See and Be Radiant

Trinity Presbyterian Church of Bethesda
01.06.08; Rev. David Williams

Scripture Lessons: Isaiah 60:1-6; Matthew 2:1-12

So how’d you make out this Christmas?

If the folks from the National Retail Federation are to be believed, the average American family of four will have spent $6,200 this last holiday season. Six Thousand Two Hundred Dollars. That’s one thousand, five hundred and fifty dollars in gifts per person. Suddenly, I’m feeling well below average, and to be honest, I suspect that’s exactly the way the National Retail Federation wants us to feel. You’re all below average! Gotta spend more, people!

Let’s pretend for a moment that the retailer’s association number is real. Against that rather excessive standard, how would Jesus have made out this year? When those three kingly figures showed up at the door of the equipment shed behind the overbooked Bethlehem Motel 6 and presented their gifts to the itinerant family that was taking shelter there for the night, what did that mean in terms of cold, hard cash value?

We all know the gifts. He gets gold, he gets frankincense, he gets myrrh. Let’s assume he gets a half-pound of each, and talk dollars here, two thousand and eight dollars. We’ll go in reverse order, and start with the myrrh.

Myrrh, as many of you may know, is a perfumed resin that was used in the ancient world to embalm the dead. Back then, it was pretty valuable. Today, though, it’s not in much demand. If you do a little internet searching you’ll find that a kilo of Yemeni myrrh goes for forty eight bucks American. That means, if you do the calculations, that a half pound of myrrh is today worth eleven dollars and four cents, not including tax, shipping and handling.

Frankincense is another perfume, a form of incense that would have typically been used in religious rituals. In the first century, it was seriously rare and among the most expensive things one could buy. But we don’t live in the first century. Here in the twenty-first century, frankincense just isn’t on people’s gift lists. It’s still produced in some middle eastern nations, and the best stuff comes from the Sultanate of Oman. Omani frankincense retails for $78 a kilo, which translates into $17.94 a half pound. So far the blessed Lord Jesus asleep in his bed has only raked in $28.98. So far, the National Retail Federation is very, very disappointed in the Wise Men. But we’ve got one gift left.

And it’s Gold. Shiny warm blingtastic Gold. Back in the time of Jesus, it was among the most precious of metals. Here in 2008, with the stock markets flailing around wildly, the dollar’s value in a nose dive, the real estate markets collapsing and a major recession possibly right around the corner, gold is suddenly in major demand. At the beginning of 2007, gold was selling in the global market for under $640 per troy ounce. Yesterday, gold was at $861 per troy ounce. At the close of commodities trading on Friday, that half-pound of gold would ring in at six thousand eight hundred and eighty eight dollars. Add in the frankincense and myrrh, and you’ve got gifts worth six thousand nine hundred and eighteen dollars and ninety eight cents. The National Retail Federation approves. Almost seven thousand bucks in gifts, and they’re only a family of three! For 2008, the Holy Family is definitely above average...from a retail perspective, that is.

As insane as that might seem, there are large portions of American Christianity that seem to view faith through that same retail lens. The purpose of coming to church and the purpose of being part of a congregation is to insure that you materially prosper. It’s known as Word Faith Christianity, and it’s practitioners are many. They include folks like Creflo A. Dollar, Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn, and there are a few core themes that run throughout their brand of Christianity.

The first and most essential idea pitched by these folks is the idea that material prosperity is the certain end result of faithfulness. If you are faithful, then you will get a bountiful repayment from God. It isn’t just that you do well spiritually. If you show your faith, you’ll get a return that typically can be measured in terms of cold, hard, cash.

How do you show God your faithfulness? For that, these purveyors of prosperity ask only that you be sure to “sow a seed.” They tell you that to get God’s blessings in return, you have to give first. How can you expect God to give something to you if you’re not giving to God? And what easier way to give to God than to support their ministries? Preferably to their ministry. They take Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, and you don’t even have to get up off the couch to begin planting the seeds that will lead to your blessings.

If you want to get a gift, you’ve got to give a gift! It’s a bit like the cheesy necklace I had the pleasure of watching Benny Hinn offer up on cable recently in exchange for your $1,000 donation.

Of course, as we heard the Epiphany story read this morning, one thing that should strike all of us is that if you really listen to that story, the gifts...the gold and frankincense and myrrh...are really not important at all. Yes, talking about what they mean has launched a thousand sermons. Gold for kingship, frankincense for worship, and myrrh for Christ’s death...I think I’ve even preached a sermon or two just like that. We might even sing a song about it in the very near future.

But the wise men don’t set out on their journey so that they can bring Christ gifts valued at nearly 7,000 2008 dollars. The purpose of their long trek across the Ancient Near East is to pay him homage, to honor him, and to rejoice in his presence. Having observed the radiance of his star, they come to bask in it’s light. There’s absolutely no mention in that passage of having their gifts valued based on their worth. What is highlighted is that they rejoiced, and they honored him.

It is that joy and that honor that are the most important gifts we can offer up...and not because we expect anything significant in return. If we’re to really rejoice in Christ’s presence, to really celebrate him and share ourselves with him, we can’t approach him with a transaction in mind.

Instead, we’re called to do what the prophet Isaiah proclaims in Isaiah chapter 60, as he describes a vision of God’s fulfillment to a people who have been broken by years of exile and hopelessness. We are to see the brilliance of God’s promise, and be overjoyed. From that joy we radiate our own joy into the world, giving to all those around us a reflection of how God’s light has touched our lives.

Material blessings may come. Or they may not. They’re not the point. We’re not here to see how much we might receive.