January 3, 2015 Epiphany… Community United Church of Christ, Medford, WI
Today’s Scriptures: Isaiah 60:1-6
Matthew 2:1-12
Message: “Follow What?”
Pray with me: Loving God, may the words that we hear and the meditations of all of our hearts
lead us and guide us to you, Creator, Redeemer and Comforter, Amen.
An angry reader once stormed into a newspaper office waving the current edition,
asking to see the one who wrote the obituary column. He was referred to a cub reporter
to whom he showed the column…which included this man’s own obituary.
He said, “You see, I am very much alive. I demand an immediate retraction!” The reporter replied,
I never retract a story. But, I’ll tell you what I’ll do…I’ll put you in the birth column and give you
a fresh start!”
Today, on this first Sunday of the year, 2016, we, too, have a fresh start… with a new calendar
already being filled in. Nearly all of the new year lies ahead of us. The prophet Isaiah has foretold :
“ I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”)Isaiah 43: 19)
Arise, shine, for your light has come…lift up your eyes and look around…
We are observing Epiphany today…which is traditionally celebrated on Jan. 6th.
It does not end up on Sunday very often. This is, apparently, why the lectionary does not seem
to be in order.
What is the lectionary, you ask? Well, it is a list of the scriptures that is compiled in a three-year
arrangement: Year A, Year B, Year C. The Revised Common Lectionary is used in the same
sequence by many of the mainline churches. You could attend worship down the street at Holy
Rosary Catholic Church or go over to St Paul’s or to the United Methodist Church, and will most
likely find that we all are using the same scriptures today. I say “most likely”, because we are not
required to follow the order of the lectionary for this Year C…but, it is a great way to follow
the Gospel stories, in order, from the time of the birth of Jesus Christ until his death and his
Resurrection…each year.
Last week, the story of the “flight into Egypt” was heard…Joseph, Mary and Jesus were fleeing
from the wrath of King Herod…who was searching for the one born to be King…if you were
watching the verses in the Gospel of Matthew, that story comes just after today’s Gospel reading.
However we have heard it and in whatever order…the gospel of Matthew chapter 2, verses 1-12 is
an energizing account with an uplifting message.
The word, “epiphany” enacted in these events involves the famous wise men, some call them
the Magi, some say they were astrologers. How ever they are known…we celebrate Epiphany
today. Epiphany is defined as this: an inspired understanding arising from connecting with
profound insight, awareness or enlightened truth.
God's manifestation as a human baby was made known to these three kings. The story is fairly
simple…since King Herod felt threatened that a King would be born, he had an evil plan to get rid
of him. He called together three wise men and sent them to find the child who was the fulfillment
of the prophecy. "Go find this child,” he instructed, “Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you
find him, send word and I'll join you at once in your worship."
1
The three gifts that they brought were valuable, yes, but they had a deeper meaning:
gold as a symbol of kingship on earth, frankincense) as a symbol of priesthood,
and myrrh (an embalming oil) as a symbol of death. (it is something like the sticky stuff on a pine
tree) Utterly ridiculous gifts from the view point of the world, weren’t they?…gold, frankincense
and myrrh, given to the child of a simple carpenter and his young mother…to those who were far
from home and family and who were about to be told by an angel that the life of their child was in
danger.
When the three find Jesus, they do not hesitate to bow down and worship the tiny baby.
Two thousand years ago, gold, frankincense and myrrh were the most valuable items they could
find.… But these gifts were not just of monetary value. They were also gifts of health and long
life. Gold frankincense and myrrh were among the earliest and most precious curative medicines in
the ancient world.
The wise men are told in a dream to return by a different route… and it is then that Joseph is
warned in a dream that Herod is killing all the male babies under the age of 2. He is told to flee
to the land of Egypt…and they all become fugitives of Herod’s wrath.
Jesus is thus revealed to humankind by the way of wise men who leave as mysteriously as they
have arrived…and are not heard of again. Having traveled hastily and wearily under a secret night
sky, following a star to get to the baby, they now slip away to their own lands.
With new hope in their hearts….that OUT THERE a better world is possible.
There are a lot of questions surrounding this story? If the wisemen came from 100’s of miles
away…were Mary and Joseph and Jesus still in the stable in Bethlehem? Probably not?
The story, the situation and all of the details are not clear…still, it is one of my favorite scriptures.
Following a star and sharing gifts speak to me of something we should also be doing this new
year…we should be taking a better look at the gifts that we have been given…and which of those
we should be offering in the name of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps you have received a new sweater or a new tie…or some hand lotion or a pair of mittens
as a Christmas gift. How did you react to receiving that gift?
Some of us are not good gift-receivers…we feel awkward when we are on the receiving side of
gift-giving. Some of us love to receive gifts…thrive on surprises…and some are disappointed
when gifts do not meet our expectations.
Thus, the term: re-gifting, originated. Some think the idea was initiated by Jerry Seinfeld in the
episode of the NBC sitcom entitled “The Label maker”… Just in case you do not know what regifting is…it is not exactly re-cycling…It is taking a gift that someone has clearly thought out as
the perfect present for you, and in time, re-wrapping it and giving it to someone else.
I won’t ask you to admit if you have ever done that before…
I found, in moving several years ago, that one of my sons had a drawer full of shirts that he had
received from his grandmother over the years as gifts...brand new, with tags on...probably the most
neatly kept drawer in the house…never returned to the store, never re-gifted…he didn’t want to
hurt her feelings.
2
There are gifts that we have received from God, that we have laid aside…ignored and have never
taken out of the drawer. We have ignored the possibilities that lie inside us…because of fear,
perhaps…because we think we can’t use the gifts that have been given us.
Be aware that God is re-gifting us day after day with gifts of love, with gifts of grace, with gifts
of forgiveness. In this new year, let us, like the wisemen, be extravagant in our giving and grateful
in our receiving. No matter where we are on our life journey, I remind you that we are following
the light of Jesus Christ, much the same as the wise men had followed the star. They left their gifts
at the feet of Jesus and went their separate ways. We are recipients of the gift of Jesus Christ
For his sake, we dare not reject the gifts that have been given to us…nor forget to re-gift one
another with them in the new year.
We each hold in our hearts and in our hands the ability to offer Christ’s own presence to our little
corner of the world: everyday...not just at Christmas, not just in this season of Epiphany.
It is possible because we are disciples of Jesus. God has called us and thus enables us to share
the gifts of goodness, kindness, forgiveness, grace and love with one another…the gifts that the
Christ child asks us to bring as we follow every star to seek him.
Advent preparation, Christmas exhilaration…holiday stress have led us over the edge of another
year. Now, I ask you this…will we return to our old ways by another route or will we take the
good news of Jesus Christ and make this new year a truly new beginning?
Follow what? The star of God’s nudging…
Follow what? The great whisper of God’s calling…
to do things that we might have thought were impossible..
We will now share God’s greatest gift…in the Sacrament of Holy Communion
3