CEC News and Father Riley's homily from February 16, 2020

CEC News and Service Schedule:

…Please keep those who have asked for our prayers in your prayers: Margo Wade, Margaret Rachel, Mary McIntosh, Dot Barbre, Wayne Auttonberry, Carlene Riley, Eugene Marshall, Beth Mitchell, Jackie Brown, Ted Grace, Eddie Sanders, Catherine Gray, Jennifer Jones, Val Sloan, Tom and Jessica, Corbin, Austin Hodnett, Matt, Aaron Sutton, Nancy Clark, Bobbye Ann Lee, and Mattie England.

…Father Jefferson will lead us in Holy Eucharist February 23, 2020.

…Father Riley will be leading our Ash Wednesday service at noon February 26.  He will also lead us in Holy Eucharist March 1 and 15.  Other Sundays are planned to be Morning Prayer at this time.


Father Riley's homily:6 EPIPHANY - A- 20                                                     MATTHEW 5. 21-37

Today’s gospel is a continuation of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. You will recall in last week’s teaching Jesus proclaimed that he had not come to abolish the law and the prophets but rather to fulfill them.

In that same teaching Christ warned that, our righteousness, that is, our acceptance of God’s laws and our being accepted by God, must exceed that of the Pharisees and scribes if we are to hope to enter the kingdom.

Theirs was merely an outward appearance of their acceptance of the law. The righteousness Jesus is calling for is much deeper. It has to do with attitude and motivation.

“You have heard it said,” Jesus tells the crowd, concerning the laws of Moses, “But I say…” he is offering the people a new interpretation of the Commandments. What they have been taught here to fore is not a true understanding of the intent of the law because it was based on obligation.

But who was he to do this? What gave him the authority to say such things? The repeated statement “but I say to you” is a statement of total, divine authority. He is contrasting the teaching of the Pharisees with his own, No wonder he quickly got into trouble with the religious leaders. He was usurping their authority.

What did this new teaching mean? It meant that the law was no longer the final word on the relationship between God and his people. It was not a new law, however, but a whole new frame of reference. That reference was Jesus. Jesus’ fulfillment of the law, however, does not lighten the expectations.

Rather, it asks for a deeper connection between the inner attitude and the outward actions. Following the will of God as revealed by Jesus is not easily reduced to a written code. St. Paul would later write that it was the spirit of the law that gives life not the letter.

Remember the rich young ruler who came to Jesus asking what he must do to inherit eternal life? Jesus asked him what does the law say, how does it read? He quickly responded with the correct answer. But when Jesus invited him to put into action what he said he believed, by selling all that he had, and come and follow him, he could not do it and went away sorrowful.

Neither could most of God’s people live the letter of the law as taught by the religious leaders of the day. Consequently, many simply gave up trying. Jesus’ teaching, however, opened their eyes and their hearts to a new way of thinking about God and their relationship to him based on the law.

In the beginning of his sermon, which covers the 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th chapters of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus gives us the beatitudes. These “blessings” of discipleship are in themselves a transforming new attitude, a new idea that Jesus is teaching. He is urging his hearers to look at the choices they make and the motivation for their actions in a new way.

The laws and the subject matter contained in today’s passage are tough issues on the surface. Many preachers and individuals shy away from addressing them for fear of offending. But what is the emphasis here? What is the intended meaning? What is Jesus teaching?

Christ is going beyond the surface of things to discover what is essential. For example, anger in itself is not sinful, but Jesus forbids sinful anger identifying it with murder. Reconciliation is the essence of Jesus’ teaching here.

Again, mutual attraction of men and women is not the issue Jesus is speaking too but the selfish promptings of lust. Sin does not come out of nature but the distortion of nature for self-indulgence.

Likewise, swearing is akin to the taking of God’s name in vain. It has to do with false witness. These were shocking revelations to his hearers. What were they to make of it? How were they to put this new teaching into action?

Jesus is calling us to a radically new way of being truly human, so as to motivate us not to do things merely because they are expected or correct or because they look good. Rather we need to hold them up to a new standard of honesty and love, which Jesus gives to us as his followers.

