Wisemen Steer Clear of Paved Roads

Could the Wise Men be role models for Jesus’ followers in a postmodern world?

Traditionally, we encounter the story of the Magi following the birth of Jesus, but this year I find myself thinking about their story in the context of the missional church. What  made them pursue this star in search of a king? Scripture tells us very little about the Wise Men or Magi or Scholars (as Eugene Peterson describes them).

But I think perhaps they had their own season of Advent – of watching and waiting to see God on the move. Then they did more than watch and wait – they went to join God in his work:

“Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2)

On the opening night of the PGF conference in August, Dr. Steve Hayner reminded us of the most important marks of the missional church.

• Churches that are growing see the primary purpose of the church as joining God’s mission in the world…the action is “out there”, not “in here.” The Wise Men must have had their eyes turned constantly outward in order to have seen the star and noticed that there was something unique about it among all the constellations. Their outward gaze allowed them to see God at work in the world.

• Churches that are growing see the whole world as the arena of God’s work. Joining God’s work is the identity of the missional church. The Magi didn’t look at the star and say, “Oh, isn’t that interesting,” and go on about polishing their telescopes. They dropped everything and picked up and went to see and celebrate the presence of the King, and to offer him their most precious resources.

• Churches that are growing see their life together as preparation for joining God in mission . It’s highly unlikely that a solo astronomer would have made that trip alone. Tradition has it that there were three Wise Men, but we don’t know how many there were. We only know that there was more than one. Had they lived together, worked together and studied together for years in hope and expectation and preparation for this divine breakthrough?

I love the line that says that after seeing the Christ Child, the Wise Men “went home another way.” Now I know that means they went home by another route, but I also like to think that it means they went home as changed people, looking at the world in a different way and that their encounter with the living God was transforming for them.

Living missionally changes us at least as much as it changes the world. Let me give you an example. In February 2004 Dale Chapin, pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Madison, Wisconsin returned from a trip to Rwanda. He hoped that a few families in the church would be willing to sponsor a child there. The problems in Rwanda are daunting. The nation is still reeling from the 1994 genocide, in addition to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and poverty. Within two weeks, 60 families of Christ Church had committed to partnering with World Vision to sponsor children in Nyamagabe, Rwanda.

But living missionally is far more than a “global mission” program of the church. As John Stott says, “The Church exists by mission as a fire exists by burning.”  For Christ Church, the Nyamagabe project is changing their congregation as well as their community. It has become a way of reaching into the wider community of Madison and calling others – Christian and non-Christian – to join with them in the work that God is doing in the world. Today Christ Church and the community of Madison, Wisconsin sponsor 130 children and have raised an additional $200,000 for projects in Nyamagabe. Plus, as we see more and more in our secular culture, acts of compassionate caring like child sponsorships open the door to conversations with the non-believers about how God is at work in the world.

Don’t be surprised if you find yourself meandering like lost Wise Men under a dark sky on your way to missional ministry. Last week on one of our weekly conference calls of the steering committee for the Presbyterian Global Fellowship our discussion found its way to the difficulty of missional living. “I’ve got so much to learn myself and am realizing that no external program will help us do what we need to do and that’s rethink for ourselves what it means to be missional in our own setting,” said Scott Weimer of North Avenue Presbyterian Church. Then Dave Peterson of Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston chimed in “Every time I think we’ve got a grasp on it, I find that we don’t even understand the fundamental issues. My thinking always reverts to the pattern of 35 years of ministry. It’s an act of will every day to embrace this missional identity.”

As for me, I’m having the time of my life traveling alongside my PGF Balthazars, Caspars and Melchiors on this uncharted journey. Sometimes we wish the star would twinkle a little more clearly but I’m confident that we’re well on our way toward discovering “a different way” of being faithful Presbyterians.

During this season of Advent, perhaps the story of the Wise Men can bring to us a new understanding of what it means to live as missional people.

Stay off the paved roads.

Comments

[MissionLawrence]

I think the "Wise Men" were men who had been influenced by the ministry of Daniel and perhaps a form of what we see as "God fearers" in the New Testament. They'd seen the prophecy of the return from exile fulfilled after the 70 years mentioned in Jeremiah and knew the God's promises were true. God had also revealed to Daniel that the full flower of the "return promises" would ultimately await a Messiah after 70 weeks or 490 years. This was neare the Magi's own time.

