Wellspring UMC; Epiphany Sunday: January 6, 2008: “A Light for Those Outside”:

-Isaiah 60: 1-6; Matthew 2: 1-12

Today is a unique day. Usually Epiphany Sunday falls on one of these day after January 6^th, but today the year and season begin as one, and there is significance to this event.

The term “Epiphany” means ‘to reveal or show,’ and the celebration of the Epiphany is founded in the coming of the Magi to the Christ-child. These men are believed to have been astrologers or wealthy scientists who caught a glimpse of a bright star, and God revealed to them that they should follow that star. They heard, listened, obeyed, and found themselves in a different land, among different people, kneeling before the Son of God.

At first glance one would think that the significance of this is that important Wise Men brought gifts to a peasant king, but the core of its significance comes in that these Magi were gentiles. That is, they were not Jews. They were not included as part of the people of God. They were outsiders, and as outsiders, the religious establishment saw them as unclean, unworthy, and quite honestly, damned. And yet, the importance of Epiphany is founded upon the Truth that it was to the outsider that God spoke. It was to the ones outside the establishment, that God revealed God’s plan. It was these who came to acknowledge what God was doing in and to the world with the birth of this child.

One of the things which catches my attention every time I hear this story is the responses of the characters. Herod finds out about the birth and just wants to kill the baby. The religious establishment, the chief priests and elders, hear rumor of the coming of the Messiah, but they simply give Herod the information. You’d think that they’d at least want to investigate such news. Instead, they write it off. Matthew gives no account of anyone else seeing the star or recognizing the significance of what is happening, and in Luke the only ones who are included in the story were more outsiders – dirty, unkempt, rough-necked shepherds.

But God reached out to the outsiders. Those on the other side of the door, the unexpected ones are the ones, and interesting enough, they are the ones who respond. The religious establishment and those busy with their own lives miss it. As was the intent then, so it is today. It is to and for the outsider that Christ comes. That is, this light came, mainly, for those outside. Christ comes, mainly, for those outside the church, and as the Body of Christ, our objective and call is to be light for those outside.

One of the family Christmas gifts this year was a set of solar powered lights for our front walkway. I was excited to receive them, so the very next day, I took the lights, mapped out how I’d set them up, then got to work.

Now there are two types of solar lights. One kind is a light that stands individually. On top there is a solar cell which, during the day captures the energy of the sun, recharges an internal battery, then when darkness comes, it shines. The other kind is built differently, and it was this other kind that I installed.

Instead of being a single unit, there is a solar panel, probably 5 inches by 5 inches, that is set in a place where it will receive maximum sunlight. That panel absorbs the sun’s rays, charges lithium batteries, and triggers the lights to come on after dark. That panel is then connected, by a wire, to one light. Then where the connector is, there is a Y fitting, where a wire to the next light is plugged in, and so on. Much like a string of lights on a Christmas tree, a wire from the source, connects with a wire to the light, then a wire from another light joins the chain.

After I mapped it out, I took a shovel and dug out a small trench, positioned the panel and lights where they needed to be then beginning at the panel, plugged together the wires forming a string of lights light up the path leading to the door of our home. Once strung together and connected, I laid them in the trench, covered them up, and since then, those lights shine in the darkness as an invitation to all who pass by.

As I was reflecting upon the significance of Epiphany, I thought about these lights, for in many ways, they represent well who the church is, what we’re called to do, and for whom we’re intended to exist.

The source for the lighting is the solar panel, which gets its energy from the sun. Similar to our relationship to the church, we too receive our energy from a common source, Wellspring, and Wellspring, receives it’s energy from the Son of God. Without Christ, we would have no energy, and in fact, we’d have no purpose. Instead, we’d simply be a chain of people blending into the world. However, thank God that God does shine on us, and as we participate in worship and the life of the church, that light infuses us and connects us one to the other.

Each of us are unique, and yet each does not stand alone. Like those individual solar powered lights, we each shine in our own ways, but we are connected by the Spirit of God. The power of the Son flows through that connection, and in the midst of darkness, that which surrounds us and that which attempts to envelope the world, we shine.

But what is most profound, is that the purpose of the light, the purpose of the church, is to be light to those outside. Yes, it is a blessing to shine and a blessing to be connected with one another, but that’s not the purpose of the church. That’s not the purpose of our lives. No, our purpose is to shine for others. To be a light, connected to one another but shining to lead those in darkness to a haven of peace and hope...to be like that star, leading outsiders toward God’s purpose, the salvation and fulfillment of the world.

Friends, we’re entering a new year, and this is what’s before us, to remember God’s purpose, focus our ministries, and listen to God, as God teaches us what it truly means to be light for those outside. As we enter this year, I invite us to pray about what that might mean, and who God is calling us to become. To begin that process, I share with you a video which will help us to remember this call and move us to be the Light, to be the Church, to be Christ to a world of darkness...