A Reflection by Robin Teasley
What of your life has
led you to set out on a journey to learn more? What do you consider to be your
most precious gifts and are you able to give them to God by sharing them with
others? How will you seek the Christ
Child this year?
The season of Epiphany begins
on January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany. On the Sundays that
follow, our lectionary gives us stories in the life of Jesus that reveal him to
be the Incarnate Son of God through his baptism, his first miracle at the
wedding in Cana, and his transfiguration.
Epiphany means
manifestation…to make known. From the Greek, epiphaneia, it’s literally the
“shining forth” or the revealing of God’s glory in human form at the birth of
Christ. An epiphany is any dramatic
moment that instills new spiritual insight, vision, or perspective. An epiphany is something to be shared!
In our everyday epiphanies we
call these “aha moments”, and when we have an aha moment we can’t wait to tell
someone about it. The wise men had an
epiphany and they did not stay home doing nothing, but set out on a journey to
learn more, to see what God had for them, and to bring gifts to the King of the
Jews.
Wise men, or magi, were from
the East, Persia most likely, and they were probably astrologers. Often the birth of a new king was noted by
studying the stars. Why they would
travel so far and bring such gifts…to an infant near Jerusalem is intriguing. The story is the fulfillment of a prophecy of
great hope from Isaiah that the Messiah would be revealed to all nations.
(Isaiah 60:1-9)
The magi arrive, bearing some
rather inappropriate gifts for a baby, but many have attached great symbolism
to the gold (signifying royalty), frankincense(divinity), and myrrh(spice for
burial). What is more likely is that these were precious to the magi and so
they brought what they had that was most precious to give to the newborn
king.
Which may lead us to give
some thought to what gifts we might bring to Jesus…. What of us is most
precious and will we give it to Jesus?
As God revealed himself in
Christ to the wise men, God is constantly revealing God’s self to us - if we
are paying attention, we will see signs of God all around us. Maybe it is a star in the
sky, or a beautiful sunset. It might be
something a trusted friend says to us that we need to hear, the words to a song
at just the right moment, or an answer to a prayer.
God is constantly shining
light into our lives to help us on our journey.
Sometimes the journey can be long and hard. Some times the gifts we bear become heavy and
hard to carry, and at other times we may be reluctant to part with our gifts. But along the journey, through all the ups
and down, God is revealed.
Those times when we become
aware of Christ before us are moments of purest epiphany and great joy. We become wise men/women, not when we find
the baby Jesus, but when we realize that the child born king, the Messiah, the
Son of God, has found us.
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This reflection is part of our Christian Learning Community, “Growing in Faith Together.” All are invited to join this group and receive weekly reflections and participate in occasional opportunities to gather for spiritual formation and fellowship. Find the “GIFT” group in Realm Groups or contact our clergy.
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