SCRIPTURES  

MATTHEW SCRIPTURE  

- Who was Herod?  Herod" is the name of a Jewish family with strong connections with the Roman government. Members of the family ruled over Palestine from ca. 55 bc until near the close of the 1st century. 

The one mentioned in our text was Herod the Great. He was the only one who had the title King. In 40 bc, the Roman senate appointed him King of the Jews. Herod ruled as king from 37 bc to 4 bc. 

His rule was marked by total loyalty to Rome, harsh repression of any opposition, and family strife.

-Been emphasizing 3 journeys for 3 weeks, Mary and Joseph, Shepherds and now wise men. Might be a good reason to preach on journeys of faith, etc. 

- See      We three Kings of Orient Are was written in 1857 by Rev. John Henry Hopkins.

-"Epiphany is (1) an appearance or manifestation of a god or  other supernatural being, (2) in most Christian churches, a yearly festival, held 

  January 6, commemorating the revealing of Jesus as the Christ to the Gentiles in the persons of the Magi at Bethlehem: also called Twelfth Night."

- Matthew is not the first one to imagine three rich wise guys from the East coming to Jerusalem. His story line and plot come from Isaiah 60, a poem recited to Jews

  in Jerusalem about 580 B.C.E."  Walter Brueggemann, The Christian Century, 2001.

- "Off By Nine Miles,"  a wonderful sermon on today's scriptures by Walter Brueggeman. 

- Three ?   Kings? (wise men) They have names??  It's not in the Bible!!  Lindy

-The Magi weren't "kings."  They weren't quite "wise men" either, and "astrologers" can be a misleading title for them because of the term's modern connotations. They were an upper caste of political-religious advisers to ancient rulers in, what is now, Iran and Iraq. John J. Pilch (The Cultural World of Jesus: Sunday by Sunday, Cycle A. Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1995
-Who are these Kings? We are the Kings. In a very real sense all who have found salvation in Christ are represented by those kings. Like them we have seen the darkness of

our lives. Like them we have looked to heaven for some hope. Like them the light of Christ has shined in our lives and given us hope. And like them we have sought out and

found the one born the King of the Jews. 

-The Twelve Days of Christmas are probably the most misunderstood part of the church year among Christians who are not part of liturgical church traditions. Contrary to much popular belief, these are not the twelve days before Christmas, but in the Western Church are the twelve days from Christmas until the beginning of Epiphany  (January 6th; the 12 days count from December 25th until January 5th).Dennis Bratcher

-The one or two Sundays between Christmas Day and Epiphany are sometimes called Christmastide. 

-For many Protestant church traditions, the season of Epiphany extends from January 6th until Ash Wednesday, which begins the season of Lent leading to Easter. 

-What gift do you as a believer bring to Christ today? What gift can you give others in the name of Christ

-The star shines in the night sky. It is only a sign. Like the Magi, we have the choice to journey toward it or stay stuck wherever we are. De Jong

-Lawrence Kushner says human beings are, at once, both riddled with divine sparks and in desperate need of repair.

-We know that in the life of faith there are always those rolling black-outs DeJong

-What are you looking for? And where are you looking for it?

-The title of my sermon will be "When You Follow a Star and Find a Stable". anonymous

-Epiphany is a six week journey to find God.

- I think that this text raises two very important questions for us today: "Where are the un-churched at today?" And "What signs will speak to them?" Stoffregen

- THE THREE GIFTS (Peter Gomes)

    1. Gold: a precious metal reserved only for royalty. (Jesus is king.) regal value.  Kingship of Jesus  The manger is also a throne  (The Infant king carol)

     2,  Frankincense:  priest used in worship signifying , a favorite part of religious rituals. Its smoke rises like prayer. (Jesus is God.)  God's presence – priesthood.  Jesus is the High  priest.  (priesthood of all

           believers)  ["incense is the odor of God’s presence."  Gomes]

     3.  Myrrh:  used in preparation of bodies for burial . Reminds us that Jesus’ ministry  sacrifice.   Christmas and Easter are linked.  Is what women brought to tomb.

-I saw three ships come sailing in on Christmas Day on Christmas day? One for each King?

