We just celebrated Christmas, the Nativity story.  In the Bible, Mark and John have no Christmas story.  Luke has no story of the star, or the Wise Men.  Matthew devotes the whole of chapter 2 to the Wise Men, and their Epiphany.

            Today we celebrate Epiphany in memory of the Wise Men visiting baby Jesus.  January 6 is the traditional Day of the Epiphany.  The word “epiphany” as used in today’s English is a revealing moment, a sudden insight or realization, an aha! moment!  Literally, Epiphany means manifestation.

            The true “aha!” epiphany moments take us beyond our present understanding of truth, and lead us into new truths. More correctly, they lead us into new understanding of truth!

            What happened to those Wise Men from the East?  They followed the star, came to Bethlehem, saw baby Jesus, gave their gifts, and I don’t think we ever hear of them again!  What did they do when they got home?  What did they tell their families and friends?  Did their lives change?

            Before the early Christians celebrated Christmas, they celebrated Epiphany.  They wrapped into one day the Incarnation, the coming of the Wise Men, the baptism of Jesus and the descent of the dove.
            When Christmas Day was born, Epiphany sort of faded, and finally became a season.  The season can be as long as 9 weeks or as short as four, depending on the year.  This year we will celebrate Epiphany for 8 weeks.

            On the first week we usually consider the baptism of Jesus; and on the last week we consider the Transfiguration.  At the end of Epiphany we will, like Jesus, set our faces toward Jerusalem and the passion of the Cross — Lent!

            Wisdom!  Knowledge!  Aha! moments!  Do you have moments of epiphany?  Are there times you almost jump up and down with excitement because you suddenly learn something new? 

            Jesus said, “Let the children come to me.  Don’t stop them!  I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven . . .”  (Mark 10:14,15)

            Childlike faith, childlike curiosity, childlike desire . . . that is exciting!  Dear saints, there is so much for us to learn, so much for us to enjoy, so much life for us to live.  We will never on this earth gain anything like complete knowledge.  All creation is permeated with the ultimate mystery which is Truth, Wisdom, God.

            Some time ago I heard a woman compliment another woman on her pretty dress.  The lady answered, “O yes, Jesus and I picked it out last week.”  Obviously, for her, picking out that dress — with the help of Jesus — was an epiphany!  Was that a moment of childlike faith?  Or was that a simplistic mindset?  Or does it really make any difference?

            A few weeks ago I encountered a new theological insight which absolutely sent me to Cloud 9.  I included it in a sermon . . . and someone was offended.  So we don’t all experience the same insights.  We do not all interpret the Bible, and life, in the same way.

            When I have an epiphany, I am anxious to share it . . . with you.  We all have that inclination.  When you hear some extraordinarily good news, the first thing you do is share it.

            An epiphany may be too vague, too ambiguous to share.  (That’s what happened to me.  I tried to share an experience before I got it fully deciphered)

            One of the most brilliant minds of our time was that of Albert Einstein.  He said the most beautiful experience in life is that of the mysterious.  He, and an astro-physicist I heard last week, exulted in finding answers to their research.  They found exhilaration in contemplating questions.  Answers were a bonus epiphany!

            H. G. Wells, in “The Soul of a Bishop,” tells of a conversation between the bishop and an angel.  The angel says religion is man’s way of trying to define truth, which he can never really understand. 

            “But you can tell me the truth,” the bishop says.  Whereupon the angel tenderly strokes the bishop’s head, and says, “Truth?  Yes, I can tell you.  But could this hold it?   Not this little box of brains!  You haven’t what it takes to hold truth.”  I think the angel is telling the bishop what the Wise Men learned: that mystery is a blessing, but it is a mystery!
            Mystery may come as a personal epiphany that is difficult to share.

            Truth, God’s wisdom, is revealed only as we study, pray, open ourselves to the Holy Spirit.  A real epiphany is reserved for those who put forth the effort to study.  The Holy Spirit blesses those, I think, who sincerely try to “grow in the Lord” (Acts 18:23), who “grow  in your knowledge of God” (Ephesians 1:17), who “grow  in faith” (Colossians 2:7), who “grow  in the special favor and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
(II Peter 3:18)

            Maybe we can learn something from Robert Fulghum.  In his book, All I need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, he says, “Wisdom is not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the kindergarten sand pile.  In that sand pile I learned such things as ‘Cookies and milk are good for you’ and ‘Wash your hands before you eat.’  But more importantly, I also learned such things as ‘Share everything . . . Play fair . . . Don’t hit people . . . Say you’re sorry when you hurt someone . . . Don’t take things that aren’t yours . . . Hold hands and  stick together.’

