Epiphany: Letting God’s Light Guide Our Journey

Something looked different. Maybe you've been there before where you think you know where you're going, you know what it is, and so what do we do when we're trying to figure out where we're supposed to be? We slow down. We look around. We turn the radio down so that we could see better. Well, then we probably do check the GPS, not because we need the whole route, but because we need reassurances that we are still close. We want to know that we're headed in the right direction, and then we find the place that we were looking for. It just took that one small pause, that quiet realignment to make sure that we are where we are supposed to be, and we ended up where we needed to be. [00:57:17] (48 seconds)  #pauseRealignProceed

And this is where epiphany meets us. Epiphany. Now you might think that epiphy epiphany means or it means eureka, and I suppose that it does mean that, but I wonder if we might look at epiphany with our spiritual eyes wide open and spend some time this morning reflecting on our faith. Epiphany means encountering the divine because epiphany doesn't rush us forward or it doesn't demand certainty. Rather, epiphany offers us light, steady, sufficient light to keep us moving forward, particularly as we move into this new year. [00:58:45] (51 seconds)  #epiphanyLight

The magi notice a star. Matthew doesn't even explain how or why it appeared, and I don't know about you, but I have a ton of questions that I want to ask Matthew. There has to be so much more to this story, like, why that star? What does the star mean? But, nope, he simply tells us that they saw a star and that they followed it. That detail matters though. The star doesn't speak. It doesn't give instructions. It doesn't explain the journey. What does the star do? It shines, and that is enough to set things in motion. [01:00:48] (43 seconds)  #followTheStar

``We often assume that faith requires clarity before action. We wait for certainty before taking our first step. This story suggests something altogether different. Movement comes first, and trust develops along the way. The magi set out without knowing how long their journey will take them. They don't know who exactly they're going to encounter. They don't even fully understand what they are searching for. They only know that something has caught their attention, and it is worth following. [01:01:30] (41 seconds)  #faithInMotion

The star could have led them out into the fields of Bethlehem first, but it didn't. The star led them right smack dab into the face of confrontation, uncomfortable conversations, and difficult encounters in that church. That's an important fact to name. God's guidance doesn't remove struggles from our lives. [01:04:32] (27 seconds)  #guidanceIncludesStruggle

Here's our lesson. After the encounter with Herod, the star appears again. Matthew tells us that when the magi see it, they were overwhelmed with joy. Remember, the journey is not over. The danger has not passed because the light returns or we know the light is always there. They just needed to look again. And when they did, the light gave them joy. [01:05:45] (28 seconds)  #joyInTheReturn

They returned by a different way because epiphany always changes us. Epiphany is an encounter with the divine, with Jesus, and epiphany always changes us. So maybe not dramatically, though it could happen. Maybe not loudly, but that certainly happens. But epiphany changes us faithfully. There is no way that we could ever encounter Jesus Christ and remain the same. Something shifts inside of us. [01:07:45] (38 seconds)  #epiphanyChangesYou

That's all it is. It's an invitation to ask ourselves. Maybe god's trying to reveal something to me right now. I wonder what it is, or what is god inviting me to pay attention to? That's all that that is when you see that word. So in the coming months, you're gonna see your word. It's gonna show up in unexpected places. I will guarantee that it will. I hope that it shows up in scripture for you. I hope actually you take your word and you do your own biblical study and then you see where your word shows up in scripture. [01:10:25] (29 seconds)  #listenForYourWord