Sermon by: Robert Austell
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Do you remember first learning to hit a baseball? Or a tennis ball?
I do; I was a young boy. In both instances, my coaches instructed me, “Keep your eye on the ball.” It took more than one embarrassing whiff swinging and missing for me to take that lesson to heart. But it’s true; you have a much better chance of hitting a ball if you are looking at it!
I remember a second thing, though. It was the realization I made when I first started wearing contacts in sixth grade. I couldn’t see out the side of my glasses. Everything in my peripheral vision was fuzzy. And even head-on, if I moved my head, everything in my field of vision shifted with my glasses. I didn’t know that was not normal until I put on contacts and that all went away. Keeping my eye on the ball wasn’t enough; I also needed to see clearly!
These are the lessons of the Wise Men for us as we move through another Christmas season, and indeed, through life itself. How do we keep the right priorities, de-stress, and get the right perspective on God, self, and the swirl of life all around us?
The Wise Men show us. We must look in the right place – that is, keep our eye on the ball. And we must look through the “right lens” in order to see clearly.
Looking in the Right Place
What is Christmas about anyway? Is it shopping? Is it finding a Nintendo Wii for your child or grandchild? Is it fighting traffic? Is it family togetherness? Is it stress? Is it sorrow? Is it “Joy to the World?”
I think again of standing up to bat. There’s close and there’s not close. There’s striking out and there is hitting it out of the park. Some of those things are related to Christmas. Some are close; others are not. Some, like shopping, can be somewhat related, but can also be as far off the mark as holding the bat backwards and facing the wrong direction.
I think we all have been around long enough to know that Christmas is not about those things. It’s almost cliché to say so. We know it is about baby Jesus, right? And yet, like the kid stepping up to bat, I know why I’m there and what I’m supposed to do, but I still take my eye off the ball!
Look at the text. The Jewish people had been looking for the Messiah for hundreds of years. They knew the prophecies; they were full of expectation. When Herod called the chief priests and scribes together, they knew exactly what God had promised, right down to the town of Bethlehem! But did they know Jesus had been born? No, it was out-of-towners who had their eye on the ball. They saw God’s sign in the heavens. They came for one purpose only; to find and pay homage to this new King.
The Jewish people had been waiting too long. They got distracted. Think about it; how well would you do if you had to wait an hour between pitches? Would you see it coming? I’d probably be sitting on the bat.
It’s not like Jesus is coming into the world THIS Christmas. We’re just celebrating that he did, right? As long as I get lined up and into place by Christmas morning… or maybe Christmas Eve if I can find a nice church service somewhere. As the Jewish people had, we’ve lost the attentiveness of standing at the ready, waiting for God to act.
But that is exactly the news of Christmas. Not just that an important birth occurred, but that God is with us… Immanuel. With Jesus’ birth, God stepped into the world in a new way and things have never been the same. Even with Jesus returned to Heaven, the Holy Spirit he left among us changes everything.
We must stand ready for God to act, because God does act and is continuing to work among us. We must keep our eye on the ball, lest we be snoozing or looking around or turned around backwards when God acts. How come we never see God at work? Maybe we’re not looking at the right time!
Keep your eye on the ball. Look in the right place. That’s lesson #1 from the Wise Men.
Looking Through the Right Lens
The second lesson is one of seeing clearly. When I got contacts, I realized how compromised my vision had been in sports for years.
Herod knew intuitively that these Magi were on the right track. They were seeing something clearly, because it led them many miles to bring them into Jerusalem. Yet even they were able to fine-tune their vision. After all, following a star seems like a tricky thing… how exactly does it lead you somewhere? They probably came to Jerusalem because it was the capital city. Where else would a king be born?
But they took the prophecy of the Scribes and Pharisees and followed it to Bethlehem. The Word of God clarified their vision and helped them see more clearly. Why didn’t the Jews use that Word? They didn’t even have their eye on the ball. But the Magi were looking hard. And that Word was the right lens with which to see.
I can think of all kinds of ‘lenses’ we look through.
There is the lens of culture – with all the holiday hoopla.
There is the lens of personal grief that can cloud everything.
There is the lens of secularism, that makes Christmas a grand vacation rather than a holy event.
There is the lens of expectation – from presents to family gatherings to church attendance and work parties.
But what does the lens of God’s Word tell us? It tells us that on this unique day in history God stepped into the world. It tells us that God acted out of love, for our sake. It tells us that this baby was also the Rescuer of the World, and our only hope of having life and hope.
That Word of God is the focusing lens that, if our eye is on the ball, causes us to zero right in on what Christmas is about. It is about God coming to visit you (and me), to make peace, and to show His love.
On Keeping Focused
The last part of the story is also significant. It doesn’t end with the Magi finding Jesus. It ends with them seeing clearly enough to go home another way and avoid Herod.
Keeping our eye on the ball and seeing clearly has an additional beneficial effect. It helps us block out distraction. If I am focused on the ball and see it clearly, I won’t stop and look at the kids shouting on the other team. I won’t look up at the bird flying overhead. I won’t stare at my untied shoe. It’s all about the ball, the pitch and the swing.
Likewise, if we keep our eyes and hearts focused in the right place and if we see Jesus clearly through the lens of scripture, then it will help put all the other stuff in perspective. I will still shop, but it won’t monopolize my month. I will still grieve, but it won’t overshadow God’s act and God’s presence here now. I will still meet obligations of family and work, but remember my sending by God as a missionary into my spheres of influence. I don’t have to regress to my family “little brother” role, but am God’s child sent back among my family for a weekend or a dinner.
Keep your eye on the ball; focus and see clearly.
