Matthew 2

Circumstance And Mud

Posted on by Betsy

The story is about a young boy whose only line in the Christmas play was to announce that the three kings came bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. He practiced and practiced, but on the night of the play he was so nervous he completely forgot what to say. And so he said the only words he could think of that sounded like the ones he had memorized, and what came out was, “The three kings came, bearing gifts of gold, circumstance, and mud.” 

Well, almost.

The Visit of the Magi

Matthew 2:1-12 (New Revised Standard Version)

2 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi  from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the east and have come to pay him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him, 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet:

6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,
for from you shall come a ruler
    who is to shepherd my people Israel.’ ”

7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out, and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen in the east, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

The young thespian had it almost right, though. His interpretation is kind of appropriate for how we came to our reading today, isn’t it? We have an opportunity to share our gold as an offering to those who need it today, regardless of whatever circumstance we find ourselves in. And to be sure, each one of us has a bit of mud that needs cleaning off.

What life circumstance are you facing today? Are you ready to give it over to God? Is there any mud staining your soul this morning that you could ask Jesus to clean? Are you ready to share your provision with someone in need?

Wherever you are, no matter what you are facing, Christ invites you to bring your circumstance in the sure and certain faith that his blood can wash away all your mud.

Star of Wonder by Becca Ziegler

Not Just Any Old Joe

Posted on by Betsy

As we have finally rounded the corner past Christmas and are heading into the new year, we have a moment to focus on Joseph. We remember him for many things. We remember his humility in receiving an unwed pregnant girl into his keeping when he could have easily dismissed Mary. We remember his sacrifice of reputation and freedom. We see his struggle to provide shelter for his newborn son and new wife. We admire his quiet and steadfast faith.

And we are amazed at his ability to think fast on his feet in the middle of the night when his sleep was interrupted. God appeared to him in a dream with the command, “Get up.”

Matthew 2 (Common English Bible)

13 When the magi had departed, an angel from the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up. Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod will soon search for the child in order to kill him.” 14 Joseph got up and, during the night, took the child and his mother to Egypt. 15 He stayed there until Herod died. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: I have called my son out of Egypt.

I always wonder what happened to this little family during the Egypt years. As immigrants, they surely had a hard time finding shelter and work to sustain them. They lived under the threat of a tyrant who was hell-bent on killing their child. This awful man had no problem killing all the children in Bethlehem in hopes of eliminating Jesus. The fear and disorientation for these young parents must have been overwhelming.

Murder of the Bethlehem children

16 When Herod knew the magi had fooled him, he grew very angry. He sent soldiers to kill all the children in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding territory who were two years old and younger, according to the time that he had learned from the magi. 17 This fulfilled the word spoken through Jeremiah the prophet:

18 A voice was heard in Ramah,
    weeping and much grieving.
        Rachel weeping for her children,
            and she did not want to be comforted,
                because they were no more.

And finally, when King Herod died, Joseph is awakened in the middle of another night and told to “Get up” again:

19 After King Herod died, an angel from the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 20 “Get up,” the angel said, “and take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel. Those who were trying to kill the child are dead.” 21 Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 

Joseph was a sharp and quick thinker. He followed God’s instructions and allowed the Holy Spirit to guide him along the way. A third night of sleep was disrupted, and the angel sent them to Galilee to keep Jesus and Mary safe.

22 But when he heard that Archelaus ruled over Judea in place of his father Herod, Joseph was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he went to the area of Galilee. 23 He settled in a city called Nazareth so that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled: He will be called a Nazarene.

This makes me wonder what God is telling me to “Get up” and do. Am I sleepwalking through my faith? Am I mush-headed and missing cues around me that the Holy Spirit is trying to guide me toward?

Are you?

Let us agree to be like Joseph and get up and go when called and sent by the Lord. I pray for clarity of direction for all of us.

Get up!

Refugee Lord

Posted on by Betsy

Our magi story continues today in the book of Matthew. In a stunning turn of events, Joseph and Mary are forced to flee to Egypt in order to save their son from being murdered. Insane Herod, in his deep paranoia, ordered the slaughter of every child in Bethlehem under the age of two in an attempt to snuff out the child-king of the Jews. This is truly a “read it and weep” scenario:

Matthew 2 (Common English Bible)

13 When the magi had departed, an angel from the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up. Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod will soon search for the child in order to kill him.” 14 Joseph got up and, during the night, took the child and his mother to Egypt. 15 He stayed there until Herod died. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: I have called my son out of Egypt.

