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Karen Hollis | January 5, 2025 Epiphany Sunday
Intro to Epiphany Theme: Light and Shadow
Today we are observing Epiphany with the traditional story of the wise ones who follow a star to find the Messiah. The celebration of Epiphany is closely associated with the symbol of light and that unmistakable bright star in the sky. In the context of first century Palestine or in our own context, the star represents an announcement that there is something new and important to consider, a new insight, an epiphany, an aha! The light is a guide, it leads the way.
1. (2 pictures with light) While the light from the star may grab our attention and startle us with new information, the journey to fully embrace what has come to us is a long, layered and winding road.
2. (3 pictures with long shadows) Along the way, light interacts with the world around us and challenges us to see differently, gain new perspectives.
3. (woman blocking out sun) Sometimes the light is so intense, we need to find a way to observe it from the shadows.
4. (tree brightly backlit) Sometimes the interplay of light and shadow is mysterious or even unsettling.
5. (pics of moon) light also comes to us reflected
6. (twilight) We encounter the edges of light.
7. (night sky) In a way, it is darkness that gives context and definition to the light. Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor says darkness is sticky. It attracts meaning like a magnet. So, we’re going to spend this season after Epiphany journeying with this interplay between light
and shadow and the meaning that is waiting there for us to discover.
8. (old woman) This journey is not just a physical one. It includes all aspects of self – spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical.
The season after epiphany invites us to discern what we will do with the knowledge of the incarnation, the news of Christ’s birth in the world. The scriptures in this season tell the story of Jesus’ early ministry, his baptism and 40 days in the desert. They tell of his first disciples and the world around Galilee waking up to the news that the world is different today than it was yesterday.
There is another story from the first century that captures beautifully the essence of this season – it is the Acts of Paul and Thecla. This story was not included in the Bible, however it was widely known and circulated in the early Christian community. Thecla’s story is not only about discipleship, it is more broadly about the human journey, the archetypal journey of following God’s invitation beyond the self we know, to claim more of our own fullness.
This is a lot to unpack over the next 8 weeks – I expect it to be a rich season that will carry us well to the season of lent. Beginning next week we will have a slightly different format to the service. I haven’t changed it too much – the format will be the same each week, so we’ll be able to settle into a new rhythm. I’m really excited to take this journey with you. I’m so grateful for the small group of people who gathered with me to imagine this season - Marni Fisher, Joan Gillies, Elaine Stewart – thanks so much to all of you for your insight!
Scripture Reading
Matthew 2:1-12 It was during the days of the bad-hearted Chief Looks Brave (Herod) that the Chosen One was born in the village of House of Bread (Bethlehem) in the Land of Promise (Judea). After his birth, Seekers of Wisdom (Magi) traveling on a long journey from the East came to Village of Peace (Jerusalem).
They began to ask around, “Where is the one who has been born to be chief of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel)? We saw his star where the sun rises and have come to humble ourselves before him and honor him.”
When Chief Looks Brave heard this, he and all who lived in Village of Peace (Jerusalem) were troubled. He called a council of all the head holy men and scroll keepers and asked them where the Chosen one was to be born.
“In the House of Bread (Bethlehem), the village of the great chief Much Loved One (David),” they answered. “This is what the ancient prophet said: ‘But you, O House of Bread (Bethlehem), in the Land of Promise (Judea), even though you are small, you have a good reputation with the chiefs who watch over the land. From you will come a Great Chief who will guide my chosen people – the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel).’”
Then Looks Brave (Herod) called a secret council with the Seekers of Wisdom (Magi) to find out when the star first appeared. He then sent them to House of Bread (Bethlehem) and told them, “Look everywhere for the child. Find him and tell me where he is, so that I may also come and honor him.”
After listening to Looks Brave (Herod), the Seekers of Wisdom went their way. When they saw the star rising in the East, they jumped with joy, and with glad hearts they followed until the star stopped and rested over the place where the child was. They went into the house and saw the child and his mother, Bitter Tears (Mary). As soon as they saw the child, they bowed down to honor him. Then they opened their bundles and gifted him with gold, sweet-smelling incense, and bitter ointment of myrrh.
The Seekers of Wisdom (Magi) were warned in a dream not to go back to Looks Brave (Herod), so they returned to their homeland by a different road.
Reflection (Karen):
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be reflections of your word to us today, in Christ’s name we pray. Amen
Did you notice how the star in this story moves in the night sky against the rotation of the earth? It actually directs them – it’s not an ordinary star.
The story of the Wisdom Seekers is set up to show the contrast between this light in the night sky and this leader who is serving a greater king and aiding in the oppression of those in the Land of Promise – covering them in darkness. Light and dark have often been symbols for good and bad, but even the night, which can be scary and dangerous, provides a much-needed respite from the light. Darkness can also offer security, spaciousness. The sun, as essential it is for life, can burn our skin, exhaust us with its intensity, light can be invasive and overwhelming. Our world is made up of a combination of light and dark . . . of shadow and reflection, candlelight and moonlight, insight and mystery within.
While the story is set up as the light in triumph over darkness, that lens only scratches the surface of the narrative. The story is a kind of tapestry, finely woven with hidden treasures to be discovered. In this translation, THE NAMES, the gorgeous names provide texture, character, depth, history, variegations in light and dark of a people and a place. I am particularly taken with the name House of Bread – it provides rich imagery for reflection. You know, there is a Hebrew prayer that says: “Blessed are you Eternal God, ruler of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.” Can God really bring forth bread from the earth? Any gift of bread God provides, no doubt requires the work of human hands. If House of Bread lives up to her name, it’s a place of divine/human collaboration, a source of nourishment within the land of promise. Certainly collaboration a process bathed in light, but it is also often complex and messy, rich and dynamic, and full of Spirit. Like the pinhole effect during an eclipse . . . the leaves of that tree of course don’t intend to cause the effect, yet they are just what is needed to reveal something marvelous!
Is it any surprise, then, that Jesus is born in the House of Bread? In the place of collaboration for the nourishment of all, the holy collides with flesh and something new is born. It is not just the work of God, rather the work of God in collaboration with creation. A star announces this news to a place and a people who are already in the mess of creation, responding to the light with reflections and silhouettes, observing from the shadows, pausing to feel the warmth on our skin. The tiniest of flames is dancing in the darkness . . . over the centuries, it’s all there, as we dance with Spirit in the process of creation. Yes, it is messy, this grand story of which we are a part, it is also holy and blessed, and anything but black and white. Thanks be to God.