What Gifts Did You Received? What Will You Do with Them? Thoughts for the Epiphany of the Lord

Let me begin by asking two questions.  First, how many “wise men” or Magi visited the Baby Jesus?  And second, why were the gifts that they brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh?

We tend to think that there were three because three gifts were given.  But in most translations of Matthew’s Gospel, there is no mention of how many came.  In Eastern tradition, the number is set at 12.  And, in the manner of the time, there is no mention if there were any women or children in the entourage.

Who were the Magi?  Again, we have no records to tell us who they were, and it is only in legend that three of the Magi are named.

And why were the gifts given gold, frankincense, and myrrh?  Some suggest that the gold was used to finance the family’s escape from Herod into Egypt and the frankincense and myrrh represented the preparation of Jesus’ body when he died.

But Herod’s wrath that would lead to Joseph, Mary, and the Baby Jesus fleeing to Egypt did not occur until after the Magi left.  And no matter how wise the Magi would have been, I don’t think they would have given materials used for the preparation of a body for burial as a birthday gift.  In addition, because of their shelf life, I don’t think that the frankincense and myrrh would have lasted for thirty-some years.

It was convenient for Matthew to write his Gospel with those events in mind because he was writing some seventy years after the birth of Jesus.  But many traditions, just like myths, have an element of truth in them.

Gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh were gifts present to a newborn king, whom the Magi had sought out.  And after the Magi had left, Joseph could have sold the frankincense and myrrh to fund the trip to Egypt and the gold would have probably provided enough funds to allow them to settle in while Joseph found work until it was safe for the family to return to Nazareth.  (In modern day terms, the Magi started a “GoFundMe’ account for the family.)

In giving Jesus their gifts, they ensured that we would have a future.  I am sure that someone will point out that if the Magi had not been there, God would have seen to it that someone was there.  But it was the Magi who saw the signs of Jesus’ birth and it was the Magi that sought out the newborn baby.  It was their gifts that enabled the future to be what it became.

As we look into the mists of tomorrow, what future do we see?  What we can see does not bode well. 

The issues we face today are more than those that arise from our lack of concern for the environment.  The pandemic has exposed our lack of concern for those with whom we share this planet.  And it is evident that the lives of everyone on this planet are tied to the condition of this world.

We are reminded that as descendants of Adam and Eve, we have inherited the task of caring for God’s Creation.  And quite honestly, it would seem we haven’t done a good job in that regard. 

In 1974, the writer Ursula Le Guin wrote,

My world, my Earth is a ruin. A planet spoiled by the human species. We multiplied and fought and gobbled until there was nothing left, and then we died. We controlled neither appetite nor violence; we did not adapt. We destroyed ourselves. But we destroyed the world first.

Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed (1974) (from Verse & Voice, 9/17/21)

We have seen the consequences of not caring for this world.  What was the Hudson River like some twenty years ago?  What was the quality of air in New York City?  Even today, we are still dealing with the consequences of our thoughts that we can bury our waste or throw it into the rivers or oceans.

And we do not need the myriad reports telling us that climate change is real, for all we must do is reflect on the changes we have seen in the past few years. 

Despite the claims of some, climate change is real and the result of what we, the inhabitants of this planet, have done. 

Human-induced climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (August 2021)

The scientific consensus on climate change is genuine, credible, and robust. It is no wonder that those who have ideological and pecuniary motives for denying the existence of anthropogenic climate change are eager to deny the existence, extent, and legitimacy of the scientific consensus, and that these denials threaten the integrity of public science education. Likewise, it is no wonder that the integrity of public science education both demands and benefits from a vigorous assertion, explanation, and defense of the scientific consensus on climate change.

Glenn Branch, Deputy Director, National Center for Science Education, Inc. in “Teaching Climate Change by Leveraging Scientific Consensus to Dispel Social Controversy”, California Journal of Science Education (https://journal.cascience.org)

What are we doing to alleviate the conditions that lead to poverty and injustice?  Do we find ways to put into practice the tasks that Jesus laid before the people that day some 2000 years ago in the Nazareth synagogue? (Luke 4: 18)

I do not know what gifts you received for Christmas, but I do know what gifts you received when you opened your heart, soul, and mind to Christ.  Some received the gift of teaching; others received the gift of prophesy.  Some will use their gifts to heal others or find ways to encourage others.  Some will use their gifts to help others through counseling and understanding.  Each person will find a way to use the gifts that they received when they accepted the Presence of the Lord in our lives.

We stand at the crossroads of time.  One path leads to a future of destruction and despair; the other path leads to a future of hope, renewal, and promise.  How we use our gifts will decide what path we take.

Borrowing a thought from fifty years ago and with acknowledgement to Reinhold Niebuhr (I first posted this on Facebook on 18 August 2019),

Are we so deaf that we cannot hear the cries of the people, no matter who they are?

