Celebration of the Epiphany

Readings — Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 7:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12

The musician Johnny Nash was born in 1940.  His early years were filled with difficulty until 1972 when the fog of his life cleared.  That was the year he wrote this very popular song —

v. 1  I can see clearly now, the rain is gone.
      I can see all obstacles in my way.
      Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.        

v. 2  I think I can make it now, the pain is gone.
      All the bad feelings have disappeared.
      Here is the rainbow I’ve been prayin’ for.

The chorus of his song —

       It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) Sun-shiny day.
       It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) Sun-shiny day.

Can’t help but think of the three kings singing that song as they left Bethlehem after that first Epiphany.  They followed westward the bright star that led them to Mary and the Christ-child.  Then, as scripture tells us, they went home another route.  They went back home a different way.  They bypassed Jerusalem, they bypassed King Herod and all he represented, because they had come face to face with a new king, and with a new reality.  They saw in the bright Bethlehem star another way.  They saw in the Christ-child a new way, a new kingdom. They followed another path as transformed kings with a new and different vision. 

I wonder how we have been changed, how we have been transformed, by the Bethlehem star, by the Christ-child king, and been drawn to a new and different vision of a new kingdom? 

Do we see more clearly?  Is the rain gone?
Are the obstacles clearly visible (not eliminated)?
Are the dark clouds disbursed?
Is the pain gone?
Are the bad feelings gone?  Do we see the rainbow?
Is it a bright, bright, sun-shiny day?

Well, as for me, it is not 100% yet, it is not even 90%.  Yet, there are some moments when it is a good 80% there, sometimes when life is a rainbow, when life is a sun-shiny day.  There are still some cloudy days with dark clouds, days with pain and bad feelings.

The bright star of Bethlehem, the Christ-child of Bethlehem, enables us to see more clearly on sun-shiny days.  The bright star of Bethlehem, the Christ-child born of Mary, enables us to see more clearly the kingdom of God. 

The bright star of Bethlehem, the Christ-child born of Mary, enables us to see more clearly the needs of our own hearts, and the kingdom we wish to build, to live in, and to serve. 

There are so many kingdoms to choose from these days, yet there is only one worth serving with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul, and with all our strength.  There is only one that will fill our hearts with the love to serve. 

As our life’s circumstances evolve with time, so, too, our loving service of the true kingdom evolves.  From childhood to adulthood and career, to parenthood to grandparenthood and retirement, and to wise elderhood, the journey has many twists and turns.  Still in the light of the Bethlehem star in the presence of the Christ-child, there is always the opportunity to choose the kingdom where loving service is valued and is needed. 

With the Spirit’s guidance and supporting strength, may we always see clearly and choose the path of loving service for God’s kingdom – doing God’s will on earth as it is done in heaven.

Amen