Welcome Church Family! We are so glad you joined us online today to participate in worship. Remember you can always go to our website to find ways to get involved and feel free to reach out to our secretary Sandi to get on our info and prayer chain lists. We want you to participate in the ways God calls you to! This morning we will explore the passage about the Magi who came to visit Jesus. Today is Epiphany Sunday and gives us time to reflect on the way that God appears in our lives. For the Magi, it was the star…what is it for you? We hope you are blessed in this time of worship and thank you for being a part of this church family!
Prelude - “O Worship the King all Glorious Above” [Arr. by W. Gardiner] - Sarah Park
We believe that faith is active, found on long walks,
and in long talks, in future days, and down memory lane.
We believe that those who seek will find, although it may not be what they expected.
We believe that God finds us first.
We believe that God drops breadcrumbs along our way in the shape of people,
invitations, and even starlight.
We believe that being a seeker—of God, of justice, of community—is a holy thing.
So we strive to live with an open spirit, with soft hearts, and with room to grow.
May it be so. This we believe. Amen.
Scripture - Isaiah 60:1-3
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2 For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you.
3 Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
*Response - Weave
Weave, weave, weave us together, Weave us together, in unity and love.
Weave, weave, weave us together, weave us together, together in love.
*Call to Worship - Allie Owen
ONE: Calling all seekers, all dreamers, all believers...
ALL: Calling all glass-half-full optimists and lighthouse keepers...
ONE: Calling all star-chasers and bedtime prayer speakers...
ALL: Bring your questions, your hope, your faith and your fear into this space.
ONE: Let us gather together because
ALL: God is here.
Hymn - There’s a Song in the Air #159, v. 1-3
1 There's a song in the air! There's a star in the sky! There's a mother's deep prayer and a baby's low cry!
And the star rains its fire while the angel choirs sing, for the manger of Bethlehem cradles a king!
2 There's a tumult of joy o'er the wonderful birth, for the virgin's sweet boy is the Lord of the earth.
See, the star rains its fire while the angel choirs sing, for the manger of Bethlehem cradles a king!
3 We rejoice in the light, and we echo the song that comes down through the night from the heavenly throng, and we welcome the glorious gospel they bring,and we greet in the cradle our savior and king.
Invitation to Generosity
Invitation - Allie Owen
Offertory
The Doxology #46
Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise God, all creatures here below;
praise God above, ye heavenly host: Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Offering Prayer - Allie Owen
Music: “O Lord my God, When I in Awesome Wonder” [Arr. by E. A. Edgren]
Children’s Moment - Rev. Chad Delaney
Blessing for the Children
— written by the Rev. Elsa A. Peters
Grace and peace to you, our children. We will always give thanks for you.
We pray for you constantly because we love you.
We love you just as God loves you.
We know, children of God, that God loves you so much.
There are no words to express it. There are no wonders we can perform.
But, we know that the power of God is in you.
We can see it upon your faces. You remind us of God’s love.
Teach us to see the world as you do. Surprise us with the wonders you see.
Show us what gifts God has given you.
And we will bless you, and protect you, and we will always give thanks for you.
We will bless you in the name of our God. We will bless you again and again.
Grace and peace to you, our children.
Grace and peace to you who show us God’s glory shining through your faces. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer - Rev. Chad Delaney
God of today, tomorrow, and yesterday, like the Magi, we are seeking you.
Like the Magi, we are bringing ourselves closer to you,
step by step, and word by word.
So today we ask that you would make yourself known to us.
Reach into our spirits and give us a boost of confidence that love is real and we are not alone.
Holy God, we find you in the most surprising places—in summer thunderstorms,
in freshly baked bread, in the smell of evergreen, in handwritten letters, and long-winding phone calls,
in crowded tables, and a warm cup of coffee. You are all over the place. Some days it’s easy to find you; like the Magi, we have a clear direction, so step by step we move closer to you.
Other days, the clouds cover the stars and we lose our way.
Regardless of the weather, we want to be a people who seek you. And when the clouds roll in, and we lose our way, when the star is out of sight and we feel far from your reach, remind us that you are near: Keep our hearts brave, and keep them curious, so that like the Magi, we might be on the lookout for you everywhere.
In these moments we have many joys and concerns…we bring them to you…
SPECIAL MUSIC - Jan Green
Communion
Meditation - Brian Hurd
Communion Hymn - “According to Thy Gracious Word” #402, v.1-2
1 According to thy gracious word, in meek humility,
this will I do, my dying Lord, I will remember thee.
