Second Sunday after Christmas
The Most Precious Gift
In light of today’s Gospel text from Matthew 2:1–12, I want to say first that wise persons still seek the Lord, and when they find him, they give him their most precious treasure. The wise men from the East traveled a long way in search of the Christ Child, not only because they saw the star, but also because they were men of faith who had spiritual insight. They were convinced that with the star’s appearance the promised Messiah had been born; so they journeyed to Bethlehem of Judea to find him.
Unlike Herod, who had a different motive for knowing where the young child was, the wise men wanted to worship and honor the child as an infant king. So they brought precious gifts from their rich treasuries. But their most precious gifts were not gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Their most precious gifts were their hearts, and their greatest honor was acknowledging Jesus as Messiah and King.
For us, as for the wise men, the wisdom to search for Jesus, until we truly find him, comes from above, and the desire to worship and honor him comes from the heart. In our spiritual journey, may we truly find Jesus and get to know him personally, so that while we surrender to him some of our earthly treasures, we also surrender our most precious treasure. That most precious treasure is our hearts, as we worship him in Spirit and in truth.
Charles C. Harewood, pastor, First Moravian Church
New York, New York