Gifts we Give

Posted on by harasprice

Faith from the Margins to the Web: The Sunday of the Epiphany, Year C

Opening Prayer:

O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Matthew 2:1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

`And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.'”

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they 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. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

FFMTW Participants: De’Nae, Stephen, Mary, and Lynette

“There’s something about this part, right here” said Mary, “the part when they went and sought diligently for the child, but it wasn’t because Herod told them to. It was because they knew who they were searching for.”

“They were frightened” said Stephen, “they knew, then, that Herod was afraid of this child. And I think they knew his intention, but they went anyway.”

“I was drawn to the fact that Jesus, this little tiny infant, was enough to draw these people. They brought all they had. This prophecy that people had heard, they took it and ran with it. What kind of belief and faith must they have had to have followed this, and to see this tiny baby and believe” added De’Nae. “The prophecy was still going to play out; Herod thought he had the power to change that and in doing so, he destroyed lives. He tried to take it into his own hands.”

The group began to talk about the wise people and prophets that they had heard and known about in their lives and how that has shaped how they learn to trust. Thinking about that seemed to make this more real, rather than a story we imagine.

“What is the difference between prophecy and wisdom?” asked Mary.

“I think wisdom is through your life” said De’Nae, “but prophecy comes from God. I think of my Dad as a wise person, and I think maybe he even has a gift of prophecy. He raised us to know that each of us has gifts from God and he is someone who can see the gifts in others. But his wisdom: that is age, and learning and humility.”

The group began to speak about their gifts and treasures, and all the ways in which they had received blessings in their lives.

“In that opening prayer” said Mary, “we prayed, ‘lead us by faith.’ And you know, I think about they way in which I feel led by faith.

“You know, I hadn’t thought about this but it says, ‘lead us who know you know through faith…’ and it makes me wonder if that isn’t also a reminder to us that it is our faith, now, through what we have been given and through what we know to understand as best we can. I guess it doesn’t tell us that God will be just like we think God is. We might each have our own best understanding of God, which we hold onto by faith. But that’s just it…it is by faith, until we see God face to face.”

“That’s interesting” said Stephen. “People think God looks one way or another…or maybe we need to believe God looks like us!”

Mary said, “Coming up, we were taught that God was white but here I am a black woman and I know that God could look like me, or to be asian, or to be middle eastern. We got all hung up on making out God to be in our image, when God says we are made in God’s image, all of us.”

“I’m still rocking with God no matter what!” said De’Nae.

“I think God is the ruler of all, coming to save the world” said Stephen. “So, I don’t think God will be bound to race, or in whose image God was made in. God came to rule over all that’s in this world, to rise above all that. People might need to remake God in our image so that we feel good about ourselves but we are asked…by faith…to open our hearts to know God.”

“Sometimes I wonder why it is that we keep ourselves from believing. We want to find the things to disprove, or to move away. It’s hard to want to take something by faith. But here, in this story, the wise men meet this tiny baby and that is enough for them to be sustained in their faith and to go home by another way. They hadn’t even seen his miracles, or see him walk on water. It just took this time of seeing” said De’Nae.

The group closed considering a question together: “what treasure that you have would you give to the baby Jesus?”

Stephen started: “I would give my belief. I don’t have a lot, but I have that. I would give that of my heart.”

De’Nae said: “I would give myself. The treasure chest of gold and all that, it didn’t matter, it isn’t that the baby Jesus desired that and it isn’t that Jesus wants that now. But if I could give myself…just me…just as I am…broken and all…I think that is what Jesus would most want of me.”

Lynette said, “When I go to funerals and stuff, they sing this song, “take the best of me” and I feel that way, too. Not the gold and all of that. Just me.”

Mary agreed, “He doesn’t want the best, or some expensive gift. Material doesn’t mean anything…he wants us!”

The group ended up on the same theme which they summed up together in their closing prayer:

“I’m going to give You what I have, and all that I can give You is me.”

Photo credit:

Sarah Kye Price, Epiphany Window at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Berkeley California

Gifts We Have Been Given

Posted on by harasprice

A Faith from the Margins to the Web bible study interview for Epiphany, Year B:

O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Matthew 2:1-12

 

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

 

`And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.'”

