01/06/2008                                                                     Matthew 2:1-12

“God’s GPS System”

Rev. Jonathan Rumburg

Introduction

            I love the picture that the story of the Magi paints in my imagination:  A special star shining bright, illuminating a stable.  A young woman kneeling by a manger, a new mother’s love radiating from her face.  Standing beside her a man, gentle and strong.  And lying in that manger, a new born baby, a few pieces of straw grasped in his tiny fist.

            There’s a sheep here, a cow there.  And three exotic gentlemen, dressed in royal robes, bowing before the baby, their faces filled with joy, their hands outstretched with gifts too beautiful and too rich for a stable.
            I must admit my imagination is affected as much by modern nativity scenes and Christmas pageants as Matthew’s gospel account.  But the reality is the Magi didn’t arrive Christmas Day.  Rather they arrived several days or weeks or even months later.  And when they did arrive, they didn’t find Jesus in a stable, they found him in a house.

            And since I am already getting myself in trouble by dismantling our traditional view of the Christmas story, let me just top it all of by saying that we don’t know if there were three Magi. There were at least two.  Maybe there were six.  Yes, there were three gifts, but how many Magi, scholars cannot say for certain.
            Still, I love the nativity.  And at least some of it matches Matthew’s account.  There was a star. And there were exotic gentlemen bowing before Jesus, joy in their faces and magnificent gifts in their hands.
            But the number of Magi, and all we’ve done to the story, isn’t what Matthew intended for us to focus on.  Rather what we can take is that these Magi, who had no reason to come, felt something imploring them to go and search for this child.

            It was hope in what their limited knowledge of the scriptures told them could possibly be true— Hope that a Messiah, the one who would come to redeem a hurting world, had finally come. 

            And it was trust and a bit of faith that allowed them to followed the directions to this child, where their lives would be changed forever.

            There is an obvious question to ask here.  It’s not why did they come— history and our faith tells us why.  It’s the how question that is important to ask. 

            It might seem simple to answer—they followed a star.  But how the Magi came to find the Christ child, the Messiah, went beyond just following a star.  You could say they used God’s GPS System. 

Move 1:

            Last Spring I attended my Bethany Fellowship Conference’s in Indianapolis.  Well, it wasn’t exactly in Indianapolis.  Indianapolis was where we went for our church visits and seminar; but we stayed at a retreat center an hour south of Indy, out in the middle of no where.  And when I say out in the middle of now where, I mean two lane windy paved roads turning into one lane gravel roads. 

            Instead of road names, the directions included landmarks.  Turn left at the red barn with the wagon wheel hanging on the door, then bear right when you come to the two coon dogs in the road.

            As you might imagine, because we were out in the middle of no where, there was no cell phone reception. 

            So one evening, my friend JP and I decided we would drive around some of these one lane gravel roads, in hopes of finding a spot where we could make phone calls to our significant others.

            After some time of driving, making right turns and left turns on other gravel roads, we were able to find a spot that gave us some reception on our phones, and we were able to make our calls. 

            However, in our efforts to find cell phone reception, we failed to remember which way we needed to go to get back to the retreat center. 

            For a moment concern over took me.  It was dark and getting late.  As I said, there were no road signs, and so I tried to tell JP that we in fact turned left at the “No Hunting” sign, and not right at the wide mouth bass fish mail box.

            But two guys being “guys who were lost”, trying to convince the other that he knew where he was going was of no consequence after a few moments because we were in JP’s girlfriend’s brand new Chevy Trail Blazer, complete with On Star Navigation System.  And with a simple push of that blue button, relief washed over me as the On Star staff person’s voice came through the car’s speaker system and said, “This is On Star, how can I direct you today?”

            However, that relief quickly vanished when JP turned and asked me, “What’s the address of the retreat center?” 

            “How should I know?!” I responded. 

            I could hear a slight chortle from the On Star staffer.

            Well, what we did know was that the retreat center was located in Moundsville, Indiana.  So JP simply asked, “Could you give me turn by turn directions to Moundsville, Indiana.” 

            “How cool was this!”  Turn by turn directions to where ever you wanted to go. 

            I needed this system.  Never again would I have to try to read indecipherable MapQuest directions, by a dim interior dome light, as I drove along busy city streets, trying not to hold up cars behind me, while making sure I don’t to have to cut across four lanes of traffic in order to make a left hand turn. 

            Never again would I have to venture into a gas station and ask for directions from some nineteen year old kid who isn’t sure himself of just where he is.

            But my amazement of how incredible this system was again vanished when JP’s request for turn by turn directions to Moundsville, Indiana, was responded with first a pause, and then, “But you’re already in Moundsville, Indiana.”

            This moment just dripped with irony.  Two grown men were lost, in the very place they were trying to get to.

*******

            How often does that happen in our spiritual lives?  How often do we come to places like this church, sit in sanctuaries like this one, be exactly where we are supposed to be on our spiritual journey, but yet, be so lost?

