Reflections for January 1, 2006

Heritage Congregational Church, Madison, WI

Ecclesiastes 3:1-15--Happy New Year! Yes, it is New Year’s Day—can you believe it’s 2006? But on the church calendar, today presents us with three possibilities—the First Sunday after Christmas, New Year’s Day and Epiphany. All the passages we are worshiping with today fit into one of these three days. The first, our call to worship from Ecclesiastes, is about time, and so it pertains to New Year’s Day.

These are familiar words, and at least to v. 8 many of us know them by heart. These words bring us a sense of order, of the balance to be found in human existence. I think that is why we like them so much, and why they are the perfect words to begin a New Year’s Day worship service with. Let’s take a quick look at them.

The beginning is like a prelude to the reading---a setting of the stage. It says that all matters are under Heaven, all time is ordained by God. This provides us with the foundation of how to read what is to come next, a lens through which to see these verses of the order of life. Heaven and God are always there. They are where all time begins.

In verses 1-8 we read that there is good and bad in life, joy and sorrow, easy times and hard. But no matter what fills our time, it is all part of God’s time. To know one we must know the other. And then there are verses 9-15, some of my favorites, but not as well known as their predecessors. These verses say time has been given to us in life. We are to enjoy the very stuff of life, the way we spend our time, the busyness God has given us to be busy with. God gives us a sense of time to order our lives, and though it is different than God’s time we are to enjoy it. We are to eat and drink and take pleasure in time, in work, in living. This is why God gives us the gift of time, that we may enjoy the lives we have been given. This is God’s will, which endures forever, and it encourages us to thank God and stand in awe of God for this gift. This gift shows us the continuous flow of God’s time in our lives and how all time works together for our benefit.

New Year’s Day marks a moment in time, a place for new beginnings. For a Christian New Year’s is an opportunity to thank God for the gift of time, for how God has acted in our lives for the past year, and to look forward to how God will act in our lives in the coming year—trusting in the goodness of God, God’s love and care for us, God’s continual presence—remembering that at no moment in time are we alone.

Let us sing to the New Year!

Isaiah 60:1-6--The quintessential Epiphany reading, Isaiah 60 calls us to see the Light that has come into the world. Before Christ was born, the people were in darkness, but when Christ arose, God’s glory was seen. Nations and kings were drawn to the light, to this time of dawning. And Zion was saved by the light. It is important to note that in this beautiful reading about light, and nations and gifts and camels, the pronoun used in verses 1-6 are in the plural. Arise and shine, for you shall see a great light means that they will all see it. You shall see and be radiant refers to the people of Israel as a whole, not as individuals. Their burden has been lifted. They are receiving good news from the prophet. They, as a people, as a community of faith, are invited to live again as God’s people!

This invitation extends to us who have known of the coming of the Light of Christ into the world. As a church, as a community of faith, we are called to live in the light of Christ, to lift up our eyes and look around, to gather together and rise up as Christ’s people. When we do, we will see and be radiant, our hearts thrilling and rejoicing. Then we will live in the abundance of life brought by the coming of the Light into the world.

Isaiah 61:10-62:3--The second Isaiah passage, which is assigned to the first Sunday after Christmas, speaks to the salvation of God’s people through the Messiah—clothed with salvation, robed with righteousness, like a bride and groom. This salvation will be for all nations, who will respond in praise. In the future God’s people can look forward to vindication, and end to their suffering. Not only that, but they will be given a new name by God. They will now they will be called a crown of beauty, a royal diadem, names depicting what we would identify as marks of our new covenant with God through Christ.

This passage is a direct reflection of Christ’s impact on a world that tried to know God but failed. In spite of that failure, God does not rest until the people know salvation. God does not rest! After the birth of the Messiah, through God’s gift of Christ we are given new life, a new name, a restoration of the place we were when creation began. With Christ we are in right relationship with God. Our name is child of God. Like the children of Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe we are crowned with the new Covenant and given what we need to live faithful lives though our encounter with Christ. In living thusly, God is honored.

Psalm 8--Did you notice the opening and closing verses of the psalm? They act as a frame for this song, reminding us that God is where it all begins and it all ends, always and forever, in every place and time and for every people. Again, we have a reading from the lectionary for New Year’s Day.

