The Feast of the Epiphany - Reflections
2019 1/6
Just a few thoughts in the Feast of the Epiphany - 3 Kings Day
The Gospel of Matthew reading for today is of the 3 wise men from the East who followed the bright star that was the sign of the birth of the new Jewish King.
Whomever these wise men were, sages, astrologers , historians or futurists, they were knowledgeable and intelligent. They were also wealthy. They traveled into a foreign land just to pay homage to the new king. But they traveled through Herod's land. Herod was the Roman ruler reigning over the Jewish land. So they traveled with some degree of uncertainty about the land and their safety in it.
The star led these wise men. How is it that we find in the birth narrative three wealthy foreign kings following a bright star? Their wisdom told them much that they could believe in traveling after this star. But this was not so uncommon as fishermen and overland traders all had stars to guide them on their journeys, if they studied the stars.
So these men followed the star. And then somewhere in the Jewish land, they lost it. Or it disappeared.
Well, you certainly lose the stars on a cloudy night or on a few cloudy nights. But losing a star can be problematic. You could wander into an incorrect path and not align with the star again and be far off course.
The wise men knew how to deal with such a problem. They asked around and located Herod. They requested an audience and received one. Herod recognized the men as men of means and men to be listened to. And the wise men relayed their search for the newborn King of the Jews. Herod was able to learn that the baby was somewhere in Bethlehem and told the men to go there. He also asked them to relay to him the baby's exact location so that he could visit the baby too.
My reflection on this passage is this: We lose our way and God puts a different way in our path to suit his plan. I relate this to the chess piece that moves to one location and you think it is headed toward one group of your pieces, but as soon as you move, you discover it has headed in a different direction , giving you great anxiety!
So put yourself in the story. Be a wise man. You have the resources and knowledge to accomplish the task of paying homage to the newborn King of the Jews. But you can't go forward because the star disappeared. So you go to the ruler and request information. You receive help. Already God has changed your plan. You had to rely on someone else, not just God's star. You had to deal with others, in this case, a ruler who held the Jewish people captive. In other words, God required you to stop following his star and deal with a powerful human who was not necessarily a nice guy- in fact, a bad dude.
But you know you have the resources to interact with this guy without getting mired in trouble and you proceed. You accept the change in plans that God has allowed to occur. So you find out where the newborn King of the Jews is and you head towards Bethlehem. And Matthew tells us that as soon as you head out, the star is there leading just in front of you, just like before.
So you had a star, you lost it and you got it back again. Kind of a God message- first follow the star then deal with a bad guy and then follow the star. The second appearance of the star is confirmation that everything you did was right and according to plan. In fact you now know even more than before as you know the town you are headed towards. So God confirmed with his sign that you are still in the game. And he did so without obvious help after you lost the star. You just relied on what you had and perhaps trusted God with your own talents. And God confirmed your logic!
So really, no change in plan after all! Wrong!
That little detour accomplished just what God needed to get done. You learned that Herod was really interested in the newborn King of the Jews so that Herod could finally find him and not pay homage, but kill the kid! Being a wise man you decide there is no way you are going to let Herod know where this infant King is because your study told you this was one of those Kings for the history books, one of those big wigs. And so you decide that you will be heading home asap in a direction as far away from Herod as possible. You would try to escape the area because it was too politically charged.
And true to form , whether you believe in God or not, you get to pay homage to the baby Jesus and give him your gifts of myrrh, gold and frankincense. You accomplish you mission and you become part of the history books yourself because your story is written up in the telling of Jesus of Nazareth's story. You accomplish your task, which was also God's task and you get out of Dodge via the back door, avoiding Herod and his men.
So this story is the story of the birth of Jesus, King of the Jews. But somehow it becomes, in Matthew's Gospel, a story of God working in his own way to protect his son, and to do so in spectacular fashion with wise men, wealth, King Herod , a successful trek and a great escape. And all of this side story is a way to highlight the birth of the King of the Jews, for all time.
My reflection on this passage was this: We lose our way and God puts a different way in our path to suit his plan. And down the road he shows us that the way was right, because we had faith in him, even when things got dicey. God gives us the path and it meanders for his purposes. And his son, an infant king is never killed and you get written up as a big part of God's history story.
Have you had a change in plans that you did not expect? I wonder what God did, that you did not see, what other plan he was effecting with your change of plans. I wonder what the sign was, that told you that you were correct to trust in him when it appeared that He had abandoned you. I wonder how your story will one day come to light.
Have you found the King of the Jews? Does he lead you forward with signs? Is He sometimes silent with you for His purpose? Did you trust him then ? Do you trust him now?
This birth of Jesus places you and I on a path with God. God never leaves us. He is always there. And you and I have been given everything we need to move forward and to wait for his sign to us that we were right to trust him. Did you make it to the birthplace of Jesus after all, today?
