a while, shaken, a= nd then slowly left the room.1=

I think deep down we all want to give God our best. Not many of us would pr= ay, “Lord, make me a mediocre Christian.= Just give me enough faith to squeak past the gates of heaven, but pl= ease don’t let it show. And please, be content with the scant leftovers of my time, energy and money, because I have better things to do.”= No, I believe that deep in our spirits is a spark, a desire to be something great for God—to have faith, hope, love, joy, peace, and courage that really makes a difference somewhere. We want God to have our best. Now is a perfect time to make a st= ep in that direction, to start or to continue that journey.

Frankincense, the second gift, was not quite as practical as gold. It was an aromatic resin which cou= ld be burned for its fragrance. It = was used in religious ceremonies. It was a sign of worship and devotion. Perhaps when he got older, Jesus would appreciate the symbolism or t= ake it to the Temple to be used in the worship there. However, as a baby, if you can’t eat it or play with it, what = good is it?

Our gift of frankincen= se is our devotion to God, our worship and praise and prayer. We want to be with God in a deeply personal way; that is our gift to him.

Dr. John Killinger told about a missionary fri= end of his who had a powerful encounter with a young woman who came to his church = in Africa. Her name was Tonga, and she was probably in her mid-twenties.&= nbsp; She had simply shown up at worship one day, wide-eyed and enthralled= by everything that was going on. After the service, she just hung around the church, and finally the missionary as= ked her, “Aren’t you going home?”

She replied, “I = cannot go home. My father said if I = came to worship I should never return home.” So she made a pallet in the back o= f the church and slept there because she had no other place to go.

That’s devotion,= to give up your family to be able to worship your God. That is the gift of frankincense.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> That is a step or two beyond the u= sual, everyday, half-awake way we normally approach God. This is sold-out, fully devoted discipleship. Right now, at t= he beginning of this new year, is a great time to start fresh in worshipping G= od, not just in the sanctuary on Sundays, but every day of the week, in every p= lace we go, giving our full devotion to God even while we are going about our da= ily routines. That is a powerful = gift!

Finally, the Wise Men brought myrrh to Jesus, which immediately makes me question their wisdom. Myrrh was a spice use= d to prepare dead bodies for burial. It’s not the sort of thing you would give a baby at all. It’s like bringing embalming= fluid to a baby shower—inappropriate, even offensive.

Remember, the Wise Men= were men. Sometimes guys have trou= ble shopping. It’s hard to = find an appropriate gift, especially when you haven’t even met the person yet. But also remember, these= gifts are symbolic and instructive, to help us understand who Jesus is, and to provide us insight for our journey as well.

Myrrh is the gift of sacrifice. When the Wise Men = gave it to Jesus, it already foreshadowed Calvary and the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.&n= bsp; The Christian life is a journey of servanthood and sacrifice. We cannot escape the words of Jesu= s, who told his disciples repeatedly, R= 20;If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For thos= e who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my = sake will find it.”[2] To the self-centered, self-indulgent, consumer-mentality ear of our culture, this sounds like the= worst possible way to live. But the= truth is, it is in serving that we are fulfilled. It is in giving that we find our r= eal reward. It is in letting ours= elves go that we are made whole. Ha= ving the courage to do whatever it takes to follow Jesus, living for something larger than ourselves—that’s what makes us great!

The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw has been an inspirational book for= me.&nbs= p; It tells the story of a generation of people who grew up in the Depression of the 1930’s, then fought in the Second World War, then returned home to rebuild America and lead it into a greatest period of prosperity we have ever known. Brokaw introduces the book with th= ese words:

They answered the call to save the world from the two most powerful and ruthless military machines ever assembled, instruments of conquest in the hands of fascist maniacs. They faced g= reat odds and a late start, but they did not protest. At a time in their lives when thei= r days and nights should have been filled with innocent adventure, love, and the lessons of the workaday world, they were fighting, often hand to hand, in t= he most primitive conditions possible across the bloodied landscape…

When the= war was over, [they] joined in joyous and short-lived celebrations, then immediately began the task of rebuilding their lives and the world they wanted. They were mature beyo= nd their years, tempered by what they had been through, disciplined by military training and sacrifices….They stayed true to their values of personal responsibility, duty, honor, and faith.3

If there were a word to characterize that time in our history and these people of my parents’ generation, it would be the word “sacrifice.” They—some of you—were = part of a cause that was much bigger than themselves, and they gave their lives = to get it accomplished. That spi= rit of courage is not dead. When Christians do that for the cause of Christ, we are giving the gift of myrrh= .

The gifts the Wise Men gave—gold, frankincense, and myrrh—were more than trinkets to pacify a baby. They were gifts carefully chosen to honor and proclaim the newborn King. When we give our gifts—our b= est efforts, our worship and devotion, our sacrifice—we are committing ourselves to a journey that will end just where the Wise Men did: at the fe= et of Jesus. Let’s start t= he 2009 leg of the journey right today.

There’s an old s= tory about Queen Victoria of England, who made a trip to Africa to visit the B= ritish colonies there. In one coastal city, a number of tribal leaders brought gifts to honor the queen on the occasion of her visit. One of= the tribal leaders had left his home in the mountains far away two weeks earlier and walked all the way to present his gift to the queen. She remarked on what a long journe= y he had made just to present his gift. The chieftain bowed before the queen and spoke in broken English, “Long journey is part of gift.”

Our journey of faith i= s our gift to God. As we make the g= ift day by day—giving our best, worshipping with devotion, making the necessary sacrifices—God gives an even greater gift to us. It’s the gift we see in the manger, the gift we see on the cross, the gift we taste when we come to the table. Amen!