Are we so blind that we cannot see the damage we are doing to this planet, our home?

Are we so dumb that we will never learn that what we do changes the future, in ways we cannot understand?

Today, I pray that we will open our ears and hear the cries of the people. I pray that we will respond.

Today, I pray that we will open our eyes and see new ways, new roads to the future.

Today, I pray that we will open our minds and let the power of the Holy Spirit empower us to use our gifts of mind and heart to make sure that we can walk the new roads to the future.

The Legacy of the Wise Men

January 5, 2020

Here are my thoughts for the “Back Page” of this Sunday’s (January 5) Bulletin at Fishkill UMC. We will be focusing on Epiphany of the Lord (Year A). Services start at 10:15 am and you are welcome to be a part of a new year of worship.

As you may know, I am a chemist and a science educator.  If you were to trace the lineage of my profession backwards in time, sooner or later you would end in some obscure laboratory in 17^th century Europe.  More importantly, if you continued the travel back in time, you would also end up in an equally obscure laboratory outside 16^th century Baghdad.

The wise men are the intellectual ancestors of today’s mathematicians and scientists.  While we call what they did alchemy, it was still a study of matter and its reactions, the basic definition of chemistry.  The driving force behind these studies was to gain a better understand of who God was and what God was doing.  It should be noted that Robert Boyle, considered the father of modern chemistry, was also a prolific writer of religious manuscripts and Sir Isaac Newton, in the preface to his most famous work, Principia Mathematica, wrote that he hoped that what he presented would lead the reader to a better understanding of God.

Did not Jesus, when asked if He was the expected Messiah, tell the questioners to look at the evidence before them?

The evidence before me tells me that the universe is not quite 14 billion years old and not, as determined by some quirky and faulty calculations, 10,000 years old.  But the evidence does not tell me why it was created.

If nothing else, that I am both a Christian and a scientist dispels the notion that one cannot be both or that one must sacrifice one for the other.  When I look at the processes of creation, I can understand how it occurred but it is though my faith that I begin to understand why it was created.

And in doing so, I continue the legacy of Boyle and Newton and those who saw the Star in the East and sought to understand the meaning of what they saw.

In including the wise men in the Christmas narrative, Matthew suggested that, like the wise men, we must seek our understanding of God.  In looking at the world around us, in trying to understand the world around us, we can better understand who God is and what our relationship to Him through Christ might be.

~~Dr. Tony Mitchell

This “Back Page” was included in the January 2020 Clergy Newsletter.

“And it begins again”

This will be on the back page of this coming Sunday’s bulletin at Fishkill United Methodist Church.  It is based on the scripture readings for the Baptism of the Lord (and/or the Epiphany, of the Lord, Year B).

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Yesterday marks the beginning of the season of the church known as “Epiphany.”  January 6^th is the day tradition states the Magi arrived to worship the baby Jesus.  The Season of Epiphany runs until Ash Wednesday on February 14^th.

The word “epiphany” can be defined as the moment of sudden and striking realization, that moment when you understand something (a point I make in “The AHA! Moment”).

I personally find it interesting that we use the word “epiphany” in relation to this moment.  However, we may view the Magi today, two thousand years ago, they were considered scientists, searching the skies and the world around them for new knowledge and a better understanding of this knowledge.

The Magi’s presence reinforces an idea first put forth by the writers of the Old Testament who identified the five books of wisdom (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon); that wisdom and understanding are very much a part of the faith process.

In addition to honoring Christ with our minds as well as with our hearts, the visit of the Magi also reminds us that the announcement of Christ’s birth was not just to a select few but to the whole world.

We each have our own epiphany, that moment in our life when we come to understand who Jesus is and how our lives change as a result.  And it does not end there; for just as the Magi left with the message of His Birth to tell the people in their own lands, we serve as a source of light and understanding for those seeking Christ in today’s world.

~ Tony Mitchell

A Society of Laws

This is an interesting Sunday (at least for me) on the liturgical calendar. While this Sunday is the Baptism of the Lord, it can also be considered Epiphany Sunday.

If the Baptism of the Lord focuses on the relationship between God and society, then Epiphany Sunday is the relationship between science and society.

In the following thoughts, I have tried to addressed those two points, points that are critical to the future of society.

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Ours is a society of laws. Some of these laws come from our understanding of nature; others come through interaction with others on this planet.

The laws that come from our understanding of nature come from a deliberate attempt to understand the world around us. The discovery and determination of these laws is often time laborious and difficult with the results often unintelligible to the untrained mind.

The basic premise of our human-based laws should be to do no harm or to prevent harm from coming to us. From the time that the Code of Hammurabi was first written, laws have been written to define relationships between people and groups of people.

