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A Star and a Gift from God!

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“A Star and a Gift from God!”

Matthew 2:1-12 (2:10) – January 5, 2025

I remember Christmases when I was very young. I was the youngest of six children, and we lived on the northwest side of Chicago. My father worked for the National Safety Council, which was a not-for-profit organization. He didn’t get paid a huge amount of money, so I remember Christmases when we children would not have a huge pile of presents under the Christmas tree, like the television commercials of today always seem to show. But, I do remember the happiness and joy of those Christmas mornings. Those are warm memories, all of us gathered around the tree, exchanging presents.

I’m sure we all could bring to mind a similar warm memory or two, regarding Christmas. Many of my memories do involve gifts. The Scripture passage just read mentions gifts, too. It’s from Matthew, Chapter 2, the traditional Epiphany narrative, when Magi from the East came to see the young child Jesus, bearing gifts.

Here we have some wise people—probably nobles who know a great deal about stars and constellations. They have been studying the heavens for years and years, as well as studying religious books and writings. Just as it says in the gospel record, a great sign (or star) rose in the sky, so these wise astrologers knew that something momentous was going to happen.

These wise people, or Magi, were not Jewish wise people, but instead were Gentiles. Non-Jews. “Could an unusual phenomenon in the night skies have caught the attention of some of them—interest in the stars was legendary in the region—and led them to set out to Jerusalem? That people of other lands and religions are drawn to Jesus, even as a child, is also significant: in Christ, God is speaking to the hearts and minds of all people.” [1]

The old saying is true, “If you want to go fast, go alone; but if you want to go far, go together.” These Magi traveled together, and supported one another. These wise people encouraged each other and (I suspect) spurred each other on to continue following that star. It is important to point out that they were on the lookout and knew which way to go—towards Jerusalem. And, eventually, they turned up at the palace, on King Herod’s doorstep.

God understood that these Magi made a careful study of the stars, and God sovereignly decided to display signs and wonders in the heavenly places at the time of the birth of Jesus. God reached these Magi where they were at. The wonderful thing is: God continues to reach out to people, no matter what is happening to them, no matter where they might happen to be.

But, let’s go back to these Wise people. No one is exactly sure about the number of Magi who arrived in Jerusalem so long ago. Church tradition tells us that the number was three. These were not just Magi, but also royalty of the East. Assuming they were at least minor royalty, these non-Jewish V.I.P.s show up at King Herod’s palace, and he was not pleased to see them.

Turning back to our Scripture reading, “After the Magi had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”

            The Non-Jewish wise people who followed that star found what they were searching for. And, they were overjoyed, they worshipped, and then gave precious gifts.

What about that special star? Is it easy for us to get so distracted that we cannot even see the majesty and wonder of God’s creation? Do we get turned around and separated, all alone?

For that matter, do we get comments of direction from an unlikely source? Because, that is exactly what King Herod was: an unlikely source of direction. Do we get lost as we try to follow Jesus? Or, have you even found Him in the first place?

Matthew’s birth story centers around the Star. We have come to see this as the Star of Epiphany, the Light that has come into the world! We use Light to symbolize God. The Star of Wonder represents the Light of God! Just think of the Star at the top of many Christmas trees. This signifies the Star that the Magi followed – that same star we talk about today.

I have mentioned God’s Gift, and I have mentioned God’s Light. The Gift given to the world, and the Light that has come into the world. Epiphany is all about celebrating the light that has come into the world as the Baby Jesus, and at the same time Christ the Lord. “But it is also a celebration of the community that gathers to see and follow that light. Worship this day needs to be corporate. It needs to move away from “I” language toward “us” language. We need to be reminded that this is a walk we take together.” [2]

We are reminded that the Magi came together to the Baby Jesus with a need to worship, to come to Him and bow down, and give rich gifts. “That is what brought these Magi so far – however far it was. That was why they went to Herod and anyone who might help them find their way. They longed to worship, as do we all.” [3]

Today, we celebrate Epiphany, Twelfth Night, Three Kings Day, January 6th. We mark this celebration a day early, since the 6th falls on Monday this year. Today is also our celebration of Communion, the Lord’s Supper. Epiphany commemorates the visit of the Magi as told to us by Matthew. As we consider the Star the Magi followed, we fix our eyes on Jesus, the Light of the World, the Bright Morning Star. And as we consider the precious gifts the Magi gave to the Baby in Bethlehem, we also consider that best Christmas Gift of all, for all the world – and we worship Jesus. As the Christmas carol tells us, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.

