Today’s chapter is Matthew 2.

Tom writes:

It seems strange to me that Herod - the appointed King of the Jews - had so much vested interest in finding out who this newborn King of the Jews was but he couldn’t even be bothered to head down to Bethlehem to check him out for himself. And it also seems strange that God allowed the Magi - these very wealthy, very foreign, probable astrologers to be some of the first to be overjoyed and overawed by this new baby king. But I guess that is the way with God - the most unlikely people get to play jubilant parts in His redemption narrative if they will just seek after Him. And those who seem best qualified end up bitterly angry and tragically rejected because of their complacency. Matthew shows right at the start of this gospel that Jesus runs a dividing line through every community in history... but the dividing line is not between the good and the bad or the qualified and the unqualified or between this race or that race; the dividing line in the Kingdom is between those who are inclined towards the worship of Jesus and those who are inclined towards rejecting Jesus.

And here is a major challenge to us; remaining as you are, sending others to enquire into Jesus for you seems to fall on the “rejecting” side. You are either for him or you are against him… there is no fence to sit on. The good news for you is that if you are reading these notes then you are almost certainly on the ‘inclined towards worship’ side of the fence. Will you stay there? The Magi’s journey was not short. The Magi’s journey was not simple; they followed a star often hidden by clouds, which led them into dead-ends and to the feet of false claimants. But the Magi kept on seeking and they ended up rejoicing with exceeding joy. Our pursuit of the presence today is similarly grubby and at times down-right baffling. But ineffable awe and joyous joy lie at its end. Will you hold the course and make pursuit your priority? Or will you, like Herod, find other seemingly important things to do?

Question for reflection

Whether or not to worship Jesus draws a dividing line right across human societies. Where are you in relation to that line?

Matthew 2 - Tuesday 6th August