Happy New Year to everyone as we celebrate the feast of Epiphany a few days early. In the church we celebrated our liturgical new year at the end of November when we started our journey in Advent. As the world now enters calendar year 2022 this is the time of year where many people consider new year’s resolutions and the need to remake ourselves as we start a new year. In the media we hear the mantra “A New Year, A New You.” I have actually never been a big fan of new year’s resolutions. It has always seemed odd to me that January 1 is a good time to start something new especially when you live on the 45th parallel in the northern hemisphere. Exercise is a prime example. During the pandemic many people discovered that you can create a decent home gym even with limited space and resources but usually exercise means getting outside. Whether it is walking, running, bicycling, swimming at the lake, or playing a sport in a park many of the best and most popular exercise activities are best done outdoors. In Minnesota the first week of January often sees low temperatures below zero and high temperatures in the single digits and the weather forecast for this week looks frigid. January is not the ideal time for one to start a new outdoor exercise routine. Other self-improvement efforts are also difficult to accomplish in the first month of the year. January is just a busy and stressful month as the holiday break ends and everyone heads back to work and to school. In addition, January is the time when the accounting for the previous year gets done and companies roll out new initiatives which typically require new duties and extra hours in the office. If you had to pick a month for starting new routines and adopting new practices, I would argue that January is the absolute worst month.
The church should generally be opposed to new year’s resolutions because the idea that we need to change in order to feel good about ourselves is repugnant to the idea that we are children of God who are loved unconditionally by God just as we are. Yes, no matter what we accomplish God loves us just the same so we should not feel pressure to better ourselves for love and acceptance. However, there are several passages in Scripture which talk about transforming hearts and minds. The process of transforming one’s heart and mind could be considered as an opportunity for a new year’s resolution. So maybe it is just a matter of re-framing the idea of a new year’s resolution. As Christians we should be incredibly skeptical of those like the health club industry who push the idea of new year’s resolutions and profit from making us feel inadequate and insecure about ourselves, but we should take into consideration the idea of using new year’s resolutions as an opportunity for a fresh start that can transform ourselves and our society.
As we start 2022, we are all in need of light as we start the year in a bit of a dark place. 2021 did not turn out to be as good as we expected it to be. I guess in some sense 2021 was a success because it was not as bad as 2020. The family reunions and events that were postponed in 2020 were for the most part celebrated in 2021. We do have some protection from the virus because of vaccines. We have been able to be back in church and worshiping together again. So, in these ways 2021 was a success but we also know that we are still very vulnerable. We see that immunity can wane very quickly to the point that many of us do not feel fully protected from new variants like Omicron. The world is in need of good news and shining light. As Pope Francis recently said in his Christmas message “Today, amid so much darkness, we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others.” As a church we are called to be a shining light in these dark times. By being a light that shines we can give people hope and bring them to Christ just as a star brought the magi to the infant Jesus. As stated earlier I prefer not to look at things in terms of new year’s resolutions but I do think that there are three lessons from the story of the magi that the church can apply as we enter into 2022.
First, we should never put our trust in earthly kings. Herod was an egotistical tyrant who was allowed to rule because he collaborated with Rome. The title of king was granted only by Rome so this reference to the infant Jesus as the king of the Jews is actually quite subversive. The magi are coming to pay homage to the true king who has come to save the entire world rather than a pretender like Herod who is only interested in serving his own interests and preserving his own power at whatever cost. I do not want to minimize the importance of good government. A government which serves the common good of a society while recognizing that each of us are unique individuals with intrinsic human rights is something that is essential to a well-functioning society. We should be thankful that our representative democracy gives us the opportunity to select our leaders and to vote out those who are not serving the common interest and those that disregard human rights. While good government is important it is significant to remember that those in power at a particular time do not dictate how we live each day. Our heavenly king Jesus Christ invites us to live in a way that prioritizes our health, well-being, and spirituality and that of our friends and family. The things that give life meaning and purpose are the things that are geared toward building relationships and making us happy. No one particular leader or ideology is going to have answers to all of our problems or be able to save the day. Therefore, rather than just sitting back and waiting for our leaders to fix everything we are called to use the freedom that we have in Christ to build relationships and communities that reflect our values and the things which matter to us.
The second lesson that we can learn from the magi is that we have the opportunity to bring our best to God. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh were not the most practical gifts but they represented items of immense value that were usually given to a king or a person of high status. The magi recognized Jesus as king and offered valuable gifts that reflected Jesus’ prominence. The gifts of the magi raise an important question. Are we willing to put Jesus first in our lives? For the church to be a shining light it may be helpful for us to ask this simple but difficult question. How we go about putting Jesus first in our lives is going to look different for each of us. Through our gifts of time, talent, and treasure we have the ability to devote items of importance to God. There are so many ways to do this based on each person’s particular gifts. There are opportunities to provide service to God both here at Faith-Lilac Way and in the larger Twin Cities community. I do think that there is much value in contemplative practices like prayer and reading scripture when one is considering how their gifts may fit into the larger mission of the church. It is when we spend this time with God that we are able to discern what we value most and enables us to bring our best to God. When we bring our best to God then we create the opportunity for God to use our gifts and work through us to bring the love of God into our community.
The third and final lesson from today’s text is that in the eyes of God all of God’s children are equal and all of us have something to contribute. These magi were astrologers who did not practice the religion of Israel however God used their knowledge of the stars to bring them to Christ. The irony here is quite striking. God used people who practiced other religions to let King Herod, the chief priests, and the scribes know that their Messiah had been born. God is working in the world and revealing God to us each and every day. The way of God is not just revealed to those who are in positions of power and influence. In fact, God usually works in completely unexpected ways. Therefore, it is especially fitting that the nativity of Jesus which started with God working through a poor teen mother and then became a reality in a baby lying in a manger now ends with the Christ child being recognized not by the priests, or the scribes, or the experts in the law but rather by these outsiders from the East. With the coming of Christ into the world the distinctions between insiders and outsiders vanishes. We should be listening to and lifting up the voices on the margins that often go unheard. Those who are often shunned and who are not valued by our society do have wisdom and insight. These outsiders often see things that us insiders do not see so in this story we see the value that people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives can contribute if we are willing to listen to them.
Today’s gospel ends with the magi leaving their own country by another road. This is not just merely a throwaway line. Once we see Christ, we are changed and we see that we cannot continue through life on the same path. As we move into 2022 let’s look to the lessons learned from the magi. Let us not put our trust in earthly kings. Let us bring our best to God. Let us value the abilities of all of God’s children. I refuse to call them resolutions but when I think of them as opportunities for growth, they become ways that Christians can be shining lights that bring hope to others.
- Vicar Kyle Anderson