We, too, can bring our gifts. We all can give our talents, and our hearts to our Lord Jesus this Epiphany. May we continue to place ourselves, our hearts and lives in Christ’s keeping. May God bless us all as we walk with Jesus in this new year. Alleluia, amen.

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] http://www.taize.fr/en_article167.html?date=2012-01-01

“Jesus, Herod, the Magi and Us,” Commented Bible Passages from Taize, 2012.

[2] https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/worship-planning/re-membering-the-body/second-sunday-after-christmas-day-epiphany-year-c-lectionary-planning-notes

[3] https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/worship-planning/re-membering-the-body/second-sunday-after-christmas-day-epiphany-year-c-lectionary-planning-notes/second-sunday-after-christmas-day-epiphany-year-c-preaching-notes

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Carry and Follow!

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“Carry and Follow!”

Mark 8:31-38 (8:34) – February 25, 2024

            First responders do a tremendous job for their communities! Firefighters, paramedics and police officers put their lives on the line every day, risking their lives to save others. And, they do all this in the line of duty. They all serve in difficult but much-valued jobs, and these positions are to be lauded by grateful communities, certainly!

            As first responders go about their challenging jobs, I can see how some might look at them and say, “I could never do that!” Being a firefighter, paramedic or police officer can be a challenging, and especially dangerous position. Yet, what does Jesus say in our Gospel reading today? Isn’t Jesus talking about doing something just as challenging, even dangerous?

            The background of these words of Jesus is critically important for us to understand exactly what Jesus was getting at. What was the history, the backstory? Here we are at the center of the Gospel of Mark. Jesus had healed, taught, cast out demons, and performed other signs of power, but often in secret. People had questioned who this upstart Rabbi was, but with little answer.  Up until this time, Mark had only mentioned the term “the Christ” once, in the opening verse at the very beginning of the book, until here in today’s reading, in Chapter 8.

Just before this scripture reading today, the Rabbi Jesus asks His disciples, “Who do other people say I am?” Great question! We are familiar with the responses. Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah or another prophet, but you and I know better. We know different. We know the end of the story. The thing is, these disciples do not.

            Our Lord Jesus regularly said things that were difficult to understand, and sometimes even more difficult to obey. Some theologians and bible teachers call these the “hard sayings” of Jesus. This week we are looking at one of these hard sayings. Listen again: “Then Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to him. “If any of you want to come with me,” he told them, “you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me.”

            We can think of the first responders and the challenging jobs they do, certainly! But, if we look at their jobs in the light of what Jesus said here, the Rabbi Jesus is calling all of us – each of us – to do something very much like what a first responder does. “For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for me and for the gospel, you will save it.”

            How on earth can we think about, much less talk about, losing our lives? Well, in a spirit of self-sacrifice, certainly many regular folks make amazing and tremendous sacrifices for their loved ones on a regular basis. “we can understand Jesus’ comments about losing our lives in a healthy manner. Sacrifice is an essential part of life. Jesus sacrifices and so do loving companions, parents, grandparents, and friends. Jesus’s ethic of self-denial is grounded in the unconditional love of God.” [1]

            Ahh. Now, there I can begin to understand this hard saying of Jesus. When it was compared to the difficult jobs of a first responder, I did not really connect with the description, the comparison. But, by saying that the Rabbi Jesus grounds this taking up the cross, this self-denial, in the unconditional love of God? That I can begin to connect with!