We need to respond to the demands of our relationship to Jesus in a way that is pleasing to God. As the author of Sirach said, “For great is the wisdom of the Lord; he is mighty in power and sees everything…he knows every human action.” He sees through the outward appearance of our actions and into the depths of one’s heart where our motivations come from.

Of course, this response comes from an individual self-understanding and actions. However, it does not stay there. Jesus’ preaching of the kingdom was not addressed to individuals, but to a community. As the Body of Christ, we gather together as a community to hear and respond to those words, to that preaching and teaching.

We come to church seeking inner transformation but we also come to a place where that deep spiritual experience is spoken about and shared. We are brought in touch with the reality of Christ each time we celebrate the Holy Eucharist.

The reality of Christ’ presence is available, not just for personal renewal, but for strengthening the community for living the radical new claim of love that our acceptance of Jesus makes on our lives.

In Jesus, we are called to go beyond mere observance of mere conventions and commandments, to go deeper into a relationship, which calls us to respond not out of fear, or obligation, but out of love.

Then our response will be action to show ourselves far different from the Pharisees. In that way we will begin to understand and to participate in the fulfillment of the new life Jesus offers. We will lovingly keep the commandments in order to please God in both will and deed.

In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus takes the commands of the law and shows how they provide a blueprint for a new way of living, of being truly human. This new way, which Jesus had come to pioneer and make possible, goes down deep into the roots of personality and produces a different pattern of behavior altogether.

Jesus is just not giving moral commands. He is unveiling a whole new way of being human. On the surface, it looks impossible. But Jesus himself pioneered it and invites us to follow and by God’s grace, we can. AMEN+

(Sirach 15:15-20; Psalm 119:1-8; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; Matthew 5:21-37)

Father Riley's homily from February 9, 2020 at Christ Episcopal, Bastrop

5 EPIPHANY - A - 20                             MATTHEW 5.13-20

Today’s gospel follows Jesus having called his first disciples by the Sea of Galilee. He has begun his ministry of preaching, teaching, and healing in that region. Along with the four fishermen, large crowds have now begun to follow him.

The crowds are so large that it is impossible for Jesus to stand in the midst of them and be heard. Therefore, Jesus takes to the high ground over looking the sea. Matthew’s fifth chapter begins with the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus begins his sermon with the blessings of discipleship we refer to as the “beatitudes.” Next, he speaks of the roles of those who will choose to follow him. That’s where our passage picks up today.

In doing so, Christ uses the metaphors of “salt” and “light” to describe his follower’s roles. They are to be witnesses to his teaching and to him as the one God has sent to redeem Israel.

His use of salt and light, however, is not a new teaching, but a reiteration of Israel’s role. God chose Israel to be salt and light of the world. That is, to preserve his word and to be a light in the darkness pointing the way to the one true God. However, she had failed to live up to her God given role.

Now Jesus had come to fulfill the law and the prophets and to create a new Israel. He does so in his words and actions. He calls for a righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees and scribes. That is, one that goes much deeper than mere outward appearances.

In essence, he echoes the prophet Isaiah in today’s first lesson who chides Israel for serving their own interests in their fasting and yet wonders why God had not recognized their so-called righteousness.

The goal of the Law is righteousness. However, true righteousness means one’s acceptance of God’s requirements and one’s being accepted by God (LK 18.10-14). Obviously, this was not the case for God’s people in the time of Isaiah or in the time of Jesus.

The righteousness of salvation Jesus is calling us too is one of communion in Him of one’s heart, soul, and mind. Jesus’ words in today’s passage, then, affirms the law as the foundation of the church’ teaching.

We all know the values of salt, at least before the days of high blood pressure. Salt was thought to be essential for life. It preserved food and kept it from spoiling. It was traded by caravans in ancient times. In some cases, salt was equal in value to gold or precious stones. Nothing could take its place.

If, however, it lost its saltiness, it was worthless. Christ also uses the concept of light to describe his followers. We all know about light. Without it, we cannot see in the dark. When we turn on the light, it is not the light we look at but what it points too.

Light, then, is something that points beyond itself. For Jesus salt and light had a particular meaning. When he says that his disciples must be “salt”, he means they are to preserve his teachings as they have received them.

