“I have come so that
you might have life and have it to the full.”
John 10:10
This past Sunday was Three Kings Day—Epiphany on the liturgical
calendar, if you follow such. It was a
day to commemorate the coming of the Magi to visit the Christ Child, but since
I packed up my nativity scene several days ago, on Sunday I just sat and
thought about them. Probably a good
thing to do—still consider Christmas, because for many folks, were it not for
the credit card balance, the season would be an almost distant memory. Life has quickly lulled back to normal. Days off work or school are done, family and
friends have gone home, and the holiday decorations are boxed and back in storage.
As the glorious strains of “peace on earth, goodwill to men” fade
into the past, we are faced with the hurried and harried present. Responsibilities resume, activities await,
education continues, deadlines loom, the kitchen needs cleaning, the yard could
use some work, and the phone is ringing.
Sounds like a perfect time for the Wise Men to show up.
The Magi arrived way past the marvel of the manger. They didn’t make it to Bethlehem’s barn to
see the newborn baby. Though Joseph and
Mary were still in town, the couple wasn’t sitting around awestruck with the freshness
of glory. By the time the camels turned
into the driveway, Joseph was trying to support the wife and kid, and Mary had
fed, burped, and changed the Holy One hundreds of times. Life was real, raw, and repetitive.
But in the midst of the mundane and monotonous, eternity’s
greatest Miracle brought meaning and purpose to those who sought Him. A star had shown the way, and when the Wise
Men saw the child, “they bowed down and worshiped
him”(Matt 2:11). To this One so
worthy, though so small and, to most, seemingly ordinary, they gave great
gifts—gold to symbolize His royalty, frankincense to signify His divinity, and
myrrh to indicate His sacrifice. Because
of His reality and their response—bended knees, humble hearts, and open
hands—their lives were changed forever.
Their “ah ha” moment happened on a regular day, in a run-of-the-mill
small town.
Don’t let the reason for the season grow stale in your
soul. Christ came so we could “take hold of the life that is truly life”(1
Tim 6:19). His advent moves us
beyond existence due to His power into enjoyment of His presence. “I have
come so that you might have life and have it to the full”(John 10:10). Because of His royalty, divinity, and
sacrifice, we can personally, intimately, and eternally know the Almighty God—even,
no, especially on regular days in run-of-the-mill small towns.
Wikipedia, that bastion of hopefully accurate internet
information, describes Epiphany as “a Christian feast day that celebrates the
revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ,” but our merriment should not be
confined to a single spot on the calendar. As life rolls into the real, raw,
and repetitive, it’s always the right time to ponder the stunning truth the God
came to both Jews (the shepherds) and Gentiles (the Wise Men) to be with us and
to be for us.
Sounds like every
day should be an epiphany.
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