Sermon Archive
Celebration of the Epiphany
Year A
- Arise, shine; for your light has come,
- and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
- 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.
- Nations shall come to your light,
- and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles-- for surely you have already heard of the commission of God's grace that was given me for you, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God's grace that was given me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 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." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
- `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.'"
Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 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." 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. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 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. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Sermon
The Rev. Susan B. P. Norris
for the name of the Lord your God, for the Holy One of
who has glorified you. . .
Should we be expecting the high honor offered to St. Mary,
the mother of Jesus? (Presumptuous)
Perhaps we should be expecting Martyrdom – like that
experienced by SS. Peter, Paul or Andrew? (Still a bit presumptuous)
Or might we, at the very least, expect one evening of glory
matching that of the early winners on American Idol?
I don’t think that’s where the third Isaiah’s prophecy is going.
Listen to that part of the lesson again,
in another contemporary translation.
“ . . . to bring your children from far away, carrying their silver and gold
to the honor of YHWH your God, the Holy One of
who has graced you with splendor.”
Our translator understands that “glorified” means “graced with splendor.”
Think “surrounded by light and beauty,” or perhaps,
“surrounded by power, wisdom, honor and understanding.”
If you consider the ways in which we portray the “visit of the wise men”
or the annunciation to the Virgin Mary,
or even the flight into
(Think of your favorite drawing, paintings or music about those stories)
you’ll see that even when they picture the poverty inherent in the tale,
the confusion, the lostness, the unbelief, and the unfriendly terrain/weather;
artists still surround these things with light, with faith, and with
the trusting and grace-filled people with whom God surrounded
the birth of Jesus.
If God is going to glorify us, then perhaps it means
that we can expect that we ourselves –
and the ordinary parts/places of our lives -
will be surrounded by light, beauty, grace, faith,
and the power and forgiving love of God.
Being surrounded by God’s presence
seems to be something for which any of us might hope,
something that many of us might find to be happening in our own lives.
Is that what happened to the wise ones –
the three Kings or Magi – as legend calls them?
What can we learn of glory from these Persian (read Iranian) astrologers?
One thing we can certainly observe, is that looking for God’s glory,
even at a great expense of time, energy and possessions,
is one way to be led to glory’s dwelling place.
These men went looking on a speculation, almost on a dare.
They had believed that they might learn something of the world by
studying the heavens,
so when an unusual “event” occurred, they took a chance that
it might have great meaning.
(Can you hear the comments from the people who lived around them?)
Imagine the mocking, the laughter, and the fearful “you’re going into danger” language that they must have encountered in their community.
Global positioning systems hadn’t been invented yet,
so their readings of the stars and the desert terrain had to suffice.
The stable had long been deserted,
the baby and parents moved to an unknown house,
The King was into political plots and schemes.
The family was getting out of town ahead of Herod, and probably not
over-enthusiastic about these strange and imperious visitors.
This trip was not, in fact, something which would have received “good press”
anywhere or from anyone.
Yet, for some reason no one of them may have fully understood,
they banded together and went.
Somehow, each knew that the others shared the same hope and doubts that he felt.
They formed a community, took supplies and gifts and funds,
and off they went.
I have always wondered – did they actually realize what they had found?
Or did they do what they believed they should,
and then, hurrying back by “another way” speculate and talk to each other:
“What was all that about?”
“Who WAS that baby.”
“Do you suppose we saw the wrong kid?”
The story of the “Other Wise Man” which many of you may know,
postulates a forth person, who never reached their
meeting place in time to join the other three,
because he stopped to help people on his way.
In that story, Artaban, this forth wise man
continues through his life,
spending all three of the brilliant gems he had taken for the journey,
only to give away the last one, and then wander,
decades later and much older and poorer
into
Somehow he sees a glimpse of glory in the Man’s sympathetic eyes.
The book finishes,
“Artaban had found his King.”
I suspect that other than in the sacraments,
there are no “fixed” places in our lives
where God’s glory is certainly to be found.
Sometimes our lives become so routine that even here
we do not sense the glory hiding in this simple meal.
We can be so tied up in our own special knots that
we miss the joy and trust and simple honesty of our children,
the welcome of our friends,
the faithfulness of our family members,
the plain beauty of being clean, warm, fed and welcomed.
And yet, we may notice all those things, and still miss the challenge
of reaching out, of looking for God in new places,
of following our own stars at great cost to serve the
“maker of earth and sky and sea – become a child on earth –
for me!”
This matter of being “graced with splendor,”
of experiencing the glory of God
is seriously unpredictable.
It is also seriously common.
Like many things of God – glory is a “both/and.”
Glory is something that happens all the time everywhere
And, at the same time,
it is something for which we must plan to go, at great cost,
on a long journey to another country.
We may need to change our life’s work
or to travel halfway round the world.
We may need to sell all that we have to help people in need or
blow the whistle in a very unpleasant situation,
Or
We may need simply to diaper a child,
repair a stuck window,
sing a song, plant a garden,
talk to a friend,
or speak up when we see a wrong or
hear an untruth or unkindness.
What the Epiphany, the “showing forth” of our Lord Jesus
Tells us, is that God has shined light on us,
ALL OF US.
Epiphany tells us that this light is present ALL OF THE TIME.
God’s promise to the Hebrew people,
to “Abraham & Sarah and their seed forever,”
has been expanded and become a promise to the whole creation.
Outside of our lives,
outside of what we can personally see, hear, feel, smell and taste
There is the Power, Promise and Presence of God.
That Glory, that Presence, is for all people –
Jews and Gentiles,
Men, women, and children,
Of all races, peoples, genders, languages, religions, and traditions.
Anyone –
even three crazy Zoroastrian astrologers,
some dubious and very dirty shepherds,
a crazy cousin from the outback,
an overwrought innkeeper,
and some few beasts,
Everyone
is called to come to the Child, and to see there the glory of God.
All are invited to Worship the One who has promised to surround all of us
with light, beauty, grace, faith,
power and forgiving love,
today, and every day of our journey.
Arise; shine, for your light has come!
The glory of God is rising upon you!
Though darkness still covers the earth
and dense clouds enshroud the nations,
upon you YHWH now dawns,
and God’s glory will be seen among you!
For past week's readings and sermons, please visit the archive of sermons.