When he says that we are to be “light” he means we are to point beyond ourselves to Him who is the true light - the one who is the light and life of the world, even Jesus Christ our Lord.

If we give in to other values, other teachings, other gospels, if we water his teaching down so as to be more acceptable to the masses, then, our salt has lost its taste.

In addition, if we point to self, if we are concerned only with self-interests, self -preservation and the maintenance of the status quo, then, we are no longer the “light” we have been called to be.

Jesus, then, is presenting a challenge to his would be followers not to fail to be what God had created them to be. God had chosen Israel to be the salt of the earth, but Israel was behaving like everybody else, with its power politics and factional squabbles.

How could God keep the world from going bad, the main function of salt in the ancient world? If Israel, his chosen salt had lost its distinctive taste?

In the same way, God called Israel to be the light of the world. Israel were the people through whom God intended to shine his bright light into the world’s dark corners, not simply to show up evil but to enable people who were blundering around in the dark to find their way.

But what if the people he called to be light-bearers had become part of the darkness?

That was Jesus’ warning and also at the same time his challenge. His was a warning not to depart from one’s God-given role and at the same time a challenge to re-commit oneself to that role.

Jerusalem, the city set on a hill, was supposed to be a beacon of hope to the world. Jesus’ followers were to be like that by keeping God’s laws as a sign to the world that God, the creator, was God indeed, and He alone should be worshipped.

In Jesus the law and the prophets was fulfilled. He was the salt of the earth God had sent to preserve his law. He was the light of the world; that would be set upon a hilltop, crucified for all the world to see. He would become the beacon of hope and new life for everyone, drawing people to worship the one true God.

That is why these sayings originally applied to Israel, now apply to all those who would follow Jesus and draw on his life as the source of their own. Can we be what God in Christ has called us to be?

Can we be what the church was instituted to be - the depository of faith and the dispenser of truth based on the teachings of Christ without compromising the essence of the His teaching to satisfy the world?

Can we, as Church, that is, corporately and individually, by what we say and do in living the new life to which we have been called always point to Him who is the True Light and the Life of the world? Can we be salt and light? AMEN+

CEC schedule and Father Riley's homily from February 2, 2020

CEC Service Schedule:

…Father Riley will lead us in Holy Eucharist February 16, 2020.

…We plan to have Morning Prayer February 23, 2020, however, plans are not firm yet and we may have Father Lee Jefferson lead us in Holy Eucharist if he is available….stay tuned.

THE PRESENTATION - A - 20                         LUKE 2. 22 - 40

“When the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, the parents of Jesus brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.”

The sanctification of the firstborn was to occur 7 days after birth, according to the Law of Moses, with the circumcision on the eight day. 40 days after the birth of a son, the mother of the child was to present herself before the Lord to make an offering in order to be pronounced clean by the priest.

Therefore, Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus made the trip from Nazareth to Jerusalem to do what was required of them. Traditionally the offering was that of a lamb, but exceptions were made for those who could not afford one. In Mary’s case, two turtledoves and two pigeons were offered.

There was in the temple an old man, Simeon who had spent his life looking for the consolation of Israel. Day in and day out, he was in the temple praying for the promise of God to come true. God had revealed to him, through the Holy Spirit, that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.

How many male children he must have seen being brought before the Lord whose mother’s had come to present themselves and to make their thank offering and sin offering according to the law, only God knows. Yet none of these he had heretofore seen was revealed to him as the one God had sent to fulfill the promise.

Then one day a young mother and her older husband along with their male child entered the temple to do what was customary. The Holy Spirit of God revealed to Simeon that this child was the one.

He took him into his arms and praised God singing, “…my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all your peoples, a light for revelation of the Gentiles and for the glory to your people Israel.”

His song, the Nunc dimmittis, emphasizes the double mission of Jesus to the Jews and the Gentiles. It is contained in our services of Morning and Evening Prayer, and is used as an exit anthem in the Burial office.

A child being presented in the temple was an everyday occurrence. It was not what old Simeon was expecting. Moreover, when he realized that this was the promised one, he foretold that this child, the appointed redeemer would deal with suffering by sharing it himself.

Simeon speaks dark words about opposition, and about a sword that will pierce Mary’s heart. This is what happens when the kingdom of God confronts the kingdom of the world.

