EPIPHANY

                        January 6, 2010

the Rev. Ken Kroohs

(Isaiah 60:1-6; Ps. 72:1-7 & 10-14 Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12)

SHOWING, NOT TELLING

St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, High Point, NC

MAY THE WORDS OF MY MOUTH ... AND THE MEDITATIONS OF ALL OUR HEARTS ... BE ALWAYS ACCEPTABLE TO YOU --- OUR STRENGTH AND OUR REDEEMER AMEN

    One of those fun questions to discuss ... really has no importance just fun to discuss is which Christian holiday is the single most important one? One answer is Easter .. without the resurrection Jesus is not any more important than any other prophet.

    Other logical answers include Good Friday – without the crucifixion the resurrection does not happen. Or Christmas, without the birth none of it happens.

    Other people argue that Pentecost is most important since that is when we, human beings, received both the power and the responsibility for the future.

    All of them are good answers but because today is Epiphany, let me make the argument for this little noticed Christian holiday. Actually Epiphany day is meant to commemorate not just one event but a process — the process of making Jesus known to the world .. to us. The process of making it clear He was not just another person, or even just another prophet. Making it clear to us that Jesus was/is something very different and very special.

    And yet ... what does THAT mean? What does it mean that Jesus was/is different? Jesus was/is very special?

    A phrase used a lot but seldom discussed is that Jesus was the Word made flesh.

    Understand that in this context “word” means the “word of God”. And it does not mean a sound it means all that God is. It means the “voice” that created the universe. It means the scriptures through which God teaches us. It means the prophets who repeat God’s instructions. “The Word of God” means all that and more.

    So when we call Jesus “the word made flesh” we can begin to grasp that Jesus was all that God is – made flesh. Made human.

    But why? ... Why would a God put skin on and become human?

    Paul told the Hebrews: “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created worlds.”

    I think St. Paul has hit on something. ..... If you have ever taken music lessons or played organized sports at some time, your teacher or coach has given up trying to tell you what to do and instead decided to show you what to do. From long ago God sought to tell us – human beings — how to live but a some point decided it would be better to show us.

    I think that analogy is reasonable but the most fascinating part is that usually when the teacher or coach decides to demonstrate it is out of extreme frustration that the student did not understand!! If the teacher’s or coach’s instructions were being followed they would just move on to the next lesson. Only when we, the students, are not doing it correctly does the process change from telling to demonstrating and God decided the process needed to change. ..... That certainly suggests we were frustrating God! .... And I suspect we still do.

    If that is true ... that Jesus is the word made flesh, and became flesh to demonstrate, to help us understand how to live ... what did He show us?

    That question is a lot harder than you might think!

    Jesus certainly demonstrated and taught a life with little focus on material things. Of course, as I heard one preacher say, “we do need to remember that Jesus knew his retirement plan was solid!”

    I don’t think Jesus was seeking to model a specific life style in that sense, as to model - demonstrate - teach a life focus in which material things are not central. Personally, and there is little scripture to back this but I believe God wants us to enjoy this life. I believe Jesus had fun. I suspect He had hobbies, friends, good times. Jesus taught us the importance of the Sabbath, of taking time away from the craziness of life to re-connect with what is important.

    The point is that Jesus had a life fully and completely dedicated to God but, I believe, not a life that was boring or unenjoyable.

    The question the word makes flesh raises for us is not whether to enter a monastery or nunnery, but a question of priorities. Where is God in our priorities?

    God wants to be the center of our life, but without taking away our life in that sense. ..... Hard to describe ..... Let me use the tithe as an example. When God taught, and by the way Jesus also taught the 10% tithe, when God taught the importance of giving God .... this is actually fascinating .... God set a target of 10%. I personally believe and have found that the joy of giving grows beyond that numeric level, but God set that target. Not 100%, not 50-50 but 90-10 with us keeping the 90.

    I think that the word may flesh demonstrated - taught - modeled living a real life which is focused on God. It helps me to look at the disciples too. I have to believe that if they were far off base .... WHEN they were far off base Jesus corrected them. And again we have little direct information but it appears the disciples continued to lead a fairly normal life .. although a life focused on Jesus and on God.

    So how did Jesus model a life focused on God? Clearly there was communication with God the Father — prayer and meditation. But there was a real focus on serving other people. Jesus focused on serving God by serving other people .... by being a servant to them.

    I notice in scripture that Jesus always cured the sick when He entered a village or began with a new group of people. BUT, He would then talk about God. He cured the sick to glorify God ... not to glorify Himself, not to simply cure sick people, not because He enjoyed doing it (although I suspect he did enjoy curing people) He cured people to glorify God.

    If we know Jesus ... if we have had that “epiphany” ... then we should be interested enough to follow the “word made flesh” ... and all that means is to focus on lives on God!

               AMEN

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