{"id":16634,"date":"2023-01-06T08:30:56","date_gmt":"2023-01-06T14:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/transformingcenter.org\/?p=16634"},"modified":"2023-01-06T15:19:19","modified_gmt":"2023-01-06T21:19:19","slug":"epiphany-when-the-star-beckons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/transformingcenter.org\/2023\/01\/epiphany-when-the-star-beckons\/","title":{"rendered":"Epiphany: When the Star Beckons"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lectionary Readings for Epiphany: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey set out; and there ahead of them, went the star they had seen at it\u2019s rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When the wise men saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u2013Matthew 2:9\u201311<\/p>\n

Epiphany marks the end of the Christmas season (which, let\u2019s be honest, involved a whole lot of waiting!), and moves us into a new season characterized by active seeking. In particular, Epiphany takes its themes from the journey of the \u201cwise men\u201d\u2019\u2014 pagan astrologers who had been actively searching the skies for indications of a new reality that was emerging; when they saw that special phenomenon in the sky, they wasted no time in leaving their familiar setting to actively seek the light of God\u2019s presence. <\/p>\n

Their journey involved taking initiative, reorienting their lives to a new reality, and striking out on an unknown path with courage and determination. It required them to trust themselves and what they had seen, to negotiate shrewdly with a jealous king, and to believe in the power and veracity of their dreams.<\/p>\n

In this culminating event of the Christmas season we, too, are invited on our own journey of actively seeking God in new ways, in unlikely places, and then following wherever the light of God\u2019s presence leads us. Like these intrepid travelers we, too, have heard the news about a fresh coming of Christ into the world but it\u2019s not enough to hear other people\u2019s accounts second hand. We are compelled to seek out our own personal encounter, no matter the cost.<\/p>\n

As we celebrate Epiphany, we invite you to take a quiet moment this weekend to read the story of the magi (Matthew 2:1-12) once again with fresh eyes and an open heart. Then engage the poem below and wonder, Where do I find myself in this story today? What phrase in the poem stands out and captures how I sense God beckoning me to a new journey in this new year?<\/p>\n

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Beckoning God\u2014<\/i><\/div>\n
who called the rich to travel toward poverty,<\/i><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 the wise to embrace your folly,<\/i><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 the powerful to know their own frailty;<\/i><\/div>\n
who gave to strangers<\/i><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 a sense of homecoming in an alien land\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n
and to stargazers<\/i><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 true light and vision as they bowed to earth\u2014<\/i><\/div>\n
we lay ourselves open to your signs for us.<\/i><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n
Stir us with holy discontent over a world\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n
which gives its gifts to those\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 who have plenty already<\/i><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 whose talents are obvious<\/i><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 whose power is recognized;<\/i><\/div>\n
and help us<\/i><\/div>\n
both share our resources with those who have little<\/i><\/div>\n
and to receive with humility the gifts they bring to us.<\/i><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n
Rise within us, like a star,<\/i><\/div>\n
and make us restless\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n
til\u00a0we journey forth<\/i><\/div>\n
to seek our rest in you.\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n

 
\nKate Compston, \u00a0Bread of Tomorrow<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u00a9Ruth Haley Barton, 2023. Not to be reproduced without permission.<\/p>\n

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For further reading on Epiphany, click here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Enjoy a special episode recorded last year:<\/h3>\n