-Have we embarked upon that journey of discovery, like the Magi? We are a pilgrim people, we have to set off to follow Christ and learn more about God

   as we journey. The Reverend Charles Royden

-

-actions like seeing, seeking, looking up, looking beyond this world, have hope and expectations, looking for pointers, (signs), finding, worshiping, listening, and obeying–
are all keys to our understanding what true wisdom is all about.True Wisdom (An Epiphany Sermon) Posted by Will on January 5, 2007

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

1. Perhaps we too can be called wise by taking that inward journey to the Bethlehem of our hearts where the spirit of Christ dwells. Lindy

 

QUOTES

-The profound is hidden in plain sight and the wise men found it. 

--It can seem to us as if an epiphany 
is almost an apostrophe, a small mark on a big sheet of the paper of life. De Jong

-Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.

-Wasn't it Carl Sagan who said that we were made of the stuff of stars?

-Non religious people only believe their eyes.  The Wise men believed beyond their eyes.

-"The Audacity of Hope"  Title of book by Barack Obama  (some might say that about Christmas) Lindy

-Knowledge is horizontal. wisdom is vertical Billy Graham 

--“The only true gift,” Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “is a portion of yourself.”

-Mystery is the local of wisdom

-The most invisible mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common place Emerson

-wonder is the beginning of wisdom.

-You cannot find wisdom if you look only through your human eyes...you must look through God's eyes..." Gibran

ILLUSTRATIONS

-The Gift of the Magi  

- We returned to our places, these Kingdoms, But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation, With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death. The Journey of the Magi -- T. S. Eliot  (The world will never be enough)

HUMOR

-You not only broke your resolutions but also nine of the ten commandments!!

-Wisdom  comes from good judgment and a lot of that comes from bad judgment

-Navaho 
  wisdom A woman is driving toward home in Northern Arizona when she 
  sees a Navajo woman hitchhiking. Because the trip had been long and quiet, she 
  stops the car and the Navaho woman climbs in. During their small talk, the 
  Navajo woman glances surreptitiously at a brown bag on the front seat between them. "If you're wondering what's in the bag," offers the woman, 

  "it's a bottle of wine. I got it for my husband. "The Navajo woman is silent for a while, nods   several times and says, "Good trade." 

- Do you suppose they were called wise men because they STOPPED 
  AND ASKED FOR DIRECTIONS? Desperate Preachers

- Peter Gomes, minister at Harvard  tells how when he was young he was always the king that was black because he was the only black child around.  Peter says, "Affirmative action?"

-

CHILDREN

 1. Bring in a battery operated electric candle. Tell about the meaning of Epiphany as God's Light coming into the darkened world. 

 Turn on the electric candle and ask the children what light is useful for (vision, beacon, warmth--let them feel the heat of the bulb). Tell them that 

"God's Light" is a picture word (metaphor) for a person who came into the world and whether they know who it is.  Ask them why they think Jesus is 
  called God's Light (he made blind to see, he helped us understand God in a new  light, he saved us from sin...).God's Light is still in the world today, 
  shining in the form of the church of Christ.  We are the church, you and I are   God's little lights and we are called to shine in the darkness around us--to 
  make this world a better place. Rev.  F. Schaefer 

2.  If your children know the song  "This Little Light of Mine"  this is a great time to sing it with them to close the children's time in 

worship (you may want to use the hand-motions   too).

PRAYER PHRASES

-Father, we thank you for revealing yourself to us in Jesus the Christ, we who once were not your people but whom you chose to adopt as your people. 

As ancient Israel confessed long ago, we realize that it was not because of our own righteousness, or our own superior wisdom, or strength, or power, or numbers. 

It was simply because you loved us, and chose to show us that love in Jesus. As you have accepted us when we did not deserve your love, will you help us

 to accept those whom we find it hard to love?  May we, through your guidance and our faithful obedience, find new avenues in ways that we have not imagined of 

holding the Light of your love so that it may be a Light of revelation for all people.  Bratcher

-Forgive us for living in your shadow and failing to see your light.  Lindy

- O God, we give thanks for light of the star by which we are still led to the manger and far beyond.  Encourage us in our journeys

   and welcome us to that newer way where we will find ourselves. Peter Gomes

-May we also have a sense of wonder and awe, the spirit of a searcher, one willing to look up and follow a star beyond familiar borders.

 May we recognize the revelation of God, despite all appearances to the contrary. 

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