Star gifts 2.0 (Epiphany reflections)

Epiphany A

January 4, 2013

(Please note: for further background on this activity, read this.) 

  

            If you were here at church last year on January 5, you will remember that it was the day we passed out “star gifts.” This was an exercise in living out the promise of Epiphany – a day on which

we celebrate the manifestation of God in our lives. Epiphany falls on January 6, and in the Christmas story, it is the day the magi arrived to greet Jesus, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But before they gave those gifts, of course, the magi had first received – received the gift of God through Christ; their giving was in gratitude and praise of that gift. Still today, we receive all kinds of gifts from God – our family, friends, homes, etc., but even more abundantly, more abstract gifts like love, forgiveness, mercy, prayer, peace, truth…

            But we don’t always notice these gifts, do we? They are ignored, or taken for granted, or misunderstood. And that is why last year we handed out “star gifts.” Each person received a paper star with one of these gifts written on it, and then the charge to consider for the upcoming year how God has been and is being made manifest in this gift. It was not a charge to use that gift, necessarily, though you certainly may have. Rather, you were asked to notice how you have already received it, how God has already been made known through it, and how God continues to be made known through it in our daily lives. And, last year I warned you that I would ask you to share some of your reflections today with the congregation. So, the day has come for you to share with one another your star gift experience.

            I’ll go first. The gift I drew last year was TIME. This could not have been more perfect for me, as I am always running around like a crazy person and frequently hear myself saying, “I’m too busy,” or, “I don’t have enough time.” That is often what we do with God’s gifts – we view them not as abundance, but as scarcity. We skip right over gratitude for what we have, and focus instead on how there is never enough of it. So this year, to help myself get over viewing the gift of time as scarce instead of abundant, I made a conscious effort to avoid saying, “I’m busy,” and whenever I was in a hurry to get somewhere, I said to myself, “Johanna, you have time.” I wasn’t perfect in this

effort. But whenever I did remember to do it, I could almost feel myself relax, as I accepted that God gave me just as much time as anyone else, and I was the one responsible for stewarding it and using it to God’s glory. That sometimes meant I was late to a meeting, because I had spent a little extra time in prayer that morning. It sometimes meant I didn’t get everything done that I intended because instead I took seriously God’s command to take a Sabbath – time for rest. An evaluation of how I was spending my time also helped me see that I wasn’t always using it wisely, in ways that would please God. So last year I reconsidered my schedule, allowing more time in my day for exercise, prayer, and quality time with my husband. In these small efforts, I could feel God’s pleasure, even as I could feel my heart and body growing stronger instead of more weary.

            That’s my experience. How about you? Who would like to share about their star gift?

[Leave time for sharing. Close with this:]

            Thank you, everyone, for sharing. I hope that even if you didn’t share today, that you will share with someone privately, and that you found this exercise fruitful… because we’re going to do it again! I’d like to invite the ushers to bring forward the offering plates. Usually we put something into the offering plate (and we still will do that later!), but today, we are first going to take something from the plate, to receive God’s gifts for us. Don’t look first – just draw! If someone isn’t here and you think they’d benefit from this, draw one for them, too, if you like.

            As humans, we yearn for tangible, clear signs of God’s presence. But so often we are so overwhelmed by life that we fail to see those signs even when they are right in front of us. My hope is that this will help to focus your awareness of God’s gifts in your life.

            Anyone want to share what gift they drew this year?

Epiphany is a time to celebrate God’s presence breaking into the darkness and chaos of life and shining as a light in the darkness. My prayer for us this year is that we would be reminded at every turn of our generous, giving God.

            Let us pray… Gracious God, we give you thanks for your many gifts. Help us to notice and not to ignore, to embrace and not to disregard, and in this effort, to become ever closer to you. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.