In the beginning

​Today to arrive in Bethlehem you have to navigate a checkpoint. The birthplace of Jesus is
occupied, as it was when Jesus was born,

Opening prayer
Visiting, travelling, God of migration,
As I begin my journey through 2024,
And celebrate the journey of the Magi to meet the Christ-child,
I ask that you will travel with me,
Today and every day.
Show me, show this whole world, the starlight of your grace, I pray, Amen.

StF 57 Let all the world in every corner sing

The Lords Prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
 Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen
​
StF 476 One more step along the world I go .

​
Matthew 2:1-12 New International Version The Magi Visit the Messiah
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came
to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose
and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all
the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 
​5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He
sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me,
so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of
them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 
11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. 
Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having
been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

​StF 727 God in his love for us lent us this planet

​Today’s reflection comes from David Hardman, the Methodist Liaison Officer in Jerusalem,
part of the Methodist Church in Britain’s Connexional Team and a mission partner on behalf
of the Church. This reflection was originally written for The Vine resources, and this is a
slightly abridged version, but we felt it was worth sharing so that people can hear some of
David’s thoughts and challenge for us in the midst of conflict in the Middle East.
Today to arrive in Bethlehem you have to navigate a checkpoint. The birthplace of Jesus is
occupied, as it was when Jesus was born, not by the Roman Empire but by Israel. Across
the West Bank, of which Bethlehem is a part, there are numerous checkpoints set up by
Israel to control and restrict the movement of Palestinians. The security barrier which in
most parts is a 30ft high concrete wall runs for 450 miles across the occupied West Bank
and was built by Israel for security reasons, it has been deemed illegal by the International
Court of Justice. If the Magi were searching for Jesus today, they would encounter this wall
and would have to find a checkpoint to continue their journey.
You may well have seen the cartoons of the wise men on their camels scratching their
heads as they look at the wall and try to figure out how they might complete the final leg of
their journey! In fact, I have a nativity set from the West Bank in beautiful olive wood that
includes a wall. Each year I set up my nativity and place the Magi on the outside of the wall!
Each year I pray that the next time I set up my nativity I will not use the wall because it will
have been dismantled and that Palestinians will be enjoying their human rights and political
self-determination.
As symbolic as it is to draw or place the Magi on one side of the wall and the traditional
nativity scene on the other, there is a question as to whether it would actually happen? The
truth is in my role as the Methodist Liaison Officer in Jerusalem I can travel much more
freely than my Palestinian friends and colleagues, simply because of my UK passport. I
suspect that the wise men, in all their finery and obvious wealth, would have had little or no
trouble getting through a checkpoint! Privilege opens checkpoints as well as doors.
It certainly opened royal doors for the Magi arrive as they seek an audience with King
Herod. Following a star they had observed in the East they are looking for the child ‘born
king of the Jews’. The Palace seems an obvious place to start but Herod is unaware and
has to enquire as to where such a child would be born before he sends the Magi off on the
final leg of their journey to Bethlehem. If you are searching for a royal baby then it seems
​wise to visit a King but as with so much of the nativity story, and in fact the life of Jesus, we
see the conventions of the world turned upside down. Jesus, born to be king, is found in an
ordinary home.
The Magi soon learnt, after being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they return
home by another road. They have gone on a real journey, not just a physical but a spiritual
one too. After witnessing the rising of the star in the east and visiting the halls power they
realise that Jesus’ birth ushers in God’s kingdom in which the powerful predator lies down
with the prey in peace (Isaiah 11).
As a theologian friend of mine says: in God’s kingdom the lion becomes a vegetarian! It is
the powerful and the privileged who give up their power and are ‘brought down’ just as ‘the
lowly are lifted up’. Authority in God’s kingdom is not in the hands of rulers, the rich and
those in positions of power, it is in the hands of the young unmarried pregnant mother, the
bunch of misfits called to be disciples and in Jesus, a nomadic preacher.
As followers of Christ and citizens of God’s kingdom we too are invited to go on this
journey. A journey that leads from always trusting those with power in this world to
recognising that we look to God in Jesus for our inspiration and our guidance.
The Magi assumed, wrongly, that Christ would be born to the political King, they found him
in the little town of Bethlehem. Yet, their journey took them home on a different road, a road
that led them away from the places of power. A road that led them to a different
understanding of Kingship. A road that allowed them a glimpse of how God’s kingdom
differs from the human power structures that elevate the wealthy, the privileged and the
self-serving to positions of authority and influence.
As we start this New Year, it’s a perfect time to challenge ourselves again in our
discipleship. Are we prepared to journey on another road and confess that too often we
have listen to the voices of this world over and above the voice of God? If so we pledge
ourselves to listen to God’s voice and to live as ‘fully signed up’ citizens of God’s kingdom.

​StF 251 Jesus Christ is waiting

prayer
The worldly wise found you, incarnate God, away from the corridors of power and in the
loving arms of a young mum. Hear us now, as we pray for the world you created and the
people you lived among.
In the stillness, we pray for all those who exercise power and influence...

May they work tirelessly for justice and peace.
We pray for those who have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods in conflicts across the
world...

May they know your eternal love surrounding them.
We pray for those who are desperately searching for sanctuary...

May they find an unconditional welcome.
We pray for creation as it groans under weight of our greed...

May we give up our domination of this planet and work with creation for renewal.
We pray for those we know and love (and those we ought to love) who are in need of
prayer today...

May they know your love, and ours, in their difficult time.
In the name of the son of a teenage girl, we pray to the incarnate deity that God’s kingdom
may come,
God’s will be done, Amen.

​StF 67 This, this is the God we adore.

Blessing
As you go from this place, go with the Spirit of the God of the Magi in your hearts,
Go inspired to share the blessings of the Christmas season and the love you have
encountered at the manger-side.
Amen.