The Ten Commandments given to Moses by God also outlined how the Israelites were to relate with God and others. From these basic tenets came some 600 or so other laws, some telling the people what they could do and others telling them what they could not do. Often, actions dictated by one law conflicted with actions dictated by other laws.

There are those today who would like to have a society based on “God’s law”, whatever such laws may be. But these laws merely seek to place one group of people in a position of power and superiority of others. And the implication of said laws is often done with a sort of discriminatory approach that borders on hypocrisy. Those who wish to have “God’s laws” in place would ban abortion, yet they are quite willing to support the death penalty for criminals and equally willing to go to war, even both of those actions violate the basic commandment that one shall not kill.

And in quoting biblical verses that one should seek an “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”, they ignore that such statements were never meant to be statements of vengeance and retaliation but rather limits for such action.

And such an approach, founded in a distorted view of the Old Testament, ignores the actions espoused by Jesus who often proposed an active opposition to tyranny and power.

And how do we, today, respond, to the imposition of rules and laws that are designed to discriminate and oppress? The answer comes from the same approach that Jesus used, active opposition to tyranny and power; it comes from the same processes that allowed us to discover the basic laws of nature – experimentation and examination and the use of free thought.

One must understand that this approach cannot tell you if something is good or evil. One cannot quantify good and evil like one can quantify the force of gravity or the speed of light. But if we understand the outcome of our work, we have a better understanding of what we can and cannot do.

We may see others as inferior or different from us but there is nothing in nature that supports that idea, so laws that treat people differently because someone fears the differences between them are unjust and illegal.

Our challenge today is very simple. Create a society in which we understand the world around us that allows us to understand those who share this same world. On this weekend when we celebrate the visit of the Magi, we are quietly saying that we want a world in which we seek the information that brings us to a better time.

“Pardon Me, Do You Know The Way To Bethlehem?”

Here are my thoughts for 5 January 2014, the Epiphany of the Lord Sunday (Year A). The Scriptures for this Sunday are Isaiah 60: 1 – 6, Ephesians 3: 1 – 12, and Matthew 2: 1 – 12.

A couple of things – I didn’t post anything for last Sunday but if I had I would have compared what transpired in Israel with the slaughter of the innocents with what is transpiring in this country with the cuts being made in our social programs and what is transpiring in other countries such as Syria where children are being killed with the same ease as those who are intent on fighting. Somehow I just can’t escape the notion that we haven’t learned that when you do harm to the welfare of the young and innocent, you don’t give yourself much of a future.

The second note I wanted to make was that I had promised to write something with the title of this post for a youth group to give as a devotional. I want to apologize to that group for not getting it done. In my defense, I am finding it difficult to be creative at the moment. I might be able to use what follows later and prepare something that can be done by a group.

Along those lines, I chose the title because this is the Sunday that the wise men (number unknown) arrived at the home of Joseph and Mary. We know from the scriptures that they were essentially astronomers (thought we would probably call them astrologers today) and had determined by their observations of the night sky that something unique was taking place.

Now, just as I would have compared the situation in Israel at the time of Jesus’ birth and Herod’s rage with what we are doing to our children last week, let us think about what is transpiring with our society, country, and throughout the world today.

Each day we get evidence that we are getting dumber and dumber each day. Whether it be in what we know about human qualities or science matters, we are unwilling and unable to sufficiently analyze the information before us and make informed and accurate decisions. I don’t have any data but I suspect that if we were to quantify the number of conspiracy based theories floating around the universe and/or the Internet today, we would find that the number has increased significantly over the past twenty years or so.

And I would be willing to wager that our standing relative to other countries in terms of mathematics, science, history, and reading has fallen at the same time.

Let’s face it; we are quickly becoming incapable of thinking for ourselves. And there are quite a few individuals who would be glad and are working towards reaching the goal where they will do our thinking for us.

Now, some people will gladly point out that religion has a hand in it but it is not religion that is leading us astray. It is those leaders who feel that they and they alone know what is the best path to take and what are the best thoughts to think. These leaders work very well in the darkness of ignorance and will do whatever it takes to keep the people there.

But the prophet Isaiah calls for the people of Israel to be in the light, to see what is coming. You know that if you keep people in the dark, they can’t see what’s coming and if you can’t see what’s coming, you will not be prepared.

I have said it before and I will keep saying it. Our schools are not preparing students for the unknown problems; they are preparing for the problems that are already solved. Ask any teacher and they will tell you that when they assign problems for homework, they have to make sure that the answers are in the back of the book. If they give any other problems, they will hear about it from the administration and the parents.

Even Paul points out that, under normal situations, he might not understand much of what he writes. But he also acknowledges that there was a moment in his life when he gained that understanding.

