Epiphany and the discovery of God's will in our lives

Epiphany Jan 6- Matthew 2:1-12

 

The captain of the ship looked into the dark night and saw faint lights in the

distance. Immediately he told his signalman to send a message: “Alter your course

10 degrees south.”

Promptly a return message was received: “Alter your course 10 degrees

north.”

The captain was angered; his command had been ignored. So he sent a second

message: “Alter your course 10 degrees south—I am the captain!”

Soon another message was received: "Alter your course 10 degrees north—I

am seaman third class Jones."

Immediately the captain sent a third message, knowing the fear it would

evoke: “Alter your course 10 degrees south—I am a battleship.”

Then the reply came: “Alter your course 10 degrees north—I am a

lighthouse.”

The photographer for a national magazine was assigned to shoot a great

forest fire. He was told that a small plane would be waiting to take him over

the fire.

He arrived at the airstrip just an hour before sundown. Sure enough the

Cessna was waiting. He jumped in with his equipment and shouted, “Let’s

go!” The pilot swung the plane into the wind and soon they were in the air.

“Fly over the north side of the fire,” said the photographer, “and make

several low-level passes.”

“Why?” asked the nervous pilot.

“Because I’m going to take pictures!” retorted the photographer. “I’m a

photographer, and photographers take pictures.”

After a long pause, the pilot replied, “You mean you’re not the instructor?”

Bob Mumford, in TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT GUIDANCE, compares

discovering God's will with a sea captain's docking procedure:

A certain harbor in Italy can be reached only by sailing up a narrow channel

between dangerous rocks and shoals. Over the years, many ships have been

wrecked, and navigation is hazardous.

To guide the ships safely into port, three lights have been mounted on three

huge poles in the harbor. When the three lights are perfectly lined up and seen as

one, the ship can safely proceed up the narrow channel. If the pilot sees two or three

lights, he knows he's off course and in danger.

God has also provided three beacons to guide us. The same rules of navigation

apply—the three lights must be lined up before it is safe for us to proceed. The three

harbor lights of guidance are

1. The Word of God (objective standard)

2. The Holy Spirit (subjective witness)

3. Circumstances (divine providence

   Today we observe Epiphany, the showing of the Star to the Magi, the wise men.  We do not know the right way to take in our lives. We must wait for God’s guidance . We cannot rush ahead as did the photographer without instructions.  Disaster may ensue!

    Wise people listen to others, to God and follow providential circumstances prayerfully and not in haste.  Alexander Carson , Baptist minister in Scotland had parents who were Scottish Presbyterians.  He wrote the History of Providence as Manifested in Scripture and  said this about the world, “ the whole history of the kings of Judah and Israel shows that God sent oppressive rulers to a wicked people.  The history of all nations manifests the same Providence.  Christians who waste their time in speculations or attempts to bless a wicked world by a perfect civil government are as foolish as the man who proposed to regulate the weather by machines constructed on the laws of electricity…..” He goes on to encourage us even if we make wrong-headed decisions in our haste or attempt to thwart the will of God, “ God’s people …have in every age a right to look to Him with confidence for deliverance from the greatest dangers, and the most inextricable difficulties. “

   The magi avoided the lies of Herod. They worked around that problem.  He too had seen the star but he was not about to pay any homage to the child.  Doing the will of God does provide us joy.  “…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.”

    It is not always easy to listen to  God when the world beckons us in another direction.  We as God’s followers have choices.  We can listen to Him through His Word and the direction of the people of God in His Church or we can go the way that others go without much thought.  God grant us the light of Christ in this life and the life to come knowing that His way is the best.

“ May Almighty God who led the Wise Men by the shining of a star to find the Christ, the Light from light, lead you also and bless you with the gift of love . O God, our Creator , you have divided our life into days and seasons, and called us to acknowledge  Your providence year after year. Grant that we may live in your presence, be guided by your Holy Spirit, and offer all our works to your honor and glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Adapted from The Book of Occasional Services-2003.