Advent2025 Waiting With Matthew 8

Day 8 – Waiting for Guidance. Today we reflect on Matthew 2:9 – “When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star…” Join us this Advent as we sit with the waiting in the first 5 chapters of Matthew's Gospel.

Transcript

Hello,

My friends.

This is Mark Gladman,

Also known as Brother Frederick James,

Your friendly neighbourhood monk in docks.

Welcoming you to our Advent 2025 series,

Waiting with Matthew.

And today as we enter day eight,

Our focus text will be from Matthew chapter 2,

Verse 9,

Where Matthew writes,

When they had heard the king,

They set out,

And there ahead of them went the star.

And so as we enter this time,

I invite you to stop,

To find yourself in a comfortable space,

To breathe deeply in and out.

Letting not just your body,

But also your heart and your soul find rest and comfort in this moment,

As we share and ask God to open our ears,

Our minds and our hearts for what God might reveal to us today.

Now we all know that there are seasons in the spiritual life when we long for God's guidance more than anything else.

Seasons when the next step isn't clear,

When the map seems blank,

When the horizon feels clouded.

Those seasons when we pray,

Lord,

I don't need the whole plan,

Just show me what to do next.

The Magi understand this longing.

Their entire story is a journey of seeking,

Risk,

Uncertainty and trust.

Today's verse tells us something deeply human and deeply divine.

When they had heard the king,

They set out,

And there ahead of them went the star.

Sounds simple,

But within those words lies one of the most profound spiritual truths in Scripture.

The Magi had no guarantee.

They had no clear timetable.

They had no proof that they'd interpreted the star correctly.

And they'd just come from a palace that radiated insecurity and fear.

Herod didn't have any answers for them,

Only hidden motives.

And yet,

Matthew tells us,

They set out.

Not because they understood everything,

And not because they felt confident.

And definitely not because they had certainty.

But because they were faithful to the small guidance that they did have.

And this,

This is what divine guidance usually looks like.

Not a floodlight,

Not a fully detailed itinerary,

But a star.

Just a single,

Small point of light.

Just bright enough to move toward.

The spiritual life can feel like this.

God rarely gives us the whole picture.

But God gives us something,

A nudge,

A whisper,

A direction,

A small glimmer of clarity.

Just enough to take the next step.

And like the Magi,

We have to decide.

Will we wait for perfect clarity before moving?

Or will we begin the journey with the little light that we do have?

The Magi obey the guidance available to them.

And Matthew says,

And there ahead of them went the star.

Now notice the sequence.

They move,

And the guidance appears again.

They trust,

And the direction becomes clearer.

They act,

And the light meets them in their movement.

And this tells us something essential about God's guidance.

That often clarity comes after we set out,

And not before.

Now this usually doesn't sit well with us.

We want God to reveal the whole path.

But God invites us to take one step.

We want assurance.

But God offers companionship.

We want control.

And God offers light,

One moment at a time.

The Magi step into the unknown,

Not knowing how long the journey will be.

Not knowing where it will lead,

And not knowing what they'll find when they get there.

And as they walk,

The star goes ahead of them.

Not behind,

Not beside,

But ahead.

Pulling them forward into God's unfolding mystery.

And maybe this is what guidance really is.

Not a static answer,

But a dynamic journey.

Not something we possess,

But something we follow.

Not a map,

But a relationship.

Think of your own life.

Where do you feel the longing for guidance right now?

Where do you feel unsure,

Hesitant,

Or overwhelmed?

Where are you staring at a blank horizon and waiting for something,

Anything,

To appear?

The Magi teach us three things about waiting for guidance.

First,

They listen deep.

They read the signs around them,

The sky,

The scriptures,

The ancient prophecies.

They listen with their whole being.

Guidance requires listening with heart,

Mind,

And spirit.

Second,

Notice that they move even when they don't know everything.

They could have hesitated.

They could have waited for certainty.

They could have turned back when Herod wouldn't give them what they wanted.

But instead,

They set out.

Sometimes the most faithful act we can make is simply to begin.

And then,

Finally,

They trust that God's light will meet them on the way.

And it does.

The star reappears.

Guidance is renewed and direction becomes clearer.

We often assume that divine guidance is a single event.

But for the Magi,

Guidance is continual,

Revealed step by step.

And maybe guidance is less about God giving us answers,

And more about us becoming people who can walk by light even when the light is faint.

Because notice also what the star is not.

It's not a spotlight that removes all the shadows.

And it's not a predictable light that never shifts.

This is not an effortless shortcut.

It's a humble guide that is faithful enough,

Bright enough,

And steady enough.

And maybe,

Maybe that's what God offers us most days.

Just enough.

Just enough clarity to take the next step.

Just enough light to stay on the path.

Just enough peace to keep trusting.

Just enough hope to keep moving.

Guidance is something we discover in motion.

Like a door that only opens as we walk towards it.

It's like a path that only appears as our foot touches the ground.

It's like a star that seems still,

Yet somehow leads.

And then maybe the hardest part is the beginning.

They set out.

They set out even though Herod's court,

It must have shaken them.

And they set out even though they were foreigners in a land that wasn't their own.

And they set out even though they carried precious gifts that could easily be stolen.

They set out because something in them trusted that God was already ahead of them.

I wonder today,

Where is God asking you to set out?

What is the star that you're being asked to follow?

Where is the invitation to take one step,

Even a small one,

Into the larger story that God is writing?

For the Magi,

Following the star wasn't just about reaching Bethlehem.

It was about being transformed along the way.

Guidance isn't only about the destination.

It's also about who we become by trusting the light that leads us.

In the end,

The star leads them to Christ.

To the place where their searching becomes seeing.

Where their uncertainty becomes worship.

And where their journey finds its true meaning.

And my friend,

May you like them discover that when you dare to follow the light you have,

God will always give you the light you need.

And so,

As we prepare to rise and move into our day,

I invite you to share this prayer with me.

Guiding God,

You know the places within us that long for direction.

You know the crossroads we face,

The uncertainties that weigh on us.

The prayers we whisper in the quiet hours of waiting.

Teach us to trust the small lights you place before us.

Give us courage to set out even when we don't see the full path.

Help us believe that your guidance will meet us on the way,

Just as the star met the magi and drew them step by step towards your presence.

When we grow anxious,

Steady us.

When we grow hesitant,

Strengthen us.

When we grow weary,

Remind us that you walk ahead of us.

Always drawing us toward life,

Towards truth and towards Christ.

Amen.

And so,

My friends,

As you rise from this moment to go into your day,

May you trust the small light that God places before you.

May you discover guidance not by holding still,

But by courageously setting out.

And may you find step by step that God's star goes ahead of you,

Leading you towards Christ.

And may grace,

Peace and love be with you on that first step,

And the next one,

And the next one again,

All the way through Advent and beyond.

Amen.

Grace and peace,

My friends.

Until tomorrow,

It's bye for now.

Reviews

I’m so loving this advent series. It’s making me think 🤔 how is God calling me with a faint glimmer of light.

Thank you. Assurance that as we proceed, God's guidance is always with us. 🙏💝🌅

Thank you for sharing your insight which is so encouraging to me, Mark. …baby steps…🙏🏻❤️

Astounding 💜

Peace and a star ⭐️ for the journey 🙏🏾

Thank you for these amazing reflections🙏🏻 May our trust in our God’s guidance increase.

Thank you🕯trusting the light in the waiting. 🙏