Episode Transcript
[00:00:07] Hello. It's Sunday, January 4th. In the epiphany of the Lord.
[00:00:23] Most people are familiar with the tradition of the three wise men, Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.
[00:00:31] But have you ever heard the story about the fourth Magi?
[00:00:35] Henry Van Dyke wrote a book in 1895 that tells the legend of Artaban, a wise man from the east who planned to join the other Magi.
[00:00:46] Artaban sold everything he had to purchase his own gifts for the newborn king.
[00:00:52] A sapphire, a ruby and a pearl.
[00:00:56] As he traveled to meet the others, however, Artaban stopped to help a dying man.
[00:01:02] He used one of his treasures to save him.
[00:01:05] The delay caused him to miss the Magi who had already left for Bethlehem.
[00:01:11] Artaban didn't give up. He traveled on his own in search of Jesus. But when he reached Bethlehem, the holy family had already fled to Egypt.
[00:01:22] Determined, Artaban continued his search.
[00:01:26] Along the way, he used another one of his treasures to save the life of a child.
[00:01:32] After 33 years, Artaban finally arrived in Jerusalem.
[00:01:37] He learned a man was being crucified that day.
[00:01:40] After hearing about the man's life, Artaban believed the man to be his king.
[00:01:46] On the way to find him, he saw someone dragging a girl away in chains.
[00:01:52] At that moment, he offered his last treasure, the pearl, to save her from slavery.
[00:02:00] Overcome by grief and no longer having anything to offer the king, Artaban collapsed into the ground. As the earth began to quake, he was hit in the head by falling debris.
[00:02:13] And as he lay there dying, he heard a voice.
[00:02:17] Whatever you did for the least of my brothers and sisters, you did for me.
[00:02:23] In that moment, Artaban realized he had found his king, Jesus Christ.
[00:02:29] And the gift he offered Jesus was his heart.
[00:02:42] Lets reflect now on the concept of the church as our home.
[00:02:50] What makes the church my home?
[00:02:53] It's not a perfect place, but no place is.
[00:02:58] There may be some painful memories, but there are in every family.
[00:03:03] What makes the church my home is hard to put into words.
[00:03:08] There's something deep inside calling me there, drawing me homeward.
[00:03:14] To be more accurate, there's someone deep within calling me.
[00:03:19] And that's what makes the church home.
[00:03:22] I am called by no less than God because of this call deep within.
[00:03:28] I sense that this is where I belong.
[00:03:32] It's home.
[00:03:39] The call comes in many ways. It doesn't come just once, but keeps coming.
[00:03:46] Some people were originally called through their parents at baptism.
[00:03:51] Some were called when they got married.
[00:03:54] Some were called by people who touched their lives and drew them to the church.
[00:03:59] The call keeps coming, and I am drawn to this church by something deep within that tells me that God is calling me here.
[00:04:09] The hardest thing about answering that call is not the distance I have to travel to get to a church, or the bother or giving up something else I might be doing.
[00:04:21] The hardest thing may be to believe that I am worth that much to God.
[00:04:26] The toughest question is why would God call me?
[00:04:31] Who am I that the Lord would want me?
[00:04:34] But I have not been asked who should be a disciple of the Lord.
[00:04:39] I have been asked if I would be a disciple of the Lord.
[00:04:44] Big difference.
[00:04:48] What is my answer?
[00:04:56] Spend some quiet time with the Lord.
