The Feast of Epiphany falls on January 6th, right after the 12 Days of Christmas. This Feast is when the church marks the visit of the Magi to the Holy Family, as told in Matthew's Gospel). When January 6th is not a Sunday many churches choose to mark Epiphany on the Sunday before.
The Scripture Readings this week are:
- Isaiah 60:1-6 (which is the basis of the Call to Worship)
- Matthew 2:1-12
The Sermon title is Strange Visitors
Early Thoughts: What did Mary and Joseph think about it? When there was a knock at the door and these strange men from far away came into the house what thoughts might have run through their minds? For that matter what did Herod think when these visitors from afar appeared talking about a new king? (We are given a hint of his thoughts in the verses that follow this week's reading -- suffice to say that joy and praise are not in his heart).
Matthew tells us this story as a way of showing that the coming of the Messiah is both a gift for all nations, not just the Jewish people, and is recognized by those who know what to look for -- no matter where they may be. Strange visitors may have told Mary and Joseph something more about this child (it is unclear if Matthew sees this happening when Jesu was still an infant or moving into toddlerhood) they had in their family. Strange visitors warn the powers that be that change is in the air. Strange visitors proclaim that God is at work.
Even the gifts that Matthew mentions have (or have been given over the years) deeply symbolic meanings, as the carol We Three Kings will tell us. The Magi seem to have chosen these rich gifts to mark the birth of a king (Gold), the birth of one who is deeply connected to the Divine (Frankincense), and foretell his death (Myrrh, a burial spice). Strange gifts for a peasant family.
There is a saying in community development that sometimes you need the outside voice to tell you what you already know. Sometimes the voices from within the system just don't get heard but the outside expert says the same thing and everybody sits up as if it is new information (many clergy will tell you that churches can be really bad for this). Maybe the strange visitors can open our eyes to what God is doing in our midst. Maybe that is part of what the Magi do in Matthew's Gospel -- they help open the eyes of the readers/listeners to see what God is doing in the Jesus story.
What strange visitors have helped you grow in you awareness of God's activity in the world? What strange visitors might we need today to help us see where God is in our midst, to show us a way forward -- even if it is by a different road than before?
--Gord
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