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The text that serves as the basis for today’s sermon is the Gospel lesson, which reads again as follows: 1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, "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." 3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ 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 be the shepherd of my people Israel.'" 7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." 9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On 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 and of incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

As it has been with all four of her siblings when they were her age, it has been a delight to watch our youngest, Emily, as she sees Christmas with the wonderment and delight of one who is seeing all of it for the first time. While this is actually her second Christmas, this is the first time she is old enough to comment on and show excitement over all that she sees. She loves the lights on the Christmas tree. She has fun removing the ornaments from the Christmas tree and we, of course, have fun putting them all back. But one of the truly fun things that Karla and I have had the chance to do with her is show her the figurines in the Nativity scenes that we have and teach her about the first Christmas and all the people that were there. We started out pointing to each figure and saying things like: this one is Mary, she is Jesus’ Mommy. And this one is Joseph, he is Jesus’ Daddy. And so on. Then it got to the point where we would say the name and she would point to the figurine. Where’s Mary? And she will point to the Mary figurine. Where’s Joseph? And she will point to the Joseph figurine. Where’s Baby Jesus? And she would point to the Jesus in the manger. Where’s Baby Jesus? Unfortunately, sometimes the question would be asked because a little one and a half year old girl took the figurine and hid it somewhere else in the house.

Where’s Baby Jesus? A very similar question is asked in our text for today. The Magi from the East come following the Star to Israel, and of course they first go to the royal town of Jerusalem. They are coming to see a king so they go to the Palace to see the newborn king. And they ask, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?”

1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, "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." When did this happen? Who were these mysterious Magi? Where did they come from? What was that special star? Do questions like those fill your minds when you hear this text again? They do mine. And of course, we don’t have all the definite answers. We know that this could have been up to two years after Jesus was born because it says later that the Magi came to the house where Mary and Joseph lived, not the stable, and because of Herod’s later order to kill all the males two years old and younger. We know that these Magi were from the East, but we don’t know how far East. We think that they must have been wealthy because of the gifts that they brought, but that is just an assumption. We don’t even know how many Magi there were – the number three is simply an assumption because there were three kinds of gifts. The star is an especially difficult one to understand because we don’t know how a star could tell anyone that someone had been born, nor can anyone definitively explain how a Star could lead anyone anywhere. Most people assume that it was the appearance of the star plus the knowledge of the prophecy of the Messiah to be born that brought the Magi to Israel.

But they got as far as Jerusalem and they didn’t know where to go further. So they went to the palace and asked King Herod where the one born king of the Jews is. 3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ 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 be the shepherd of my people Israel.'" The Magi didn’t know where He was – they had been led this far by the Star and by the Word of Prophecy. King Herod didn’t know where He was – he was “disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.” He felt threatened – if these Magi, these foreigners were going to Worship this “king” on the basis of the appearance of a star, if even the Stars in the sky were proclaiming a new king, what would happen to him and his reign. King Herod joined the Magi in their question, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?” Although, he has a different intention.

Where do they find the correct answer? What does God use to lead the Magi to find Jesus? “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?” They find the correct answer in God’s Holy Word. 4When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ 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 be the shepherd of my people Israel.'" So, the Magi were led as far as Jerusalem by the star combined with the Word of Prophecy that had gotten as far East as where they were from and now the Word leads them again to Bethlehem, to Jesus Himself.

Today, too, the Word leads us to Him. When we in our lives struggle with our faith, struggle with the challenges that we face, we may be tempted to ask, “Where’s Jesus?” This is a question that is not all that unfamiliar to us. Living in world where violence and discord seem to rule -- where just about every day we can read the paper or watch the news and hear about some new violent horrible crime or attack has occurred; in a country that preaches freedom of religion and then outlaws praying in schools; in a society where morality seems to be in a steady decline – it is easy to start wondering, Where’s Jesus?

In our personal lives, when we have to face the death or suffering of a loved one, the loss of a job or something we hold dear, betrayal from a friend or loved one, fear, anxiety, discord, anger…, when we have to face these things, sometimes it is easy to start asking, Where’s Jesus.

Even in the church, where fewer and fewer Christians across the world find it necessary to come to church and hear God’s Word or even to read God’s Word on their own, the question quickly arises, “Where’s Jesus?”

The answer to this question of Magi and really to King Herod, the answer to our question is really quite simple. “Where’s Jesus?” Right where He promised He would be. Our Risen Lord promised us that He would be with us always to the very end of the age. He promised us that He would be in His Word as it is preached in all truth and purity and as it is read in our personal and family devotions and Bible Studies. He promised us that He would be in His holy Sacraments. He called us to be His own in Holy Baptism. He gave us faith and placed His name on us – the name that is above every name. He strengthens us in our faith when we receive His Holy Body and Blood in Holy Communion as we will in just a few minutes. Today still the Word leads us to Him.

Oh, there are still today those who don’t know Him. These are those who need to be led to Jesus through God’s Holy Word. And then there are those who like Herod, hear the Word of God and reject it. 7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." And verse 12, 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. There are those today who would do away with Him, just as Herod plotted to do.

9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On 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 and of incense and of myrrh. And yet there are those, like you and me, who like the Magi when we are led by God’s Holy Word to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, bow down and reverently worship Him. We worship Him here in church, we worship Him in our lives by what we say and do, we worship Him with our offerings of our time, our talents, and our treasures. We worship Him, not just because He is the God of the Universe and most worthy of our praise, but because that young child that the Magi knelt down and worshipped, grew up and died for the sins of the whole world.

I began this sermon by sharing with you about Karla and I teaching our youngest child about Jesus. What a privilege we all have in using God’s Word to lead others to Jesus, and not just our children! We have opportunities all around us to share Jesus’ love and story with co-workers, neighbors, friends, family members. What a way to worship and praise God, by telling others, so that they too may be able to answer the Magi’s question, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?” In the name of Jesus, Amen.