God indeed blessed Simeon by his recognition of Jesus as Messiah. In his song, he reveals that God’s plan of salvation is for all people everywhere. The true glory of Israel is in her role as being the bearer of the promise, the nation in and from whom the true world ruler would arise as “A light for revelation to the nations and glory for your people Israel.”

This, however, is not the sort of revelation the world was expecting, and not the sort of glory Israel wanted, but true revelation and true glory nonetheless. Often times God’s answer is not what we expect.

Sometimes in prayer, for example, when we have been earnestly praying for an answer and what we really want is for God to confirm our wish. God says “no.” That is certainly not an answer we expect. At other times, he simply tells us not yet. In other words, we must continue to wait. Waiting requires patience. Then, there is the surprise response, when God says, “I thought you would never ask.”

Simeon and Anna had been waiting on God, waiting on their turn to die, worshipping God day and night praying for the salvation of his people. Everyday a child was brought into the Temple. Yet God’s answer was not yet, you must continue to wait.

Waiting on God requires a steady faith, faith that one day God will make good on his promise. That day finally came for both Simeon and Anna and for the life of the world.

Can we see ourselves in this story? It is our story. We all have a vocation. Everybody has his or her role in God’s plan.

For some it is obvious. It will be active, working in the public’s eye, helping to meet the practical needs of others. For others it will be quiet, away from the public’s view, praying faithfully for God to act in fulfillment of his promises. For many it will be a mixture of the two, sometimes one, sometimes the other.

In the Feast of the Presentation, we have a new winter encounter. It is a meeting between a child and two old people who have spent a lifetime waiting for the promise of salvation to be fulfilled. Simeon sings his song in response to God making good on his promise that he would not see death until he has seen God’s messiah.

However, his patient waiting was not without the constant need of receiving the grace of God to rekindle the light of faith. Anna gave thanks because the years of watching and waiting, fasting and praying, have yielded to a new life, the life of a child. She praised God for having witnessed God’s promise being fulfilled in him.

Amid the winter experiences of our own lives we are invited this day to bring our own temptations to despair that’s God ’s promise will never be fulfilled to the burning light of Jesus’ paschal mystery. He has chosen to be helpless so that he can embrace all our helplessness. As the author of Hebrews reminds us, “Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.”

So, let us come anew this day to the temple of our lives to receive Jesus the merciful one, who became like us in every respect whose helplessness embraces our helplessness and whose love give us the courage to keep watching and waiting as we yearn for the fulfillment of the promises of God.

For God in Jesus Christ our great high priest has chosen to meet us and to be one with us in our darkness and despair. It is by his grace the light of our faith is rekindled by the knowledge that the promise of life already shines forth through the outstretched arms of the crucified Jesus whose love for all has overcome the darkness and helplessness of the world. AMEN+

CEC Breaking News and Father Jefferson's homily from January 26, 2020

CEC Service Schedule Plans:

…Father Riley will lead us in Holy Eucharist February 2 and 16, 2020.
…Mrs. Jane Barnett will lead us in Morning Prayer February 9 and 23.


Father Lee Jefferson's homily:

Third Sunday after Epiphany, 1-26-20          Isaiah 9:1-4, Corinthians 1:10-18, Matthew 4:12-23

Darkness sometimes brings despair. It can give you a feeling of hopelessness and make it hard to see anything but the darkness. Jesus hearing that John had been arrested, withdrew to Galilee and began proclaiming “Repent, for the kingdom of God has come near!” The people of this time would know all about kingdoms and how kingdoms were overthrown. The Romans had taken over their land and had placed King Herod and later his sons to rule over the people of Israel. The coming of a kingdom couldn’t mean anything but that a revolt was in the making. Dark times were still around them
.
But Jesus is talking about a different kind of Kingdom, the Kingdom of God, and this kingdom is not just for the Israelites, but for all people. The Israelites would understand and believe that there should be no king but God. The kingdom of God, the Kingdom of heaven is what they had longed for, prayed for, and were prepared to die for and now Jesus is declaring that God’s Kingdom is coming like a freight train! This kingdom meant danger as well as hope. If you weren’t living right, you had better get your act together and do it quickly or you may be in trouble. They needed to act while there was still time, and the word for that was “Repent”!