            “Think what a better world it would be if people would only put into practice the wisdom learned in the sand pile . . . And isn’t it still true that no matter how old we are, it is best to hold hands and stick together?”

            In our fast-paced, fact-filled culture  we are acquiring knowledge at breakneck speed.  Just think about our cell phones, computers, TVs and a thousand other things that are complex, yet within our reach!  Knowledge — what about wisdom?
            I have several times quoted Paul, to “let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.”                                                                               (Romans 12:2)

            From the beginning of human history we have sought knowledge and power.  That’s good.  Yet it was precisely that quest that got us kicked out of Eden!  According to the story, Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of Knowledge, not because they were seekers after truth, but because they wanted to be like God!

            I believe God wants us to grow in wisdom.  As “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man,” (Luke 2:52) I am convinced that God wants us to do the same.

            That, sisters and brothers, is my passion, to be transformed by learning new ways to think, new understanding of God’s plan for me, for this congregation.  I am blessed that my job is to study. 

            Frederick Buechner is a Presbyterian minister and scholar.  He sees a parallel between the Wise Men of Matthew’s Gospel and the three travelers in The Wizard of Oz.  You remember that Dorothy was swept up by a cyclone in Kansas and deposited in the Land of Oz.  There she was joined by three characters in a search for the Wizard of Oz, who will answer all their questions.  One is a scarecrow, who wants a brain more than anything else.  One is a Tin Woodsman who wants a heart.  The third is a Cowardly Lion, who desperately wants courage.
            Their journey is perilous; they are confronted by many obstacles.  But like the Wise men, they make it!  The way they make it is the point of the story.  Whenever they are confronted by some serious danger, it is the Cowardly Lion who manages to fight their way thru.  If the danger is more cerebral, it is the brainless scarecrow who manages to get them thru it.  As for the Tin Woodsman, who desperately wants a heart, he has so much compassion and care that the others have to constantly put oil on his joints so his tears won’t rust them.

            The point of the story is that love, wisdom and courage are developed by taking a first step toward finding them. Anf faith, as we begin the journey, as we exercise it to whatever extent we are able.  As we travel the journey of faith, like the characters in search of the Wizard of Oz, and the Wise Men in search of the Christ child, we find Truth.

            And when we find Truth, we find Jesus, the Christ, who taught us a lifestyle completely at odds with the way of the world.  If you want to experience a real epiphany, read and reread the Sermon on the Mount. 

            The Holy Spirit may fill your mind with more questions than answers, but they will be questions that thrill you, as the scientists are thrilled by questions of mystery.

            Saul Alinsky was a social worker, an unconventional social worker who spent his life solving urban problems in Rochester, Chicago and Detroit.  He had a reputation as being deliberately rude, rough. 
            He denied that, saying, “I believe a certain measure of irreverence should be part of the democratic faith because in a free society everyone should question and challenge the status quo.  If I were to put up a religious symbol like some people put up crucifixes or stars of David, my symbol would be a question mark.  A question mark is a healthy sign.  Besides, if you turn it over it becomes a plowshare!”

            The Bible and history are replete with stories of faith journeys — Abraham, Moses, Paul . . . Augustine . . . and Dante, who described his whole life as a journey.  His first guide was Virgil, the symbol of reason and then Beatrice, the symbol of faith and trust.

            Knowledge, faith and experience come to us if and when we journey.  Some lepers asked Jesus to heal them.  He told them to “go show yourselves to the priest.”   Then, aha!, a true epiphany, “when they were on their way they were healed.”  (Luke 17:14)  Do you suppose Jesus is telling us to ”Go, let your lights shine,” and we will be healed as we journey?

            I plead with you, my sisters and brothers, to make 2006 a year of spiritual journey.  It will involve some real dedication, but it will also bring you to real epiphany!

            Let us take our question marks to God, and with Saul Alinsky, turn them over to make plowshares with which to dig deep into the Bible and God’s Truth.

