Epiphany Mash-Up

January 5^th, 2014         “Epiphany Mash-Up”    Rev. Heather Jepsen

Matthew 2:1-12 with John 1:1-18

         I am hoping this morning that you are all familiar with the popular term “Mash-Up”.  Mash-up is the word for something created from combining two different things.  In pop culture there are music mash-ups where two different songs are combined into one song, and there are also movie mash-ups where characters or situations from two different movies are combined into one movie.  Today we are having a liturgical mash-up, combining the texts for the second Sunday after Christmas with the texts for Epiphany which doesn’t officially happen until tomorrow.

          We will start today with our text from John.  This is the text for the second Sunday after Christmas and this is the third time we have visited this material in the past few weeks.  Unlike the gospels of Matthew and Luke that focus on the details of the birth narratives, John begins his gospel from a bigger perspective.  Like the beginning of the popular movie Gravity, John begins with a wide lens shot from the far reaches of space.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  Only after setting this grand stage does John begin to zoom in on the details like the role of John the Baptist.  John’s approach to gospel writing here is one of the most beautiful pieces of Scripture ever written, but it can be hard for us to relate it to our everyday human experience.

Our second text for today, from Matthew, is the classic text for Epiphany.  Here we find the familiar story of the wise men coming to visit Jesus.  Practically all of us here know how this story goes.  The wise men see the star in the east, inquire of Herod, are sent to find the child, come bearing gifts, and then return home another way after being warned of Herod’s treachery in a dream.  While not exactly part of our everyday lives, this story is much more relatable, for many of us have gone on journeys, hosted guests, or even searched for the light of the Christ child in our world.

As you may have guessed from my children’s sermon, this week I was really struck with the idea of hosting guests.  The ancient epiphany ritual of writing the traditional initials of the three kings over the doorway is basically a house blessing.  It is a way to bless not only those that dwell in the home, but to welcome in any visitors that may come throughout the year.  Just as the young holy family welcomed the visiting Magi, so too we are called to welcome those that visit our homes.

The idea of celebrating visiting guests was really interesting to me at this particular time in the modern American calendar year.  Show of hands – how many people hosted guests during the past few weeks?  And honestly – how many people were happy to see those guests depart for their own homes?  Seriously, having company can be a trying experience.

I am in the same boat as you.  If you came to worship these past few weeks, you may have noticed that my family had an extra member.  My uncle Chuck, who has no family of his own, was at my house for a week at Thanksgiving and then two weeks this Christmas.  Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great guy, but that is a long time to have any house guest.  Needless to say, there was a part of me that was happy to get my house back to normal (at least what passes for normal at the Jepsen house). 

So, to tell you the truth, I was surprised, and perhaps not quite ready to turn around and pray for the blessing of more visitors this week.  But that is the nature of the gospel isn’t it?  The gospel is always calling us to welcome the stranger, to share our food and drink, to give all that we have, including our time and energy to the service and welcome of others.  The visiting wise men, looking for the good news, are not so different from anyone who may visit us at church or at home.  As followers of Jesus, we are called to continually welcome people into our lives, even on days like this when we may be tired and just need our own space.

The wonderful thing about viewing this text in the light of John 1, the wonderful thing about our Epiphany mash-up, is the combination of welcoming strangers and the cosmic stranger within our midst.  That was the Epiphany “a-ha!” for me this week.  John writes of Jesus that “He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.  He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.”  The infinite cosmic God is present in the person of Jesus Christ, and yet we miss it.  Just as we might miss the chance to be a good host, folks miss the chance to recognize Jesus in their midst. 

The wonderful thing about a Christmas Epiphany mash-up is the realization that this cosmic God, this great Jesus from before time, is present in all our everyday interactions with each other.  When I host company in my home, I am hosting the Christ.  When I host company in my home, I become Christ-like in my giving and sharing.  The “aha!” of Epiphany is that Christ is in all the details of my interactions with others.

I was thinking this week of a more literal mash-up, combining the traditional birth narratives of Matthew and Luke with the cosmic beginnings of John.  I think this might give us a better idea of what I’m talking about, the grandness of God entering into the simplicity of everyday experience.  Listen to the Word of the Lord to you this day:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Then Mary said, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

He was in the beginning with God.

And of his kingdom there will be no end.

All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.

Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.

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.”

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

Having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us,

She gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

For the child to be born will be holy, he will be called the Son of God.

From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

You are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

And they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, “God is with us.

The whole miracle of Christmas is the divine in-breaking into our world.  It is the cosmic story of creation and love played out in the minor details of our lives.  It’s the infinite in the finite, the extraordinary in the ordinary, God in the little things.  The Epiphany of Christmas is this cosmic activity in the daily lives of people, including us.  Suddenly everything I do and say matters on a grand scale for all my interactions with others are interactions with the divine.  When I host a guest in my home, I host the Christ, breaking into my world.  Suddenly the whole of beyond time and space exists in my own space and time.  It’s a miracle, and it’s beautiful.

          As we begin a New Year in this nation and world, I invite you to consider this idea.  The story of Christmas is a story of the divine in the details.  Look for the divine in the details of your own life.  On a big scale, perhaps you can volunteer more in the community.  On a little scale, perhaps you can notice the person working at the cash register next time you are in the store.  From pouring a cup of coffee for the literal guest in my home, to calling the clerk helping me by name, opportunities for me to host the divine in my life are infinite, and they are for you too.

          As the church moves into Epiphany, the season of light, may we remember to welcome the stranger, family member, acquaintance, or friend that we find on our doorstep.  May we recognize and honor the miracle of the divine power of our eternal God, present in the everyday mundane details of our lives.  And may this Christmas/Epiphany mash-up continue throughout the year as we say “aha!” to all the opportunities we have to participate in the reconciliation of our world.  Amen.