Matthew 2:1-12        In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

`And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Reflection        Walking south on Shattuck on the East Side of the bay in Berkeley, California, heading toward Church Divinity School of the Pacific I lost count of the number of homeless people over or around whom I had to step. It was my first day in seminary. Before I arrived at the chapel for Morning Prayer I had given away my lunch and cash. Following a week of this heart wrenching ritual I went to my faculty advisor, The Rev. Dr. Louis Weil, and asked, “What shall I do?”

After duly acknowledging the gravity of the situation Louis counseled, “Choose one person, make them your person and take care of them.” Now you might think this would be easy, but how, oh how could I possibly choose one person out of the hundreds in need? Every day I walked, scanned the sidewalks, curbs and benches silently asking, “Are you my person?” Every day until the late afternoon I saw a star shining in the eyes of a man sitting on the sidewalk, back against the street sign outside the corner Blockbuster franchise. (For those who may not know, once upon a time people actually walked into brick and mortar shops like Blockbuster to rent videos!) I will call “my person”  Zeke.

I have no idea how I knew that I knew that Zeke was “my person,” but that is what epiphany is about. It is recognizing the divine in the world around us, in the people we encounter. And the natural response is to offer our gifts. Most days for the next three years I made my way to Zeke’s corner, offered a gift of cash or lunch, conversation, or help getting an id card and access to human services. Each time I looked into Zeke’s pacific eyes I recognized divinity therein and realized, I needed Zeke more than he needed me.  You see, Zeke always had the last word, pausing after each utterance to articulate his benediction, “God….bless…. you.”

Epiphany celebrates the journey of the wise bringing gifts to honor the Incarnation, the enfleshed presence of Divinity. Which begs several questions. Are we recognizing the presence of the Christ in the people around us? Are we being deceived by the rich and worldly? Are we seeing the Christ in the least, the lost and the lonely? Are we celebrating the revelation of Christ present by offering our gifts unselfishly?

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Gospel text for Feast of the Epiphany, Sunday 8 January 2017

Matthew 2.1-12        In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: `And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’"

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Reflection       “Why do we give one another gifts?” Habit? Duty? Obligation? Guilt? Manipulation? I believe gifts given in the genuine sense of giving are the outward and visible sign of our interior state, our intrinsic good will. Some gifts reveal our sense of gratitude, some extend healing, others communicate our inner desire for reconciliation, still others express our interior state of reverence or love. Given this way, gifts are means by which we make visible our hidden or invisible thoughts and emotions. When we choose the so called perfect gift for someone we are communicating by our choice that we know and value them as the unique person they are. 

Which leads us to the wise men in today’s teaching story. Finding the child Jesus they are “overwhelmed with joy,” they open their treasure chests (their hearts?) and carefully choose the perfect gifts for the infant Jesus, gifts that reveal they know and value the unique person Jesus. The wisdom of the wise is to look beyond appearances of  destitute Jewish parents with a newborn lying in an animal feeding trough, and see a human being, a divine being, a fragile being destined to die.  

As with all good teaching stories, the wisdom is hidden between the lines.  The wisdom of the wise men is hidden in the gifts they bring. Gold represents humanity. Frankincense represents divinity and myrrh is used when preparing bodies for burial. The wise men’s gifts are the outward and visible signs of their interior understanding of the true nature of this child, Jesus. Human, divine and destined to die.

The wise mens’ well chosen gifts communicate, “We see you for who you truly are.” Like the brightness of a star that illumines the entire world, the foreigners’ perspicuity  elevates the exchange of gifts from expressions of mass marketing or mad materialism to a spiritual transaction. 

Celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany we receive the incomprehensible gift given to all of humanity; the revelation that like our brother Jesus we are human beings, divine beings and fragile beings destined to die. There are no foreigners, there are no strangers. There are no “others.” Receiving this news we join the wise men, overwhelmed with joy and reaching into our hearts we search for the perfect gift to communicate we know and value each person we meet for who they uniquely are; human, divine and utterly fragile.

