Let's Celebrate: It's January 6!!

 

Did you remember?  Today, January 6 is the day.   It seems that there is something that is celebrated most everyday besides the birthdays of friends and family.  There is administrative assistants day… Mothers Day… Fathers Day… Grandparents Day… and so many more!  Today is a special day for all those who are people of faith that gets lost as we deal with the residue of Christmas and New Years Day that were only days ago.  Today for those who follow Jesus is the Day of Epiphany, the day tradition has it that the wise men or Magi arrived from their journey to see and worship the Christ child.   We hear the story in Matthew 2: 1-12 where we read:

 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi^[a] from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”  ³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

⁶ “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’^[b]”

⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Though the fact that Christ became incarnate in human flesh is surely worthy of celebration, that is not the end of the story.   While it is important to celebrate and remember the journey of God in the flesh in Christ Jesus, it is also memorable to celebrate the journey of these wise men to see and worship Christ.   Take time on this January 6 to not only remember the journey of the wise men to worship the Christ child, but take time to remember your journey to Christ.   The wise men of old brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  The gift that Christ desires of wise men, wise women, and wise youth that  journey to him today is not a valued metal, but the gift of our hearts.   A few weeks ago, we celebrated that Christ came to earth;  today, let us celebrate the joyous fact of people making the journey to Christ.  Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

  PRAYER

            Mighty and merciful God, we celebrate that you came among us full of grace and truth but we also celebrate that through the ages countless men and women, boys and girls made the journey to worship and serve you.  In these days, give us your power and presence that we might be brought closer to you; through Christ our Lord.   Amen.