Oh ... THAT sermon

For those of you just dying to read my sermon from last Sunday (riiiiighhhtttt), here it is:

Epiphany A - Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2:1-12

Today's passage from Isaiah is about the coming glory of God; a glory that would shine upon Jerusalem and restore Israel to a place of prominence among nations. Notice what will happen when that day arrives: nations will come to worship; nations will come to your light and kings to your dawn; the abundance of the sea and the wealth of the nations shall be brought to you; they will bring gold and frankincense.

While this passage is primarily looking forward to a grand return to material well-being and security, we can take it another way. Listen again: nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn; the wealth of the nations shall come to you; they shall bring gold and frankincense.

We can look at this passage and see Jesus in its midst. Today is the Epiphany, the day we celebrate the visitation of the wise men and the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. We hear the story of the star, of visitors from the east and of gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And we know that the glory of the Lord shines upon this child.

Whether you are reading Isaiah or Matthew, it's clear that people will come from all over to honor God. Today we might call this a pilgrimage. Imagine a journey of great distances, traveled on foot or maybe horseback. The purpose of this journey isn't to explore new lands or stake out a claim for personal glory. The purpose of this journey is to meet God face to face.

When you go to meet God face to face, what do you bring? What do you give to the God who has everything? If you are meeting a king, how about gold, frankincense and myrrh? But more than that, you can offer your own first fruits. Just as those visiting wise men did so long ago, we can open up our treasure chests and offer up treasure we had once stored up for ourselves.

Just as the wise men offered those three gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, we also have three gifts we can offer up. First, we can offer our Time. Time, we say is precious. Yet how much time do we waste by putting things off and procrastinating? Thinking about that, we could be using our time to volunteer or to study. This Epiphany, what gifts of Time can you give to God?

Second, we can offer our Talent. We all have talents that can be used to honor God and help bring about his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Things like reading in church or baking or teaching or playing music or gardening; and the list goes on. How much more we would all benefit if we put our talents to use. This Epiphany, I urge you to offer your talent for the benefit of the kingdom.

And third, we can offer our Treasure. This is, in all honesty, probably the easiest gift you can offer; after all, it doesn't take much effort to write a check. Do you believe that God is present here? Do you believe that his glory shines on this place? Do you believe that God is worthy of receiving the treasure of your first fruits? If so, are you willing to support the mission of this church in the Ruby Valley? This Epiphany, I challenge you to make an offering worthy of a king.

You see, today's gospel is more than a story about wise men from the Orient, bearing gifts and traveling afar. Today's gospel is about the manifestation of Christ to the world, sure; but it is also a story about US. It's the story of how the light of Christ and the glory of God drew us to this place. It's a story of how we wandered, some farther than others, until we found what we were looking for. And it's a story about how we choose to honor God.

How do we give him thanks for leading us here? How do we offer our gifts that he gave us to spread the Good News? And how much, or how little, you choose to offer as a tribute might be a reflection of just how thankful you are for his guidance and presence in your life.

As we move into a new year, as we celebrate the Epiphany, and as we hear stories of gifts given, this might be a good time to consider the gifts you offer and whether they are gifts of our first fruits that are worthy of a king . . . or whether they are merely tokens given from our leftovers.