In some circles, that is called the “AHA Moment”, that moment when a hard problem becomes very easy to understand. We should have all had such a moment in our life but it only comes when your mental skills and thinking processes are tested. And I think that we would all agree that Saul was truly tested that one day on the road to Damascus, sufficient that not only was his mind opened to Christ but his life changed and he became known from then on as Paul.

The wise men were clearly students of the sky, seeking answers to many questions. Whatever it was that they saw, individually and/or collectively, was sufficient to cause them to leave their lands and travel to Israel and seek out Jesus.

You cannot seek out Jesus if your heart is closed; you will never know who Jesus is for you unless your mind is open as well. In our churches today, we are faced with a dilemma. There are those who come to the doors of many churches asking where the child born in Bethlehem may be found. But they do not get an answer because many people do not know the answer or they are unwilling or unable to share the knowledge.

So, do you know the way to Bethlehem? Can you help a traveler find the way?

Saturday Morning Worship @ Grannie Annie’s Kitchen, Grace UMC (Newburgh, NY)

During the 2012 Advent season, we began a worship service prior to breakfast. As the New Year begins, we are going to continue this worship. If you are interested in participating in the worship service, contact me at TonyMitchellPhD (at) optimum.net. I have included the lectionary readings for the Sundays in January so that you can think about this. Because of the time frame, we ask that you pick one of the lectionary readings and prepare your message on that reading. Looking forward to hearing the many voices of United Methodists during 2013 at Grannie Annie’s Kitchen. Oh, and you get breakfast

Tomorrow, New Year’s Day, Grannie Annie’s Kitchen will be open from 11 to 1 for soup, bread, and other “goodies”. Come and join us in friendship and fellowship at Grace UMC (Newburgh, NY)

Worship from 8 to 8:30; Breakfast from 8:30 to 9:45

January 5^th – Epiphany of the Lord – Isaiah 60: 1 – 6; Ephesians 3: 1 – 12; Matthew 2: 1 – 12

January 12^th – Baptism of the Lord – Isaiah 43: 1 – 7; Acts 8: 14 – 17; Luke 3: 15 – 17, 21 – 22

January 19^th – 2^nd Sunday after the Epiphany – Isaiah 62: 1 – 5; 1 Corinthians 12: 1 – 11; John 2: 1 – 11

“A New Understanding” – Tony Mitchell, Grace UMC (Newburgh)

January 26^th – 3^rd Sunday after the Epiphany – Nehemiah 8: 1 – 3, 5 – 6, 8 – 10; 1 Corinthians 12: 12 – 31; Luke 4: 14 – 21

“Parts of the Church” – Tony Mitchell, Grace UMC (Newburgh)

Guided by the Light

These are my thoughts for January 1, 2012, the Epiphany of the Lord Sunday.

There probably isn’t going to be much reference to the Scripture readings for this Sunday but I will be, as the title suggests, guided by the light of the star that guided the Magi from their homeland to the new born Christ Child.

I have been blogging since July, 2005, which is probably a long time in the blogging community. My blogging allowed me to be part of some other blogs and that was a good thing. I started off blogging as a way to continue the writing that was part of sermon preparation that had been a part of my life since 1998. And I thought that people would take notice of my writing and this would lead to some other possibilities. Sadly, I have come to conclusion that isn’t going to take place.

Yes, my writing lead to my being asked to contribute to RedBlueChristian (link removed on 15 May 2015; the site is pretty much dead) as a voice for the liberal/progressive side of the spectrum. I liked that idea but I am not sure how many people actually visited that blog, especially since most of the contributors, including myself, put the same pieces on our own blog. I fear that this blog, which has not had much activity in the past six months or so, has run its course and will shortly disappear into the vastness of cyberspace.

I am thinking that I need to do something else with my writing. As I have written before, I never bought into the “publish or perish” model of academic success. I published research and other articles that I found interesting. Unfortunately, if you are not connected with a college or university and not putting out three or four manuscripts a year, you are not considered worthy of employment in today’s academic world. I have also come to the conclusion that my thirty years of experience, coupled with the Ph. D., are too much of an expense for many schools that need introductory chemistry instructors. It is far cheaper to take a rookie with a brand new degree and maybe a year or two of post-doctoral experience. And it is better if they can bring with them an active research program.

I am finding that even community colleges are seeking research oriented individuals, no matter if there are research facilities on the campus. Research means grants and grants mean money. If a professor can get grants for research, it means that part or all of his or her salary can be paid from the grant and this relieves the school from that burden.

The only problem is that the research I am interested in doing is related to chemical and science education. To too many “purists” this isn’t real research but something to dabble in late in life. The only problem with this attitude is that ignores problems with chemical education. Right now, it seems to me that our whole basic education process, not just the introductory chemistry process, is to give students a stack of material to memorize for a test and offer no connection between the course and the world. We see it in the vestiges of “No Child Left Behind” where all that matters is the test score. This is now very much a part of the mentality students bring to their college work. Having spent the better part of high school taking tests, they think that all they have to do is the same thing in college.

