“Reading Symbols Takes A Skill”


Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – January 3, 2016

Centenary United Methodist Church

Psalm 72:1-7, 11-14; Matthew 2:1-12

    The New Year always gives us a fresh start at refining who we are.  Actually, every day can be a fresh beginning, but old habits and attitudes frequently get in the way of any real change or growth.  This morning we are going to discuss how the three astrologers from Persia can teach us a thing or two about navigating in life.     

    One of my high school friends became keenly interested in kayak racing and she has succeeded in becoming a gold medal winner in several world-class competitions.  She has routinely navigated the Colorado River that flows through the Grand Canyon.  If you are familiar with the rapids that travel through that narrow gorge, you will realize that great skills are needed for success.

    Some years ago, I asked Ida how she learned to read the conditions of a particular river in order to navigate safely. She could not give me a concise answer.  Basically she said:

Learning to gauge the currents of a river is something you cannot teach. You have to know how to do it after years of experience.  All I can say is that rivers change their looks due to how much water is flowing through them at any given time. But the patterns of currents are symbolic of what is underneath of them and you have to know what those symbols mean.  Rivers can be tricky.  I have been flipped any number of times on a single run, but everyone has learned how to right themselves or they have no business being in rapids with their kayak.

    Our lesson today features the arrival of the three astrologers at the home where Jesus and Mary were lodging.  What makes them an interesting study is that these men had spent their lives learning from the alignment of the stars and planets just as Ida spent years of training and practicing her craft as a world-class athlete.   

    Those that study the stars and planets believe they have gained certain insights into life that no one else can provide.  A secret to the success of astrologers is that people who come to them are seeking something. The connection of a teacher with a searching mind is what creates their frequent successes.  This process has little to do with any message from the stars.  What matters are the definitions that students of astrology give to what they are seeing. 

     God can connect with anyone that is seeking guidance.  What was it that inspired the three Persian travelers to make the journey, to seek more specific directions from King Herod and his teachers and prophets, to leave their three gifts and to quietly walk away without needing to see any results from their journey?  The men possessed curiosity, purpose-driven lives, generosity, humility, and a detachment from any preferred outcome.  Many of these qualities would later be taught by Jesus during his ministry.

    How should we label the creative energy that inspired patience and vision in Joseph and Moses in the Old Testament and eventually the calling forth of Jesus at his baptism?  In our present day, what is it that enables people that have never heard the words Christ or Jesus to interpret the symbols of their lives so well that their spiritual awareness becomes finely tuned?

    Think of all the means that God has at God's disposal to inspire people regardless of the circumstances of their lives. The astrologers saw a highly unusual astronomical phenomenon in the evening sky and assigned a meaning it.  Some people see the approach of change from a configuration of tea leaves.  Others sense that change is coming by casting lots. Still others use their intuition to interpret life's events. 

    God can use anyone or anything to transform someone's life.  It is much easier when that person's attitudes, habits and responses are seeking ways to improve their sensitivities to God's presence.  Jesus even taught, "Whoever seeks will find" and that statement had nothing to do with him. (Matthew 7:7)  Seekers always find something that will work for them. 

     The lessons we can learn from these astrologers have to do with how we interpret the symbols of life that have meaning to us.  When we learn to recognize the cyclical themes that are always coming up for us, we have discovered the symbols in our lives that are seeking resolution. Our interpretation of these symbols often depends on whether we are seeking security or the adventure that comes from trusting what to us remains an unknown.  Our symbols are quite unique to us.

    Imagine yourself hiking on one of Bermuda's former railroad beds just as the sun is setting.  You are thinking about how wonderful it is to cross the recently constructed walking bridges that span the old pylons left from where the railroad tracks once were.  You sit on one of the new benches and begin to detach from the cares of the world through a prayer of gratitude for the astounding beauty of Bermuda.  Just then a group of people are passing behind your bench.  A little girl exclaims, "Daddy. . . Look at that sunset!" 

