Epiphany, January 6 and 11, 2025, Uses of the Stars

1st Epiphany

Adoration of the Magi, Burne-Jones

Matthew 2: 1-12

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea—during the time of King Herod—behold: wise priest-kings from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,

“Where is the one born here King of the Jews? We have seen his star rise in the east and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. And he assembled all the high priests and scribes of the people and inquired of them in what place the Christ was to be born.

And they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it was written by the prophet:

And you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

Are by no means the least among the rulers of Judah;

For out of you shall come forth the ruler

Who will be shepherd over my people, the true Israel.”

Then Herod, secretly calling the Magi together again, inquired from them the exact time when the star had appeared. He directed them to Bethlehem and said, “Go there and search carefully for the child, and when you find him, report to me, that I too may go and bow down before him.”

After they had heard the King, they went on their way, and behold, the star that they had seen rising went before them, and led them in its course over the cities until it stood over the place where the child was.

Seeing the star, they were filled with [there awakened in them] an exceedingly great and holy joy.

Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; they fell down before him and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and offered him their gifts: gold and frankincense and myrrh.

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their country by another way.

1st Epiphany

January 6 and 11, 2015

Matthew 2: 1-12

“In the beginning… darkness was on the face of the deep…. And God said, ‘Let there be light’. Thus the very pattern of the world was stamped with primal pairings, pairings of light and dark – day and night, life and death.

These pairings live on in as the pattern of our souls, which swing between love and hate, hope and fear, good and evil. Herod represents that dark capacity in all of us which fears loss of position, which instigates our capacity for calculating secretiveness, for destructiveness. Yet we also have the three kings in us to balance out our inner darkness. They are the soul’s capacity to see the starlight of higher wisdom; to be devoted to God’s guidance; to willingly acknowledge the necessity of sacrifice.

It is the wise guidance of the star that leads them first to Herod, then to the Christ Child that prompts the gift of gold. It is their devotion to God’s guidance, sent to them also through the words of their dream of warning, that accompanies the gift of frankincense. It is their willingness to recognize the Child’s coming sacrifice that prompts the gift of myrrh.

The darkness of fear contends with God’s light in all of us. Darkness leads us to destruction. But God’s light leads to a great and holy joy. In the words of the poet we pray:

Lift up my eyes

Three Kings' Dream, David Newbatt

from the earth, and let me not

forget the uses of the stars.

….Let me not follow the clamor of

the world, but walk calmly

in my path.[1]

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[1] Max Ehrmann, “ A Prayer” in The Desiderata of Happiness

Holy Nights, January 4, 2015, Healing Goodness

Holy Nights

1 Corinthians 12:31- 13:13

Strive to make the best out of the gifts of grace working together. Yet I will show the way that is higher than all others.

If I speak out of the Spirit with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, then my speaking remains as sounding brass or tinkling cymbal. And if I had the gift of prophecy and could speak of all the mysteries and could impart all knowledge and, further, had the power of faith that removes mountains, yet am without love, then I am nothing. And if I were to give away everything that is mine, and lastly were to give away even my body for burning, yet am without love, then all is in vain.

Love makes the soul great;

Love fills the soul with healing goodness;

Love does not know envy;

It knows no boasting;

It does not allow falseness;

Love does not harm that which is decent.

It drives out self-seeking.

Love does not allow inner balance to be lost.

It does not bear a grudge.

It does not rejoice over injustice.

It rejoices only in the truth.

Love bears all things,

Is always prepared to have faithful trust.

It may hope for everything and is all-patient.

If love is truly present, it cannot be lost. The gift of prophecy will one day be extinguished, the wonder of languages cease, clairvoyant insight come to an end. Our insight is incomplete, incomplete is our prophecy.

But one day the perfect must come, the complete consecration – aim; then the time of the incomplete is over.

When I was still a child, I spoke as a child, and I felt and thought as a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

Now we still see things in dark outlines, as in a mirror. Some day we will see everything face to face. Now my insight is incomplete, but then I shall stand in the stream of true insight, in which recognizing and being recognized are one.

We find permanence that bears all future within it in the exalted triad:

In faith

In hope,

And in love.

But the greatest of these is love.

Holy Nights

January 4, 2015

1 Corinthians 12:31- 13:13

On the altar we still see the words: Peace on earth to all of good will. What is it that makes us into people of good will? That which turns our will toward goodness, that which makes our will beneficial, is Truth.

Lies create ill will; they literally create a will that becomes ill, sick and ailing. Truth creates wellness. Truth creates good will, healthy will. And a truthful good will creates love.

Love does not allow falseness

Love does not harm what is decent

It drives out self seeking….

Love does not rejoice in injustice, only in the truth.[1]

This is an old idea. Psalm 15 says:

Lord, who can be trusted with power,

and who may act in your place?

Those with a passion for justice,

who speak the truth from their hearts;

who have let go of selfish interests

and grown beyond their own lives;

who see the wretched as their family

and the poor as their flesh and blood.

