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Sermons In Time
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The Shepherds said, "Let us go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass" Many years ago now, when I was a very small boy, I remember an early morning just before Christmas. In my excitement, I awoke very early and was looking out the window of our home. My mother joined me and we both looked at a very bright star in the sky. I asked, "Is that the star of Bethlehem?" And in her wisdom she said, "I don't know. It might have been." Now, I couldn't have been over 4 or 5 years old, yet even today, whenever I think of the star of Bethlehem, I look out that window, and am filled with awe and wonder about that star. 1. I am still often filled with a sense of wonder. I am awed by the birth of a baby - to see that "first breath of air" and to watch life begin I am still awed by morning in the mountains I still chill on a hot summer night to trace Orion or Scorpio, or Cassiopeia in the clear Kansas sky. I am awed by the smell of new mown hay or the smell of sage after a spring shower. I am awed by the smell of the city after a diesel truck goes by. I revel with the writer as he speaks of Sunrise at sea: "There is something about a ship emerging from the night that cannot be equaled by any dawn on shore. Night at sea is closer to the origin of the earth than it is on land. There are few dangers that can be called real: The coast and its rocks are far away; other ships are well lit and easily spotted; the night itself hides no burglars, ghosts,, or cats on the prowl to tinge the darkness with terror There is nothing but the darkness, in which an occasional wave swishes past or a burst of spray shimmers green at starboard, red on the port side "Dawn at sea Breaks high in the sky: a faint flush on the highest peaks of the clouds. Then the miracle starts that never fails to make man humble - the momentous occurrence of the earth's creation. One moment, darkness is upon the face of the deep and the Spirit of God moves upon the waters; the next moment there is light. The young sailor will see the light and feel, more than he understands, why God called light DAY and the darkness NIGHT." 2. Again, I am amazed at how curiosity is the stuff of which wonder is made. Can't you just see those shepherds saying, "Come, let us go see..." - it is walking in new territory - letting the world speak its own understanding. -it is getting intentionally lost in a strange place, and finding your way home again. -it is a daughter saying to her dad during a pre-marital interview, "Daddy, don't say too much. Let us find out for ourselves." Eric Hoffer says we need to be able to play - to learn while the consequences are not so overwhelming. The spirit life is like that. God seems in the Bethlehem story to be giving us that permission - even encouraging our discovery. Hear these words on one who wanted to see a new play for himself.: "I went to the theater with the author of a famous play. He told me everything - about direction, the errors of the actors,, anticipating every scene, every clever line - unfolding the adventure before it happened - until there was nothing to look forward to - and spoiled the play. God made no such error." To be sure, such curious pursuit has its risks: - Our son, Steve, in the mountains nearly lost his life when he slipped on a glacial patch of ice! - Remember Tom and Becky in the cave in Tom Sawyer, and how they lost their way? - Just because we have the freedom does not make it right. - There is a world of difference between the risks of exploration and wanton exploitation of the world God has given. But the Spiritual Power of exploring is worth the risk! 3. Finally, the "Mystery" doesn't run dry. The writer of Ecclesiastes wrote "Vanity, Vanity" Having explored life, he found it vain. Some may have feared that in the knowledge explosion, God might get lost - become emeritus - that there might be no more mystery. Have we not, in fact, experienced quite the opposite? With truth and knowledge, the arrogance gives way to gratitude and humility. - After nearly 50 years of marriage, the mystery is ever new. - Friends drop by, and conversation paused long ago is as fresh as the morning dew. - Even Jesus said, " There is so much more I could say/give to you." - It was Albert Einstein who said, "As you push against the edge of the Universe, you are confronted with an ineffable mystery." Yes, there is the haunting "pull of the star" - we call it wonder. "Come, let us go and see this which has come to pass." Curiosity leads to understanding, And the rich experience of unending joy. "I wonder as I wander out under the sky How Jesus our Savior did come for to die For poor ornery people like you and like I I wonder as I wander out under the sky. "When Mary birthed Jesus ‘twas in a cow stall With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all And out of God's heaven a starlight did fall For a promise of ages it did then recall. And, so we live, with a sense of Wonder. Amen
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