    The group stops behind you and you overhear their conversation.  "The PLP completely disregarded any internal controls they may have had in their spending when they were in office." "Well, what has the OBA done with the new airport proposal?  How many of our union workers are going to find jobs?" "Do you suppose the Green brothers invested one hundred million dollars in the Hamilton Princess only to find that it was sold to another company?  Have you heard what is going on with that?"  What happened to, "Daddy . . . Look at the sunset!"  

    One dose of hearing where people's lives are focused and you get the picture of why many people cannot see what Ida sees when she looks at river currents, or why three astrologers read the sign in the stars and were motivated by their interpretation to come to Bethlehem.  The three came from a land where there were thousands of astrologers.  Why did only three become motivated to take action because of what they saw?   

    When we can successfully detach from the activities and conflicts of our material world, we can become like the animals that sense that an earthquake is coming a number of days before the earth begins to move.  Knowing how to detach from the emotion-evoking minutiae that has been present in every society since the beginning of recorded history helps us to develop the vision to interpret our own personal symbols.  If only people knew the potential and experience and perform miracles that they have inside of them, they would cease being distracted by anything else. 

    One day a man was driving home from work and he was killed in a car accident.  His widow was left with two sons in college, fairly hefty tuition bills, house payments and all the normal expenses of living.  She started working two jobs and became increasingly exhausted until she collapsed at work.  

    While lying in a hospital, she prayed in a spirit of gratitude that she had a home and that her boys were doing exceedingly well in school.  She thanked God for God's presence in her life and for granting her the energy to persevere under her current circumstances.

    Her eldest son had one more year before he would receive a degree from one of the most respected engineering schools in the world.  He was in a unique program that would open doors for employment for him any way he wanted to go after graduation.  There was no scholarship money left from the university and her margins were so close that lending institutions considered her to be too high a credit risk for them to give her a loan.

    Later, she acted on an idea that entered her mind.  She decided to solicit help from a highly unlikely source.  She went into her backyard and talk to her deceased husband.  She was following symbolic urges that no one else would have in her searching.  She said:

Jack, our boys have done so well in their choices, but I could use a little financial help right now.  I am exhausted and we are so close to getting both of them launched into very successful careers.  You would be so proud of them.  Is there anything that you can do to help us?  If so, please talk to God or Jesus or anyone who might send us some good news.  We need a miracle right now.  I still love you, Jack.  Thank you!

    What happened next is something that literally sends chills through those of us who have connected with God through methods that are even stranger than this one.  A letter arrived in the mail from Jack's parents that caused her to collapse on her bed in tears accompanied by uncontrollable sobbing.  The letter said,

When you and Jack had our two beautiful grandsons, Susan and I invested a sum of money into two moderately aggressive mutual funds.  Just last week Susan reminded me that we had these and she felt that it was about time that we send you the proceeds. I apologize for not getting the money to you sooner, but quite honestly it did not cross our minds.  Susan always filed the annual statements and we never gave them another thought.  In fact, she never looked at the amount of money that the funds had accumulated. They have done exceedingly well over the last 20 years.  I hope these two checks find you and the boys well.  

    The total from both checks would cover all of her family's needs for years.

    God can make the strangest things happen when people are searching for guidance. We have to remember that, when the astrologers left Mary and her infant son, word came to Joseph and Mary that Herod was sending his troops to kill all the young boys that were two years old or younger in Bethlehem and the surrounding area. (Matthew 2:16)  The family had to flee.  What allowed them to settle in Egypt resulted from their recent gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

    The astrologers left the pages of history never knowing how deeply they would influence the world not only by inspiring gift-giving at Christmas time but also from financially supporting a baby and his family that would become part of a life-changing drama for millions of people for thousands of years.

    An old Zen teaching says, "When the student is ready, the teacher will come."  As the New Year unfolds, let us remain willing, open and searching students for better ways to refine our spiritual awareness.  When we seek, like the astrologers, we will find a path that will produce the results that we desire.  Meaningful change happens when we interpret what comes up for us as a symbol that we are on the path to make that happen.