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“Overwhelming Joy and Fear”
Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12;
Matthew 2:1-12
Rev. Sandy Nuernberg
Oakland-Cambridge Presbyterian Church, Cambridge, WI
Epiphany of the Lord - Puppet
Ministry Sunday
January 6, 2008
Please pray with me;
Lord, as we hear your Word, we are all travelers in faith like the magi, and
we are trying to find a path towards you and your will for us. Some of us
are joyful; some of us are fearful. We ask that your Holy Spirit descend
upon us now, and allow our hearts and minds to be filled with your
Brightness of Light that will lead us in the right direction. AMEN.
Doesn’t it seem like we are seeing
and hearing the movie, “The Empire Strikes Back” in our gospel reading today?
For fear of what is to come in his empire, King Herod, that Roman
conniving ruler of Judea (40-4 BCE), and
‘all of Jerusalem’ were trying to find out where the Christ Child was born so
they could ‘pay him homage.’ Calling the priests and scribes together to find
out where this all took place, scripture tells us Herod would strike back; he
wanted to murder the Baby Jesus (2:16)!
Herod became fearful when these elite in the Law, Roman associates, told him
that it was prophesied earlier, ‘a ruler was to shepherd the people of Israel
(Micah 5:2).’
Contrast this fear with the lowly
citizens, the wise men called magi or non-Jews (pagans or Gentiles) from the
East, who came to Jerusalem asking where the ‘king of the Jews’ was so they
could pay homage too; worship the Baby Jesus, but in joy, along with
Mary, Jesus’ mother. They had followed the star and when it stopped they came
into the house with gifts of joy, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. It seems the
magi’s trip was longer than any we read in scripture, they did find the Holy
One, and never informing King Herod! What can we make of this overwhelming joy
and fear? Where’s the rub? What can all of this mean for us today as we
celebrate Epiphany (Jan. 6th), the day of celebration and festive
gathering to honor the birth of Our Lord, Jesus Christ?
The rub for us, I believe, is that
when the star stopped over the place Jesus was born two-thousand years ago and
brought fear and joy to many, today, Jesus continues to bring overwhelming joy
and fear to many of us. Don’t we follow the star of joy in our lives;
don’t we have fearful times in our lives? We learn like those early Christians
from little on that the journey of Jesus is the journey of faith; Jesus is the
Light of the world in the right direction in love, peace, joy, hope, and justice
and that we will be led by that Bright Light, that Star in the night.
It seems the star of Bethlehem way
back in ancient Christianity was a kind of ‘bone of contention.’ The value of
astrology (astronomy was included with it too) and the stars had an influence on
people, they were an omen of foretelling the future. These magi were perhaps
astrologers, and as interpreters their duties were following the stars
(the largest star being the sun),
fortune-telling, and the magic of dreams. If you are like me, that’s an
intriguing journey; to want to know what might happen to us in the years to come
is, for me, both joyful and fearful. I just read an astronomy review by David
Charbonneau from Harvard where there is discovery of the first ‘twin of the
Earth,’ where life on other planets might be closer to us than we think
(“A Shortcut for Planet Hunters,” by Michael D. Lemonick, Time,
November 19, 2007, p.48-9). NASA is helping in finding these planets by
sending a ‘star-gazer’ themselves: a satellite called Kepler
(2009).
Actually, it was a journey for the
wise men; not knowing the outcome, but in the joy of the star stopping for them
at the right place. Remember the bright colors worn by the kings in pageants,
the beautiful gifts sparkling as they worshiped Jesus. Ironically, one reference
I read for today’s Gospel text (Catholic priest,
James Alison, Christian Century, Dec. 25th, 2007, p. 16)described
the gifts of gold representative of kings, frankincense for priests, and myrrh
for the prophets of old; these leaders are all mentioned in our text, in
different but fearful and joyful ways. It takes adventure, risk, and some
imagination, I think, and lots of wonder to be on a journey and find joy in your
destination.
Journeying in today’s world is
both fearful and joyful. It can be a travel journey with family for specific
times; for our vacations my Father always said Mom took ‘everything but the
house numbers’ with us when the whole family traveled together by car. My Mom
did enjoy the planning; time to pack, get settled, and then unpack when getting
home. Today, fearfully sometimes, we purchase tickets on-line at the best prices
last minute, notify those who need to know where we are, and pray for good
weather patterns to accomplish what is planned. Joyfully it’s in arriving
safely, having good times with friends and family, and weather fit for....(a
king!!).
We can experience a faith journey
in our lives without specific times; in being here today, we have either
joyfully found ‘what we’ve long been looking for’ in following Christ, and we
can’t get enough of our faith. Or we are on a faith trip with so many questions
and concerns we don’t know where our faith is leading us, much less where God is
leading us. That’s fearful! We anxiously ask how we can reach any place and how
long will it take us to get there?
Just like those wise travelers of
old to Bethlehem, we are travelers on a journey ourselves. Granted, each trip we
take on the journey will have stars leading us and helping us discern the right
direction; there will be joyful and fearful times to be sure. The good news of
the Gospel tells us there are risks, chances to take, but similar to Jesus’
travels, our journeys are opportunities to follow that Bright Star, to reach the
openness and depths of places our hearts and minds have never dreamed or
imagined before. As we come to the communion table, you and I, let us search for
ways to journey with Christ as Our King, Priest, and Prophet leading us to our
destination. Jesus Christ is the Bright Light, the Light of the world
(John 8:12) the Star and Guiding Prince of
Peace.
Thanks be to
God. AMEN.
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