My Dear Shepherds,
[The Magi] 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. (Matt. 2:11)
On the other hand, the first shepherds to see the Christ child came empty-handed. We, however, are a new breed of shepherds. We have our own unique, God-given treasures of gold, incense, and myrrh to present to the Lord Jesus.
Take, to begin with, our gifts of gold:
[Jesus] said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” (Matt. 13:52)
Years ago I was the song leader at a denominational conference. (For you youngsters, that’s how we sang before worship bands.) Between songs I asked pastors to stand and tell us what they were preaching on. One after another, they held up one-word treasures from all over the Bible. It was like hearing the names of precious friends or journeys we wanted to take. Kingdom epics and theology rose up from the books and themes they shouted out.
We preach and teach to feed and enrich our flock, but everything we bring to our preaching is also a golden treasure we lay before the Lord. We are not little drummer boys merely pah-rum-pa-parumping out our sermons for the newborn King. We are the royally appointed docents of his kingdom’s treasury, holding up the crown jewels for his people to see and explaining the inestimable value of the pearl.
“Look deep into this Exodus story!” we exclaim, holding it high for everyone to see. “Do you see where Ecclesiastes takes us!?” as we blow the dust off the old treasure. “Open to Isaiah 53 before we take Communion.” We turn the cross this way and that so they see the glory glinting from its every facet. “I’m going to reveal a mystery to you!” We lay God-given hope on the black velvet so they see the gleam of Christ coming on the clouds of glory. Always, new treasures and old.
What makes our preaching a treasure to Jesus? To begin with, our teachability. The pressure of preparation may tempt us to proclaim what we haven’t owned, what we haven’t ingested. We may tell the truth but our sermons gasp for a fresh breath. But when, in league with the Holy Breath of God, we inhale the beauty, the manna, the sting, the genius of a text till we can breath it out ourselves—well, then that’s gold fit for our King.
There’s another necessary thing: we must preach out of love for the Lord and his people. It is quite possible to preach only because we love the studying or, what’s worse, merely because it is our job. Without love for Christ and his people our words drop like cymbals on a concrete floor.
Last Sunday, I went to church weary and unsettled. The shepherd who preached helped me to sit, Mary-like, at Jesus’ feet because he loves Jesus and he loves us. His message was like an oxygen mask pressed to my face, driving smoke from my lungs and clearing my head. If his sermon was a gift to me, how much more was it gold laid before the Lord Jesus who redeemed me!
We are shepherds taking our cues from the Magi. We come into the house where Jesus is and we present to him the treasure, new or old, we’ve prepared for his beloved people.
Be ye glad!
