Sermon
I don't know at what age most people start to consider themselves old, but it has officially happened to me as of last night. I had to search google for you know that song that goes, something like, “how I wonder what you are.”
Google! Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star is maybe one of the first songs many of us learn to sing. It is the first song that anyone taking Suzuki music lessons learns. It works with quarter notes – Twin-kle-twin-kle-lit-tle-staaaar. Or eight notes – Twin-kle-twi-kle-it-tle-star, or even sixteenth notes – Mississippi-hot-dog…. That is just to say that Twinkle Twinkle was not just a song from my long-lost childhood, but it's a song I've been around for a long time.
“Twinkle, twinkle, little star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
How I wonder what you are.”
Then there's this one:
“Starlight, star bright, wish I may, wish I might, get the wish I wish tonight.”
Many times in Genesis, Isaiah, Chronicles, and whenever God describes something so beyond the ability to count, scripture refers to “descendants as numerous as the stars,” or “these nations as numerous as the stars.”
Stars have long fascinated humans of all ages. Travelers have long been guided by them. People have been wishing on them and receiving messages from them for centuries. The wise men, magi, some say astrologers caught sight of this special star in the sky. Remember the Christmas Star in the sky from last year? We built our star on the ground with bags of sand and candles, while at the same time the sky was blessing us with a rare conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, so close together that they appeared to make a great double planet, creating a perfect bright complement to our earth-bound star on the parking lot. I wasn't the only one experiencing that and reflecting on this scripture from Matthew for today. The star we saw was special enough to get our attention, to catch our eye. It makes sense that the people who were waiting for the promised messiah would pay attention to an experience like that too. So they followed it.
In the first few centuries after the birth of Christ this scripture has been elaborated on a bit. Eastern traditions say there were 12 magi, and western traditions say three, and they were called kings sometime in the 8th century, and given names, and the gifts they were carrying were given meaning. Here are some ideas that came from Leo the Great sometime in the 4th century.1 “A star with new brilliance appeared to three wise men in the East” that “was brighter and more beautiful than others” attracting the “eyes and hearts of those looking on.” Following it showed a willingness to be led by the splendor of grace to knowledge of the truth.” What they witnessed was “the Word in flesh, wisdom in infancy, strength in weakness and the Lord of Majesty in the reality of a man.”
Another lesson from this text is the contrast between the magi and King Herod. The magi want to worship the “king of the Jews” and Herod thinks he is the king of the Jews, and seeks to destroy the baby who would replace him. One commentator writes, “The real issue therefore is not what birthright one has, but what kind of disciple one seeks to become in light of the revelation of Christ.”1
Here are the questions for us today then:
1. What catches our eye, our minds eye or our hearts eye, so much that we are compelled to follow?
2. Are we willing to be led?
3. What kind of disciple do we want to be?
As we wonder what catches our eye, we might find ourselves asking not only what we see, but what are we blinded to? If I only see bright shiny things, am I blinded to the dark? The dark places like poverty, racism, hunger, gaslighting, pain and suffering? Yes, God is good (bright shiny thing), on the other hand God is most often found in the dark places, so we can't be blind to those. Yes, I want to be a kind person (bright shiny thing) but I really hate people who act like they know it all – because it reminds me that I sound like that sometimes too. Here's an example. I met a friend for lunch on Friday, who was someone I saw every week at the foodbank when I lived in the city, so we were kind of close. But I haven't seen them since I moved to SSF. About 30 minutes into our conversation I was really uncomfortable. Exhausted, frustrated. So in my mind I made little decisions about them. Well, I guess we're not that close; I didn't realize they were so opinionated; they are talking non-stop! I won't be working too hard at trying to find time to visit them from now on. By the end of a two-hour conversation, things had changed for the most part, but still, driving home, I felt really uncomfortable. I realized though two things -- two opposite things that were both true at the same time. Yes, all those things about them were true but at the same time I realized that I probably sound the same way when I talk about things that I feel strongly about. I probably talk too much without letting people have a chance to respond; get so into what I'm saying that I over explain. The bright shiny thing is our friendship, but the dark I was blinded to was how much I was exactly like that which I disliked in them. So we ask ourselves: What are those things that catch our eye, and what are those things that blind us to things we should see?
Secondly, are we willing to be led? Wow, that depends on a lot, right? What or who am I following? What are the consequences for me if I allow myself to be led, and do I have any control? What will I have to give up if I am led? Our country is in the midst of a great division in many areas. Most of them can be boiled down to power and ego. Think about places where our country is divided. Should people get vaccinated? What kind of presidential and congressional leadership do we want? Are we allowed to teach critical race theory? Why do the boundaries of voting districts get to be drawn by elected officials? What is the collateral damage when we make poor social funding decisions? Who gets left behind? I'm sure you can think of others. Anyone who has any kind of power at all needs to constantly consider how to use it. All humans have egos. Power combined with a large but weak ego, probably means that community interests will never be met, let alone considered. Wanting to hold on to power keeps someone with a weak ego from thinking of the other. And if they do, they often decided that they would have to give up too much so they make another choice. Think of all of the different kinds of power that people have or are perceived to have. Not just presidents. Parents. Teachers. Preachers. Doctors. Neighbors even. Being willing to be led means that we have to give up complete control and settle for less control, or even none. This was Herod's problem. This is the problem for anyone in the grip of fear. Many who break rules don't even consider the rule and the reasons for it, they just don't want anyone else to tell them what to do. They don't want to be led. What does is take for us to be willing to be led? Maybe a star?
Third, what kind of disciple do we want to be? The magi paid attention to the bright star that caught their eye. They remembered the promise of the prophet. They were willing to be led, and they followed. They were overwhelmed with joy and their response was to kneel and pay homage, and they gave generously. The story didn't end there. They paid attention again, this time to the dream that warned them against returning to Herod, and they decided to go home another way.
The word epiphany means revelation. The season of epiphany refers to the sharing of the gospel with the gentiles, or the revelation of God incarnate, or the revelation of the divinity of God, depending on which tradition of epiphany we follow. Some lectionaries read about the baptism of Christ on this Sunday, revealing God's humanity. Some traditions read about the wedding at Cana on this Sunday where Christ turned water into wine and revealed his divinity in this miracle.
Of all of the things that our Christian faith reveals to us, I invite us to consider this week, what has been revealed to you this season of the celebration of the birth of Christ?
Let us pray…..
_____________________________________
1 Danaher, Jr., William H., Feasting on the Word series, Year C, Volume 1, p.214