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Gospel text for The Celebration of the Epiphany, 4 January 2015

Matthew 2:1-12          In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: `And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Reflection       Gifts are more than a material exchange, more than a commercial transaction. Gifts are signs of spiritual, holy, sacred, nonmaterial connection. Gifts are about the unseen though palpable relationship between the giver and the receiver. I believe that is why the wise men traveled far to pay their respect and offer gifts of great value to the newborn peasant Jesus. The wise men had eyes to see beyond the meagre external circumstance of an infant. The wise men had eyes to see Divinity hidden within.

Five Chrtistmasses ago I received an especially meaningful gift. It was the last gift under the tree at my daughter Leela’s home. She looked into my eyes as she handed it to me. I tore through the wrapping paper until my breath caught in my throat. In my hands, captured in time by a simple snapshot, was my  mother and me. In the picture my back was to the camera because I was facing my mother. Her head was tossed back, eyes twinkling, mouth open issuing great guffaws of laughter. 

Four months earlier my mother died. I had never seen this photograph, but Leela did. She chose it for me with her sense and sensibility of the mother daughter relationship. She knew me and she loved me.  When she offered me this gift the goodness within her flowed to me and touched the emptly place left in my mother’s wake. 

Perhaps you recall a time you received a gift that was especially meaningful to you? I would venture to guess it was not its material value that gave it meaning. Rather is was about the relationship of which it was a sign.

Gifts are about spiritual connection, about the recognition of something more within ourselves and within the person to whom the gift if given. A wisely chosen gift   distinguishes the presence of something good and pure in us and the other person. A wisely chosen gift reveals our insight, our capacity to see beyond external appearances and discern the presence of something hidden, something Divine in the other person.

This is the meaning of Epiphany; the celebration of the revelation of Divinity, God, as a human being in Jesus Christ. And so we offer our gifts to God as a sign of our love, a sign of what cannot be seen within us. We offer our gifts so that the goodness within us us will flow to acknoweldge Divinity hidden in all of humanity. 

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Gospel text for Sunday 26 January 2014

Matthew 4.12-23       When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

"Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--
the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned."

From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea-- for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

Reflection       Eight hundred years  before Jesus , twenty eight hundred years before us First Isaiah explained, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness-- on them light has shined.” (Isaiah 9.2-3)  Which begs two questions? What is deep darkness? What is a great light?

I believe deep darkness is failure to recognize God with us and for us, right here and right now,. I believe deep darkness is weaving the net of our lives by our efforts alone while striving for security, esteem and power. I believe deep darkness is the reason so many of us experience isolation, alienation, anger, depression and fear. I believe deep darkness is the reason our world is under the siege of violence. 

Since World War II there have been over 250 mahor wars in the world in whcih 23 million people have been killed, tens of millions made homeless and countless millions injured and grieving. Our current global military spending is approximately $800 billion per year, more that the total annual income of the poorest 45% of our global population. Worldwide, a quarter of all women are raped during their lifetime.Three billion of the worlds people live in poverty. Still, there is good news.

Although we have lived in a land of deep darkness a great light has shined on us. And the great light is this. It is the light in the eyes of our hearts that recognizes the spiritual dimension as real and present, right here and right now. 

When we live in the darkness we are preoccupied with the comings and goings of all things visible. When we live in the light we recognize things visible as revelations of things invisible. The visible and invisible are not seperate and competing categories. The visible and invisible are two sides of one coin. They are the material and the immaterial, the human and the divine, each perspective essential to the apperhension of creation. . 

We are the people upon whom the great light has shined. The question is, will we allow our hearts (and behavior) to be transformed even before our minds catch up? Will we put down our nets, leave our old ways behind even when it means stepping beyond the box of the way we have always done things? Will we demand the end of war, the end of violence against all people? Do we dare to step beyond the status quo and redirect military spending to care for 43% of God’s people on earth who are living on less than $2. each day?

When Jesus called the first four disciples he called them to a heart stopping, mind boggeling, world changing life beyond the box of anything they could imagine. Jesus’ call upon our lives is no less radical. Shall we join the old prophet Isaiah and respond, “Here am I. Send me?” 