            Blaise Pascal, famous philosopher, had questions to ask God.  He was deeply troubled, until he heard God say to him, “You would not be seeking me had you not already found me.”
Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote:

      “Perplexed in faith, but pure in deeds,
       At last he beat his music out.
       There lives more faith in honest doubt
       Believe me, than in half the creeds.”

            Some of us have been on the journey for a loooooong time, some not so long.  Some of us have doubts that seem to be nothing but question marks.  But if we turn them over, and dig deply with the plowshares, God will by his Holy Spirit will lead us into Truth.

            If you have not experienced a real epiphany, keep plowing.  We have no record of the shepherds asking the Wise Men, “What took you guys so long?”

            An old legend tells of a man lost in the forest.  After several days he meets another man and asks, “Tell me, kind sir, how can I get out of this forest?”

            The other man says, “Friend, I am also lost.  Let us look together for a way out.  For sure, we must not take the way I have been taking.”  On the threshold of this new year, let us join in a journey of faith.  Let us look for new ways, new insights, new truths . . . new epiphanies! 

            Our Old Testament reading seems more than appropriate for us and the world today:  “Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all the nations to see!  For the glory of the Lord is shining upon you.  Darkness as black as night will cover all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord will shine over you.”  (Isaiah 60)  To me, that is a beautiful prophecy, predicting that our journey of faith will climax in an epiphany.  Which we will share with the world.  Evangelism!
            Hugh Ross began asking questions when he was just a youngster.  As he journeyed in his quest in the realms of astronomy and physics, he was led to believe there had to be a creator to set all this in motion.

            So he began to study religions.  He measured them all by the known facts of science.  Surely, a creator of such a wonderful and beautiful universe would want to communicate with his creation!  Hugh Ross found some answers in the Bible.  A serious journey finally led him to accept Jesus Christ as his life model.  Today, Dr. Hugh Ross is director of Reasons to Believe, an organization that studies science and religion.  He said, “As an astronomer I achieved my ultimate quest: my education led me to the stars; my faith led me beyond.”  To an epiphany!

            Some 700 years ago there was a preacher in Israel who castigated God’s people for living in luxury, while ignoring the poor.  His name was Micah.  The people chose to ignore Micah, and hired instead some preachers to please their ears.  Still, God spoke words of encouragement thru Micah — There will come a day when Israel will have a king, a king who will be just.

            Like every good story, there must be a plot.  Here it is:  The king who will restore Israel’s power will come from one of its smaller regions — “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village in Judah.  Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past.”  (Micah 5:2)

            Another twist in the plot:  He will rule, not with an iron fist from behind a mighty fortress, but like a shepherd tending his flock. 
            “And he will stand to lead his flock with the Lord’s strength, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.” (Micah 5:4)

            The Wise Men saw a star, followed the star.  They came from the East.  There were other priests and teachers who had studied the ancient texts.  Why didn’t they join the journey?  Does that tell us it is possible to study God’s word, yet miss the Messiah?  Apparently that’s what they did.

            Why was the epiphany reserved for the “Wise Men,” who went on the journey of faith . . . and found the King, a small child playing at his mother’s feet?  Because they acted on their faith.

            Hope Stout was a 12-year old girl who had a rare form of bone cancer.  The Make-A-Wish Foundation, a wonderful organization that works to provide joy to children with terminal illnesses, contacted Hope to see how they might fulfill her greatest wish.  In a moment of awe-inspiring selflessness, Hope said her wish would be that they first grant the wishes of every other kid on the list.  Make-A-Wish went into overdrive, raising funds, gathering volunteers to fulfill the wishes of 155 children.

            They had almost raised enough money to grant every child’s wish, when in January, 2004, Hope died.  Her example still motivates donors and volunteers to do the work of Jesus, if you please, the work of making this a better world.

            Why did Hope ask that the other children be served first?  I don’t know.  What I do know is that Hope’s selfless, extravagant, loving decision gives me an epiphany, a glowing glimpse of God’s love in human form.
            Dear saints, I have been struggling with some heavy theological challenges these past few months.  I am studying and praying for understanding which can “take me to the mountain,” as Moses or Martin Luther King would say.  And I pray also for you to find new and higher levels of spiritual/intellectual vistas, that we may experience epiphany after epiphany in this year, 2006.

            Let us pray  .  .  .

            Thank you, Father, for life, and for Jesus who came that we might enjoy life to the full, a continuous epiphany!