I can’t imagine how terrifying it was for Mary and Joseph to have to escape in the middle of the night to a foreign country. I can’t imagine the trauma they suffered as they crossed that border with little supplies … probably not much more than the clothes on their backs. What did they eat? How did they sleep? Where did they get water?

Egypt was a logical place to go, as it was a border country that was outside of Herod’s jurisdiction. It was under Roman rule but contained a large population of Jews. Joseph’s quick response to the angel shows us that he understood how far he would have to go to ensure the freedom and safety of his little boy. Any parent would do the same.

Wouldn’t you?

Murder of the Bethlehem children

16 When Herod knew the magi had fooled him, he grew very angry. He sent soldiers to kill all the children in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding territory who were two years old and younger, according to the time that he had learned from the magi. 17 This fulfilled the word spoken through Jeremiah the prophet:

18 A voice was heard in Ramah,
    weeping and much grieving.
        Rachel weeping for her children,
            and she did not want to be comforted,
                because they were no more.

Jeremiah 31:15 records the mothers of Israel, embodied in Rachel, weeping over their children during the time when the nation of Judah was carried into captivity. There was then a great mourning in the tribes of Benjamin and Judah for their children who were slain or taken into captivity. History was repeated as mothers wept again in Jesus’ time.

Return from Egypt

19 After King Herod died, an angel from the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 20 “Get up,” the angel said, “and take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel. Those who were trying to kill the child are dead.” 21 Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus ruled over Judea in place of his father Herod, Joseph was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he went to the area of Galilee. 23 He settled in a city called Nazareth so that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled: He will be called a Nazarene.

Scholars are unsure about how long Jesus and his parents stayed in Egypt. It could have been a few months or as long as 7 years. In any case, they made a home there until it was safe to return across the border to their homeland.

This passage begs many questions for us today. Our Lord and his parents were homeless for a good portion of his childhood. How should we respond? Is God calling us to care for the homeless in our communities? And our Lord and his parents were refugees. They were allowed safe passage across a border where they found freedom and safety. How should we respond? Is God calling us to care for refugees and immigrants in his name?

I pray that this part of Jesus’ story leaves a mark on your heart today, and I pray that together, we remember and honor our Refugee Lord in ways that are meaningful and tangible in our own communities.

Escape by Becca Ziegler

Another Route

Posted on by Betsy

I admire those of you who make New Year’s Resolutions. Doing this is a process of introspection, self-awareness, and determination. My daughter and her friends spend New Year’s Eve playing games while they contemplate last year’s resolutions and then commit to new ones. Declaring your resolutions in a friend group is a process of accountability, which is always wise when trying to set goals. Others can help us reach our objectives by holding us accountable for what we decided. Believe it or not, Lent is quickly approaching, and the season invites us to a spiritual accountability. This is the right time to make changes.

Many of our resolutions involve stopping a behavior and choosing a healthier path. We commit to stop over-eating, drinking, smoking, using recreational drugs, swearing, spending, cheating … name a vice, and it is sure to be on someone’s list of things they have resolved to quit in the New Year.

If you need to stop something, consider the end of this very familiar passage from the second Chapter of Matthew:

Matthew 2 (Common English Bible)

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the territory of Judea during the rule of King Herod, magi came from the east to Jerusalem. 2 They asked, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We’ve seen his star in the east, and we’ve come to honor him.”

3 When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and everyone in Jerusalem was troubled with him. 4 He gathered all the chief priests and the legal experts and asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They said, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what the prophet wrote:

6 You, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
        by no means are you least among the rulers of Judah,
            because from you will come one who governs,
            who will shepherd my people Israel.”

Let’s pause here and take note of a few things. The rulership of King Herod suggests that this event happened about two years after Jesus’ birth. That knocks our nativity sets out of whack, doesn’t it? Posing the Wise Men around the infant king in his manger isn’t quite accurate, as he would have been a run-around-toddler at the time.

This Herod was Herod the Great. Bible scholar D.A. Carson writes this about Herod: “He was wealthy, politically gifted, intensely loyal, an excellent administrator, and clever enough to remain in the good graces of successive Roman emperors. His famine relief was superb and his building projects (including the temple, begun 20 B.C.) were admired even by his foes. But he loved power, inflicted incredibly heavy taxes on the people, and resented the fact that many Jews considered him a usurper. In his last years, suffering an illness that compounded his paranoia, he turned to cruelty and in fits of rage and jealousy killed close associates.”  Herod died in 4 A.D., and we can assume that the Magi came to him just before his death when his paranoia was at its peak.