They alone are impartial

and worthy of the people's trust.

Their compassion lights up the whole earth,

and their kindness endures forever.[2]

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[1] Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians 13:5, 6

[2] (The Psalms, translations by Stephen Mitchell)

New Year's Day 2015, Choose to Evolve

January 1, 2015

1^st Colossians, 15 -20

Creation of Adam, Chartres

The Son is the visible image of the invisible God, the first-born over all created beings. For in him has come into existence everything that is in the heavens and on the earth, the visible and the invisible world, the Thrones and the World Guides, the Archai and the Creator Spirits. All things were created through him and for him. He was there before all else, and everything coheres in him. And he is the head of the body, and his body is the great community of congregations. He is also the very beginning,  and the firstborn among those who rise from the dead, so that he may be the One who goes before in all thing and everything. For in him all fullness of God was pleased to dwell, to transform and to reconcile everything to himself, laying the foundations of peace through the blood of his cross.  Through him all beings on the earth as well as in the heavenly spheres are to attain their goal.

  

January 1, 2015

1^st Colossians, 15 -20

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, darkness was over the surface of the deep and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. Genesis 1

Thus begins creation; it is dark and empty. Yet God’s bright spirit moves over the waters, and there appears – a face. 

What did the spirit of God see as it hovered over the primal waters? Was it a reflection of His own face? The intimation of our own? Could it be that the plan from the beginning was that we human beings would one day wear the face of God? Is that what He saw in the beginning?

A face is both the beginning and a culmination of the process of creation, which so far has created the faces of both animal and human faces.

There is a story in which a man’s portrait, which is kept hidden in his attic, changes throughout his life to portray the real inner state of his soul, while his outer face remains handsome and youthful. Evolution, human development, continues. But now our evolution and change happens through our own choices.

Christ, who was there at the beginning of creation, is the God-Become-Human, the Human God. He came to help us evolve ourselves, so that one day we too will wear our true faces, the face of our true selves. One day, when God looks into our faces, he will see Himself reflected there. 

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Holy Nights, December 28, 2014, Grow Me

Philippians 2: 5 – 16

December 28, 2014

Be imbued with the same state of mind that also filled Christ Jesus himself: For, although he was of divine nature and form, he chose not to lay claim for himself to be equal to God.  Rather, he emptied himself in offering and took on the form of a servant. In human form he took on body and he showed himself in the form of a man throughout his whole life. Humbly and selflessly he submitted to the laws of earth-existence, even to the experience of the death on the cross.

Therefore God has also exalted him to the highest heights and given him the name which is above every other name. 

In the name of Jesus the knees of all beings should bow, in the heavens, on the earth, and in the depths of existence. And so that the Father, the Ground of all existence shall be revealed, every tongue should acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord!

Therefore, my dear friends, just as you always did—listen to the voice of the spirit, not only when I am with you, but now all the more since I am far away from you. Work with anxious effort and trembling expectation, to the end that the realm of healing power may open to you. For it is God who awakens the will in you and who brings about the fulfillment, so that everything can become good.

Do not let yourselves be held back in that work by sluggishness of the will or by restless thoughts which make you indecisive. , Only so can you live, without blemish and falseness, as pure, “children of God in the midst of a dissipated and twisted humanity.” You are to shine among human beings like bright stars in the sky by keeping to the Word of Life.

Holy Nights

December 28, 2014

Philippians 2: 5 – 16

The sky can be filled with clouds. They can obscure the light of the sun. But above the clouds, the sun continues to shine forth its brightness, illuminating the clouds themselves.  Even when the sun sets, seeming to be swallowed up by darkness, it is nonetheless shining, continuing to illuminate the earth.

Christ, the Light of the World, the Sun-God, entered the form of the human being. Gradually his brightness was clouded over by the human constitution, until finally, like the sun at the end of the day, His light seemed to disappear into the darkness of death. Yet He continued to shine in the depths. He is the seed that will grow the earth into a new sun, a new star.

Since then, Christ has entered the form of all human beings. He dwells in us as a Light-Seed, as the potential for us to become shining miniature suns. He hopes we will hear his voice calling us, as the voice within that says: Become! Develop! Grow me within you!

He is waiting for us to cultivate Him in the depths of our souls, in the hearts of our communities, to grow His being in us.

“For [as Paul says] we are to shine…like bright stars in the sky by keeping to the Word of Life.”

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Christmas III, Day, December 25, 2014, Feed, Guide, Nourish

Christmas III

John 21: 15-25

Now is proclaimed the end of the entire gospel according to John in the 21st chapter:

After they had had held their meal together, Jesus said to Simon Peter: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than the others here? Peter answered, “Lord you know that I am your friend”. Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

And he said to him again, a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I am devoted to you.” Jesus said to him, “Shepherd my young sheep.”

He asked him a third time, “Simon, Son of John, Are you my friend?” Peter was heartbroken that he could say to him the third time, ‘Are you my friend’, and he answered, “Lord, you know all things; therefore you know that I am devoted to you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. Amen the truth I say to you, when you were younger you girded yourself and walked wherever you wished. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and Another will gird you and lead you where you do not wish to go.”

