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Happy Epiphany! Do you know that there are some families who send out Epiphany cards? I always wondered if it was because they were serious about celebrating Epiphany or if it was because they used Epiphany as an excuse to be late with their Christmas cards. In any event Epiphany is celebrated on January 6. It was a festival that originated in the East, where it was celebrated from the third century as a commemoration of Jesus’ baptism. Later on it came to include an observance of the nativity as well. The festival was introduced into the West in the fourth century, not as an observance of Jesus’ baptism, but of the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles in the persons of the magi. In reality it doesn’t matter which of these three events from the life of Jesus was observed on Epiphany. The common theme was the appearance of God in the world in one form or another. There is a story from Islam about a certain king who was wealthy according to every earthly measure. At the same time, however, he sincerely wanted to be wealthy in a spiritual sense as well. One night the king was roused from sleep by a fearful stumping on the roof above his bed. Alarmed, he shouted, "Who’s there?" A voice answered, "A friend. I’ve lost my camel." Perturbed by such stupidity the king shouted, "You fool! Are you looking for a camel on the roof?" The voice answered, "You fool! Are you looking for God in silk clothing, and lying on a golden bed?" The story goes on to tell how these simple words filled the king with such terror that he arose from his sleep to become a most remarkable saint. The camel on the roof raises the Epiphany question, "Where are you looking for God?" It’s a great question on this first Sunday of a new year. God is always ready to be discovered. The question for us is where will we look. There is an Arabic story called "Seventeen Camels." In this story a father died and left his 17 camels to be divided among his three sons. One was to receive a ninth; one was to get half; and the third son was to inherit one third of the camels. Seventeen camels, however, are not evenly divisible by three. So the sons argued long and loud about what to do. In desperation they decided to let a certain wise man decide for them. He was seated in front of his tent with his own camel staked out back. After hearing the case, the wise man took his own camel and added it to the other 17 camels. He then took one ninth of the 18, or two camels. To another he gave one half, or nine camels. To the third he gave one-third, or six camels. On top of it all, he still had his own camel left. Interesting riddle, isn’t it? How often do you and I try to solve the problems of life by logical, calculating schemes that insure we receive our share? Let me share with you a recent example of how I devised a selfish scheme. I have recently discovered the good taste of kettle popcorn. But so have other members of my family. A few weeks ago I bought a box of this delicious snack and because I knew it would disappear in two days if everyone else knew about it, I hid it in the pantry. When Jeremy, our 13 year old, asked if we had any kettle popcorn I said no and showed him the regular kind. But then when I wanted popcorn I pulled out my hidden stash of kettle popcorn. Yes, when it comes to popcorn I can be selfish and devious. The problem is that God is not to be found in grasping or scheming, but in giving. God is not to be found in our hiding the good popcorn while we offer the lesser kind to others. God is not to be found by climbing ladders of success and power and respectability. The pursuit of money and power has become one of the most powerful mystery religions ever to show its face in the history of humanity. A story is told of three executives who were defining what STATUS means, and to know when you have really arrived. One said, "Real status is being invited to the White House for a personal conversation with the President." Another replied, "No. You know you’ve arrived when you’ve been invited to the White House for a conversation with the President and the hot line rings, and he just looks at it and decides not to answer it." The third executive said, "You’re both wrong. Real status is when you’re invited to the White House for a conversation with the President, the hot line rings, the President answers it and says, "Here, it’s for you." Here’s a true story. The president of my seminary was meeting new students. One was a former executive who had given up a six-figure income to become a pastor. He said, "I climbed the ladder of success. When I got to the top, I realized it was leaning against the wrong building!" Do you know which building your ladder is leaning against? The Epiphany news is that God is not found in the pursuit of wealth, but in the incarnation, the humility of birth in a stable. As startling as a camel on a roof is, the Christian message is that the vulnerability of a life of homelessness, and the suffering of death on a cross, are lifted up as the best of God’s most powerful work in human life. By earthly standards it just doesn’t make sense. The start of a new year is a great time to ask, "By whose standards are we going to live this year? The world’s? Our own? Or God’s?" I’m not sure the accumulation of wealth makes much sense anyway. For example, if you took all the gold that has ever been mined in the entire world and put it together, it would make a cube only 18 yards on each side. This is only one-tenth the size of the Washington Monument. Centuries of digging, panning, blowing up the earth and the earth’s river-beds have yielded only this much gold. And what do we do with most of it? We promptly return it to the earth at Fort Knox. Does that make sense? Where did the wise men first come seeking Jesus? It was Jerusalem, the center of wealth and power in Judea. But the child of God was not to be found in such a place, but rather in a non-descript town out in the boon docks. Where will you find God this year? Where will you look for God and be surprised that God is not where you thought God would be? Where will God show up in your life this coming year in ways that will amaze you? Could it be that God is found in forgiving someone who hurt you? Could God be found in a decision to simplify your lifestyle so that the poor can have basic necessities of life? Could God be found by volunteering at Kid’s Kitchen or Clare House without anyone knowing it? A Jewish story is told about a rabbi who was visiting the owner of a tavern in rural Poland. As he walked in he saw two peasants at a table. Both were gloriously in their cups. Arms around each other, they were arguing how much each loved the other. Suddenly Ivan said to Peter, "Peter, tell me, what hurts me?" Bleary-eyed, Peter looked at Ivan, "How do I know what hurts you?" Ivan’s answer was swift, "If you don’t know what hurts me, how can you say you love me?" We can search for camels on roof tops but we won’t find them there. If we truly want to find God this year we must look in the hearts and hurts of others. We must look for God in people the world ignores. We must look for God in actions that serve others. A new year is before us…a year with all kinds of possibilities. Where will you look for God? |
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01.06.02 - Camel on the Roof (Matthew 2:1-12)
