Why Have You Come Here?

On Epiphany we celebrate the “appearance” the “manifestation” of God by remembering the story of the wise men coming to worship the Christ child. These sky-watchers came to Jerusalem because they had seen a light in the night sky that indicated to them that a king had been born to Israel. When they started asking around Jerusalem about a king of Israel, word got to Herod, and he called the chief priest and the scribes to him to find out what they knew about a savior. They quoted the prophet Micah, who prophesied that a ruler would be born in Bethlehem. Herod, armed with that knowledge, called the wise men to him, asked them all about the light in the sky that had brought them to Jerusalem, and sent on them to Bethlehem with instructions to return with word when they had found him.

They are warned, though, not to return to Herod in a dream, and they go home by another road.

The wise men came because of the light they saw in the sky. They wanted to follow it. Can you imagine the excitement and hope that they must have had as they packed up their gifts and set out on the journey? Can you imagine the sense of purpose and meaning following the star gave to each of them?

They got to Jerusalem, saw the ruler, were commissioned to go to Bethlehem. And then, the dream. They realized that they had encountered darkness. They were following the light, but they had partnered with Herod. I wonder what their conversation was the next morning. Were they scared? Were they in agreement to avoid returning to Herod? Were they chagrined to have been fooled by Herod? Did they feel exploited when they realized his plotting? They came to be in the presence of light, and they found that darkness was still present.

At Pinecrest Camp this fall, we were reminded how hard a fire can be to light. Many of you were there. Those that weren’t, you missed out on a truly “group effort” to start a fire. Our problem was that there had been a fire in the same fire ring earlier that day, and they poured water on it to put it out. Then, they laid paper down on the ground and set the logs in a nice tee-pee for us to
“just light when we were ready.” By the time we were ready, everything there was somewhere between damp and wet.

We ran to cars and got paper. We were tearing apart magazines, gathering pine needles and sticks, blowing, waiting, taking turns, each with our own way to try to get the fire started. And finally, it was clear we were not going to have a nice roaring bonfire to warm us. And, we would do well to go ahead and toast our marshmallows in what little flames we could muster and enjoy our s’mores.

The fire was not going to have a life of its own. We were going to have to nurture and feed and coddle it. So much like the light of God in the world, don’t you think? We would like for it to burn on its own. But, we find that we have to work to keep it going.

And it is not because the fire itself isn’t able to burn brightly. It is because we are trying to light a fire in a world where everything is somewhere between damp and wet. Floods of doubts are regular occurrences. Torrents of pain and sufferings pummel us. Waves of unrest and violence threaten to wash us away.

At camp that night we were trying to build a fire – a big, roaring, warming fire – set it, feed it every now and then, and enjoy it.

And I wonder if we have a similar hope for God’s light in the world. We read from Isaiah “Arise, shine, for your light has come.” We read in John’s Gospel, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” On the first Sunday of Advent, we lit the candle of Hope and began to watch for glints of light on the horizon, the in-breaking of the light of Christ in our world. I challenged you to pay attention over the weeks before Christmas for moments of light breaking into a dark world. Did you see it? When the wise men had followed the star and arrived at the manger, they were overwhelmed with joy. Was there a moment for you of overwhelming joy?

Rev. Lynda Hyland Burris tells about taking her youth group to the family shelter for a Christmas celebration with cookies and singing and decorating a Christmas tree. They got the tree all decorated and realized they didn’t have a topper. A few minutes later, one of the children from the shelter had made a construction paper star, covered with glitter. She says, “The lights were dimmed, except those on the tree, and we started to sing, all of us, home-less and home-full. Then one of the teenage girls picked up three-year-old Leah, a child from the shelter, and I handed her the star….’Silent night, holy night,’ we sang, ‘All is calm, all is bright.’ [She placed the star on top of the tree.] A tiny, homeless child, reaching up, holding the star.”

What does the star mean for us today? It doesn’t mean that the child has a home. It doesn’t mean that her life will be easy. It doesn’t mean that she won’t face darkness. God didn’t promise to eliminate the darkness; God promised light in the darkness. And God entrusted us – you and me – with the tending of the flame.

That is why we come to the manger; to renew the fuel for our light. That is why we celebrate Communion; to nurture the fire within us.

The darkness of Herod is revealed to the wise men in a dream, and they have a choice to make. How will they respond? Will they blame one another? Will they be filled with guilt that they told everything they knew to Herod? Will they be disillusioned with the child in the manger and question the light because clearly there is still darkness? Will they go back and tell Herod where the baby is? Or will they go home by another way and become bearers of the light?

More importantly, how will you go home? You have been to the manger, and you are welcomed to the table. The wisdom of Proverbs tells us that “The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. The light is come. What does it mean for you to go home by another way? What does it mean for you to be righteous?

I invite you to prayerfully listen to other words that mean righteous. As I read them slowly, I invite you to listen for how God is calling you to shine ever brighter? The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter rill the full light of day. Good, honest, conscientious, ethical, honorable, law-abiding, noble, pure, spiritual, upright, virtuous, charitable, fair, faithful, guiltless, impartial, just, moral, philanthropic, reverent, scrupulous, trustworthy. Lord, when the wise men saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy, and the worshiped the Christ child. They left and did not return home the same way they came. As we come to the table today we come seeking your light. Meet us here, as you met the wise men at the manger and fill with your righteousness, that we would not return home the same way we came. Amen.