Repent is sometimes thought to mean that you need to be down on yourself and confess to do better. Jesus is saying to turn around, or stop what you are doing and go the other way. It’s not how you feel about what you are doing but what you DO about it that matters. Jesus believed that they were going in the wrong direction. Their idea of a revolution was of a military kind, or some kind of a movement. The problem with this is that they would be fighting darkness with darkness. Jesus was called to bring God’s light into the world. Isaiah spoke about people in the dark being dazzled by sudden light, a child being born, the coming Messiah through whom God would truly liberate Israel at last. Jesus could see that fighting and killing to stop fighting and killing was nonsense. Jesus is preaching that they should stop all the fighting and killing and instead go the other way towards God’s Kingdom of light and peace and healing and forgiveness for themselves and for the world.

This message is just as urgent for us today. If the light bearers insist on darkness, then darkness they will have. If the peace people insist on war, then war we will have. If the people called to bring God’s peace and love and forgiveness to the world insist on hating everyone else, then hatred and all that it brings will come crashing down around them. This is why we must repent while there is still time.
The kingdom is coming. Let us not stand in it’s way but be a light to light it’s path.
AMEN

CEC Breaking News and Father Riley's homily from January 19, 2020

CEC Breaking News:

…Jane Barnett will be out of town this Sunday and she invited The Rev. Lee Jefferson to lead us in Holy Eucharist January 26, 2020.  Please come and welcome Rev. Lee as he leads us in worship.

…Father Riley will lead us in Holy Eucharist February 2 and 16, 2020..

…Mrs. Jane Barnett will lead us in Morning Prayer February 9 and 23, 2020.

…Our annual congregational meeting was held January 19, 2020.  At the meeting the 2020 budget was presented and we elected the vestry for 2020: Tru Goldman, Sonny Clark, Cecil Evans, Brenda Funderburg, Jane Barnett, Faye Corson and Margaret Godfrey.  Faye will continue to serve as Vestry Secretary and Brenda will continue to serve as our Treasurer.  The 2020 vestry met following the annual meeting and elected Tru Goldman as Senior Warden and Sonny Clark as Junior Warden.  

 The Rev. Lee Jefferson:

(Father Riley's homily from January 19, 2020)

2 EPIPHANY - A - 20                               JOHN 1. 29-42

Last week the church celebrated the baptism of Jesus. It was the Epiphany of Christ’ divinity and the beginning of his earthly ministry.

John’s testimony of Jesus in today’s gospel as the “Son of God” is in response to God’s promise to John that he would meet and recognize messiah.  The divinity of Christ was revealed to him as he witnessed the dove descending and remaining on Jesus and hearing the voice from heaven proclaiming Jesus as God’s beloved Son.

One cannot underestimate the importance of John as the forerunner of Christ; however, he knew that he was only a voice crying in the wilderness. His role was to prepare the people to receive the long expected messiah, the one, John said, “that ranked before me, for he was before me.”

I am certain, than, that he was not surprised nor dismayed that two of his own disciples, upon hearing his declaration of Jesus as the one who would take away the sins of the world, suddenly got up, left his side, and followed Christ. Undoubtedly, John received the revelation of Jesus as the “Lamb of God” sometime after Christ’s baptism.

What did John’s identifying Jesus as “Lamb of God” mean to Andrew and the other disciple? Did they understand that this Jesus was to be both Savior and victim? John’s naming Jesus as “Lamb of God” prefigured Christ’ death at the hands of the Jews at Passover. Then and there, he would be sacrificed for the sins of the world on the hardwood of the cross.

No, they had no idea where their following Jesus would one day lead them. At this point, they simply accepted his invitation to “come and see.” If it was their curiosity that led them to leave John ad follow Jesus, the day they spent with Christ listening to his teaching more than satisfied that.

I have often wondered what wonderful things Christ must have told them concerning God and the kingdom that convinced them to believe that he was indeed the one whom God had sent to redeem Israel.

Whatever it was, it moved Andrew to go and find his brother Simon and bring him to Jesus. No longer did Andrew take the Baptist’s word for whom Jesus was; now he knew for himself that this Jesus was indeed the Christ.

