Sunday January 6 Where is the Child? Matthew 2:1-12

"star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright"

 Matthew tells us the magi “were thrilled and excited to see the star.” What was the purpose of that star, and why did it have such an emotional impact on those astrologers? The star was the mystical answer to their quest: "Where is the child...?"

            Today is the Day of the Kings. In much of the Christian world THIS is the day for giving presents, in imitation of those magi. In Mexico there's something of a battle between Santa Claus and "Los Reyes Magos" for the role of gift-giver. But the saddest story was carried in the newspaper Excelsior which told of the children for whom Santa Claus did not come...

 Marian Wright Edelman, founder and director of the Children's Defense Fund, points out that the top three income earners in the United States receive more each year than 50 million at the bottom in the US. (Figures for Mexico would be even more painful to recount.)

 When I was a teenager living in Veracruz in a comfortable suburb in a house with privacy fence topped by broken glass and a maid, I was deeply moved by seeing the fishermen who lived just down the street on the beach in lean-to huts thrown up against the breakwater. It was one of the experiences that impelled me toward a call to ministry.

 Last summer, Bill Moyers (a journalist and ordained minister) issued an inspiring challenge to Christians to open our eyes to poverty and injustice around us. He spoke of the conflict in America between power and justice, as exemplified by “the gated communities, both in Southern California and in Buenos Aires, Argentina…” as an example of today’s powers-that-be to “keep the poor and the lonely invisible.” Poverty and justice, Moyers declared, are religious issues. He said, "The realities on the ground don't go away," and told stories from contemporary life: woefully inadequate public education in New York City, deaths from Chicago's record heat wave in 1995, the plight of a homeless person in Los Angeles, and a UNICEF report card that ranks the United States near the bottom in child well-being in the developed world. "I have to confess," he said, "it's a mystery to me. Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me.'... You have to wonder how this so-called Christian nation leaves so many children to suffer."

 PCFL has a history of caring for and including children in our community. At the same time we are feeling a critical need to reach out with renewed programs to serve young people. As we talk about this, we want to celebrate the work of the Rutler family, our FaithWorks teachers and the many dedicated parents who get their children to church week after week. We need to find ways to talk about improving our ministry with children and youth without having any of us feel unappreciated or criticized. It's not anyone's intention!

 Still, we have to ask ourselves (as a church and a nation), are we behaving more like Herod or the Magi? Herod represents the hypocrisy of giving lip-service to the well-being of children, while seeking personal benefits and ignoring (even destroying) children. The Magi, whose quest we celebrate today, represent that yearning to include children as part of our community.

 Beginning this Sunday, let's structure our service of worship so that children are not only told they're welcome, but feel that welcome from each of us. Let's celebrate the gifts of children as they lead us in worship. We're need to use the gifts—the musical gifts and the poetic and dramatic gifts of all our children!

 If you celebrate the birth of Jesus, you must ask yourself today: "Where is the Child?" And then make a journey like the Magi to welcome the child! Amen.