We have lost our focus on the purpose of education. No longer are we interested in developing thinkers and questioners; rather we want students to come out school blindly accepting authority and doing what the powers-that-be demand. For me, this is especially true in the area where science and religion overlap. There should be no conflict between the two areas but, unfortunately, too many individuals in one area distrust their counterparts in the other area and this is leading to some very bad times ahead. Our misunderstanding of climate change is just a tip of the literal iceberg; our lack of understanding about science in general is far greater than many people would suspect.

And the distrust that many people feel with regards to the church wouldn’t be there if religious authorities were more focused on their real job rather trying to keep their positions safe. There are times when I feel like Job and I want to question God. Some would say that is not possible but if it were not possible, then why is Job included in the present canon? Yes, I know that Job acknowledges he pushed the envelope but all he wanted was the chance to do so. And only a loving God would be willing to let one of His children push the envelope, don’t you think?

So I am going to take a break from blogging on a regular basis. I will continue to add pieces as I find the time and the need; if nothing else, the on-going and seemingly never ending presidential election process offers plenty of opportunities. I will add a piece each week that links my previous posts for the particular Sunday as well.

Now, the reference to Magi – when I wrote “To Return Home Another Way” I pointed out that while we today consider the Magi astrologers they were, in fact, some of the first scientists. I also pointed out that their lives were changed by that encounter with the Christ Child. I also pointed out that Isaac Newton was as much a theologian as he was a physicist. I discussed this in “A Dialogue of Science and Faith” and pointed out that other individuals such as Robert Boyle and Joseph Priestley were also involved in theology as well as science.

I think that I should spend some time this year considering the joint path of theology and science that I have developed over the years. I will, most likely, continue as a certified lay speaker and, on those Sundays, when I am on the road somewhere, you can expect my message to be posted. Each week, I will post a summary of the four or five pieces that I have written and posted over the past seven years or so.

And as I prepare them, pieces on science and religion or chemistry will appear. I also have some obligations that I have let slide and feel that now is the time to get caught up on that. These will also involve the joint areas of science and religion.

As we end 2011 and begin 2012, it is clear that God has been a part of my life. But I need to evaluate the path that I have been walking and see if there is another path that I should be taking in the coming months. Be assured that, just as it has in the past, this new path will be guided by the light.

“To Return Home Another Way”

I am at Dover Plains UMC this morning (Location of church) this morning.  The service starts at 11 and you are always welcome to attend.  The Scriptures for this Sunday, Epiphany Sunday, are Isaiah 60: 1 – 6, Ephesians 3: 1 – 12, and Matthew 2: 1 -  12.

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I suppose that I have some sort of kinship with the Magi in today’s Gospel reading. After all, they were considered the scientists of their time and my training and professional career have been areas of science. And at some point in each of our lives, we have encountered Christ and it was and continues to be an encounter that changed our lives.

Now, to be sure, we would call the Magi astrologers today but we often fail to realize that they were the ones who made the observations and asked the questions that allowed astronomy, chemistry, and physics to develop. Our view of what the Magi did back then is very much linked to our view of the world today. In fact, our view of the great scientists of the past, such as Isaac Newton, is predicated on our thoughts today and not on what they were doing back then. We see Isaac Newton as the developer of calculus and classical physics but either forget or don’t know that he was also an alchemist of the highest order. And many are not aware that much of Newton’s writings were actually religious in nature. But, by the same token, Newton’s beliefs as a Christian ran counter to the orthodox view of his day, so it is most likely that this information wasn’t easily passed down from one generation to the next (see “A Dialogue of Science and Faith” for further information on 18^th and 19^th century scientists and their beliefs).

But, to the point of the Magi, while we understand that there is no relationship between the movement of the planets and stars and our daily lives and we have to wonder about those who perhaps still do, we also have to understand that the Magi sought to find relationships between what they saw in the evening skies and what was transpiring in the world around them. And what they saw and what they knew could only allow them to conclude that something special and unique somewhere in a country to the west of their homeland was occurring.

And, just as their scientific worldview was tied to the times in which they lived, so too was their political worldview. And logic dictated that if a new king was born in a land to the west, this child must be have been born in a royal setting. And protocol demanded that any visitors seeking this new king must first call upon the old or present king and congratulate them. In this case, that meant visiting with Herod.

Those verses in Matthew that describe the encounter of the Magi with Herod and his court suggest that the political and religious authorities were not prepared for this moment. And it begs the question, “Did they not see the same signs?”

They clearly knew the prophecies because they were able to tell the Magi that Jesus was to be born in Bethlehem. But why were they surprised? Could it be that the status for each one of them was so linked to Herod that they were afraid to say anything? Was their own personal status so dependent on the status quo that they were blind to the changes occurring around them?