Also, the word “magi” is from the Greek “majoi,” which translates to astronomer. So our carols about these men being kings is a little off, perhaps a reference to Old Testament writings that prophesied that kings would come to worship the Messiah. Being astronomers is an important part of the story: They were men who studied the stars. God sent them a star. God will always speak to us in our own medium when he wants our attention. Where in your life is God speaking to you?

7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi and found out from them the time when the star had first appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you’ve found him, report to me so that I too may go and honor him.” 9 When they heard the king, they went; and look, the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. 11 They entered the house and saw the child with Mary his mother. Falling to their knees, they honored him. Then they opened their treasure chests and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Because they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route.

Verse 12 is the most important part for us today. They went back to their homes by another route. When we encounter God, we rarely keep going in the same direction, but rather leave our current path and start a whole new trajectory.

Where is God calling you to go home by a new route? You are not meant to stay the same after a ‘come to Jesus’ moment. What new route will you take this year?

Whatever it is, wherever you go, follow his star.

(Lent begins on February 14. I have just published a book of Lent devotionals, ReLENTless Devotion available at Amazon. Take a look!)

Star of Wonder by Michelle Robertson

Supernova

Posted on by Betsy

“Whatever it was, it is significant that God met them in their own medium.”

This powerful quote from David Guzik’s “Enduring Word” commentary on Matthew 2 caught my breath away. I do a fair amount of commentary reading on each scripture that I am studying and sometimes a single beautiful sentence will take my thinking into a different place.

So, let’s back up and unpack this.

We are in that familiar place in the post-nativity drama where King Herod had just discovered that Jesus was born. In his anxious paranoia, he immediately set out to destroy anyone who might challenge his fragile grip on his throne. The scriptures record that he was frightened, and his fear of this usurper baby spread throughout his minions and his city.

Enter the magi, which is translated to astronomer or philosopher. These men studied the skies, the stars, the planets, and the ancient astrological predictions. They realized that a king had been born to the Jews. Not kings themselves, these curious scientists traveled many miles following Christ’s star to Bethlehem:

Matthew 2 (Common English Bible)

2 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the east and have come to pay him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him, 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet:

6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,
for from you shall come a ruler
    who is to shepherd my people Israel.’ ”

The Jewish scholars confirmed what the Eastern astronomers knew: something astronomical had happened and it needed to be seen. When the magi reached the place where the Epiphany star rested over Bethlehem they were overwhelmed with joy.

7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out, and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen in the east, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped,  they were overwhelmed with joy. 

Let us stop here for a moment as well.

The magi were gentiles. They were not Jews who had anticipated the Messiah’s arrival for generations. They were stargazers, and planet-watchers … in other words, men of learning and science. Religion paid no part in their quest; they were drawn by the appearance of a spectacular vision in the heavens and their curiosity drove them to find answers. Or, as Guzik states, “Whatever it was, it is significant that God met them in their own medium.” Planets, stars, imploding new universes, supernovas … whatever that “star”was, God chose their medium to communicate the birth of his son to them. He spoke to them from the star, knowing that they were looking at the skies.

God always speaks to us in our own medium. He uses people, situations, events, callings, tragedies, blessings, joy, etc. to speak his language of love and hope into our lives.

Are you listening?

11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

God also speaks words of warning into our lives when we are headed in the wrong direction. How hard he works to keep us going in the right direction! How disappointed he must be when we continue to go our own way, despite his warnings.

God invites us to look around today and discover where he is speaking to us. And then we are invited to follow.

That’s what wise people do.

This image is dominated by NGC 7469, a luminous, face-on spiral galaxy approximately 90 000 light-years in diameter that lies roughly 220 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Pegasus. Its companion galaxy IC 5283 is partly visible in the lower left portion of this image. This spiral galaxy has recently been studied as part of the Great Observatories All-sky LIRGs Survey (GOALS) Early Release Science program with the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, which aims to study the physics of space. Photo credit to the James Webb Space Facebook page.

