The Magis' Message

"When they saw the star,

 they were overjoyed." 

Matthew 2:10

The Epiphany story is one of my favorites. I can imagine an entourage of three or more magi traveling 12 days following a star and arriving at Bethlehem. I can marvel at that since I make wrong turns following OnStar.

I can appreciate Mary's 12 days of rest and recovery after giving birth to Jesus. After all, it wasn't easy in her 9th month of pregnancy to walk 90 miles to Bethlehem. (Yes, walked. The Bible doesn't say anything about riding a donkey.)

I can marvel at the mystery of Jesus' baby gifts looking to the future: Gold symbolizing a king; frankincense symbolizing divinity; myrrh symbolizing suffering and death.

I can wonder at the surprise awaiting the magi after worshiping Jesus and presenting the gifts. An angel tells the magi to return home by a different way (hodos).  Hodos, a metaphor in Greek for human behavior, meaning follow the “narrow way” and “the way of righteousness” —a Godly lifestyle.

I can hear God calling us to join the magi following a new direction in our "way of righteousness". In this new direction of "the way of righteousness", God will shine light joy in our sadness, strength in times of weakness, hope in despair's darkness, and faith amidst doubt.

I am convinced God is leading us in this direction through Jesus life which illuminates the way of righteousness though his teaching and example.

What impacts your imagination most about the magi story?

Help from the Lord

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1

We are living in a saddening time. It is saddening to see 15,000 troops protecting the Capitol from a mob threatening to disrupt the inauguration of a new president. It is saddening to learn of bloodshed as a mob desecrated the Capitol and threatened the lives of our leaders. It is saddening to learn that state capitols have called in their national guard to protect buildings and leaders. 

Yet it is not God's way that saddening things endure. Surely the Maker of heaven and earth has a better way. It seems to me that sacred places are part of that better way.

Mount Mansfield was one of the sacred places I was able to see simply by going downstreet. The panoramic and awe inspiring view was a reminder of something more than life's troublesome valleys. The seasonally changing view reminded me of the coming winter, the resurging spring with maple syrup, the warmth of a playful summer, and a colorful fall.

Psalm 121 is a Song of Ascents used by the Jews traveling to Jerusalem, the Holy City on a hill. It was traditionally sung as the Jews ascended the uphill road to Jerusalem because it offered encouragement. Where does my help come from as I ascend the uphill road? It comes from the Lord, Maker of haven and earth.

It seems to me this image of help from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth, offers encouragement as we ascend the uphill journey to a better place and time. It offers hope that we will get glimpses of God's kingdom as we ascend. 

Ascending the hill of the Lord, to a better time and place, is a journey done with confidence, trust and hope because the Lord goes with us.

Teach Us to Pray

"One of his disciples said to him, 

'Lord, teach us to pray, 

as John taught his disciples.'"

 (Luke 11:1 NRSV)

Jesus said to them,

 "Pray then like this: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'" (Mt.6:9-13)

I memorized the Lords Prayer in Sunday School not really understanding what it meant. I learned bits and pieces such as there is "debts" and "trespasses" and figured "trespasses" worked best for me. 

But that all changed on January 6th. If this is a Christian's greatest prayer, there must be more to it. 

First, the Lord knows your needs before you ask, then why teach a prayer about needs? 

It seems to me this is a prayer about a vision. Jesus is teaching the disciples to envision a Kingdom of God and reminding them what the kingdom is like. When Jesus says, "Thy will be done on earth as in heaven", he was saying this is God's invitation to join him in making things down here run the way they do up there by equal distribution. 

Second, what was the context in which Jesus taught the prayer? The world Jesus lived in was in turmoil. There had been two violent rebellions against imperial oppression. There had been nonviolent action against Pilate's policy of promoting the imperial cult, and Caligula trying to put his divine statue in the Temple. 

It seems to me that the phrase, "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," is tied to that context.  Specifically, not to fall into violent demonstrations in God's name. Instead, deliver us from that temptation to nonviolence in God's name. That is what God's kingdom is like. That is doing God's will on earth as in heaven.

For me, what makes this the greatest Christian prayer is that it has the same power of hope today. As we go through our time of turmoil, the prayer reminds us God is in charge. 

Our Light in Darkness

“The light shines in the darkness, 

and the darkness hasn’t overcome it”

John 1:5

When I toured Crystal Cave the guide began the tour by asking us to put our hands in front of our faces. Then he turned out the lights. Not only could we not see our hands but it was a stark realization of the totality of darkness. Turning the lights on brought me a sense of relief and return to the natural world.

It seems to me that we are in one of the darkest times of our history. The darkness is the Covid-19 pandemic, increased violence in the streets, political unrest, unemployment resulting from the pandemic, increased demands on food pantries, masks, and social distancing.

I feel there is also a great darkness of mind. It's a darkness choosing one view without considering the merits of an opposing view or not being able to comprehend it. Can you really comprehend Black Lives Matter without living a Black life experience?

God's light of creation brings Order from Chaos. Genesis says God created the heavens and the earth and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God separated the light from the darkness.

God's light brings order into the chaos of our lives. In John 1:5 above, "shines” is a present tense verb meaning it is ongoing, therefore, the light shining while Jesus walked the earth still shines today. God's light was not extinguished by darkness at the cross.

God's promise says God's light shines in the darkness but the darkness has not overcome it. Because the light comes from God and is of God—God will not be defeated. 

Read John's conviction again: “The light shines in the darkness, 

and the darkness hasn’t overcome it”