True revolutions occur when the powerful are blind to what is happening to the people and are more concerned with their own position and status than they are with the people. And a revolution began that day. We would not see the outcome of this revolution for some thirty years or so but it is clear that it began the moment the Magi told Herod that a new king had been born.

It began when the Magi returned home. It began when the angels told them to return home by another route. When you look at a map of the Middle East, you can see that there are alternate routes from Israel to Babylon. The same is true for Dover. When I look at a map of the area, I can see at least four different ways to get to this church every Sunday; the only difficulty is that I haven’t figured out the best and most logical way to get here or go home in case of bad weather.

But that may not have been the case with the Magi. It may be that they took the same route home that they followed when they sought out the Christ Child, though they clearly avoided contact with Herod on the return journey. But their return was a far cry different than they may have thought it was going to be because of that encounter with Jesus.

I have come to the conclusion that they would not have traveled as far as they did to worship a newborn child and then gone home and said nothing. How could they have not said something! This child that was before them was, according to all the signs, to be the new king and yet He was born in less than a noble setting. The angels sang to this child and shepherds were the first to be told; what king on earth could say that?

These were individuals who spent all their lives studying the skies, analyzing what they saw, and then made conclusions. When the angel warned them about returning to Herod, it could only have confirmed what they saw. So how could they keep quiet?

There is that passage in the Old Testament reading for today where Isaiah speaks of the people smiling on their return to Israel after years of exile in Babylon. Interestingly enough, we presume that the Magi returned to Babylon after traveling to Israel. Clearly, the people of Israel were smiling upon their return. Could it not be said that the Magi were smiling as well when they returned home?

And why should they not have been smiling? Their lives would have changed just as much as the Israelites’ changed? In a world of trouble and strife, the Magi and those they encountered would have known that their lives had been changed by the encounter with the Christ Child in Bethlehem.

To return home and do nothing would be to have written off the trip as a waste of time. And I really don’t see how they could have done that. Unfortunately, in today’s society, there are a lot of people who do just that; they come to church on Sunday morning, sit passively for the hour or so that the worship takes, and then they go home. And if you were to ask them, they would tell you that it was probably a waste of time but they didn’t have anything better to do so they came anyway.

But we came here today, I hope, just as the Magi did so many years ago seeking the Christ Child. It is that encounter that will change our lives and change the lives of the people we meet, if we let it. Paul writes to the Ephesians about how his encounter with Christ changed his life and how he was doing things that he never thought possible.

He speaks of the mystery of Christ and how it is explained to all those who are open to the ideas. Everyone gets the same message but not everyone is open. But he also points out that everyone who does hear and does receive the message is given the opportunity, in a manner perhaps unknown, to tell others about what has happened.

And that is where we are at today. We may very well go home by the same route that we came to church; we may very well do the same thing tomorrow that we have always done on Monday. But this time, this time, maybe we will encounter someone who needs a little encouraging or is searching for something and this time, you will have the answer to give them. This morning, you are given the opportunity to return home another way, not as who you were when you walked in the door this morning but as one who has encountered the Christ Child and has allowed the Holy Spirit to transform and change your life. It is a decision that you have to make.

The Magi had to return home but they did not have to return home silently and quietly. We have to return home as well; we can try it by another way as well.

“I See the Light”

Here are my thoughts for Epiphany Sunday, 3 January 2010. The Scriptures for today are Isaiah 60: 1 – 6, Ephesians 3: 1 – 12, and Matthew 2: 1 – 12.

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This is an interesting Sunday as far as the lectionary goes. We have gone from Christ’s birth on Christmas Eve to his journey to the temple when He was twelve and now have gone back to the time when the Magi arrive with their gifts. Following the lectionary can at times be confusing but what fun would we have if it was straight forward and simple?

In that vein, I took the title for this message from an old 60s song, “I See The Light” by the Five Americans but I will tell you that I will use the the old Gospel song, “I saw the light” at the end of this message.

The word “epiphany” has two meanings in my life. The first, of course, is today when, by tradition, the wise men came to visit Jesus. The second meaning has a more scientific meaning, as when someone suddenly understands the meaning behind an event or a discovery. It is, if you will, what has been termed “the AHA moment”.

It is a moment that we all have experienced at some point in our lives, a moment when a difficult problem suddenly becomes very clear and we wonder why we didn’t understand it before. But to get to that point, we have to be involved with the study of the problem and the mechanics of solving it. And that is where we, as a society, are quickly failing.

We don’t want to do the work that will enable us to solve problems. We apply the same old answers to new solutions. The answers to the economic crisis over the past several years have been expressed in terms of supporting the systems that caused the crisis in the first place rather than helping those were suffering. The answer to the problems of healthcare in this country was seen in only a continuation of the same system instead of insuring that people had real healthcare. The answers to the problems of terrorism only seek to increase the terrorism, not end it. If the links to the aborted Christmas Day bombing on the Northwest flight are to be found in Yemen, attacking Yemen will not stop future terrorism.