If this is a correct reading of the Magi's experience, perhaps it is a call to heed the scriptures more minutely and humbly than we do and take as our basis for action an expectation that God is still extending the reign of the King through the mission of the church. As John Piper has said "Missions exist because of the places where Worship does not".

The wise men are the first from the "nations" to meet Jesus who then commanded that the annoucement of His enthronement should be proclaimed to all the nations that they might be brought under His Saving Reign (Psalm 2). Jesus' saving reign encompasses both justification and sanctification on an individual level but likewise results in the blessing of God in the transformation of the kingdoms of men into the kingdom of our God (Revelation 5:10)through the preaching of the Gospel and the flowering of the communion of the saints.

The Wise Men remind us that the "missional message" is "near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart" (to use the language of Romans 10:8). The missional message is as near as the message of Holy Scripture yet as distant as our failed obedience and sinfully distorted and selfish world views that do not allow Jesus to truly be "Lord".

[Jeff McDonald]

The problem that I have with Presbyterian Global Fellowship and PFR is that they are both too dimissive of Presbyterian history. Richard Mouw's comments about J. Gresham Machen at the Presbyterian Global Fellowship conference were completely inaccurate and inappropriate. PGF and PFR should consider Machen an ally not an enemy. Why does PGF and PFR continually seek to diminish and disparge the work of older evangelicals such as Machen? Don't moderate evangelical Presbyterians realize that Machen started and independent mission agency much like PGF? If PGF and PFR are going to be effective in renewal they need to reconnect to those individuals who fought for reform so long ago.

Jeff McDonald
Omaha, NE

[Doug Resler]

Definitely a thought-provoking post! I don't think I have ever taken the time to reflect on the JOURNEY of the Wise Men. Instead, I have always chosen to focus on what they did after they arrived. This post pushes me to think in some new and unfamiliar ways about the story of the Magi. Why were they watching the heavens? What were they looking for? And what was it about this celestial event that drove them to undertake this difficult journey?What difficulties did they face along the way? Surely they too got frustrated at times when it seemed like the star wasn't getting any closer. How did they deal with new and unfamiliar physical and cultural terrain? How did they maintain their commitment to follow the star in face of these challenges? All of these questions and more are helpful for me as I think about our own spiritual journey as a congregation. I realize that I don't have to have it all figured out. This isn't a journey I can "mapquest" beforehand. I can't tell folks what awaits us over the next ridge or over the next year. I can only point them to the promise that the star will always be there to guide us. And if we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, this journey of faith will not be in vain!

[Bruce Becker]

Tiberius, Caligula and Herod Agrippa all fancied that perhaps each was the Messiah, fulfilling the universal and well-known expectation. Even the Sibelline Oracles predicted a world ruler from the east and a golden age. Each ruler had astrologers who were assigned the task of confirming their fancies. Tiberius had his star-gazing disappointments thrown off a cliff. Given the widespread expectation and the universally observed astronomic signs, what is genuinely remarkable is that the magi were the only ones who actually arrived in Bethlehem. Then again, I see few affluent moderns, let alone Presbyterians, hanging around mangers and podunk Bethlehems. Downward mobility has a way of scaring people off the gospel(Luke 14.33; 16.15). Maybe success addicted ancients and success addicted moderns have this in common: they do not get invited to Jesus' birthday.

[Tim Reynolds]

here's the thing, though. the star isn't always there to guide us. that's what you all are alluding to in your phone conversations, vic. if you read the story carefully, the star gets them to Jerusalem. but then they have to stop and ask for directions. and they ask herod of all people. still, herod has a conference and they determine the place to go is Bethlehem. once the wise men get to Bethlehem they see the star again and it leads them to the house of Christ.

to follow your missional metaphor - which i think is right on - we don't always have a star to guide us. and if we think we will, we are mistaken. sometimes we have to ask directions of others. even those that don't seem at first glance to be "of the church" - those in the world, so to speak. of course, the God who goes before has prepared the way for thse conversations, and ultimately we rediscover the star.

being missional is this constant back and forth conversation. it's terrifying, exciting, life-giving, and frustrating - all at the same time. but the faithfulness of both God and the wise men, who didn't give up just because the star diappeared, leads us, ultimately, into the presenc of Christ!

grace and peace...