I never was a great baseball player, but I figured out those two things, and they made a great deal of difference! Amen.
I do; I was a young boy. In both instances, my coaches instructed me, “Keep your eye on the ball.” It took more than one embarrassing whiff swinging and missing for me to take that lesson to heart. But it’s true; you have a much better chance of hitting a ball if you are looking at it!
I remember a second thing, though. It was the realization I made when I first started wearing contacts in sixth grade. I couldn’t see out the side of my glasses. Everything in my peripheral vision was fuzzy. And even head-on, if I moved my head, everything in my field of vision shifted with my glasses. I didn’t know that was not normal until I put on contacts and that all went away. Keeping my eye on the ball wasn’t enough; I also needed to see clearly!
These are the lessons of the Wise Men for us as we move through another Christmas season, and indeed, through life itself. How do we keep the right priorities, de-stress, and get the right perspective on God, self, and the swirl of life all around us?
The Wise Men show us. We must look in the right place – that is, keep our eye on the ball. And we must look through the “right lens” in order to see clearly.
Looking in the Right Place
What is Christmas about anyway? Is it shopping? Is it finding a Nintendo Wii for your child or grandchild? Is it fighting traffic? Is it family togetherness? Is it stress? Is it sorrow? Is it “Joy to the World?”
I think again of standing up to bat. There’s close and there’s not close. There’s striking out and there is hitting it out of the park. Some of those things are related to Christmas. Some are close; others are not. Some, like shopping, can be somewhat related, but can also be as far off the mark as holding the bat backwards and facing the wrong direction.
I think we all have been around long enough to know that Christmas is not about those things. It’s almost cliché to say so. We know it is about baby Jesus, right? And yet, like the kid stepping up to bat, I know why I’m there and what I’m supposed to do, but I still take my eye off the ball!
Look at the text. The Jewish people had been looking for the Messiah for hundreds of years. They knew the prophecies; they were full of expectation. When Herod called the chief priests and scribes together, they knew exactly what God had promised, right down to the town of Bethlehem! But did they know Jesus had been born? No, it was out-of-towners who had their eye on the ball. They saw God’s sign in the heavens. They came for one purpose only; to find and pay homage to this new King.
The Jewish people had been waiting too long. They got distracted. Think about it; how well would you do if you had to wait an hour between pitches? Would you see it coming? I’d probably be sitting on the bat.
It’s not like Jesus is coming into the world THIS Christmas. We’re just celebrating that he did, right? As long as I get lined up and into place by Christmas morning… or maybe Christmas Eve if I can find a nice church service somewhere. As the Jewish people had, we’ve lost the attentiveness of standing at the ready, waiting for God to act.
But that is exactly the news of Christmas. Not just that an important birth occurred, but that God is with us… Immanuel. With Jesus’ birth, God stepped into the world in a new way and things have never been the same. Even with Jesus returned to Heaven, the Holy Spirit he left among us changes everything.
We must stand ready for God to act, because God does act and is continuing to work among us. We must keep our eye on the ball, lest we be snoozing or looking around or turned around backwards when God acts. How come we never see God at work? Maybe we’re not looking at the right time!
Keep your eye on the ball. Look in the right place. That’s lesson #1 from the Wise Men.
Looking Through the Right Lens
The second lesson is one of seeing clearly. When I got contacts, I realized how compromised my vision had been in sports for years.
Herod knew intuitively that these Magi were on the right track. They were seeing something clearly, because it led them many miles to bring them into Jerusalem. Yet even they were able to fine-tune their vision. After all, following a star seems like a tricky thing… how exactly does it lead you somewhere? They probably came to Jerusalem because it was the capital city. Where else would a king be born?
But they took the prophecy of the Scribes and Pharisees and followed it to Bethlehem. The Word of God clarified their vision and helped them see more clearly. Why didn’t the Jews use that Word? They didn’t even have their eye on the ball. But the Magi were looking hard. And that Word was the right lens with which to see.
I can think of all kinds of ‘lenses’ we look through.
There is the lens of culture – with all the holiday hoopla.
There is the lens of personal grief that can cloud everything.
There is the lens of secularism, that makes Christmas a grand vacation rather than a holy event.
There is the lens of expectation – from presents to family gatherings to church attendance and work parties.
But what does the lens of God’s Word tell us? It tells us that on this unique day in history God stepped into the world. It tells us that God acted out of love, for our sake. It tells us that this baby was also the Rescuer of the World, and our only hope of having life and hope.
That Word of God is the focusing lens that, if our eye is on the ball, causes us to zero right in on what Christmas is about. It is about God coming to visit you (and me), to make peace, and to show His love.
On Keeping Focused
The last part of the story is also significant. It doesn’t end with the Magi finding Jesus. It ends with them seeing clearly enough to go home another way and avoid Herod.
Keeping our eye on the ball and seeing clearly has an additional beneficial effect. It helps us block out distraction. If I am focused on the ball and see it clearly, I won’t stop and look at the kids shouting on the other team. I won’t look up at the bird flying overhead. I won’t stare at my untied shoe. It’s all about the ball, the pitch and the swing.
Likewise, if we keep our eyes and hearts focused in the right place and if we see Jesus clearly through the lens of scripture, then it will help put all the other stuff in perspective. I will still shop, but it won’t monopolize my month. I will still grieve, but it won’t overshadow God’s act and God’s presence here now. I will still meet obligations of family and work, but remember my sending by God as a missionary into my spheres of influence. I don’t have to regress to my family “little brother” role, but am God’s child sent back among my family for a weekend or a dinner.
Keep your eye on the ball; focus and see clearly.
I never was a great baseball player, but I figured out those two things, and they made a great deal of difference! Amen.
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