Going Ahead Anyway
Epiphany - Matthew 2:1-12
January 4, 2015
This sermon was preached by Pastor Kurt Jacobson at Trinity Lutheran Church, Eau Claire, WI.
Dear Friends:
I love this biblical story with the wise men and Herod. It is filled with adventure, surprise, jealousy and
evil, reward and worship. It’s a feast for a preacher.
The Bible doesn’t tell us much about the wisemen. So, many legends surround this piece of scripture.
The bible doesn’t tell us how many there were, but throughout time history has settled on three. Wise men were
likely astrologers.
The bible does tell us this story, in which the wisemen play a key part. Upon the birth of Jesus,
scriptures say, the shepherds saw a star rise over the place where Jesus was born. Others noticed the star, too,
including some wise men in the east. They were curious enough to go to the ruler of the day - a man named
Herod and ask about the star. These wise men knew that the rising of this new star was part of the promise that
the long-awaited king of the Jews had arrived.
When Herod heard about this star - he was frightened. AA new king?@ Herod thought to himself. AI=m the
king!@ A new king would be a threat to his authority. So Herod called on his key advisors – who were
knowledgeable about the biblical predictions regarding the birth of the Messiah. They confirmed what the wise
men suspected regarding the star. It did signal the arrival of the long-awaited king of the Jews.
This news shocked Herod so much, that after he properly hosted a dinner party for the wise men, he
pulled them aside and confided in them. He told them that he was even more excited than they were about this
new king being born. In fact Herod said to the wise men: AI would certainly appreciate it if, when you find this
new king C you’ll come back and fill me in.@ I guess Herod wanted to know where to send the new parents
some gift for the baby shower.
Herod was a crafty man. We’d call him Acomplicated.@ While at times he demonstrated compassion,
more often he was downright evil. Herod murdered his wife, mother-in-law and at least three of his own sons.
Later in life, when he knew his death was coming, Herod ordered the arrest of 100 of the most respected
residents in town, had them thrown in prison with the strict order that at the moment of his death, all of them
would be killed.
Herod had the potential for good, but was driven by horrendous evil and jealousy. Whenever he faced
any threat, real or imagined, he did whatever was necessary to destroy it.
Now of course, the birth of Jesus, the long expected Messiah was a real threat. That=s why Herod wanted
the wise men to come back and report on what they found. With the specifics about Jesus, Herod could be
certain to eliminate him.
You’ve heard how the story played out. The wise men found Jesus. They worshiped him and gave him
gifts. Then the bible says this: “having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went home by
another way.@ They totally ignored Herod=s request that they return to him and bring news of the location of the
child, Jesus.
When Herod realized the wise men were not coming back to give a full report - he was hopping mad! In
an evil rage of anger, Herod ordered the murder of all children around Bethlehem less than two years of age.
AThat=ll get rid of this threat@ - Herod thought. Unbeknown to Herod, Jesus was secretly taken to Egypt to be
spared Herod=s murdering rampage.
Quite a story, isn=t it? Such evil! Why does the bible tell us this story? Why would God want us to know
about Herod and his horrible acts?
The persistent presence of evil, even to this day, troubles most people. How to understand and respond
to evil has left the human species flummoxed for centuries. There seems to be two common ways people
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respond to evil. Some try to explain it and others try to eliminate it. I’m going to propose that as followers of
Jesus, there’s a better way – a third way. More on that in a couple minutes.
But first, the explainers. Some people try to explain evil thinking that if we understand it, maybe we can
figure out a way to stop it. There’s a clear example of this approach in the Bible.
In the Old Testament, a man name Job loses his property, his children, and his health. His friends arrive
to explain these horrible, evil things. They try to convince Job that he must have done something wrong.
Otherwise, why would he be suffering?
In our day, a tornado decimates a city and someone says: "It must have happened for a reason."
Explaining away evil always falls short. We can spend years wondering why there is evil in the world
and why people do evil things to people. But it is beyond human capacity to truly explain evil, because it is
beyond explanation.
Another way to deal with evil is to seek to eliminate it altogether. It sounds impossible, but there are
folks working around the clock trying to rid our communities and world of evil.
Medical professionals and researches are always working to ease or cure the evils of illness and human
suffering. Therapists work to treat people with maladies and anger issues that sometimes lie at the root of evil,
destructive behaviors. World leaders negotiate endlessly with the hope that wars might be prevented. Yet the
world has always known the evils of war in one degree or another. But to date, no human effort using the
brightest minds, intervention or technology has managed to eliminate the evils of disease or human action.
So, we can't explain evil and we can't eliminate it. What now? The best answer, and perhaps the most
faithful way for us to respond to the problem of evil is to work around it. This biblical account of the wise men
and Herod teach me this third response to evil. The wise men were not going to stop Herod=s evil response to
Jesus. But the wise men worked around Herod. Jesus would never have seen his second birthday if Herod's plan
to kill all children around Bethlehem had worked.
In short, Herod was a power-hungry ruler whose actions reeked of evil. We can't explain his actions or
anyone who acts in evil ways. And despite our best efforts to create an atmosphere of cooperation and restraint,
it is unrealistic to think we are going to eliminate evil from the face of the earth. Our only choice, unless we
want to give in or give up, is to work around the evil and do what is right and good anyway.
Someone once penned a few thoughts which stand up to a variety of evils. Its titled AAnyway" and
it goes like this:
 People really need help, but may turn on you if you help them. Help people anyway!
 If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good anyway!
 The kindness you share today will be forgotten tomorrow. Share kindness anyway!
 What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway!
It’s true that there is always going to be evil infecting our lives and our world. That fact didn=t stop the
wise men. Evil has never stopped the Christians from enacting hope and helping people. We are charged to tell
people of Jesus and life that rises from the grave. The Christian church, despite its own failures at times, feeds,
clothes, treats people and shares Jesus= love in tangible ways. And yet evil still lurks all around us. But we go
ahead and make known the ways of Jesus anyway!
There are people who have never had a decent home to live in, but that hasn't kept Jimmy Carter and
millions of people from driving nails and painting walls for Habitat for Humanity, anyway. There may never be
widespread peace in the Middle East, but that hasn't stopped peacemakers in Palestine and Israel and the US
from devoting their lives toward creating pockets of peace.
Evil will always be with us while we live in this world, and I don’t need to illustrate or amplify evil
actions that hurt and destroy life – because you hear and see it almost daily. Despite this reality – we, as
followers of Jesus, seize each day’s gift of life and we go forth confidently, without fear to reflect the light of
God=s goodness and mercy anyway.
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This Epiphany season, which the Christian Church keeps in the next six weeks is all about shining the
light of Jesus and making known Jesus’ goodness and mercy. In a world of darkness, we are given light. It
started with a star above a place called Bethlehem. It is the light of Jesus Christ which shines through us into
this world, with hope. It is a light that guided those wise men to go ahead anyway. It is a light that has never and
will never be overcome by evil.
Let=s pray:
God, you sent the wise men on a journey that was filled with potential danger and surrounded by evil. It was a
journey they didn=t understand, but went on anyway. You call us to live our lives in trust and to follow the light
of Jesus always. When we are confronted with evil - show us the light of that which is right – so we may, in turn,
show others the light of Jesus and find the joy and peace only you can give. Amen.
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