Loading...Today is Epiphany day — actually the day before, but we celebrate today.
I suspect many of you know the story of the Magi, or Wise Men.
Magi were studying the skies, in practice of their religion, looking for signs. They found something and went to check it out. They didn’t know what it meant, exactly, but they knew it was momentous.
They follow this bright star in the sky to Jerusalem where they ask King Herod where they can find the new king.
Not surprisingly, this is news to Herod. New king?
Herod calls together his counselors who tell him about the prophets stories about a king to be born in Bethlehem.
Herod relays the story to the Magi and then tells them to make sure to let him know where they find this king so that he too can go pay homage.
The Magi find Jesus and his family, and thanks to a dream,
they go home by another way
saving Jesus and his family from the terror of Herod.
Interrupt this sermon for a joke: Interrupting Cow
Knock, knock
Who’s there?
Interrupting cow.
Interrupting cow w—-
MOOOO!!
Throughout Hebrew Scripture: God’s glory = always God’s presence
The in-breaking of God into people’s lives and into the community.
Over and over again, God does this.
Stranger who wrestles with Jacob/Israel; Burning bush;
Pillar of cloud/fire; cloud over Mt. Sinai;
prophets’ words and actions from Elijah through Hosea
Jesus = God breaking into our lives
interrupting whatever may be going on.
For, bless her heart, Mary,
that surely meant a dramatic turn in her life.
For Joseph too.
For Philip and Nathaniel, Mary, and Mary and Martha; Peter, James, and John, Andrew, and all the rest of them. Jesus interrupted their lives.
For you, y’all, and all y’all — Jesus interrupts your life.
The light of hope, the light of God’s presence, the star to follow.
Or, as Isaiah the prophet puts it:
“Arise, shine, your light has come!”
This light, this glory, is a gift.
It irrupts, disrupts, and interrupts
whatever else you had going on.
It shakes you out of complacency or apathy or distraction—
And sends you in a new direction.
It doesn’t ask for you to go in the new direction first and then glory —God’s presence—is then bestowed upon you.
The gift of glory, light, presence, and hope is given first.
And everything changes.
At least, that is the promise. That is God’s intent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yet,
have you ever done like I do sometimes?
shake off the interruption?
grumble about the disruption and shuffle back to what you were doing before all the kerfuffle?
Have those blinders on?
have so much focus on “things”, whatever that might mean,
that you miss what the interruption gives?
[sigh]
This season of Epiphany,
we are going to hear many stories about interruptions, disruptions, and God’s irruption into our lives.
Jesus’ baptism, and Jesus calling regular ol’ folk into a new way of life — in two different stories about a job change, and some teaching about life and mercy in this interrupted way.
As we hear these stories from some 2000 years ago,
we’ll also be inundated with stories about
Iran, Iraq, North Korea, China, Chile, Australia
about immigration, the justice system, education, gun violence, climate change
about family concerns, health concerns, hunger, poverty, homelessness—
And you might reach for the blinders, for the distractions, for the busy-ness.
Or, you can breath deeply of the breath of God
and welcome the in-breaking of God’s hope and love for the world in the midst of confusion, loss, anger, oppression, and despair.
You can notice the light that shines in through the cracks.
You can follow the star to discover the hope for the world
in the unexpected and surprising places:
forgiveness where there has been pain
love where there has been loss
healing where there has been hurt
reconciliation where there has been betrayal
community gathered together in the Word made flesh,
incarnate in one another,
and made tangible in the water, wine, and bread.
How do you keep this with you through the week?
How do you remember the light of the world when you are bombarded with the news of the weird world every day?
There are many spiritual practices — we can chat about the wide variety of options available to you.....
But, today, I give you a star.
What might be a reminder of the gift of hope, light, joy, love
which is the glory of God made manifest for you?
Word/phrase that will be meaningful to you:
write it within the star,
decorate star,
cut it out,
hang it up or stick it to door/window/mirror.
Care for your neighbors.
Love your enemies, even if you have to keep your distance.
Pay attention to what is happening in the world, even if is hard for you to listen/watch.
Love the vulnerable around you with your actions and advocacy,
with your listening and with your words.
Arise, shine, for your light has come
and it is showing you the way to be light in the world.
Amen
