The star proclaims the king is here, but Herod why this senseless fear...? An Epiphany hymn that may have been sung last Sunday (if your church celebrated Epiphany, which we did here in Clarinda) or today, which is Epiphany, Jan. 6, or this Sunday (if your church celebrates Epiphany this Sunday). What is so important about Epiphany? It is the time when we see the fact that the Savior of the world, the Son of God, came into the world for all people, not just for one nation. The wise men (magi, or whatever you wish to call them), were mean who were Gentiles. They came to find the One who was born King of the Jews. They came to see the One who the star proclaimed. Yes, God placed a special star in the sky. There are many attempts to try to explain this event with natural things taking place. I believe that what Scripture tells us that the star was there to proclaim the birth of the Savior. God made this special event in order to draw the wise men to the newborn king. Can God set aside the laws of nature for His purpose? Of course, He is God. He is the One who made the heavens and the earth, creating them with just a word. Following the star, the wise men fell down and worshiped the Child.
Then they offered Him of their treasures - gold, frankincense and myrrh. Offering their gifts from what was precious to them. That is how we are called to live our lives - offering to God the gifts from that which is precious to us. Stewards of the gifts given to us by our Lord, we do give to Him of that which we have been given. We give that to our local church, to various not-for-profits, and for organizations within our communities. Our gifts help those organizations that have gone into such places like Colorado who suffered devastating fires, or Kentucky who was hit hard by tornadoes.We are shown how important it is to open up our treasures in response to our worship of the King of kings.
Why do we become upset when there is talk about worshiping God? About the star? About the wise men? There are many reasons. Perhaps it is because we do not like to think that there is One who we are responsible to, that has the final say as to what we are doing being right or wrong. We like to be our own god, who decides what is right and what is wrong, based upon our own desires. We should not. We are not in control. God is God. Folks like Herod do become upset. To hear this points out that there is One to whom we must follow and trust.
Anyway, as you go through today, remember the Light that has come into the world. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has come! Praise be to God.
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