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.

Homily for New Year's Eve

What Time is It?

Readings: Ecclesiastes 3:1-13; Psalm 8; Revelation 21:1-6a; Matthew 25:31-48

One warm summer night up at the cottage I went out into our field, put a blanket down and lay there looking up at the sky. I found myself surrounded by a heavenly host of stars. It almost took my breath away. I realized how small I am and how immense the universe that God has created. It made me wonder whether God even notices us on this tiny speck of dust called earth off to one side of the cosmos. That is when I found myself singing How Great Thou Art. Consider the words for a moment. “Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the works thy hands have made. I see the stars … it goes on, speaking of the awesomeness of God's creation. I was overcome by the sense of timelessness in God’s realm. It goes so contrary to our human obsession with time.

If you do not believe that we are obsessed with time, consider the ways we reflect on it.
• I have some time coming to me.
• I had a great time.
• Take your time.
• We need to save some time.
• Don’t waste your time.
• A stitch in time.
• Time waits for no one.
• Time is money.
• Time heals all wounds.
• Time is on my side.
• There is no time like the present.
And my favourite quote about time, “Time spent with cats is never wasted.”

Even Scripture is obsessed with time. There are over six hundred references to time in the Bible. The Old Testament reading for tonight is a poetic reflection on time. Some of us know it as a song from the sixties. The writer of Ecclesiastes, while he has a cynical view of the world, is still able as he reflects on time to give us insights that connect us to that awesome and almighty God whom we seek in worship. He relates the events of God and contrasts them with our human situation. God's world is timeless. That goes against all reason for humans who are ruled by time. So he tells us to enjoy whatever time comes to us as a gift of God.

He explains that there are some times over which we have no control, for they control us. The time to plant, the time to gather, the time of birth, and the time of death are all times and events controlled by God. However, there are some events over which we do have a measure of control. The time to love, the time to hate, the time for war, the time for peace, such times are somewhat within our control. But we cannot be sure, the writer suggests, because we live within a framework, which is dependent on time while God lives within a framework of timelessness.

It is natural as we come to the close of the year and the beginning of a new one that we should reflect on time. “Where has the time gone?” we ask ourselves. “What have I accomplished this year?” These ponderings on time hopefully lead us on a journey of discovery of who God is and what God means in our lives. They lead us to meditate, not only on the place of time in our lives, but also on our place in time and history. As Christians, we see such reflections as part of the nature of God's saving grace through Christ. We know that we are in the hands of a loving God who cares for us.

That brings us to our New Year’s resolutions. Most of us, I am sure, resolve to live our lives in healthier and better ways. We resolve to diet and to exercise. Those are good resolutions to make. They are good resolutions to keep. I hope that all of us have good goals in mind for this New Year. But I hope we do not stop there. I hope too that the end of the year gives us reason to reflect on all of God’s blessings, on all that God has given to us. I hope it is a time to resolve to be better people, to live our lives more faithfully and more prayerfully, a time to let go of our past mistakes, to ask God’s forgiveness and to move on knowing that God is with us.

A lovely poem was sent to me earlier today. It was quoted during King George’s message in 1939 when war was looming and England’s future looked bleak.

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year
"Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown."
And he replied, "Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!"

It is a good reminder for us as we enter a new year. It is the message of the gospel as it reminds us about where we can find God. We will find God in the hungry and thirsty. We will find God in the smelly and unlovely, in the grubby and the sick. We will find God as we search out those in need. We will find God in the body of Christ. We will find God in one another. May that be our resolution this year!