            Yes, we can see how firefighters courageously fight fires! But, it’s no less courageous for parents to scrimp and save to provide their children with good educations or better living conditions. It’s no less courageous for a brother or sister to go way out of their way for a sibling or a parent in need. It’s no less courageous for a good friend to stand up to a bully on the playground to protect their best buddy. How many other examples can we think of, in everyday life, of everyday folks going above and beyond, showing unconditional love? That is what Jesus is talking about. That is a big part of taking up our cross and following Jesus.

            Just in case anyone is still unsure about what Jesus is telling us to do, I will say it another way. The very “act of following Jesus is totally re-ordering our priorities and principles to the way of the Kingdom. It’s no longer about saving our lives.” [2] It’s about living our lives for others, the way that Jesus did. Instead of, “ME, first!” And, “me, me, ME!” And, “where’s mine?” We need to think, “Who would Jesus love?” “Who would Jesus put first?”

            That is one thing that Lent puts front and center: the cross. Jesus told each of us to take up the cross and follow Him. As we walk with Jesus towards Jerusalem, towards Passion Week, we need to think about what we might change to follow Jesus more closely.

One positive change for each of us might be from this suggestion. “What might it mean for us to ‘take up our cross’ to follow Jesus? Are there people in our community who are persecuted for who they are, what they believe, the color of their skin, how they express themselves, or where they come from? How might we and our church share the unconditional love of God with these community members?” [3]

We are encouraged to put ourselves at the service of our Lord Jesus. To think of others, and especially to think of God’s love.  Jesus calls to each one of us to pick up our cross and to follow Him. And following Jesus is not just in Lent, as a Lenten devotion, but we are to follow Jesus all year long. How can you – how can I – show the love of God to others, today?   

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] https://www.patheos.com/blogs/livingaholyadventure/2018/02/adventurous-lectionary-second-sunday-lent-february-25-2018/

[2] http://www.rickmorley.com/archives/1453?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=take-up-your-what-a-reflection-on-mark-831-38

[3] https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/worship-planning/depths-of-love/second-sunday-in-lent-year-b-for-the-sake-of-the-gospel/second-sunday-in-lent-year-b-small-groups

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What Are You Expecting?

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“What Are You Expecting?”

Jesus teaching

Luke 6:17-23 (6:18-19) – February 17, 2019

Have you ever been expecting something, with all your heart? Perhaps, getting to a stadium early, and expecting a great ball game? Or, arriving at the church, expecting a wedding of two people who are dear to you? Maybe, finally going to a concert you’ve been waiting for, for many months. You are there with many other people. And, all of you have such expectations!

Expectations—of what?

We see something so similar with the scripture reading Eileen just read to us, from Luke chapter 6. Yes, this was early in the Rabbi Jesus’s ministry, but there already was talk about this promising young Rabbi. He not only teaches with authority, but this Jesus heals people’s diseases, too! And, He even casts demons out of people!

Wouldn’t that be something to travel a long distance for? Just imagine—a Rabbi, a high-profile teacher who spoke with authority. On top of that, He’s a healer and miracle-worker, too! That is something to see, indeed!

We need to step back a bit, and look at the bigger picture. Did you know that Luke chapter 6 contains much of the same information that Jesus preached in Matthew, chapters 5, 6 and 7? Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount—leading off with the Beatitudes—is summarized in about one third of the space, right here. In Luke’s Sermon on the Plain.

Both sermons contain much of the same information, except sometimes in different phrases and from a slightly differing point of view. Matthew was one of Jesus’s disciples, he was Jewish, and an eye witness. Dr. Luke was a Greek, he was writing his Gospel some years later, and relied on the testimony of a number of first-person accounts. Just so you can see these two sermons side by side.

Instead of diving into the sermon right away, I want us to look at the people who were hearing it. Dr. Luke is quite particular in his wording: he wants us to know that people from all over are listening, from down south in Judea and Jerusalem (good, God-fearing Jews), as well as people from the coast in the north, from the cities Tyre and Sidon. This second group of people was more mixed, some Jews, but secular, pagan Gentiles as well.

