ARRIVED

This Sunday we celebrate the arrival of the Wise Men from the East and their entourage who faithfully followed a star to find a king. A humble baby in a stable, surrounded by shepherds in a village overrun with people for the census. I imagine that it was loud and smelly and chaotic to have all those extra people packed in the community. Mary and Joseph must have been surprised that these strangers arrived bearing gifts. What surprising gifts! Gold is still considered a great gift. Perfume also pretty acceptable. And a nard, or ointment often used in the preparation of bodies in death. Typically myrrh was used, at that time in history, for anointing and embalming. This gift could be for anointing the baby as the sacred or a shadow of the coming death that we all know. It seems a pretty strange gift for any baby except this one.

Matthew’s account of the birth narrative is filled with lots of dreams. Joseph and the Wise Men are guided in dreams how to protect the child from Herod and potential death. This baby is linked with Bethlehem, Egypt and Nazareth. He fulfills the prophecies and his story echoes that of Moses. This birth narrative is violent- evoking tension and suspense around the birth of the Messiah and protecting him from the evil forces wanting to stop him. It is not the baby Jesus story that we read to our children around the holiday. But it foretells the arrival of the One who changes the world as we know it. The One who turns over expectations changes priorities and challenges us.

After worship on Sunday, I invite you to stay for lunch and help transition the church from Christmastide to Epiphany. It always comes down so much faster than it goes up! We need folks who can gently pack up the things that are fragile and people who can go up and down the stairs for storage.

I will begin the New Year with a series called “Dare to Dream.” As we launch our 45th year in ministry we will be honoring where we have come from and dreaming about the future. We will also be praying over our new officers leading our congregation. I look forward to all that God will reveal to us for our next adventure in ministry.

For those of you with us online, we should have the livestream repaired for you this Sunday. It overheated last week and we are sorry you didn’t get to worship with us at 11:00 am.

Dreaming!