The baby was born, the three Wise Men have arrived, and the world is filled with Light.
Today, Jan. 6, is Epiphany, the day in the church year when we remember those three gift bearers who followed the star to find the Christ child. They followed a light to find the Light of the World! Something I read recently pointed out that the Wise Men were astrologers who looked to the heavens for signs and guidance. They were not worshipers of the One True God. Yet God, whose Wisdom is far greater than that of any wise man, chose these “pagans” to be some of the first people who worshiped the King of Kings. God even spoke to them in a dream, telling them not to return to tell King Herod where to find the baby whose star they followed. (See Matthew 2:1-12) How can God speak to a pagan, and why would God want to anyway? What does the fact that God did choose to do this say to us today? How should this fact affect how we look at people who don’t worship or believe as we Christians do?
The Light has come and in Him there is no darkness. As followers of the Christ, we are called to be light bearers, carrying His light into the world. The wise men probably did not understand that it was the King of Kings, God’s own son, that they travelled to visit. They did not name Him as the Son of God, yet they worshiped Him, and perhaps they too became filled with Light, and took that Light with them back to the land from which they came. How could one be in the presence of God and not be changed?
The Light has come and in Him there is no darkness. As followers of the Christ, we are called to live Light filled lives. Do we even know what that means? Do we really want to know? The Wise Men travelled for a long time, through the desert, up hills and down, with no map and no previous experience in the place to which they travelled. All they had was a light to follow, and in the end they found Him whom they sought. How far are we willing to go into uncharted territory seeking God, and how long are we willing to take? We have a Light to follow, but do we allow the Light to lead us?
The baby was born, the three wise men have arrived, and now let us pray that we will have the wisdom and determination to follow the Light and to allow the Light to fill us and transform us.
We rearranged the room in which my pet rabbit spends most of his time. He had particular spots where he liked to lay and his favorite hiding spot was under my platform rocker. The room now has a different look and feel, and I like it. It’s taking bunny a few days to adjust. He’s been sniffing in every nook and cranny and has not yet settled on new “favorite spots”. We were given a rocker-recliner that’s seen better days but is very comfortable. I no longer like the style of the platform rocker; it’s in very good condition so I plan to sell it at the used furniture store.
This first day of the new year found me in my classroom preparing for school to resume tomorrow. I rearranged the desks and changed a few other things as well. The room looks different and a bit more open. I think we will like it. I look forward to seeing the surprised looks on the children’s faces when they come in tomorrow morning.
When a new year begins there is only one thing that we know for sure will take place in the 12 months ahead: change. Many things just do not stay the same, and that’s not a bad thing although at times we fight some of the changes. We may have to find new “favorite spots” as we are drawn out, or forced out, of our comfort zones. Change is often a breath of fresh air. Change in circumstances, or even a room arrangement, changes us. It is up to us whether or not the change in us will be good or bad. Even a bad circumstance that forces a change can have a positive effect if we allow that to happen. I pray for the grace to accept the changes that come into my life in this year and to allow those changes to change me, and stretch me, and make me a better person.
One last thought on the topic. My parents have lived in the same house for more than 50 years, and there are at least two rooms that have been the same color all that time. The most recent redecorating took place in 1976. I find no comfort in that sameness, although obviously my parents do. Sometimes when I go into that house I feel stuck in time, and to me that is uncomfortable and boring.
Can it be that from our endings, new beginnings you create?
Life from death, and from our rendings, realms of wholeness generate?
Take our fears, then, Lord, and turn them into hopes for life anew:
Fading light and dying season sing their Glorias to you.
Words by Dean W. Nelson, 1988, in Wonder, Love, and Praise
My Prayer
Lord, as this year ends I thank you for all the days and the ways that you touched my life. As the new year begins I look with anticipation to the days ahead, believing that you will continue to bring light and wholeness to all the areas of my life. I look around at the events of this earth and it would be easy to enter this new year in fear for the future, yet I choose instead to enter it in faith, praying that you will bring about the fulfillment of your plans for this planet. I pray that you will bring into reality the things you have spoken to my own heart, and that I will accept the challenges and allow you to form me into the person I really am. Jesus, dear Jesus, you came and you changed everything. It is in you that I hope. It is for you that I sing: Gloria! Amen
