Sermons
Everybody's Looking for Something
May the God who creates us, redeems us and sustains us, be with us this day and remain with us always; in your Holy Name we pray. Amen.
(Please be seated.)
Good Morning!
So—what are you looking for?
As Annie Lenox says, singing with the Eurthymics,
Everybody’s looking for something…
“Sweet dreams are made of these,
Who am I to disagree?
You travel the world and the seven seas,
Everybody’s looking for something.”
What are you looking for?
What do hope for,
yearn for,
long for?
For all of us are looking for something.
What were they looking for?
The magi of oh so long ago
—the ones whom some say
were magicians from the east,
astrologers from Persia.
What were they looking for?
They saw the star at its rising.
But how did they decide
to take the risk
to go for something more?
What did they say to their colleagues?
“Bit much—going to find the stars you see.
Whose idea was that?”
Or their spouses,
“Well and good for you
—but what in heaven’s name am I going to do?”
Indeed, whose wild idea was it
—to leave their routines—
their families—
to set aside their lives as they knew them
to follow a star.
Even if it was a bright star
—even if they were astrologers by trade.
Usually the astrology business,
that sort of study,
that sort of work involved predicting futures,
interpreting dreams
and plotting the courses of the stars
through heavenly skies.
Typically-- they didn’t go to find the stars they saw.
And yet somehow, someway,
someone of them convinced the others to go for it.
To find the child,
whose birth had caused the rising of this star.
One of them—
or more—and eventually all—
felt a calling to be part of something greater than
themselves.
They saw, they followed,
and they asked for help along the way.
Imagine the audacity, the simplicity,
the lack of political savvy,
asking for directions to the new king’s house,
in the old king’s home district.
Yet something—
pushed them to deny the conventions of the day,
to risk upsetting the status quo
for they were embarked upon a quest
greater than their own—
they were looking for one for whom
they could worship—
one who had enough power and relevance
to light up the sky.
These were men seeking meaning beyond
what they had previously known.
These were people longing for a connection literally
with a higher power.
If it meant riling up the political forces of the day—
well then so be it.
They saw, they followed,
they asked and they found—
right place, right time.
Imagine their excitement when they saw
that the star they had stopped.
It was as if they’d made it to the promised land.
And indeed they had.
What they were looking for
—they had found.
They were changed
—no doubt in my mind.
They saw him and they were overcome,
they offered their precious gifts,
they bowed down before the peasant babe,
And having been warned in a dream,
not to return to Herod,
they returned to their homes by another way.
The world of that day said,
“You’ve lost your minds—
upsetting your lives
because you long for something
more.”
They said,
“We’ve seen his star rising
and we have come to worship him.”
So my friends what are you looking for?
What are we looking for?
In this world
where the status quo tells us
—not to question our leaders,
In this world that tells us,
if you’re white and born in the US
—you deserve 40% of the world’s resources.
What are we looking for?
In this world that tells us
—to buy and spend and
market forces will cure the poverty of our world
—what are we looking for?
Something more—I believe.
Something along the lines
of our three wise ones.
Now is the time—
today is the day—
to do as our friends the Magi did
—What better day as we baptize:
Mary, Caleb and Zoe
—now is the time
to join with the wise ones of old
and create a movement
to seek the savior
in all we do.
To follow his star
no matter where it takes us—
no matter what the world tells us.
The world says,
“King—what King?—Herod’s the only king around here.”
We say,
“ There will be child
and he shall be called Emmanuel”
The world says,
“There are haves and
there are those who have not,
get yours today
for there may not be enough for tomorrow.”
The world says,
“There are limited resources
and finite time.”
We say,
“It’s a river not a pie—
God’s love is not
a finite wheel whacked up
—“Your piece of God’s
grace does not affect mine’
God’s grace is
a raging roaring river,
there’s more than enough
for all of us to drink and imbibe.”
The world says,
“War is the way that we make peace,
show them how many guns we have
and they’ll stop bombing us.”
We say,
“Once you’ve seen the star
shimmer over the house,
once you’ve seen the baby
born in a barn—
you know there’s got to be another way.
The world says,
“Don’t you sit down
in the front of the bus,
a firestorm will erupt and we wouldn’t want that.”
We say, “Our changes today,
will make for so much more tomorrow.”
The world says,
“You’re not good enough.”
We say,
“We do our very best
and there is a cloud of witnesses
who will carry us through.
So we bless our babies,
baptize them in water
—sealed by the power of the holy spirit,
they bear witness
to God’s continuous ability to transform our world.
What are you looking for?
Who are you going to believe?
Herod or the star?
We say,
“A baby was born in a barn
and we have come to worship him.”
Thanks be to God. Amen.