The problem is that we are not willing to go that extra step that is needed; we are not willing to push the boundaries necessary to learn something new. The wise men were men of learning and they spent their time learning about the world around them. Something happened to disturb the world that they were observing; but instead of simply making note of the event, they investigated it. And that required they leave the “laboratory” and venture westward to where the star pointed them.

But we are too often like King Herod, reluctant to accept new ideas or information, choosing instead to hold to the one ways and the old ideas. While our reactions may not be as violent as Herod’s, our reluctance to accept new ideas is about the same. Why is it that we think that rebuilding the banks that trashed the economic system will make things better? Why do we think the only kinds of jobs that we can create are traditional jobs rebuilding the infrastructure? Why is it that healthcare is predicated on one’s economic status? Why, when we know the causes of terrorism, do we insist on doing things that only feed terrorism?

Maybe we need to encounter Christ as Paul did on the road to Damascus. Maybe, instead of seeing things through our old eyes, we need to be blinded by the light as Paul was. And when our eyes open again, maybe we will see the world through different eyes, in a different light.

As Isaiah told the people, perhaps we should look up and look around! And if we do, then we shall see a new world, a new world of hope and promise. This new vision, this new light is echoed in the words of Paul. In Christ, we have the new vision, the new light.

As Paul pointed out to the Ephesians, the older generations didn’t have that insight. They were locked into a vision that saw the solution in the old ways. But in the vision of Christ we can see new solutions.

When the wise men came to Christ, they were filled with excitement. It was not simply that they had come upon the Christ child but that their visions had given them insight into a new world. And we know that their lives changed because they took a different way home. They understood the meaning of the message of the angels that to return to Herod was to destroy all that they had done.

We cannot but wonder if they didn’t take the message of Christ’s birth to the people where they lived. But instead of wondering, we should follow their example.

We have the vision; we have seen the light. And we know what the light brings. No longer are we limited by the old ways, Perhaps as this new year begins, we can see new solutions that focus on all the people, not just those who already have and want more. Each year we pray for peace in this world and perhaps this year we can find that peace through the Gospel message, to feed the hungry and heal the sick, to free the oppressed and bring hope to the forgotten people of the planet. Because to do otherwise will turn the clock back, not forward.

We have the opportunity, let us rejoice.

“I Saw The Light”

A New Year, A New Plan

This was the message I presented for the 2nd Sunday after Christmas, 5 January 2003, at Tompkins Corners UMC.  The Scriptures for this Sunday were Jeremiah 31: 7 – 14, Ephesians 1: 3 – 14, and John 1: (1 – 9), 10 – 18.

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It is interesting that we start off each year in January. Now, that may seem like a confusing statement but consider that we start off each new school year in September; that the United States government starts its fiscal year in November and there are many companies whose fiscal year starts in July. In fact, prior to the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in the late 18^th century, many western countries celebrated the New Year on April 1^st. The change in the celebration from April 1^st to January 1^st led to the beginning of “April Fool’s Day” but that is a story more suited for that time of the year rather than today.

January is a good time to celebrate the beginning of the New Year as it gets its name from the Roman god Janus. Janus had the ability to look forwards and backwards at the same time and so was in an excellent position to see where he had been and where he was going. It is perhaps because of this that we spend much of the first days of January predicting what the New Year will bring.

But predictions can be fickle and dangerous things. We often do not want to know what the future brings because it may not be what we want to hear. If you will allow me the moment to make a personal observation, our political process is based on that very fear. There are things that must be done but no one is willing to say what must be said for the fear of being defeated in the coming election. You need only recall Walter Mondale’s statement during his acceptance speech in 1980 that taxes would have to be raised and George H. Bush’s bold statement to “read my lips” in 1992 to understand why politicians are leery of making bold statements. The firestorm that arose from each of those statements were contributing factors in both men being defeated, Mondale by Ronald Reagan and Bush by Clinton. When it comes to politicians telling the truth, the American public, to paraphrase Jack Nicholson yelling at Tom Cruise in the movie “A Few Good Men”, “We don’t want the truth!”

But lest you think that being afraid of hearing the truth is a trait limited to only our country or the 21^st century, consider what happened to Jeremiah, the author of the Old Testament book from which our first reading for today was taken. Jeremiah was first summoned by God to be a prophet at a very young age but it was a task that he quickly grew to dislike, and it is easy to see why.

