All the gifts of the journey. January 6, 2020 The Rev. Kathleen M. Sturges

Matthew 2:1-12

Eric was six years old and, understandably, really, excited about Christmas. But being six meant that he had been around the block a few times, you know. He had a few Christmases under his belt. He knew the thrill of excitingly ripping off wrapping paper to discover a much hoped for toy. And he also knew the disappointment that came when one of those toys turned out to be clothes...socks, shirts, or worst of all, underwear. So this year was going to be different, armed with the knowledge that you never could be quite sure what exactly was in a gift box, he came up with a strategy. With every present he was given, he would pick it up carefully, hug it to his chest, and in all sincerity pray, “O God, please, please don’t let this be clothes!” Now even though as we get older we tend to appreciate the gift of clothes, my guess is that there is a bit of Eric in all of us. We may appreciate the practical and the necessary more than we used to, but there’s still a part of us that would really prefer something fun.

Now that Christmas is over and all the gifts have been opened, hopefully without many tears shed over clothes, we begin a new year, a new decade even. (Yes, I know that technically the decade begins until next year, but we’re in the 20’s so it makes sense to celebrate now.) And as we look to the future, it's natural to wonder what gifts the coming year might hold. Will there be toys or clothes for us? In other words, will this new year be filled with excitement, fun, and joy? Or will we get the stuff that we don’t really want...stuff that is less fun, disappointing, maybe even painful? We can’t be sure. But because we have been around the block a few times - with few new years under our belts, we probably already know that there will be both - joys and sorrows, toys and clothes. Now we may not pray, “O God, please don’t give me clothes.” But we all have our own unique strategies to guard or protect ourselves. It may be drinking wine or binge watch something on Netflix, eating sugar or staying “crazy busy.”  None of those things are inherently bad, but if they keep us from experiencing all that life holds then it can become an issue. For if we try to shield ourselves from getting the gift of “clothes,” the stuff we don’t really want, we will never really be open to the great gifts in life.

On this Epiphany Sunday, we remember the story of the wise men. Wise men who throughout their travels remarkably kept their hearts and minds open to receive the gifts the journey had to give. The first being the noticing of a star and recognizing it as a gift from the heavens signaling the birth of a new king of the Jews. So courageously they set on a journey without knowing exactly where it would lead them and what they might find. But they stay true during both the easy days of travel and the times when it was a slog. No doubt they experienced fatigue, bad weather, and setbacks as well as the peaceful nights under starry skies. And then upon finally reaching Jerusalem, what they must have thought was the end of their journey, they discover that, no, they’re not done. Jerusalem isn’t the place. There’s another road they must take to Bethlehem. So they keep going willingly opening all the gifts of their journey.

Surprised must be an understatement to describe how they felt when they actually found the one whom they sought. The Christ-child with his mother, not in any capital, regal palace, but rather in a backwater, humble home. Surely this isn’t what they had imagined, what they had hoped for when they set out on their journey. But they do not reject this unexpected gift. Instead they open themselves up to this encounter as they kneel and pay homage to the boy.

And then it was their turn to do the gift-giving: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Talk about getting both toys and clothes! Gold was a symbol of Jesus’ kingship - that’s cool and could be put in the toy category, for sure. Frankincense, a symbol of his priesthood - a bit more like clothes. But myrrh? Myrrh was basically embalming fluid. A symbol of death - Jesus’ death. Now, thankfully, I wasn’t there because if I was, I couldn’t have stopped myself from offering advice along the lines of, “How about you guys just give him the first two gifts and forget the third?” But that is not how life works. Nor is it how Jesus lived. We are invited, like Jesus, to open all of the gifts of this life, both the toys and the clothes. For Jesus was willing to embrace it all knowing that on his journey through this world he would both laugh and cry, rejoice and suffer. And by doing so he would create for us the path of abundant life.

So as we begin this new year, let us join the wise men on this path and set out on the journey even though we don’t know exactly where it will lead us, but staying open to the gifts that we find. Knowing that as we open the gifts of the day just as surely as there will be toys, there will also be clothes. There will be, if we are willing to enter into it, hellos and goodbyes, hopes and sadness, tears and laughter. But we need not fear or be on guard because in it all, in all of it, there will be Christ - who is the greatest gift of life.