Isn’t that what evangelism is all about? Our going and telling others about Christ? Isn’t that what each of us is supposed to do?

However, there is a prerequisite.  None of us can help bring another to Jesus until we have come to know him for ourselves. Not just, know about him, but discover his true identity as the Son of God, and in that discovery accept him as our personal Savior and Redeemer.

Evangelism is all about going and telling but only after having the eyes of our hearts enlightened as to whom Jesus really is and who we are in relationship to Him. That is the gift of revelation.

The season of Epiphany is all about light and revelation. In John’s prologue, Jesus is identified as the “Light of the world.” In our first lesson for today, the prophet Isaiah foretold that God would send one who would be “the light to the nations” and bring salvation to all.

In Jesus Christ the light has come that enlightens every man. Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus, as is John’s witness to his disciples. God has sent his Son into the world to illumine our hearts and our minds by His word made manifest in Jesus. Sadly, some prefer darkness rather than light.

Darkness comes in many forms. Ignorance is a form of darkness. Rejection of the truth is a form of darkness. Refusal to believe in Him whom God had sent is a form of darkness. To live one’s life without Hope is to live a life of darkness.

Throughout the scriptures of the Old Testament leading up to the coming of Christ, God has made himself know through revelation - as a light in the darkness - a light that gives Hope. Revelation continues to be a gift that rekindles Hope in the hearts and minds of those who are open to receive it.

It was in the darkness that revelation came to the Jewish shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night. A great joy, the angel said, had come to all men in the form of a babe born in a manger.

This revelation moved the shepherds to leave their flocks and to go and see for themselves if what the angel had told them was true concerning the Christ-child.

The Magi followed a star that lit up the darkness of the night sky hundreds of miles from where the Christ child was born.  The star revealed to these Gentile wise men that something extraordinary had occurred in the life of the world. They were open to God’s revelation of that event and to what it might possibly mean for them.

The star moved them to seek the newborn king. Its light led them on their way and revealed his whereabouts by resting over the place where the child lay. Upon finding him, they knelt and adored him laying their precious gifts before him.

Now John Baptist has revealed to those who were following him in the hopes that he might be the one to redeem Israel that he is not the one they should be following. Instead, he points to Jesus. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. By His death on the cross and by his glorious resurrection from the dead will bring Hope to all who believe in Him.

God reveals himself to those who seek him, and who are open to receive His revelation. Sometimes we are surprised by it, as were the shepherds. At other times it comes to us after having diligently searched for it as did the wise men.

The star of Bethlehem, the symbol of Epiphany, is the unequivocal sign of God’s blessing. It is the light of revelation for it reveals Him who is our vision and the Hope of our calling.

God’s revelation, then, is an invitation to “come and see,” to come and know more deeply Him whom God has sent to be the Light and Life of the world, even Jesus Christ our Lord. His presence alone dispels the darkness of sin and death and opens to us the way to eternal life.

May we who have chosen to follow this Jesus, learn to walk in His light, and by God’s grace strive to make Him known by living the new life to which we have been called to the honor and glory of His name. AMEN+

(1st reading: Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 40:1-12; 2nd reading: 1Corinthians 1:1-9; Gospel: John 1:29-42)  

Thank you from Father Riley for his Christmas gift from our congregation

Father Riley sent us his appreciation for our monetary Christmas to him for all he does for us.

CEC News and Father Riley's homily from January 5, 2020

CEC News:

… Father Riley will lead us in Holy Eucharist January 19, 2020.

…Mrs. Jane Barnett will lead us in Morning Prayer January 12 and 26.

…Our annual congregational meeting will be January 19, 2020, following the 10am service.  At the meeting the 2020 budget will be presented and we will be electing the vestry for 2020.  All members in good standing are encouraged to run for a vestry position and serve our congregation.  If you wish to run for a vestry position, please contact Faye Corson, Vestry Secretary, by January 15, 2020, so she may place your name on the ballot.

Our new creche, provided by Mrs. Allein Watson in memory of husband, Phillip Watson, Jr., will serve our congregation for many years to come. 

