A few years ago I heard Dr. Craig Koester, a New Testament scholar, talk about the story of the magi. He noted that while we might first think that gifts they bring are gold, frankincense and myrrh, a greater gift they bring is genuine wondering. The magi brought a question, “Where is the messiah to be born?” They then allowed this question to lead them to seek further and consider new questions about the one they came to find. They embraced a sense of wonder. In her book, Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others, Barbara Brown Taylor writes, “I asked God for religious certainty…and God gave me human beings instead—strange, funny, compelling, complicated human beings—who keep puncturing my stereotypes, challenging my ideas, and upsetting my ideas about God, so that they are always under construction.”
In Christian terms, Epiphany can mean manifestation, appearance, revelation: God revealed in Christ as Jesus walked with us on the earth. This Sunday, we will explore what it might mean for us to wonder and seek together in this time and place that we find ourselves.
In our time of worship, we will share inspiring music including hymns and musical offerings from our singers (accompanied by Nara Lee), a children’s moment, prayer and reflection, and the reading of the scripture passage (Matthew 2:1-12). The sermon title is “Embracing the Gift of Wonder”. If you have been part of the St. Mark’s community for decades, or will be joining us for the first time, we look forward to connecting with you on the live stream at 10:30am on this first Sunday of 2021!