Get Up

Posted on by Betsy

A round of some type of viral respiratory infection that rolled straight into a sinus infection rendered me “Sleepless in Colington” last month. The minute I put my head on the pillow every night, that annoying tickle-cough-draining-into-my-chest thing seized me and kept me awake. Both my husband and the dog fled to the guest room for over a week, waiting it out.

If you’ve dealt with that kind of thing, or have a newborn in the house, or are kept awake at night with anxiety and fears that become larger at night, you know how begin sleep-deprived can rob you of all your critical thinking skills, cognitive powers, and even your ability to be polite. My head was mush for over two weeks and nothing got done … and the things that got done were poorly. My get up and go got up and left.

As we have finally rounded the corner past Christmas and are heading into the new year, we have a moment to focus on Joseph. We remember him for many things. We remember his humility in receiving an unwed pregnant girl into his keeping when he could have easily dismissed Mary. We remember his sacrifice of reputation and freedom. We see his struggle to provide shelter for his newborn son and new wife. We admire his quiet and steadfast faith.

And we are amazed at his ability to think fast on his feet in the middle of the night when his sleep was interrupted. God appeared to him in a dream with the command, “Get up.”

Matthew 2 (Common English Bible)

13 When the magi had departed, an angel from the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up. Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod will soon search for the child in order to kill him.” 14 Joseph got up and, during the night, took the child and his mother to Egypt. 15 He stayed there until Herod died. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: I have called my son out of Egypt.

I always wonder what happened to this little family during the Egypt years. As immigrants, they surely had a hard time finding shelter and work to sustain them. They lived under the threat of a tyrant who was hell-bent on killing their child. This awful man had no problem killing all the children in Bethlehem in hopes of eliminating Jesus. The fear and disorientation for these young parents must have been overwhelming.

Murder of the Bethlehem children

16 When Herod knew the magi had fooled him, he grew very angry. He sent soldiers to kill all the children in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding territory who were two years old and younger, according to the time that he had learned from the magi. 17 This fulfilled the word spoken through Jeremiah the prophet:

18 A voice was heard in Ramah,
    weeping and much grieving.
        Rachel weeping for her children,
            and she did not want to be comforted,
                because they were no more.

And finally, when King Herod died, Joseph is awakened in the middle of another night and told to “Get up” again:

19 After King Herod died, an angel from the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 20 “Get up,” the angel said, “and take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel. Those who were trying to kill the child are dead.” 21 Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 

Joseph was a sharp and quick thinker. He followed God’s instructions and allowed the Holy Spirit to guide him along the way. A third night of sleep was disrupted, and the angel sent them to Galilee to keep Jesus and Mary safe.

22 But when he heard that Archelaus ruled over Judea in place of his father Herod, Joseph was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he went to the area of Galilee. 23 He settled in a city called Nazareth so that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled: He will be called a Nazarene.

This makes me wonder what God is telling me to “Get up” and do. Am I sleepwalking through my faith? Am I mush-headed and missing cues around me that the Holy Spirit is trying to guide me toward?

Are you?

Let us agree to be like Joseph and get up and go when called and sent by the Lord. I pray for clarity of direction for all of us.

Get up!

Bleak Midwinter by Michelle Robertson

By Another Route

Posted on by Betsy

I suppose it’s time to talk about New Year’s resolutions. First, let me state that I hate New Year’s resolutions. Psychologists tell us it takes at least six weeks of sustained discipline to either make a new habit or break an old habit. They also tell us that six weeks is the average length of time that it takes most of us to abandon a well-intentioned New Year’s resolution. So why bother?

On the other hand, resolutions are like mini-Lents. We analyze our behavior, feel God leading us to change, and make a good effort to follow his guidance. So maybe what I hate is my inability to make a New Year’s resolution stick longer than Lent.

OK, so let’s give it a try. After all, New Year’s resolutions are biblical. Think about it! A resolution is based on:

1. Acknowledgment of a harmful behavior.

2. A confrontation of that behavior.

3. A repenting of the behavior.

4. A conscious decision to turn away from the behavior.

5. A change in direction.

One of the most poignant parts of the story of the three Magi who follow the star to see Jesus is what happens at the very end of the passage:

Matthew 2 (The Message)

9-10 Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!

11 They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.

12 In a dream, they were warned not to report back to Herod. So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country.

“They worked out another route.”

Having experienced the Messiah and encountering him PERSONALLY, they changed direction.

