Welcome to 2019. As I look back, I realize that I have been
doing this blog since 2008. There have been a lot of changes in my life, and I’m
sure in each of yours over those 10 years. What will 2019 bring? None of us
knows. Probably we each have hopes and dreams for living out our ministry (and
by ministry, I mean whatever you do in life whether it is a paid position in a
church or the work force, or as a stay-at-home mom or retiree).
During Advent we looked closely at how a Rule of Life helps
us stay focused on our Christian journey. You can also use a rule of life for a
diet or exercise regime. And, often the spiritual, diet, and exercise aspects are
intertwined. We may know that taking care of ourselves by eating well and exercising help us deepen
our Christian walk. Throughout Advent, we used the Way of Love curriculum as our guide.
As we head into 2019 and the season of Epiphany, we are
going to look at each aspect of the Way
of Love and how it might deepen our journey and our ability to be part of
the Jesus Movement. The 7 disciplines are: Learn, Go, Pray, Rest, Turn, Bless,
Worship. It turns out there are 8 Sundays in the Epiphany season this year. So,
we can consider one each week, starting with Learn today.
To Learn is much more than just study of some topic. It’s
the life-long process of getting knowledge or a skill. It happens as we read,
as we interact, as we live. The week after Christmas, our 2 kittens were spayed.
They spent their time Learning how to adapt to life in the ‘buddy collar’. At
first, they struggled and tore off the collar. Gradually they learned to walk
and even eat and drink while wearing the collar. Rather than ‘collar of shame’,
my grandchildren said it was their ‘lion’s mane’. This may not have made the cats feel better about it, but is a more positive way of looking at the device which was for their own good.
When we Learn, we also may struggle at first. We may say, ‘this
is too hard.’ We may want to give up. However, when we persevere, we discover
that we CAN learn a new talent, a different way of living, a fascinating bit of
information. As we quit struggling with the new thing, we discover that rather than an onerous 'collar of shame', it is a source of pride-a 'lion's mane'. When we Learn, we grow.
Many people think Epiphany is a one day event celebrating the
arrival of the wise men or Magi. We learn it is more than that. The word
‘Epiphany’ is based on the Greek word epiphania,
which means divine manifestation. We also speak of having an ‘epiphany’ when we
understand something important; or have an enlightening moment. When we Learn
about anything, we often have a little epiphany when suddenly the algebra
equation makes sense, or the new computer program works properly.
The Season of Epiphany celebrates the revelations of Jesus
Christ as the Son of God. Over the Sundays in Epiphany we Learn of Jesus
baptism, the turning of water to wine at the wedding in Cana, and other
miracles. These lessons continue our understanding about Jesus as the Light of
the World. These lessons help us Learn how we can be part of the light of God in the world.
Traditionally there were 3 wise men, or Magi. They have even
been given names, although neither number nor names are noted in the Gospel of
Matthew which records their visit. They are assumed to be astrologers, seers,
or priests from the Persian empire. The priests of Zoraster worshiped the stars
and followed their movements. They would have been logical ones to have seen
and understood a new conjunction or new star in the skies.
The Magi who visit the Holy Family (Matthew 2) were learned
men. Their intelligence and status didn’t keep them from making mistakes. They
decided to depend on logic instead of the Star and ended up in Herod’s court. We,
too, can depend too much on what we ‘know’ and forget to trust the One who
gives all Learning. When the Magi left Herod’s court, they were probably wiser
about him, but not necessarily fully informed about their direction despite the
priests citing Isaiah’s prophecy. God doesn’t leave them in the dark. “Lo, the star, which they saw in the east,
went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.”
(Matthew 2:9)
Because of the ambiguity of the number of visitors, authors
like Henry Van Dyke have added one or more additional travelers. In his 1895
book The Other Wise Man, Van Dyke follows
a fourth wise man (Artaban) who is always just a step behind in finding the
holy child. The jewels he was going to give the Christ Child are given to help
a dying man, save an infant from Herod’s massacre and at the end of his life,
free the daughter of a fellow Magi from being sold into slavery. Artaban
understands his gifts have been fully accepted by Christ as he dies. The story
was made into a movie, The Fourth Wise
Man with Martin Sheen as Artaban.
Artaban spends his life being a light in the darkness as he
struggles to find the Christ. He thinks he has missed finding the King, but
ultimately Learns that his actions served God’s purposes. We might think we are
struggling with our own bits of darkness. Perhaps we just need to Learn WHERE
we are serving God!
Is God trying to teach you something?
Are you open to Learning, or do you prefer to trust your own
knowledge, like the Magi?
Ask God to open your heart to what you need to Learn in 2019.