2 The body, broken for my sake, my bread from heaven shall be;
Thy testamental cup I take, and thus remember thee.
Prayer & Lord’s Prayer - Brian Hurd
Words of Institution - Rev. Chad Delaney
Music: “Jesus, My Lord, to Thee I Cry” [by L. D. Sankey]
Scripture - Matthew 2:1-15
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, ‘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.’ 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
6 “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.” ’
7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8Then 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.’ 9 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. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 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. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. 13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’ 14Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, 15and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’
Sermon - “When God Shows Up”
As the Christmas story goes in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew there are many instances where God shows up right at your door. First, the Gospel of Luke…
- An angel visits Zechariah in the house of Lord to announce the birth of John the Baptist
- God’s messenger comes directly to Mary with an announcement for her
- Mary shows up at Elizabeth’s door and stays there for 3 months.
- A pregnant woman and her husband shows up at an inn keeper’s door
- After giving birth, Mary and Joseph welcome group of shepherds to visit their child
In the Gospel of Matthew,
- An angel goes to Joseph in a dream and advises him not to dismiss Mary and to stay together
- And then we have this very odd story about the Magi coming from the East. A group of Magi of a different place, religion, and culture see something different in the sky and make a journey to see. Then--as the story goes--they show up in Jerusalem to pay homage to the Christ Child.
As Ted said in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure --- “strange things are afoot at the Circle K.”
What we see in the all-too familiar Christmas story is that it is full of unfamiliar things happening among the familiar parts of life. God showing up right where we are and people respond.
What is interesting about the story of the Magi is that we get to see that the reaction to the unfamiliar is not always the same. In the Gospel of Luke…it kind of is. Although there is surprise and even a bit of fear, ultimately the mentioned characters -- Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Shepherds, etc--welcome the blessing contained in the strange. They remain open to whatever God is doing, make an adjustment or change, and move forward to keep the story going.
In the Gospel of Matthew we see that is not always the case. It starts out that way with Joseph having to make an adjustment. He was ready to dismiss Mary quietly when God’s messenger redirected him. He said YES and moved forward.
We also see these Magi -- perhaps astrologers or even Zoroastrian priests from Persia -- open to going over moor and mountain and traversing afar. Open to hearing a word from God in a different place, culture, and even religion. It is quite remarkable.
BUT…we see in the story that Herod says no. When God’s message of hope and life comes to his home, to his place of familiarity…he wants to cut it off. He is threatened. He’s so infuriated by the idea of even a little child disrupting his power, his place, his life…that he resorts to murder.
The Gospels share the extremes of responses to the Epiphany of God, the manifestation of God, the appearance of “the other” amongst our familiar.
On the one hand == The response of Mary:
‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Incredibly open
On the other -- The response of Herod:
‘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.’ Ill-intentioned trickery followed by murderous fury. Utterly un-open to seeing what God is up to through his own interests and ambitions.
It is quite the contrast.
I would imagine that most of us, however, are quite in the middle of those two extremes. When God shows up on our doorstep if you are anything like me, likely we are neither filled with heroic acceptance nor hostile rejection. But rather we might have some questions or skepticism. What follows may be a pro and con list, a cost/benefit analysis, and/or a barrage of “I don’t know…maybes.” Or…it very well could be we might just miss God’s showing up entirely. The perfect light of the television too distracting. The beauty bright of our cell phone. The wonder of money. The no-ward leading of indifference.
When the epiphany of God shows up on our doorstep…here at the Mantua Center Christian Church and beyond…Will we see its shining light piercing through our own expectations, ambitions, and ideas? Through the distractions of our busy-nessWhen God appears will we fling the door open with welcome or peek through the security chained crack?
No doubt this year there will be strange things afoot around us. God will show up in our house, our church, our family, our lives in ways that will be hidden and filled with wonder. Our response remains to be seen….
*Closing Hymn - We Three Kings #172, v. 1&5
1 We three kings of Orient are, bearing gifts we traverse afar
field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star.
[Refrain] O star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright,
westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.
5 Glorious now behold him arise, Christ and God and sacrifice:
alleluia, alleluia, sounds through the earth and skies. (Refrain)
Benediction - Rev. Chad Delaney
Epiphany Blessing
~ written by Jan L. Richardson
May the path that Christ walks to bring justice upon the earth,
to bring light to those who sit in darkness,
to bring out those who live in bondage,
to bring new things to all creation:
may this path run through our life.
May we be the road Christ takes.
Amen. Go in Peace
POSTLUDE - “Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus” [by W. J. Kirkpatrick] - Sarah Park