After the refrain in the first part of verse one, we find the psalmist moved by the beauty of the night sky. It is seen as a reflection of God’s glory. As the piece continues, we find that even the youngest see God’s glory. In humility, the singer wonders how so great a God can truly care for us, and they marvel at the wonder of humanity being created in the image of the Divine. We are crowned, affirmed as related to God. We are God’s kin! Along with this place, with this exalted status, comes great responsibility, the care for God’s creation. Dominion means responsibility, not power or privilege for ourselves, but stewardship toward all of God’s creation. And in the end, we are reminded again by the words of the refrain about God’s majesty and eternal presence.

This is truly a message for a New Year, for it is a powerful reminder of who is in charge, of how our time and lives come to be, of who we are to be as a church. We are called to be reflectors of God’s glory and honor, for that is how we have been crowned. We are to work together with God to care for the creation, using all God has given to us, time, talents, resources, energy. This is the task set before us.

Matthew 2:1-12--Here we read the familiar story of wise men, their gifts, and their worship, that beauty countered by the ugliness of King Herod’s attempted manipulation and violent response. We do not know how many came (three like the gifts, or many more), or exactly who they were (Kings, Wise Men, learned men, magoi suggests priestly sages from Persia, experts in astrology and interpretation of dreams). But since they come from a place other than what we now call the Holy Land, we can safely assume their coming had something to do with the fulfillment of the prophecy from Isaiah 60 about all nations coming toward the light. They are, after all, guided by God continually through this journey. This is the story of Epiphany.

The impact of the birth of God’s son was not limited to a small geographic area, but was a powerful force throughout the known world of the time. This is a direct indication of the power of the event itself, a peek into the future, a window to what could be if the whole world followed the light that is Christ. Imagine all nations coming together as God intended, following the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace—the Light of the World. This is the beautiful part of the story.

But in every story, there is another side. And as it was with Herod, there will always be those who put their own power and might before that of God’s. They are unable or unwilling to see past themselves and their view of the world to look to the eternal light that is God, and will employ whatever means necessary to protect their own power and earthly sovereignty. This has been the state of the world for as long as history has been written, and will continue to be the way God’s time is spent.

But when even one person, small and insignificant as we may feel, follows the light, progress is made. God calls us as the magi were called to follow the light, to gather together as a congregation as we were instructed by the first Isaiah prophecy we read. When two or three gather and follow the light, the impact grows, and soon two or three more will join in. There is no limit to what can happen with God when we are faithful in following the light.

Luke 2:22-40--Another passage from the lectionary assigned to the first Sunday after Christmas—Mary and Joseph are following the Jewish laws regarding the upbringing of male children in the faith, and take Jesus to Jerusalem to be offered to the Lord. They make a sacrifice of turtledoves or pigeons, and while at the Temple an amazing thing happens. Simeon, a man at the Temple, who is righteous and devout, holds the infant Jesus in his arms and immediately begins to praise God. With the Holy Spirit upon him, Simeon declares that in seeing the child he is seeing God’s salvation, a light (reference to light a foreshadowing of the season of Epiphany?) for the Gentiles and glory to Israel. Anna, a prophet who never leaves the Temple, is there also. And when she sees Jesus, her mouth is filled with praise as well.

You see, both Simeon and Anna were waiting for the Messiah to come. They are old and for years have prayed and prayed. And, they believe with all of their beings that God will act to redeem Israel in a decisive way through the coming Messiah. They have prepared themselves spiritually, and so they are ready, ready to meet the Messiah. Their spirits are open to God’s work, to something amazing happening. And it does. When they see Jesus, they see the Messiah. They see God. It is as simple as that. Like the Magi kneeling down in worship at the sight of Jesus, Simeon and Anna speak words of praise as their worship offering. Somehow, they know that with the presence of this child they are in the presence of God. What else is there for them to do, but worship?

Simeon and Anna are expecting to meet Jesus. What do we expect to find in this New Year? We have celebrated Christ’s birth and its effects, we have been told of the Light that came into a world of darkness when He was born. Now, in 2006, we are called to see as Simeon and Anna saw. What do we see when we look at the babe born in a manger, the one worshiped by those who came from a far away nation, the one who is the Light of the world? Simeon and Anna saw the fulfillment of their God before their eyes. In that one moment, they knew their lives will never be the same. Whether we know it or not, neither will ours. Amen.