Luke mentioned the disciples, specifically. These were the twelve disciples, recently hand-chosen by Jesus. Moreover, “there are the larger crowds of disciples who are followers of Jesus, who have responded to His ministry, but who have not received a special call from Jesus.”[1] Quite a diverse group, indeed. And, Jesus preached to them all.

Have you ever been in a crowd of all different kinds of people? At a ball game, or, in a crowd at a concert, perhaps. I’ve been there, and I have felt the camaraderie, the fellowship and general good nature of certain kinds of crowds.

Reading again from Luke 6: “Jesus went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of His disciples was there and a great number of people who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured.”

Expectant? I suspect that is exactly how this crowd was feeling. Even before Jesus can start preaching, people surged around Him. Listen, again from Luke: “and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.”

People not only wanted to see Jesus, they wanted a word of comfort or encouragement from Jesus. And, people wanted to be healed by Jesus most of all! Did you notice that Jesus did not just heal people from their physical problems, but also their spiritual and psychological difficulties, too? Such miracle-working activity must have brought people many miles to see the Rabbi Jesus.

As the Rev. Ernest Lyght mentions, “Perhaps there are some similarities between the crowd on the plain and the crowds that come to our churches. When you look out into your congregation, whom do you see? What are their needs? Who are the people who come to our churches? Do they reflect the neighborhoods around the church? Surely, they are folks who want to hear a Word from the Lord, and they want to be healed. They come with certain expectations.”[2]

Which leads to the next question: what are your expectations for the worship service, this morning? Were you expecting a warm, familiar service, with nice, familiar hymns, and a warm, comforting sermon? Or, were you surprised and even taken aback when we heard the testimony about a lovely ten-year-old boy with autism who wrote that wonderful poem for his English assignment? (I had tears in my eyes when I first finished reading that poem. God bless that boy, and God bless that teacher, too.)

Does Jesus challenge you – challenge me – in our daily walk with Him, or are you just looking for a nice, easy, quiet stroll with Jesus? What are your expectations?

Let’s look at some of Luke’s version of the Beatitudes: “’Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 22 Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.’”

Whoa, wait a minute, Jesus! I thought You were warm and cuddly, like a teddy bear. At least, that’s what I heard. From Sunday school, or somewhere. Where did Jesus come up with all this about hungering, and weeping, with people hating me, excluding me, insulting me, even rejecting me. What gives, Jesus? What happened to that warm, fuzzy Christianity I thought I knew?

Christianity is not a religion, being a Christian is a relationship. It’s a series of relationships. Jesus and me, vertically. Sure! But, it’s Jesus and all of us too. Plus, it’s the horizontal relationship between you, and me, and you, and you—and all of us, with each other. That is what Jesus came to offer all of us. A radical change in relationships between God and humanity. And, in how we all relate to each other. No matter who.

Have you told anyone about this radical, out-of-this-world friendship between you and God? Have you been changed in how you relate to everyone you meet?

Bishop Lyght is now retired from the United Methodist Church. The UMC has for its advertising catch phrase “open hearts, open minds, and open doors.” Great images! Wonderful things to strive for, too. We can take that phrase to heart, and ask ourselves: do we have open hearts? Are our hearts open to everyone who may walk in to our church? Do we have open minds? Are our minds open and accepting of everyone, no matter what ethnicity, mental challenge, sexual orientation, or other kind of differences they might have?

Finally, do we have open doors? Who are the people who do not come to our church, on this corner? Do we truly welcome all people? In our church? On the street or at work or at line in the grocery store? In our neighborhoods?

What are your expectations? Check with Jesus, and see who He would welcome.

 

(Many thanks to the Rev. Ernest Lyght and http://www.umcdiscipleship.org for ideas and assistance for this series on discipleship.)

[1] http://www.crivoice.org/lectionary/YearC/Cepiphany6nt.html

Lectionary Commentary and Preaching Paths (Epiphany C6), by Dennis Bratcher, at The Christian Resource Institute.

[2] https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/worship/season-after-epiphany-2019-part-2-worship-planning-series/february-17-sixth-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-c/sixth-sunday-after-the-epiphany-2019-year-c-preaching-notes