The Feast of the Epiphany

A Lasting Resolution

Readings: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72: 1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12
All of the wrapping paper has been cleared away by now. Most of us have taken down the tree and packed the decorations away carefully in their boxes. We have made, and possibly even broken, our New Years resolution. Christmas is but a fond and distant memory. We face now its aftermath - the cleaning up, the paying of the bills and the kind of lingering depression that somehow seems to accompany such endings.

But you'll notice that the church is still decorated. That is because Christmas, as a religious celebration is not over. Today is only the tenth day of Christmas - two to go. The song the "Twelve Days of Christmas" is not completely frivilous. "Twelfth Night" is not the title of a Shakespearean play for nothing.

You see, there remains for us to celebrate, one important aspect of Christmas. Today we are marking a feast which actually comes on January 6th, the Epiphany of our Lord. Epiphany means "manifestation". The Epiphany and the Sundays that follow it celebrate the revealing of God's incarnate self to humanity, the unfolding of the great mystery of the Incarnation. It is an unfolding, not only to the people of Israel, but also to the whole world.

The common theme in today's readings is how God is revealed through Christ. They speak of a revelation far beyond the borders of Israel as the light of Christ spreads through the whole world. In the Epistle to the Ephesians, Paul speaks of the great mystery of the Incarnation; a mystery made known to him through revelation and participated in by all of creation. It is, for Paul, a possibility of a unity so wonderful that it could change even the past. It is the eternal truth for the future.

Isaiah calls the Hebrew people to take heart, for God comes like light in the midst of darkness and transforms the world. What hope that brought to the exiles! The Israel to which they had returned was poor and shabby, a pale shadow of its former greatness. But God, Isaiah assured them, had not abandoned them. New blessings would transform the Hebrew people. Foreigners had destroyed its greatness; foreigners would bring it back to its former glory. Isaiah saw his nation possessing such light that others could not help but be drawn to it.

As Christians, we hear it in the context of the salvation God offers us in the birth of Christ. We see prefigured the response of the world to the coming of Christ. The light has come. The glory of the Lord has risen upon the world. The light stands out distinctly in the darkness. Like the star of Bethlehem drew the magi towards the Christ Child, so that light shines out to each of us. It beckons. It draws all of humanity towards it.

And so we come to Matthew’s Christmas story, the story of some astrologers from the East searching for the child Jesus. What were they searching for as they scanned the sky, night after night? Were they looking, not just for a new star, but also for a new way of living their lives? They must have been dissatisfied with their lives to be searching so diligently, hoping against hope for something new. So when they saw a new star they packed their luggage, saddled their camels, and followed without any hesitation. They blazed a trail that has been followed ever since, the trail toward a new vision, a new society. It is a trail that leads in new directions, in new ways of relating to God.

Surely it is our life work as Christians to follow that star, to search for the whereabouts of Christ in every situation, to see where and how and in what area Jesus wishes to be King. It is our vocation to keep asking, “Does Jesus reign in my life?”

These days are the darkest of the year, a time when the stars are most visible to us. One star in particular gives hope to us and to our faltering world. It leads to something significant. The magi followed a particular star through the dark nights and they met Christ. We are called to be the stars that lead others through the darkness of night to Christ who is the light of the world.

What is the star for me? What is the single, over-riding purpose of my life? What is the purpose or dream or hope or challenge in my life? Those are the questions of this season of Epiphany. Does the star bring me into relationship with Christ? Am I willing to follow the star where God is leading? How do I even know where God is taking me? Do I take the time in my busy life to look up at the night sky and see the star? Am I aware enough to see where the star stops?

Does anyone notice in the rush and madness of twenty-first century life? Someone is mugged. He screams out to passersby for help. And except for the disinterested glance of the taxi driver, a politician, a salesperson, and a few hundred people, it goes unnoticed, unchallenged. It leads me to ask, “Where are the sages in our world?”

Where does the star lead me? Do I track it through the streets of Oshawa, in my workplace, in the park, to the mall? Do I follow it as it stops over the refugee, the widow, the immigrant, the young woman with the child? Does it take me past the person sitting in the wheelchair, the street person with her shopping bag and cart, the disturbed young man crying out his obscenities, the drunk lying in the gutter? Does it take me past the child shivering in the cold? Or the needy waiting in line at the Food Bank?

Do I follow the star wherever it leads? Do I follow it to Bethlehem where I offer my gifts, my talents? Does it lead me to the place where I can worship God? Do I lead others in the search for Christ? Do I help them on the journey to hope? To what or to whom do I open my treasures? What gifts do I offer? Are they my finest gifts? Do I give of myself to God and to others? Does that become the consequence of knowing Christ?

The magi were transformed by their visit to the manger. In what way has my life been transformed? If I continue to walk in old paths, in old directions, then what has Christmas accomplished? What difference has the Incarnation made in my life? New life means new paths, new goals, new attitudes, new motivations. What paths are being opened up before me as I enter a new year? Am I a new person? How has my encounter with the Christ child affected my life, my way of living? What is God trying to accomplish in me at this very moment?

The season of Epiphany that we are entering is a time to reflect on the changes that we need to make in our lives. It is a time to make resolutions that we will try to keep throughout the year. It is not about making some New Year’s resolution that we will keep for a time. It is about the gifts we bring to Jesus. It is about the loving actions we can offer to help spread God’s realm. It is about what we can offer to help transform our own lives and the lives of those we touch. It is about our loving actions becoming a part of our prayers for those in need.

This is a time for this parish in particular to reflect on the changes that need to be made in your corporate life. As a parish in transition you face new challenges. You are searching for a new Incumbent. How do you open yourselves to embrace new ways of doing things, new leadership? What growth needs to take place? What are the challenges to growth? How do you meet the financial obligations of the parish and still respond to the overwhelming needs of the people in your community? How does this parish reach out into the community to draw people into deeper relationship with God? How do you embody Christ in the twenty-first century?

It is a huge task. But God is there in the midst of us. Jesus comes to us as a little baby, drawing us closer to God. As the magi bring gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, so we bring our time, our talents, our treasures, our gifts of love to God. And in so doing we reach out into a needy world with the light of Christ, the light that transforms all of creation.