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Gospel for Epiphany Sunday, 6 January 2014

Matthew 2:1-12             In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

`And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Reflection      Three gifts. What three gifts do each one of us have to lay at the feet of the least among us? What three gifts do we have to express our recognition and gratitude for the revelation that God is with us... with all people .. all of the time?

According to the writer of Matthew’s gospel the epiphany of Jesus, which is to say, the revelation of God present in this world of ours, was accompanied by the offering of three gifts, three extravagant gifts. The question is, does the custom of offering our most precious gifts to respectfully acknowledge the value and worth of other people - even strangers - even a virtually homeless infant - does the custom of dignifying others by offering our gifts continue among us today?

Let’s begin with this morning. How many of us woke up this morning, looked outside and marveled at the diversity, complexity and beauty of creation? How many of us recognized the artistry and elegance of nature as a revelation of God present? How many of us offered our gifts of praise, reverence and conscious care for this fragil earth our island home? How many of us made choices to revere and respect the earth, even at our own expense?

How many of us walked into a public place this day, looked into the eyes of friends and strangers, saw weariness and vigor, suffering and joy? How many of us recognized the tenacity and infirmity of our sisters and brothers as a revelation of God present? How many of us offered our gifts to comfort, encourage and support humanity? How many of us made choices to dignify every human being, even at our own expense?

How many of us remember the words of the prophet Isaiah, “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you?” (60.1) How many of us have experienced the intuition or insight into the reality that God is closer to us than our own breath? Paul says it this way, “God’s love (or light) has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us?” (Romans 5.5) How many of us understand the light and love of God lives at the very center of our being and this light, this love of God is meant to flow out of us for the benefit of others? 

Don’t you see, that is what it means to open our treasure chests. That is what it means to offer our most precious gifts to respect and dignify every person - especially the least among us. That is what the Magi did two thousand years ago, and as continuing revelations or epiphanies of God present we are intended to do likewise.  What three gifts will you lay at the feet of the least among us?

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Gospel text for Sunday 7 July 2013

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20        After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, `Peace to this house!' And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, `The kingdom of God has come near to you.' But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, `Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.'

"Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."

The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

Reflection        Living, as I do, on the Sonoran desert in Arizona the “authority to tread on snakes and scorpions” could be helpful, although I must admit the very words evoke a tug-o-war inside me. My prudent voice counsels, “Just give the critters a wide bearth. If you don’t bother them they won’t bother you.” The other side of my tongue wags, “Ah, yes, to tread on those trespassers in my garden and “not be hurt.” Wipe out the problem and prevail.” I suspect neither response is what Jesus had in mind when equipping his disciples to continue the work that he intended to do.

I believe the “snakes and scorpions” to which Jesus is referring are those ills and evils in our society that destroy humanity and undermine God’s purpose for humankind. An eighteen-month investigation begun in 2007 and funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) reported on the root causes of 21st Century social evils in the UK. Julia Unwin, director of JRF, suggested  four things that underlie today’s social ills – “our growing affluence, avarice, alienation and anger.” Unwin understands these four attitudes or inclinations to account for such social ills as human trafficking, inhumane treatment of refugees and migrant workers, fear of strangers, alienation from one another, domestic abuse, violence and drug abuse. (Please see the full review online  http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=3868 )

Jesus does not want us to skirt these issues, keep them at arm’s length... you know... divert our eyes and give the critters a wide bearth.  Likewise Jesus is not instructing us to exercise power over others, to wage war and secure our way. Jesus sends us to be in relationship with one another, to offer peace and be life-transforming revelations of “the kingdom of God come near.” If you imagine you are hearing overtones of the Holy Eucharist in these words, you are. We exchange the Peace, we give Thanks, we share the Bread and Wine made Holy. Altogether we realize, “we are what we eat;”  (Thomas Cranmer) the revelation of “the kingdom of God come near.” 