He told him this to indicate the kind of death by which he would bring the divine to revelation. Then he said to him, “Follow me.”

But Peter, turning, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved, following him. He was the one who had leaned upon his breast at the supper and had asked, “Lord, who is it who betrays you?”  When Peter now saw him, his asked, “Lord, what of this man, what is his task?”

Jesus said to him: If is my will that he remain until my coming, that does not affect your path. Follow me…”

From this day the story spread among the brethren that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until my coming, that does not affect your path.”

This is the disciple who here bears witness to these things and who has written all this. And we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things that Jesus did. If they were to be written down one by one, I do not think that the world itself could contain the books that would have to be written.

Christmas III, Day

December 25, 2014

John 21: 15-25

Christ came to earth as the seed of a new kind of human being. This new kind of human being is to rise in freedom above the compulsions of fear. It grows in the light of Truth. It perceives that the meaning of our existence on earth is to learn how to love.

Three times before the crucifixion, Peter had denied any relationship to Christ, the Being of Love. And after the resurrection, he is given the chance to redeem himself:  three times Christ asks him, ‘Do you love me?’ Peter is given instructions about the path of love: nourish and guide what is developing within those who are on the path of love. Feed my little ones; guide, shepherd the growing ones; feed the grown. Keep their evolving souls alive.

This is the task of the Peter who exists in all of us. Loving God means finding ways to support God’s growth within our fellow human beings; feeding and supporting their spirits, their soul, perhaps even their bodies. And we do so by being guided and fed by the one who called himself, whom we call, the Good Shepherd. For as the poet says:

Who shall keep thy sheep,

Lord, and lose not one?

Who save one shall keep,

Lest the shepherds sleep?

Who beside the Son?

…

The shepherds sing; and shall I silent be?

My God, no hymn for Thee?

My soul's a shepherd too; a flock it feeds

Of thoughts, and words, and deeds.

The pasture is Thy words; the streams, Thy grace

Enriching all the place.

Shepherd and flock shall sing, and all my powers

Out-sing the daylight hours.

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Christmas II, Dawn, December 25, 2014, Sun Sings

Christmas II

Luke 2: 1-20

Now is proclaimed the [middle of the Gospel[s], according to Luke in the second chapter.

Now it came to pass in those days that a proclamation went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone set out to be enrolled, each to the town of his ancestors.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he belonged to the house and lineage of David. He went to be enrolled with Mary his betrothed. And Mary was with child. And it came to pass that while they were there, the time was fulfilled for her to be delivered. And she bore her son, her first-born. And she wrapped him in linen and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Blake

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks in the night. And an angel of the Lord came upon them [appeared before them] and the light of the revelation of God shone about them. And great fear came upon them [they felt the fear of fears].

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for I announce to you a great joy, which shall be for all men on earth: today is born unto you the Bringer of Healing, in the city of David,  Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign for you: you will find a little child wrapped in linen, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly around the angel was the fullness of the heavenly angelic hosts: their song of praise sounded forth to the highest:

God’s Spirit reveals itself in the heights

And brings peace to men of earth

In whose hearts good will dwells!

And as the angels withdrew from them into the heavens, the shepherds said to one another:

“Let us go to Bethlehem to see the fulfillment of the Word that has happened here, which the Lord let be proclaimed.”

And they came hastening, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. And when they had seen, they made known the Word that was spoken to them concerning this child. [or, When they saw that, they understood what had been told them concerning this child.] And all who heard it were astonished about what the shepherds said.

But Mary treasured [preserved] all these words, pondering them [turning them over] in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God to everyone for everything they had heard and seen, which was just as it had been announced to them.

Bonnell

Christmas II, Dawn

December 25, 2014

Luke 2: 1-20

At certain times of the year, especially in spring, birds create a choral symphony in the dark before dawn. It is as if they want to announce to the world the arrival of a new day, the arrival of the light. When the sun actually rises, their song of praise falls silent. In the silence, if we could but hear, the Sun itself, the dwelling place of high choirs of angels, begins to sing. If we could but hear, we would perceive how the light-filled singing Word calls forth the plants, the animals, ourselves.

The angels sang to the shepherds at night, before dawn. They sang to announce the dawning of the light of the world. The shepherds’ hearts were perceptive. They heard the singing of the angelic chorus. They looked for the light that was dawning, the light of love that they found shining from the Child’s eyes. And their own words of praise ignited in their hearts and poured forth from their lips.

Vladimir Borovikovsy

Love, healing light-filled love, has been born to us. One day the true light will have dawned upon all of humanity. And all shall see and praise, as the poet says:

But the sun is one,

And the sun's name Right;

And when light is none

Saving of the sun,

All men shall have light.

All shall see and be

Parcel of the morn;

Ay, though blind were we,

None shall choose but see

When that day is born[1]

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[1] Christmas Antiphones by Algernon Charles Swinburne