How many of you have ever had a life changing experience? Maybe it was an encounter with another person that has never let you be the same again. Maybe it was an event you attended – a concert, conference or a movie – that changed you forever. Maybe it was a job you held, volunteer work you did or a trip you took that moved you into a whole new way of understanding the world and your place in it. It even could be something not so positive. Maybe your life has changed because of the death of someone you love, a sickness you’ve had to endure or a betrayal you’ve had to work through. I would not hesitate to say that all of us have had at least one thing that we would call a life changing experience happen in our lives – something that has altered our way forward.
     The Gospel story today is about a life changing experience for the wise men who sought Jesus, the newborn king of the Jews. Their journey of searching and finding him ends with them returning home by another road. Their encounter with Jesus didn’t allow them to go home the same way they came. 
     As much as today’s Gospel is about the wise men’s life changing experience, it is about God’s guidance to it. Through a star at its rising, Holy Scripture and dreams, the wise men were guided on a journey of a lifetime. The most amazing thing about the guidance they received is that God spoke to them exactly in the way they would be able to understand. To get at this, we need to understand exactly who these wise men were. We know the wise men’s story as much through legend and pop culture as we do from the Biblical account we heard today.
     For example, if I asked you how many wise men there were, most of you would say “three” with not a question in your mind. Afterall, there were three gifts brought – gold, frankincense and myrrh. The song tells us there were three – (sing) "We Three Kings of Orient Are."
      In actuality, though, the Bible doesn’t say. It only tells us that "wise men from the East came to Jerusalem." (Mt. 2:1) Who were the wise men? Well, they weren’t kings like the song says. These wise men were more like the astronomers, fortune-tellers, and star-gazers of Jesus’ time. It’s no question that what they practiced was outside of Jewish standards in every way. Still, they were among Jesus’ first guests.
      And it wasn’t by accident. God guided them there. God used a star to guide these astronomers to God’s Son. God used a dream to tell these fortune-tellers to avoid King Herod on their way home. God used the chief priests and scribes, men wise in regard to God’s Holy Scriptures, to tell these wise men that Bethlehem was where they would find the baby king. God guided them to Jesus every step of the way in ways they could understand. When they found him, they poured out gift after gift – gifts fit for a king.
     When they arrived at the place where Jesus and Mary were, the Bible tells us they were “overwhelmed with joy” and upon seeing them that they “knelt down and paid him homage.” In other words, they worshiped him. It’s a gift that people throughout time have given Jesus. We give it every time we come together as this community of faith, every time we breathe a prayer of thanksgiving as individuals. They also gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gold was a gift for a king. It was a precious metal, reserved for royalty. It symbolized Jesus as the King of the Jews. Frankincense was a gift for a priest. Its smoke rose to the heavens like a prayer. It symbolized Jesus as our great high priest. Myrrh was used in preparation of bodies for burial. In the Gospel of John, Nicodemus brings it to the tomb (John 19:39) to embalm Jesus. Myrrh connects Jesus’ birth with his death, highlighting the sacrifice he made for the sins of the world. The final gift the wise men gave to Jesus was the gift of loyalty. Instead of returning to King Herod as he had requested, they listened to God’s voice and guidance in their dreams and avoided seeing Herod on their way home. Remember, they returned home by another road.
     They returned home by another road. I suppose some people would say that this final sentence of the wise men’s story is only referring to the physical route they took to get back to their country. It is our faith that allows us to look at it in a deeper way. It wasn’t just their route that was changed. They had had a life changing experience! They returned home different men than they were when they first saw the star at its rising. They were changed because of God’s guidance. They were changed by Herod’s see-through lies. They were changed by the gifts they brought and offered to Jesus. They were changed because they had looked their Savior in the eyes.
     It’s a new year. Only six days in, 2008 still feels pretty fresh and new – full of the possibility of a multitude of life changing experiences. Like the wise men, may God guide you in ways you can see and understand. Like the wise men, may you share your gifts with Jesus and all of God’s creation. Like the wise men, may you overcome the Herod’s of your life who will only lie to you and use you for their selfish purposes. Like the wise men, may you see God – in the face of another, at a beautiful sun set or rise. Like the wise men, may God always lead you home in the best way possible. Amen.