Epiphany: the Light Has Come

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.

Controversy: The Golden Compass

I read with interest as the emails started flying regarding the movie, called The Golden Compass. The emails I read were on the intra-district network of the rural school district where I spend most of my waking hours five days a week. I’m sure I should pay more attention to what is going on in the media; admittedly I had not heard of this movie until I started reading the emails. I can’t do anything about what my first graders watch or read, and my own kids, thankfully, are adults now so media is just one less thing for me to worry about at this point.

Many of the emails I read were suggesting that children be discouraged from watching the movie, which is, I read, based on a book written by “an atheist author”.  There was at least one email from someone with the opposite point of view. This email discussion ended with one email in particular that spoke with a voice of reason, suggesting that children watch the movie with caring adults and then discuss it.

Sad to say, there was a time when I would have been one of those who would have said NO to this movie solely based on the fact that Christians I associated with, and/or respected, said it was evil. The fact that the book was written by an alleged atheist would have been enough “fact” for me. Yes, I was one of those radicals that wouldn’t even let my kids watch the Smurfs; poor little blue guys, I don’t even remember what evil they were supposedly promoting. I hereby publicly repent of being too lazy to think for myself and act accordingly, as well as being too self righteous to consider other points of view. Perhaps I should also repent of being so overly protective that I drove one of my children straight to some of the things from which I was trying to protect him. God, forgive me.

I love many things about the Episcopal Church, not the least of which is that I am encouraged to think and prayerfully consider multiple points of view and even, at times, admit that perhaps two or more points of view have merit. In the past two years I have acted as quite the adolescent in getting a charge out of reading things that in my past I would have considered to be heretical, or even demonic, and I know I am better for it.

What would I do today if I had children wanting to see The Golden Compass? First, I would read the book to find out for myself what all the fuss is about. Unless I deemed the kids to be too young to see the movie, we would then watch it together and talk about it later. The children would learn things, I would learn things, and perhaps we’d all be better for the experience.

For additional information, readers are encouraged to read this Review of the movie The Golden Compass.

Longing for Jesus

I just want to sit at your feet, lean my head on your knee, and be.

Jesus, sometimes lately I wonder if I know you at all. You are so much more than I know, so much more than I have experienced, so much more than I have the capacity to understand. Advent is near; that time of year when we await your coming. That time of year when we remember the God babe that came to earth. I shall pray that you come again to my heart, and break through the crust that seems to have formed about it. You came, you’ll come again, but right now I just need you to come to me. Or maybe what I need is that I’ll be able to feel that you are here.

Jesus, I do not deserve such, but let me sit at your feet, lean my head on your knee, and be. AMEN

God: The Master Weaver

OUR PART is to pray;
God’s part is to weave everything
into the tapestry
of the divine will.

From page 95 of Talking in the Dark: Praying When Life Doesn’t Make Sense by Steve Harper. Copyright © 2007 by the author. Published by Upper Room Books.

Professional weavers of old often had assistants who performed the task of setting up the loom with the warp threads. After that, the master weaver wove the tapestry. Only he or she would have the skill to use the warp and weft threads together to form the intricate pattern envisioned for the tapestry.

When we pray we are as the assistant, setting things up. Only God can actually weave the tapestry. Yet how often do we try to tell the Master Weaver how to weave? We need to remember that we simply do not have the skill, nor the vision, to do this. Our headstrong attempts would lead to disaster should the Weaver allow us to have our way.

**Prayer **        Lord, help me to pray and then completely release those prayers to you. Only you can see the whole picture. Only you can use those concerns I lift to you in prayer to weave the divine tapestry of my own life and the lives of the others for whom I pray. I worship you, Master Weaver. I desire to trust you more.  Amen.