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

Our church uses various liturgical seasons to help us focus. Each of the seasons ultimately is concerned with God and more specifically Jesus Christ. However each one approaches it from a slightly different perspective. It is like looking at a statue from the side, the front and the back. Each view is appropriate and accurate for the same object but each gives you a different understanding.

That's why I find it a bit strange that typically the shortest church season is arguably the most important church season for us. Epiphany - the short green season - is about making Jesus known. I say this is the most important season for us since if we are not aware of Jesus, not familiar with Jesus than the rest of it is not very important! As far as the world was concerned Jesus' birth was simply another birth until the shepherds arrived and repeated what they had been told.

The early church, and actually the Eastern Orthodox today - which means the majority of Christians - put relatively little focus on Christmas and focus instead on Epiphany. Until Jesus is made known, His birth is largely inconsequential.

The word "epiphany" occasionally does make it into our general conversation. Visually, the concept is shown in the cartoons as a light bulb going on over the character's head. The idea of a sudden understand or insight.

BUT -- an epiphany is not usually a sudden, unprepared understanding. Seldom do we begin to understand without lots of preparation. I can remember in calculus or physics class I would struggle for days trying to understand something ... then in a "sudden" insight finally understood. BECAUSE I had spent those painful hours struggling to understand I had a "sudden" epiphany.

In our Christian life the sudden "epiphany" almost always works the same way. Only after extensive study and struggle do we begin to understand some things. I fought, studied, struggled, argued for a long time with the question of how an all loving and all powerful God could allow cancer and tsunamis. I still do. But eventually I had an epiphany and began to understand - I think - at least a little. Without the effort the epiphany would not have happened.

During this season we look back on the three major moments in scripture where Jesus is announced or made known ... when human begins are given an epiphany. Clearly His miracles can also been seen in that light but the primary instances are the announcements by the shepherds, the magi-king-wise men, and God at Jesus' baptism.

First let's clarify that we read about the shepherd's in Luke and the magi in Matthew. They are never mentioned together. And most likely, to the dismay of most creches, they never were together!

Luke says the shepherds came to the stable the first night. Matthew says the magi found Mary "in the house". Furthermore, King Herod killed all the male children under 2 years of age in hopes of killing Jesus which suggests, does not prove but suggests the magi arrived some months after Jesus' birth.

All of which is ultimately unimportant!

What I do think is important is how each of the major announcements is made to a different audience. Let me hasten to add that I do not believe that simply because different scripture passages focus on different events or meanings suggests the scripture is wrong ... or made up by ancient authors.

Imagine an honest, sincere person running for president. When they are speaking in Michigan they will speak about manufacturing job loses. When in Arizona the focus is on immigration. Now an honest, sincere person would respond to an immigration question asked in Michigan the same way they answer in Arizona. But the initial presentation would focus on the needs and concerns of the specific audience.

The point being that the fact that the different gospel writers, and also St. Paul, said somewhat different things does NOT mean any of them are wrong, much less that any of them just made it all up.

When Luke speaks about the shepherds it is easy for us to miss the point he was making. Shepherds were not, as we tend to see them, idyllic professionals. Shepherds did not have a lot of respect. Mother's did not dream of their children growing up to be shepherds! I guess the closest we might come in our society is the legal immigrant from El Salvador hoping to rake few lawns today.

To have the first, direct announcement of who Jesus is being made to one of the lowest social classes must be deliberate. It must say something. And I strongly suspect it is a continuation of the message from the birth in the stable. A message that Jesus came to this earth to be with all people - but maybe especially with those not given great value by society.

Furthermore, consider the message that was given to the shepherds. "A great joy that will come to all people" - chances are the Jews would have heard that as "all Jewish people" and missed the implication of the actual announcement -- that Jesus is for ALL people.

"Born this day ... a savior" .... I looked at 9 different translations and paraphrases and everyone used that word .. "savior" ... even the sometimes flippantly worded "Message" bible said "savior"!

I mentioned the importance of the epiphany ... of knowing who Jesus is but there is a major step that comes first ... knowing we NEED Jesus. Most of us like Jesus. Most of us will appreciate any help Jesus gives us. But how many of us acknowledge ... deep down emotionally acknowledge a NEED for Jesus?

If we do acknowledge a need for Jesus I suspect many people see him as a swimming pool life guard ... it is nice to know he is around if we get in trouble but we don't expect to need his services.

To acknowledge we NEED Jesus is a huge step. And I don't mean that out of the "fear" theology -- go with Jesus or be tortured forever!! No, I believe we need Jesus to save us from the insecurities, the problems, the difficulties of this life.

And just like life guards are taught how drowning people will fight against the rescue attempt, we sometimes strike out against and try to avoid Jesus' help ... His saving.

Remembering that the shepherds are the lower edge of society - let's flip over to the other side and consider the magi or kings or wise men - whatever translation you prefer. These were people who studied the stars for guidance. Other than that we know very little about them, not even how many there were! We assume 3 since three gifts are mentioned but that is only an assumption. We can reasonably assume they were wealthy and powerful since they were able to travel that distance. Beyond that - nothing.

Here we again have the implication that Jesus will be known to all people but not necessarily relevant to all people.

The magi call Jesus "the king of the Jews" -- the "king" or "leader" of a tiny, basically insignificant country. The only people concerned about it are Herod and his "hangers on" since a Jewish king could create problems for them.

We actually get very little from the magi's visit. At most, a suggestion that Jesus will be known beyond Israel. And maybe ... don't know if this was intended but maybe the idea that Jesus came not JUST for the poor and helpless but also for the wealthy and powerful. Let's hope so .... since most of us are much closer to the societal status of magi or kings than we are to the El Salvadorian immigrant the shepherds represent.

Notice something about both events. Neither resulted in anything. I suspect the shepherds told the story around the campfire for many years. But there is nothing to suggest they even came to visit Jesus again, much less told other people who came to visit.

Similarly with the magi ... they went home by another route and are lost to history. They never told many people about Jesus or at least apparently never had much of an impact.

The third instance is Jesus' baptism or more accurately, John the Baptist's proclamations and then the baptism. This is one of a very few scenes reported in all four gospels. Therefore I think it is fair to assume it is very important!

This time the audience probably is the Jewish people. They had been expecting a messiah but the shepherds and magi did not do much to make Jesus known, so John the Baptist comes along and proclaims Jesus' arrival.

For us the message might be, NOT John's announcement but God's. God saying that Jesus is beloved ... that Jesus is who we should listen to.

So where does all this take us? How does this change our lives?

Like the Jews, somewhere deep in our being we have a longing, a need, an expectation for a messiah -- someone to lead us to a new life. Like the shepherds we are told the messiah has arrived and we delight in that -- for a moment and then walk away. So like the magi we need to study sacred words and the world about us to discover what God is telling us. But unlike the magi, we need to incorporate that learning, that epiphany into our lives.

May we find the star -- whatever form it takes --- which will guide us to the messiah - the savior we seek.

AMEN

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