Danbury United Methodist Church

Pastor Karen Karpow

January 9, 2010

Celebrating Epiphany

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Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. Ephesians 6.1

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Thursday, the twelfth day after Christmas, was Epiphany, the day we remember the visit of the magi to the baby Jesus and his family. As your seminary-trained leader, I feel compelled to point out that, despite the fact that we sang We Three Kings this morning, there is no evidence that these people were kings, nor that there were three of them. Matthew calls them magi, a word for scholars, astrologers, astronomers, and magicians. It seems that they were sky-watchers who interpreted the sign of a star at the birth of Jesus and came looking for the baby king of the Jews. There were three gifts, but we do not know how many givers. And they were most likely not present at the time of Jesus’ birth, but probably a couple of years later—the time it took them to travel to Bethlehem once the star appeared.

Despite all these details that don’t match up with our nativity sets, Epiphany is a very important day, one of the three great holy days for the early church. The other two were Easter, celebrating the resurrection, and Pentecost, the birthday of the church. It was not until much later, as Christianity encountered the European cultures that celebrated the winter solstice, that Christians began to celebrate Christmas.

Epiphany is a wonderful celebration of inclusivity, the breaking down of dividing walls between people and nations and tribes and faiths. As Matthew tells us how the salvation message was revealed at the very beginning to Gentiles from far away, we learn to welcome outsiders into the light and joy of our community.

That community is based on God’s love for us, and on our responding to that love in faith. Last week, we worshipped using John Wesley’s covenant service from 1755. If you weren’t here, there are copies of the service in the document rack out in the narthex. I urge you to pick up a copy, to read it and pray it. Last week we adored God, gave thanks to God, confessed how we have fallen short of what God hopes for us, and pledged ourselves:

I am no longer my own, but Yours. Put me to what You will, rank me with whom You will; put me to doing, put me to suffering; let me be employed for You or laid aside for You, exalted for You or brought low for You; let me be full, let me be empty; let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal.

How glorious! I belong to you, God, and I am ready to do whatever you have for me to do.

But how do we do that? How do we know what that is?

Epiphany holds some signs for us. Let’s take the light of the Epiphany star and shine it into our lives and see what we can see.

Oh, but wait. Do we really want to shine God’s light into our lives? I have observed that that we human beings actually like darkness much more than we pretend to think we do. There is an old story about a desert nomad who woke up in the middle of the night feeling very hungry. He lit a candle and began eating dates from a bowl beside his bed. He took a bite from one and saw a worm in it—so he threw it out of the tent. He bit into a second date, found another worm, and threw it away also. He became very concerned that he might not have anything at all to eat if things continued this way—so he blew out the candle. Then he quickly ate the rest of the dates.

Sometimes we prefer the darkness, because in the light we see too much. We continue in our old comfortable ways, because if we actually see things as they are, we will have to do something about it. Epiphany is the first announcement that Jesus is the Light. This light exposes those dark private corners of our lives that we prefer to keep hidden. Everything is not as neat and tidy as we thought. Over here there’s a mess that needs to be cleaned up, over there a big pile of dirt that needs to be swept up and carted away:

· Our temptations and secret sins

· The faults we prefer not to admit to

· The inconsiderate way we have treated the people we love

· The selfish attitude that we have nurtured

· The times we have looked the other way rather than offer a helping hand

So the first step is to be willing to let God’s light shine into our lives, willing to face and deal with whatever we might find. But the light of a star, even a bright star—it’s just not a whole lot of light. We might be tempted to say, “Hey, God, I’ll walk on your path later, when I can see it a little better.” This is yet another ingenious way to put off living the life God has waiting for us!

I used to go camping a lot. I had this great flashlight, big and bright, with a feature that let me turn it into a lantern bright enough to light a whole tent or cabin or campsite. I always took it with me—along with extra batteries, because it really chewed through batteries. On the second day of a week-long trip, my fabulous flashlight failed. Changing the batteries didn’t help—it must have been the bulb. I didn’t have a spare bulb.

But what I did have was a teeny tiny little flashlight, about three inches long, the kind that takes one AAA battery. It worked just fine—except that I could hardly see anything. It barely illuminated my feet, and a tiny circle ahead of where I was walking. I guess you could call it light, but it was not the light I wanted.

The place we were camping is basically a big pile of rocks in the middle of Lake Winnepesaukee in New Hampshire. All of the paths were rocks, with some soil in between, and getting anywhere consisted pretty much of stepping or jumping from one rock to the next. In the daytime, or with my big flashlight, I could move very quickly, leaping along the path with confidence.

But now, with my understudy flashlight, things were really different. I had to get myself onto a rock, stand still, and shine the flashlight around until I located the next rock—and then step. It made for a much longer trip to anywhere.

It also made for a more deliberate trip. For years I kept that flashlight, which I named Dim Bulb, on my desk, to remind me that the journey of faith is like that. We don’t get to see the whole thing. From wherever we are right now, we can shine our light until we see the next step. Then we can move forward, and then look for another step.

So, not having as much light as we’d like isn’t a good excuse to stay off of God’s path. Not everyone will choose to walk on the path, though. The star was shining in the sky for all to see, but only the magi decided to follow it to the baby Jesus. It is our job to walk on the path, in the new light that has come from the Lord, that shines on all people and chases away all shadows and darkness. But we must also help bring others to the light. We’re supposed to shine, too.

Arise, shine; for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. …

³ Nations shall come to your light,

and kings to the brightness of your dawn. …

⁵ Then you shall see and be radiant;

your heart shall thrill and rejoice…

Arise, shine, be radiant! God’s light shining through you is thrilling, irresistible. In Jesus the prophecies of the Old Testament are fulfilled. Jesus said (John 8:12):

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

The Light, Jesus, has come into the world, not to bring condemnation, but to bring salvation. Not to rub our noses in the dirt of those dark corners, but to sweep them out, to bring healing and reconciliation. To light our path, not showing us everything, but showing us what we need to see now.

Were you here on Christmas Eve? One of my favorite moments of the whole year is when we share the light from the Christ candle with each other. We start with just one, then another…and the light spreads down each row, shining on each face, through each section, filling the entire room. The dark shadows recede, as we each benefit from everyone else’s light.

The light of Epiphany is meant to spread that way through the world, from one person to the next. Beginning with you. Today.

So I encourage you this week to be brave—let God’s light shine you’re your life, knowing that the chances are good that God will reveal something that needs some work. Begin that work, that journey, taking the first step you see, without knowing for sure where it will all lead. And take your light, whether bright or dim, and share it with others. We are called to use whatever we have to relieve the suffering of others.

May the light of Christ shine through us, that darkness and despair and hopelessness may be defeated. You are the light of the world! Amen.
Isaiah 60.1-6

Arise, shine; for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

² For darkness shall cover the earth,

and thick darkness the peoples;

but the Lord will arise upon you,

and his glory will appear over you.

³ Nations shall come to your light,

and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

⁴ Lift up your eyes and look around;

they all gather together, they come to you;

your sons shall come from far away,

and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.

⁵ Then you shall see and be radiant;

your heart shall thrill and rejoice,

because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,

the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

⁶ A multitude of camels shall cover you,

the young camels of Midian and Ephah;

all those from Sheba shall come.

They shall bring gold and frankincense,

and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

Matthew 2.1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, ² asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” ³ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; ⁴ and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

⁶ ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

who is to shepherd my people Israel.’ ”

⁷ Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. ⁸ Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” ⁹ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. ¹¹ On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.