I suppose that is a New Year’s Resolution in a nutshell. Encountering Jesus in a personal, life-changing way…and then never going back to the old things. And by personal, I mean the on your knees, heart open wide, spilling your guts, and pleading for mercy kind of personal. Followed by accepting him as Savior and changing direction so that you commit to following him for the rest of your days.

Where is God calling you to work out another route? Where do YOU need to change direction in your life?

Christmas was all about encountering the Christ child. New Year‘s is all about finding different routes in your behavior.

And so we begin.

New Routes by Michelle Robertson

Having an Epiphany

Posted on by Betsy

(This was originally published in January 2020. It is a good reminder as we approach Epiphany Sunday that God is always shining a light on some aspect of our lives that needs illuminating. Where is he shining his light into your darkness? Follow THAT star. Enjoy, and Happy New Year!)

Ever have an epiphany? Like a really, really good one? I recall having an epiphany once about a toxic relationship I was in. For the longest time I had been blinded to the reality of it, following along and taking the negativity toward me as “personality-driven.” Every time something was said that made me wince, I wrote it off to the other person’s stress/having a bad day/quirky humor/maybe I heard it wrong. But I was hearing it right, and when the epiphany finally came that this relationship was causing me harm, I had to begin the painful process of extricating myself from the friendship.

An epiphany happens when we finally see the light. The word harkens back to the time in scripture when people literally saw the light: a star hanging over Bethlehem that lit the way to the manger and thus lit the way to the salvation of the world.

Matthew 2 (New King James Version)

7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

The star led them to Jesus, but an epiphany warned them to stay away from Herod. An Epiphany epiphany.

The word epiphany comes from the Greek word meaning appearance or manifestation. We celebrate the day of Epiphany on January 6th as the final day of the twelve days of Christmas. Many people keep their decorations and lights up until this day to commemorate the Light of the World being made manifest on earth.

In all senses of the word, epiphanies are about the breaking of darkness by the sudden intrusion of light-power. That is what happens every time God appears. Yet in the sense that God is always there, perhaps it is more accurate to say that it happens every time we finally are ready to see the light.

The irony of the Epiphany is that the pagan astrologers saw what the religious scholars refused to see. Trapped in their ritual, expectation, scripture memorization, and endless arguments about doctrine, they missed the entire event, while the star-gazers got to see the Messiah.

Take a look around you. What is God trying to show you? Where is he shining a light on something in your life and yelling, “Pay attention to this!”

Epiphanies happen every day. God breaks into darkness every day. God sheds new light on bad situations every day.

Open your eyes, and behold.

The Hilton’s Epiphany star.

Having Epiphanies

Posted on by Betsy

Ever have an epiphany? Like, a really, really good one? I recall having an epiphany once about a toxic relationship I was in. For the longest time I had been blinded to the reality of it, following along and taking the negativity toward me as “personality-driven.” Every time something was said that made me wince, I wrote it off to the other person’s stress/having a bad day/quirky humor/maybe I heard it wrong. But I was hearing it right, and when the epiphany finally came that this relationship was causing me harm, I had to begin the painful process of extricating myself from the friendship.

An epiphany happens when we finally see the light. The word harkens back to the time in scripture when people literally saw the light, a star hanging over Bethlehem that lit the way to the manger and thus lit the way to the salvation of the world.

Matthew 2 (New King James Version)

7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

The star led them to Jesus, but an epiphany warned them to stay away from Herod. An Epiphany epiphany.

The word epiphany comes from the Greek word meaning appearance or manifestation. We celebrate the day of Epiphany on January 6th as the final day of the twelve days of Christmas. Many people keep their decorations and lights up until this day to commemorate the Light of the World being made manifest on earth.

In all senses of the word, epiphanies are about the breaking of darkness by the sudden intrusion of light-power. That is what happens every time God appears. Yet in the sense that God is always there, perhaps it is more accurate to say that it happens every time we finally are ready to see the light.

The irony of the Epiphany is that the pagan astrologers saw what the religious scholars refused to see. Trapped in their ritual, expectation, scripture memorization, and endless arguments about doctrine, they missed the entire event, while the star-gazers got to see the Messiah.

Take a look around you. What is God trying to show you? Where is he shining a light on something in your life and yelling, “Pay attention to this!”

Epiphanies happen every day. God breaks into darkness every day. God sheds new light on bad situations every day.

Open your eyes, and behold.

The Hiltons’ Epiphany star.