Following the Light
Emily Tanis-Likkel
January 3, 2010
Our Epiphany worship service included a presentation of the story using drama, art and music. It began with a conversation with the children:
We love the story of the wise ones. It's captured our imaginations. We only know a few details, and there are many re-tellings of the story. But it doesn't end there. God is still speaking! It is a beginning -- we are all on the journey. You get to be wise ones today, traveling to find Jesus. What will you need for your journey -- what did the first wise men take? Gifts for the King! What will you follow? The Star! Invite kids to go with an adult who is carrying a flashlight for a star.
Kids exit side door as song is sung.
Scripture readings: Isaiah 60 1-6, Matthew 2:1-12.
(kids put on costume, traveling bags and receive gifts to carry in the nursery).
musical interlude as kids enter and sit on floor in center aisle front.
We've heard the story before. We imagine the Wise men, the journey, the treasures. What message, what power, what meaning does it hold for us, for today?
"Epiphany," poem by Joyce Rupp
Slideshow over music depicting the story of the wise men in art through the centuries.
What if we feel like our journey is going in circles and we just don't see the star? Where do we look for Jesus -- What leads us to God? How do we find God? What if God feels far away, or nonexistent?
"The Seeker," poem by Joyce Rupp.
Musical interlude -- kids travel
"The Song of the Stars," poem by Joyce Rupp
What power, what meaning, lies in this familiar story? What message does it hold for us today?
The epiphany we may have is the realization that looking for the star, searching for God, is a bit like one ransacking the house to look for the glasses that are sitting on the top of one's head. For Jesus did not leave us, but lives within us as the Holy Spirit.
Truly, the star guiding us to God is overhead. We do not need to search far and wide, for God is in the warmth of our souls, the sharing of resources, the loving embrace, the striving for peace and justice. It is in a kind word given and a meal shared. When we discover that God resides within us, we discover that we are loved so completely and intensely, and that each person is of great value.
As Barbara Brown Taylor wrote, "Let us revel in the light of that star beneath which the ordinary becomes holy and the holy ordinary, beneath which it becomes exceedingly clear that there is nothing more we must do or be to be loved by God."
"The Work of Christmas," poem by Howard Thurman.
(Invite kids to open the gifts, they contain lights)
The gift we have been given is the gift we bring. It is Jesus, and his love shines in us and we can shine that light, that love out into the world.
"Work of Christmas Begins," poem by Howard Thurman
"When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with the flocks,
then the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal those broken in spirit,
to feed the hungry,
to release the oppressed,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among all peoples,
to make a little music with the heart…
And to radiate the Light of Christ,
every day, in every way, in all that we do and in all that we say.
Then the work of Christmas begins.
The message of the Feast of Epiphany announces to all people, everywhere:
Rise up in splendor…your light has come,
The Glory of the Lord shines upon you!
Let the work of Christmas begin . . ."
Shine your light on our path, O God, that we may continually walk with Jesus in our hearts. Penetrate our souls, that we may know what gift we have been graced with, that we might give something back. The wise ones were told in a dream to go Home by another route - may we know that God is with us on the road, even when unexpected detours arise. We thank you for Epiphany, that celebrates the revelation of Christ to the entire world. May we use our gifts to shine the light of Christ into the world. Amen.