 

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they 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. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

 

Contributing Authors: Lynnette and Davis

After opening with a prayer, Davis and Lynnette took turns reading the Gospel lesson for Epiphany

Davis: “We’ve heard the Christmas message many times, haven’t we?” He went on to paraphrase the Gospel, emphasizing that for him there is such wide-spread recognition of the importance of this child. On the world’s terms, is he a threat or a great ruler? To Herod, he’s a threat. But to the Magi, there were something more that they were following: “The whole idea is they came from halfway around the world and left him treasures…what do you think all that means, for us?”

Lynnette was quiet, then laughed a bit and said: “I think maybe I need to start going to church more!”

“Don’t we all!” Davis chuckled in response.

Sometimes it can seem, from the corners of our world and the social margins that we are on that we don’t know enough, or aren’t spiritual enough, or aren’t something enough to be entrusted with how the Holy Scriptures open up to us.  But that isn’t how it is with God, present with us throughout time and in every corner of our lives, revealing truth that is in our midst.  It was Lynnette who seemed to experience that Epiphany unfolding in the thoughtful, deliberate response that she offered up next:

Lynnette thoughtfully reflected; “Well, if Jesus and God…the Lord…are the same person and Jesus was formed through his mother…well it seems to me that none of us would be here if it weren’t for God, as well as our mothers and fathers.”

Lynette continued, “So, that makes me think that I have to give thanks to God; I pray every night to God and then I’m thankful in the morning when I wake up. I didn’t have to wake up…but I did wake up, so that gives the day a whole new possibility.”

Davis nodded, “That’s a really good way to live; a great way to look at it, really. Every day we wake up and we realize that if it weren’t for God, we wouldn’t be here.”

Lynette spoke again, “God is good, all the time.  I pray to God, and I realize God shows me the way, too. Like today, I woke up and saw that it was a beautiful day. I knew I had to get up, to put me on a smile, to get here to this place. I mean, I know that it isn’t something I can take for granted, you know.  There was a time and place when I thought I was going to die, when they said I needed a transplant. But I knew, I knew that I didn’t have to live that way, that if I kept taking medicine and started taking care of myself it would work. I believed that, and I believed that was God telling me that.  And it has worked out, and that is why I thank God and why I come here.”

Lynnette also reflected about the gift of her family.  “I have three boys; I worry about my kids sometimes but they have their own lives and they are on the right track!”

Davis asked their ages, and was surprised when he heard her children were in their 40’s, “You look like you’re younger than that!”

Lynnette laughed, “I do hear that a lot.  But it’s true.  They are good boys; they grew up with me and I tried to be a good Mama. I taught them good manners, and to have a spirit of love. My own parents raised me right and taught me how to walk the right ways of this life, too, and so I pass that on.”

Davis smiled at her and said, “It seems like Spirit has been in your life for a long time.”

Lynnette said, “Well, maybe I don’t know a lot, but I do know that God is with me.”

“Does God ever speak to you?” wondered Davis.

“You know one day, I heard someone say my name, plain as day. I thought ‘is that God?’” But I didn’t have to wonder. I remembered my Momma telling me, when you talk to God, He listens. So I take the time, take that time now to just talk to Him. I tell God my heart.”

Davis asked, “So, is there anything in here that we learned and we want to tell God?   The take home of this Gospel for me is that this ends up being the way that we celebrate Christmas: we give Christmas gifts…”

Lynnette added, “…and we give love…”

“Right!” said Davis. “We end up re-enacting the scene of Jesus being born, and the Three Kings are always there, giving gifts. It’s like we keep it going.  I want to be thankful for that gift of Jesus’ birth and the ways that we keep celebrating it.”

David and Lynnette shared about how each of their churches have celebrated Christmas over the years. A sense of welcome and giving emerged in their sharing, the commonality of love as the expression of Christian faith surrounded them.

Davis began to wrap up their conversation: “So, since we know that God is here right now, what would you tell God…what would you say…can we just talk right here, to God?”

Lynette chimed in immediately. “Of course we can!  I would.  I’d tell Him I love Him!”

Lynnette started their prayer with that: “I love you, God! Thank you for waking me up in the morning. Thank you for letting me be here. I love you God, and I learned more about You today, Lord and mighty God, through my friend Davis here.  Thank you for being with us.”

Then Davis prayed:

“God I thank you for Lynnette. She reminds me that you are always here. Sometimes I don’t pause enough to give you thanks. But, thank you for being here with us today. Thank you for allowing us to share together today. Thank you for reminding me of your loving presence, here with us today.”

Thank you, Lynnette and Davis, for the gift of your sharing and the light it brings to open this season of Epiphany. And than you, most of all, to God for the gift of your presence of love with us today and always.