Gospel text for Sunday 5 may 2013

John 14. 23-31     Jesus said to Judas (not Iscariot), "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

"I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, `I am going away, and I am coming to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe."

Reflection     “...the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” Don’t you just love that promise? God’s Spirit will teach us everything.  Doesn’t it just make your heart sing? It sure does mine. It puts everything in a new and transformed perspective. It is almost like putting on corrective glasses for the first time and discovering those large brown sticks with green blobs on top are actually finely textured trees with millions of individual leaves.  I believe there is no better description of this new perspective than the one given by St. John in his Revelation.

John wrote, “In the spirit the angel carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. (Rev 21.10, 22) John’s new glasses, his new perspective is the spiritual perspective, which is to say, Wisdom, experienced and known from within.  

Spirit revealed Wisdom to John from the inside out. Wisdom is this. Our understanding of God has come down from heaven. God is not remote and inaccessible. Neither is God confined to the geography of the temple of the holy city Jerusalem. We are the city, the dwelling place of God. “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” (Rev 21.23) Wisdom is not gleaned by shining our flashlights around us in the dark. Yes, we can weigh and measure, describe and construct all manner of things tangible and conceptual, but that is not Wisdom. Wisdom comes from the inside out. Wisdom is a new state of being. Along with St. John we experience Wisdom as the glory of God inflaming our hearts and illumining our minds, annointing our words and compelling our will. We experience Wisdom from the inside out. This is how the Spirit teaches us. It transforms our state of being. Still, we have a part to play in this.

“...the Advocate, the Holy Spirit... will teach (us) everything...” when we assert an unequivocal “no” to fear. But how, how in the midst of this unstable, iniquitous, brutal and fragil world are we not to be afraid? Remember Jesus’ words? In his final discourse with his disciples Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.”(In other words, I do not give you things you cannot depend on such as facts that may be disproven or situations that constantly change and erupt.) “Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. “ Jesus leaves his peace with us, peace intended to replace our fear of the dark and murky places, our fear of what we do not know and cannot control.  When we say  “yes” to Jesus’ peace Wisdom swells from the inside out and transforms the state of our being illumining our minds and compelling our will. 

New Testament reading for Sunday 28 April 2013

Revelation 21:1-6           I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

"See, the home of God is among mortals.

He will dwell with them as their God;

they will be his peoples,

and God himself will be with them;

he will wipe every tear from their eyes.

Death will be no more;

mourning and crying and pain will be no more,

for the first things have passed away."

And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life."

Reflection    Screaming from an enormous flat screen TV were images of a firefight and a paralyzed Watertown, Massachusetts. I passed by quickly as I was leaving a skilled nursing facility where I had just visited a dying woman. All this on the heals of the Marathon bombing. I could not get to the parking lot fast enough. I sat in my hot car and let the tears have their way. 

Tears are grief’s companion. They tug at the pit of emptiness. They seep into the places where words fail and sense is stunned. Tears and questions, that’s all I had. Where is God in all this darkness? When will the new heaven and new earth be realized? And what does that mean anyway? 

I believe the essence of the age to come, the new heaven and new earth, is this. Every person realizes that God is with her or him, no matter what. And, every person recognizes God’s caring and comforting presence in “the other.” There is no one with whom God is not. When we all truly realize this we will have no need to kill one another.

As I read the apostle John’s description of his vision I can almost hear Martin Luther King’s deep gravelly voice proclaiming,”The home of God is with you. Nothing... I say....nothing can seperate you from God. I can seeeeee the new Church. I can seeeee the new Church and it is you. You, the people of God. And I hear a loud voice from heaven saying, “Know me, know me the way the bride and the bridegroom know one another. Know that we are one. Know that no thing, no darkness, no bombings, no firefights, no evil, nothing can seperate you from me in all eternity. You are my people. In you I live and dwell, I Am. It is done.”

This is a mighty truth. The troubles of this time will pass away when we enter the bridal chamber, when we consent to our mystical union in God. God is our intimate companion, partner, beloved. And it is God, the bridegroom, who will wipe away our every tear. “These words are trustworthy and true.”