Wise
Men Still Seek Him
Epiphany is just a few days away. January 6th is
the traditional date of the celebration of the arrival of the Wise Men.
In many areas of the world Epiphany day is the day of gift giving,
commemorating the gifts the Magi brought to the Christ Child. The church
has long recognized those gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh as
representing gifts honoring a king’s birth, life, and death.
Epiphany is also celebrated as the
coming of the Gospel to the whole world. The traditional wise men were
Melchior, Balthazar, and Gaspar. They were said to have come from the
three corners of the world. When they returned to their homes they did
so praising God for the great thing they had seen. God’s Messiah had
come! Epiphany is a reminder to the church that she has an important
responsibility – carrying the Gospel to the ends of the earth!
The message that we carry is simply
this: wise men still seek him. Many today are attracted to the term
“seeker,” but it is difficult to seek after something when you don’t
know what you seek. It’s even harder to seek when you are in continual
darkness. The role of the church is to lead those who truly “seek”
toward the light; in the same way that the Wise Men followed the star
In 1991, I wrote an Epiphany song with
this refrain:
Wise
Men still seek Him, the humble babe
The
Son of God in a manger laid;
With
some old rags for clothing
And
a trough for His bed
Peace
on earth, good news to all
Just
like the angels said.
As I begin my Sabbath time, I am
reminded that even followers of Jesus need to stay near Him, seek His face,
and discern His will. In large part, this is what I will be spending my
time doing. These six weeks are not time off from work. Instead,
it is work of another kind – internal, introspective, spiritual work.
I hope to return with a fresh energy and a renewed sense of direction for our
church and myself. I’m looking forward to earnestly seeking God and
developing a deeper pattern of spiritual disciplines in my life.
During this time, the pulpit will be
filled with some exciting speakers; some are missionaries we currently
support. Please support your church and its worship. God has big
things in store! There are also pastors who are available in case of
emergency and crisis. If you are in need, they will be only too happy to
help in any way they can. Most of all, be in prayer: for me, for our
church, for our worship, for those in need. Prayer does make a
difference!
When I return in February, I look
forward to sharing with you what I’ve learned and discovered during this
time of Sabbath.
Godspeed,
Pastor
John
Mid-Week
Musings
An
Occasional bulletin from Christ United Methodist Church