One of his first sermons scoffed at the bogus, superficial religiosity of the people who deluded themselves by believing that merely ambling about the Temple insured God’s blessing. (Jeremiah 7: 2 – 15)  He then denounced the king’s lavish spending when the people had nothing. (Jeremiah 22: 13 – 19)  And when the powers that be tried to silence him, he dictated a thundering indictment, a reading that was interrupted when the king seized the scroll, shredded it with his knife and threw it in the fire. (Jeremiah 36: 4 – 32)  Then when the Babylonian army surrounded the city of Jerusalem, Jeremiah had the gall to announce, in a speech wholly lacking in patriotism, that the Babylonian army was a pawn of God, instruments of God’s judgement on the unrepentant city. (Jeremiah 38: 1 – 6)  For this, in what amounted to the proverbial final straw, Jeremiah barely escaped with his life and was thrown into a cistern. For telling the truth, Jeremiah was rewarded with a prison sentence.

If we are not afraid to look into the future, we are still limited by what we know. Any vision that we have of the future is based on what we know about things today. Consider if you will the following predictions:

1. Drillers who Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil in 1859 — “Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You’re crazy.”
2. Western Union internal memo, 1876 — “This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.”
3. David Sarnoff’s associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920’s — “The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?”
4. 1921 New York Times editorial about Robert Goddard’s revolutionary rocket work — “Professor Goddard does not know the relation between action and reaction and the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to react. He seems to lack the basic knowledge ladled out daily in high schools.”
5. H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927 — “Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?”
6. Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in “Gone With The Wind” — “I’m just glad it’ll be Clark Gable who’s falling on his face and not Gary Cooper.”
7. Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943 — “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”
8. Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949 –“Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons.”
9. Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962 — “We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.”
10. A Yale Univ. management professor in response to Fred Smith’s paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service, “The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a ‘C,’ the idea must be feasible.” Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.
11. “So we went to Atari and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us? Or we’ll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary, we’ll come work for you.’ And they said, ‘No.’ So then we went to Hewlett-Packard, and they said, ‘Hey, we don’t need you. You haven’t got through college yet.'” — Apple Computer Inc. founder Steve Jobs on attempts to get Atari and H-P interested in his and Steve Wozniak’s personal computer

Each of those statements was made and based on what the individual knew at that time and how they saw that information being utilized. But there have been visions of the future that have proven to be successful. Jules Verne’s visions of men walking on the moon or traveling under the oceans came about because he chose to think beyond the capabilities of his time. We can only wonder and perhaps hope that the world that Gene Roddenberry outlined in Star Trek is an accurate description of the future. But we know for those visions to be the ones that come true we must think in a different way. Consider if you will the following statements:

“If I had thought about it, I wouldn’t have done the experiment. The literature was full of examples that said you can’t do this.” — Spencer Silver on work that led to the unique adhesives for 3-M “Post-It” Notepads

So it is that we look to the future. We dare not speak what we feel is the truth because it is something that people will not accept, especially if the truth is negative in nature. We cannot begin to think about the future because we don’t know what resources might be available or what technologies might be there that aren’t here today.

But we have the words of John written some two thousand years ago. John makes it very clear in today’s Gospel reading that Jesus was a part of this world long before we ever were and he will be a part of this world long after we have departed. We have been given through Christ, as Paul wrote to the Ephesians, a gift, and a chance to understand beyond what the world can give us.

Paul also speaks of what the future holds for us. But we must also know that the future as Paul describes will be of no value unless we act upon it here on earth. Being a Christian is about being different, setting out on an adventure of discipleship, holiness, service and love. Jesus did not come to a town with a simple three-step message that invited people to be saved; his preaching focused on whom you invited to dinner, being a family, turning the other cheek. His preaching looked at what you did for others.

Jeremiah was not simply a prophet of gloom and doom. The things that he spoke about were the things that cause God to question the validity of the people’s beliefs. He challenged people to hear the words of God and put them into practice.

The words we read in this morning’s first reading were words of hope and promise for the future. Jeremiah was the only prophet who spoke and wrote of the promise of Jesus as the hope and promise for the future. But for the future to come true we must not only hear the words of God, we must act upon them.

As we begin this New Year, we must look to the future. We cannot spend time looking back at past and wondering what if had we done this or not done that. That wastes our time and results in nothing.

I hope that you received the questionnaire that was given out last week at church or through the mail this week. We would like to have them back next week so that the results can be looked at and examined. What is your vision of the church for the coming years? How will we make that vision come true? When Robert Kennedy ran for President in 1968, he was fond of quoting George Bernard Shaw, “You see things; and say `why? ` But I dream of things that never were and say `why not? `”

Our congregational hymn for this morning tells us that not only has God been our help in ages past but that he is also our hope for years to come. We have the chance to put into actions the words and hopes that have been expressed in the Gospels and through the prophets of the past. Knowing that God will be with us as we begin this New Year, it becomes easy to decide and develop the new plan that will help us to make the hope and promise more than just words.

 

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