God bless you. Michael Chugg
Just a few thoughts in the Feast of the Epiphany - 3 Kings Day
The Gospel of Matthew reading for today is of the 3 wise men from the East who followed the bright star that was the sign of the birth of the new Jewish King.
Whomever these wise men were, sages, astrologers , historians or futurists, they were knowledgeable and intelligent. They were also wealthy. They traveled into a foreign land just to pay homage to the new king. But they traveled through Herod's land. Herod was the Roman ruler reigning over the Jewish land. So they traveled with some degree of uncertainty about the land and their safety in it.
The star led these wise men. How is it that we find in the birth narrative three wealthy foreign kings following a bright star? Their wisdom told them much that they could believe in traveling after this star. But this was not so uncommon as fishermen and overland traders all had stars to guide them on their journeys, if they studied the stars.
So these men followed the star. And then somewhere in the Jewish land, they lost it. Or it disappeared.
Well, you certainly lose the stars on a cloudy night or on a few cloudy nights. But losing a star can be problematic. You could wander into an incorrect path and not align with the star again and be far off course.
The wise men knew how to deal with such a problem. They asked around and located Herod. They requested an audience and received one. Herod recognized the men as men of means and men to be listened to. And the wise men relayed their search for the newborn King of the Jews. Herod was able to learn that the baby was somewhere in Bethlehem and told the men to go there. He also asked them to relay to him the baby's exact location so that he could visit the baby too.
My reflection on this passage is this: We lose our way and God puts a different way in our path to suit his plan. I relate this to the chess piece that moves to one location and you think it is headed toward one group of your pieces, but as soon as you move, you discover it has headed in a different direction , giving you great anxiety!
So put yourself in the story. Be a wise man. You have the resources and knowledge to accomplish the task of paying homage to the newborn King of the Jews. But you can't go forward because the star disappeared. So you go to the ruler and request information. You receive help. Already God has changed your plan. You had to rely on someone else, not just God's star. You had to deal with others, in this case, a ruler who held the Jewish people captive. In other words, God required you to stop following his star and deal with a powerful human who was not necessarily a nice guy- in fact, a bad dude.
But you know you have the resources to interact with this guy without getting mired in trouble and you proceed. You accept the change in plans that God has allowed to occur. So you find out where the newborn King of the Jews is and you head towards Bethlehem. And Matthew tells us that as soon as you head out, the star is there leading just in front of you, just like before.
So you had a star, you lost it and you got it back again. Kind of a God message- first follow the star then deal with a bad guy and then follow the star. The second appearance of the star is confirmation that everything you did was right and according to plan. In fact you now know even more than before as you know the town you are headed towards. So God confirmed with his sign that you are still in the game. And he did so without obvious help after you lost the star. You just relied on what you had and perhaps trusted God with your own talents. And God confirmed your logic!
So really, no change in plan after all! Wrong!
That little detour accomplished just what God needed to get done. You learned that Herod was really interested in the newborn King of the Jews so that Herod could finally find him and not pay homage, but kill the kid! Being a wise man you decide there is no way you are going to let Herod know where this infant King is because your study told you this was one of those Kings for the history books, one of those big wigs. And so you decide that you will be heading home asap in a direction as far away from Herod as possible. You would try to escape the area because it was too politically charged.
And true to form , whether you believe in God or not, you get to pay homage to the baby Jesus and give him your gifts of myrrh, gold and frankincense. You accomplish you mission and you become part of the history books yourself because your story is written up in the telling of Jesus of Nazareth's story. You accomplish your task, which was also God's task and you get out of Dodge via the back door, avoiding Herod and his men.
So this story is the story of the birth of Jesus, King of the Jews. But somehow it becomes, in Matthew's Gospel, a story of God working in his own way to protect his son, and to do so in spectacular fashion with wise men, wealth, King Herod , a successful trek and a great escape. And all of this side story is a way to highlight the birth of the King of the Jews, for all time.
My reflection on this passage was this: We lose our way and God puts a different way in our path to suit his plan. And down the road he shows us that the way was right, because we had faith in him, even when things got dicey. God gives us the path and it meanders for his purposes. And his son, an infant king is never killed and you get written up as a big part of God's history story.
Have you had a change in plans that you did not expect? I wonder what God did, that you did not see, what other plan he was effecting with your change of plans. I wonder what the sign was, that told you that you were correct to trust in him when it appeared that He had abandoned you. I wonder how your story will one day come to light.
Have you found the King of the Jews? Does he lead you forward with signs? Is He sometimes silent with you for His purpose? Did you trust him then ? Do you trust him now?
This birth of Jesus places you and I on a path with God. God never leaves us. He is always there. And you and I have been given everything we need to move forward and to wait for his sign to us that we were right to trust him. Did you make it to the birthplace of Jesus after all, today?
God bless you. Michael Chugg
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