And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, the Wise Men departed by ANOTHER WAY. Brothers and sisters in Christ, when St. Matthew writes that the Magi from the East who came and worshiped Jesus departed by “another way” it doesn't just mean they took I-70 back east instead of I-64. It means that when they encountered Christ, they went home by “another Way,” that is, by the one who is the WAY, the Truth and the Life. It's not just that they took a detour back home or set their GPS to follow a different route. No, that “another way” means they left as those who had been shown the One who is the WAY. The Christ child. A new way of life. A new understanding. Faith. Life. Salvation. When the Wise Men worshiped Christ, they departed by “another way” and that WAY is Jesus. What about you, dear Christian? Each Lord's Day you walk into this church and you worship Christ. Do you leave by “another way?” The Christ-Way? Or is it the same old trip back to King Herod and sin?
Now don't misunderstand me. When I say that Jesus is the Way and that we ought to leave these doors after worship by HIS Way, I don't mean that our lives are suddenly and magically all fixed and we have no more problems or suffering and we stop sinning! When I say the WAY of Christ, I mean the WAY of the Gospel. Repentance and faith. Turning from our sins because we know they will damn us apart from Jesus. Turning our trust to the Christ who has taken away our sins! The WAY of Christ is a Way the world doesn't know. The world thinks that when you step inside these walls, it's to get a pep talk for living the right way so that you can impress God and get to heaven. Perhaps that's what the Wise Men thought: schooled in their planet-watching and their strange Easter religions: you do good, you get on God's good side. But they learned differently when they learned the Holy Scriptures and when they saw that their King wasn't some mighty prince but a poor little baby in a tiny little town. THAT is the Way of Christ: the way of a King who is a Baby. Of a sinless Lamb who gets baptized with sinners. The Way of a perfect man who is condemned as if He's a criminal. A creator who takes on flesh to be with His creation. A Lord who suffers Himself to be slapped around. A King who wears a crown of thorns. A God who hates sin and yet covers Himself in it to die on a cross and wash it away. That is the Way of Jesus, the Way of the cross, the Way of the Gospel, the Way of Life.
Is that Way of Jesus, that Way of the forgiveness of yours sins—is that the Way that you leave after worshiping Jesus? Or do you leave the old way, back to King Herod? Herod was a sneaky fox who thought He could get the Wise Men to find Jesus and then He could go and kill him. The devil is your King Herod. He wants you to go and see Jesus so, through you, he can kill Jesus all over again by getting you to deny the faith! To think little of Christ. To learn nothing of His Word and to learn to do nothing for your neighbor. When you come into this church, you come in the way of Herod, of the devil, of sin. That is you come in from a world and a devil and with your own sinful flesh that don't want you to learn anything about God's Word and don't want you to think about anyone but yourself. When you leave, by what way do you travel? When you walk out these doors Sunday after Sunday, have you learned anything more about the Lord and His Word? Have you heard and believed His Word and preaching or does it go in one ear and out the other! When you leave, is it to go right back to the same grudges against the same people, the same laziness that doesn't want to help others, the same life as if Christ isn't really for anything or worth anything? Brothers and sisters in Christ, there is our repentance! That we would come to worship Christ and then leave by the same old way of sin and death rather than to walk out these doors in newness of life! The Lord warned the Wise Men in a dream about going back that old way, the Herod way. Now I'm warning you: don't walk out those doors back to King Herod, back to the devil. You are here to worship Jesus! And that means a whole new Way of life! A way of forgiveness, life and salvation!
You see, you have to remember that the birth of Jesus is NOT Good News to everyone. To King Herod it was bad news. He figured someone was coming to take his place as king. Can't have that. Even if it means killing all the baby boys in Bethlehem to stop it! For the Devil it's not good news! He thinks someone is coming to take his place in your life. And he can't have that! The devil doesn't want you following Jesus but him. Even if it means trying to kill you and ruin your life so that you blame everything on God! The world certainly doesn't think Jesus' birth is Good News. A time for making more money at the mall, maybe. A time to fake peace on earth by shouting about “tolerance,” perhaps. But Good News for sinners? Hardly! And your sinful flesh certainly doesn't think Jesus being born is Good News. Because the birth of Jesus means the death of our sinful flesh. His coming means the sinful flesh is on the way out. And the sinful flesh will rebel against that at every turn! The birth of Jesus means a Savior is here! But our sinful selves just want to be left alone to do whatever we want! The birth of Jesus means we will once again learn to love and serve our neighbor. But the sinful flesh only wants to be served, not do anything for anyone else. But too bad for King Herod! Too bad for the devil! Too bad for the world! And too bad for the sinful flesh! Jesus IS born and His Father protects Him from evil over and over until the time is right and He DOESN'T protect Him, but lets Him be captured and tortured and killed on the cross. To give us a new Way. The Way of forgiveness, life and salvation! A way away from the devil, the world and flesh, a Way that is safe and secure in Jesus, our Savior.
The Wise Men worshiped Jesus. We like to think that their worship was that they brought Jesus presents: Gold and frankincense and myrrh. We suppose that it's worship when we show up to bring the Lord stuff: maybe some money in the plate; maybe some songs we sing or prayers we pray; or best of all, when we bring ourselves. Isn't the Lord impressed when I show up at church? No, brothers and sisters, the true worship of the Wise Men isn't that they gave something to Jesus. It's that they RECEIVED something from Him. The true worship of the Wise Men was to hear the Good News that the God of Israel was the God of all people, not just the Jews. That the God who promised to come Himself in the flesh comes for all people, even sinful-star-seeking-Gentile-astrologer-wise-men-magi. And that's OUR worship, too, brothers and sisters in Christ: not that we have stuff to give to Jesus. Oh, we do. And we should bring the very best for our Lord. But that's not what saves us. What saves us is what the Lord gives us in worship: Himself. Forgiveness. Life. Salvation. A new name in Holy Baptism. A robe of righteousness. His death and resurrection for you. A lordly pardon from our sins in the Absolution. Forgiveness. A verdict of “not guilty.” Holy food in His Supper. His own body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. The reason the Wise Men went home “another Way” is not that they learned who the right guy was to whom they should give presents. They went home “another Way” because they were converted from their old way, the way of sin and death, to the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. When you go out the door, the reason you have “another Way” is not that you learned how to do some religious stuff aimed at the right God. Your “another Way” is that you have been forgiven of all your sins against God and neighbor and been put into the life and faith and Way of Jesus who came for all people, for Wise Men and for you.
Being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, the Wise Men departed “another way.” That Way is Jesus. You have come to worship Christ today. You have come into His church from a way of sin and death. You leave His Divine Service “another Way.” The Jesus way. The Gospel way. The forgiveness way. The love and serve your neighbor way. The Wise Men heard God's Word in the Holy Scriptures. It told them where to find Jesus: in Bethlehem. The went and worshiped and were saved. The Word of God tells you where to find Jesus: in His church, at the font, at the altar, from the pulpit. You have come to worship. Your sins are forgiven and you are saved. Now, with the Wise Men, depart in peace, along “another way,” the Way of Jesus, the Way of Everlasting Life. Amen.