Father Riley's homily:

CHRISTMAS II - A - 20                   MATTHEW 2. 1-12

Today’s gospel passage is unique to Matthew. The Gentile Magi or wise men as they are most often referred to came to worship the Christ-child sometime after his birth. They were a learned class in ancient Persia. They followed the star in the East in their search for the newborn king.

The star of Bethlehem, the symbol of Epiphany, is an unequivocal sign of God’s blessing. Its light is the revelation of Christ to the Magi, as Christmas was Christ’ revelation to the shepherds.

The ancient world never forgot the night sky. Many people, particularly in the countries East of Palestine, had developed the study of the stars and the planets to a fine art. They gave each one a very particular meaning.

These students of the sky believed that the whole world was of one piece, that is, everything was interconnected, and when something important was happening on earth you could expect to see it reflected in the heavens.

Likewise, a remarkable event among the stars and planets must seem, they thought, to refer to a remarkable event on earth. Christ being born under this star fulfills the prophecy of Numbers 24.17 and Psalm 109.3 The Jewish world had been looking for such a sign that would signify messiah’s coming.

It would appear, however, that in Jerusalem, at least, the chief priests and scribes did not recognize it. They were taken by surprise, as was King Herod, when the wise men arrived in Jerusalem seeking the newborn king whose star had led them there.

Herod had to summon the Jewish leaders because he knew little about the Jewish messiah and he feared losing his throne to this newborn king. The chief priests were the political and religious leaders of the Jews, and the scribes were high cabinet officers.

They knew where messiah was to be born, but in spite of all the signs being in place, they had no idea that he had come. There was no note of joy among them after having heard the news; on the contrary, Herod was troubled by it.  Once Herod was informed of where the child was to be born, he privately called the wise men and sent them on a mission with a false premise. “Go and search carefully for the young Christ and when you have found him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship him also.”

After leaving their private audience with King Herod, the wise men once again focused their attention on the star, “which they had seen in the East.” The unity of creation and God’s plan for our redemption dwelt in its light.  When the wise men saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

The star went before them till it came and stood over where the young Christ was. When the wise men entered the house, they saw the child and his mother Mary and they fell down, worshipped him, and offered their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newborn king.

On the 12^th day of Christmas, St Augustine wrote, East and West are joined together. The lowly and the well born, the Jewish and the Gentile worlds are one in Him who came to be the Savior of all mankind.

Epiphany is a challenge to the way things are. What was Herod troubled about it if it was not that the coming of Christ was a challenge to his way of life? The very idea of a newborn king intimidated him. To the chief priests and scribes messiah’s coming meant the status quo would be turned up side down. What, then, would the future hold for them?

What challenge does Epiphany pose for us? Is the star still our hope for the future? For many in the world today Christ’s coming is seen as a threat to their way of life. His coming has turned the world upside down and inside out for God’s purposes run cross current to the worlds.

For others, Christ’s coming is a non-event. They simply do not recognize it. Consider our position: we are not outsiders like the Magi, but members of the faithful people who have come to believe. We know where the Christ is to be found. Have we stopped looking for him?

As St. Paul prayed for the young Christians at Ephesus that the God of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, might continue to give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation, so may we, by God’s grace, continue to receive those gifts as we come to know him and strive to make Him known.

So that with the eyes of our hearts enlightened, we may never lose sight of the hope to which we have been called, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.

God has made known to us the mystery of Christ and by it; we have been given the role of steward of this mystery for the world’s good. Like the shepherds who were the first to receive the good news of the Savior’s birth, we have inherited their role of joyfully sharing it with the world.

The sign of the star is eternal. The star of Bethlehem is the light of revelation. The star is the revelation of God’s appearing in our midst. It is the nativity of the child-king, the birth of the holy one, the coming of the Lord who makes us holy.

Not the code, not the law, not our deeds, but the Christ into whose death, we are baptized and at whose altar we are feed by the sacrament of His Body and Blood as members of one family - the Church - for in Him there is no East or West.

He alone gives us access to the God the Father. He is the Word made flesh, the vision we live by, the Hope of our calling, that one day we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share in our humanity, even Jesus Christ our Lord. “O, come let us adore him,” kneel, and lay the gift of our hearts before him. AMEN+