New Year
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
– Matthew 2:1-2
As we bid goodbye to 2021 and step into 2022, I’m considering the things we are letting go and what we are anticipating to come. This year has been one fraught with prolonged Covid protocols, vaccination conversations, masks, and returning to some “normal” things, but with a new feel. At the church, like most churches these days, we experienced conflict, staff turnover, and loss of members. There are times when our best effort to come and worship Christ creates chaos and conflict. This is not new.
When the magi came to Jerusalem to worship the king who had been born, after noticing the star of Bethlehem, they unwittingly alerted King Herod to the fact of Jesus’ birth. They expected a king to be born in the palace. King Herod was a paranoid tyrant who learned all he could from the wise men, directed them to Bethlehem, and requested that they return and give him the whereabouts of the newborn king. The magi returned home another way in order to protect Jesus from Herod. Joseph, Mary and Jesus were forced to flee to Egypt for their lives with only the possessions they could carry. Herod’s wrath came swiftly and brutally after realizing he had been duped. In their effort to come and worship Christ, the magi created chaos and conflict.
Thankfully, the gospel of Matthew and the story of Jesus doesn’t end in the second chapter.
In our church, in our community, and in our lives, the story of God’s presence doesn’t end either. Innocent lives were ended by Herod’s soldiers. Families were torn apart. Jesus and his family became refugees, seeking protection and safety. Those wounds did not go away… but in time, they were healed. Immanuel, God with us, had come and nothing would ever be the same.
There will be times of chaos and conflict in our lives, in our families, in our communities, and in our church. God is with us through it all. God is present and working to redeem the world, heal the hurts, comfort those who mourn. As we turn the page on another year, we have an opportunity to begin again. This Sunday, from 10am-10:30am the Experience God team from Session is providing Epiphany Prayer Stations for you to release the old year and receive a star word to guide the new year. I hope you will join us this Sunday as we come to worship.
God of light and darkness, we have seen the glimmer of your star-light beckoning to us, but we have turned away and followed other paths. We confess that we have not loved you with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. Forgive us, Holy One. Strengthen our faltering steps and guide us in your holy way of peace. Amen.