            Or, how often have we been on the right road, a wide open road with no traffic and no speed limit, and nothing standing in our way, but yet, we just puttering along at nearly a stand still.

            It is in those moments, whether when we’re lost and don’t know which way to go, or when the road ahead is clear but we are reluctant to press on toward what lies ahead, that we need to turn on and use God’s GPS System.

Move 2:

            Finding places today has been revolutionized by Global Positioning System devises.  Or more commonly known as GPS.

            Some cars have in dash GPS devises like On-Star, while those of us who don’t have such features and amenities, can purchase hand held ones.  But all come with the capability to help you find where you need to go.

            For instance, there’s the Garmen 760 with built-in AAA Travel Information. It’s sleek, sophisticated and simple to use, with a 4.3” touch-screen which offers a superior, and precise navigation experience.

            With the Magellan Portable GPS Navigator you can set it to find any of the 1.5 million points of interest contained in its optimized database or it can help you easily find gas stations, restaurants, ATMs, and when that caffeine addiction kicks in, it will help you find the nearest Starbucks.

            Then there’s my favorite, only because of its ad slogan.  The Navigon 2100 Portable GPS with Exclusive Reality View, and a special feature that warns you of heavy traffic, allowing the Navigon makers to boast the slogan, “With the Navigon, you won’t get caught in a jam.”

            It’s a wonder that we can get anywhere these days without these devices.

            And it really makes you wonder how the Magi, who supposedly rode camels, were able to find the house where Jesus, Mary, and Joseph lived.

            How were they able to get where God wanted and needed them?  They certainly didn’t have the technology we have today.  There were no hand held navigation devices in Asia at the beginning of the Common Era.  There were no in camel hump global position devices.  No road signs and probably no land marks that pointed them toward the king of the Jews. 

            Well, as I said, it was God’s GPS System that got them where the wanted and needed to go.

Move 3

            So what is God’s GPS System?  Well it was more than just following a star.  Sure that was a major part of it, but there were other features and amenities that God’s GPS System used to get the Magi where they wanted and needed to go.  And not only did these features and amenities get them to their destination, it also got them past some significant road blocks, and kept them out of a jam that the Navagon people could never have imagined.

            These Magi lived far away from Bethlehem, so far that they knew nothing about Jesus.  It’s likely they had heard of the God of Abraham, but they had no particular relationship with God.

            They didn’t live in Judea.  Rather they lived in Persia, or Arabia maybe. 

            They certainly weren’t Jewish, they were Gentiles. 

            What all this adds up to is that the Magi didn’t grow up in the church.  They never prayed with their parents before bedtime—at least not to the God of Abraham.  They never went to Sunday school or youth group.  They never memorized any Bible verses.  They were familiar with scriptures, but chances are they didn’t know Genesis from Job. 

            Add to all those roadblocks, they had to keep out of the jam of being caught within the luring deceit and hypocrisy of King Herod, a man of great power, who was asking them to help him find this new born king, not because he wanted to pay homage as well, but so that he could eliminate his completion.

            Yet despite these road blocks, they managed to find the Christ Child, they found God, and had an encounter that changed their lives forever.

            So how did these Magi use God’s GPS System to find this overwhelming joy? 

            Read the text—The Magi didn’t just see a star and follow it.  Rather they used the features and amenities of God’s GPS that was this star, and connected it to what they did know about another important feature of God’s GPS System— God’s Holy Scriptures, “It has been written by the prophet.”

            But there were even more features and amenities they had to use.  One’s they had to provide to God’s GPS System themselves.  Hope.  Trust.  And a little faith.

            God’s star, God’s Holy Word, hope, trust, and a little faith are what make up all the features and amenities of God’s GPS System.

            The Magi used them all, and when they did, they arrived at the place God was giving them turn by turn directions to, and they were overwhelmed with joy.

Conclusion

            Where is God positioning you in this world?

            Where is God directing in your life?

            Are you lost?

            Is the road ahead wide open, but yet you are just puttering along?

            I have no doubt that God is directing you in your life.  No doubt that God is working in your life, hoping that you will make the choices that God wants you to make.

            Perhaps God is showing you a star right now.  A bright shining star that is showing you in clear ways which turn by turn directions you should take your life.

            Perhaps God has already shown you such a star to follow in your life, and you obediently and faithfully followed it, but now God is imploring you, warning you maybe, to return or go down another road.

            If so, then keep using God’s GPS System, and all its features and amenities.

            But then again, maybe it seems that there are no directions being given to you.

            If that is the case then I wonder if you are using God’s GPS System, and all its features and amenities, to the fullest.

            See, God’s GPS System isn’t something that you can simply install, push a button, and have God say, “This is God, how can I direct you today?”

            Instead, God’s GPS System works only when we open our minds and hearts to God’s directions, use God’s holy world, have hope for what could be, trust that God will guide us where God wants and needs us, and then have just a little faith that God is guiding and direction us in our lives.

            It’s not always the most user friendly GPS system, but when we use God’s GPS System, and all its features and amenities like the Magi, we too will be directed to overwhelming joy.

            Amen.