The Feast of The Epiphany of the Lord

On the Feast of The Epiphany there is a lot of baggage that needs to be cleared away in order to get to the heart of the matter. Much of the clutter surrounding the day does no harm, but it can obscure our view of the central concern of our observance.

For instance, our creches and our hymnody insist on three wise men.  Matthew chapter two, where the single biblical account of the visit of the wise men occurs, does nothing to enumerate these Eastern travelers.  Tradition has calculated that total because of the number of gifts that the gospel records.  Matthew says in verse 11 that they offered the child gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  There is nothing, however that indicates that there was “one wise man, one gift.” The number of visitors could have been two, and the gifts may have been presented collectively.  It is interesting to note that some Eastern Christianity practitioners give twelve as the number of wise men. Some Christian traditions name the wise men, designating them as Melchior, Gaspar and Balthasar.  The Cologne Cathedral in Germany houses a great shrine of the Magi, even purporting to house relics from “The Three Holy Kings.”

The designation Magi is the plural of Magus.  (This is the from which we receive the word “magic.”)  The Magi were priests or other adherents of Zoroastrianism in Persia.  The existence of the sect is verified from a variety of non-biblical sources.

In many modern-day manger scenes, the Wise Men play a significant symbolic role.  In some depictions, one of the three figures is quite young.  A second is middle-aged.  The third appears as a very elderly man.  The meaning is clearly that people of all ages respond to the coming of Christ into the world.  In like manner there are creches that have one wise man of fair skin, blond hair and blue eyes.  A second member of the group has olive skin and straight, dark hair.  The final traveler has very dark skin and thicker features.  These diverse characters indicate that the Savior comes not to one group, but to every nation.

That these visitors receive the title “kings” comes from scriptural references such as Isaiah 60:3 “Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn,” or Psalm 72:10 “May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts.”  Again, while the association is certainly present, the actual designation of the Eastern travelers as kings is nowhere explicitly present in Matthew.

Henry van Dyke’s The Other Wise Man is a delightful story, but it, too, serves to muddy the water a bit.  There are scores of other fictional works and seemingly countless fragments of Christian lore and legend that also take a kernel of truth and expand on it beyond the boundaries of literary precision.

So, if we set all of these things aside, what do we know?  I am not engaging in any literary-critical questions here.  I do want to take a look at what is before us in the received text.

What we have is a declaration that God is at work in order to bring about the final realization of God’s divine plan.  This will occur in spite of the most wicked expressions of opposition, such as those exhibited by King Herod.  Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah of the Jews; he is the fulfillment of Old Testament scripture; and he is the savior of the entirety of creation, in spite of any artificially-erected boundaries.

In the early days of the church, it was Epiphany rather than Christmas that was the pre-eminent winter feast.  The revelation of worldwide salvation took precedence over the birth of the king of the Jews.

Sadly, the church now treats this great day as an ending of something, rather than a beginning.  The Epiphany comes at the conclusion of the Twelve Days of Christmas.  It has its moment as a flash in the pan and then the calendar moves on.  Even though the following eight weeks (in 2019) receive their designation as “The Season After Epiphany,” observances such as The Baptism of the Lord and The Transfiguration move to the forefront during these days.

But, today is the great Feast Day.  Let’s not let it slip away too quickly.

Of Mice and Men

 

Earlier this week, a number of well-known literary works passed into the public domain. A random sampling of books includes:

The Mystery of the Blue Train (featuring Hercule Poirot) by Agatha Christie

Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf
Lady Chatterly’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence
Dark Princess by W.E.B. Du Bois
Millions of Cats by Wanda Gág (which I first encountered as a very young child 

    when it was read aloud on the Captain Kangaroo television program. 

    Years later, I read it to my children.)
The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (German version)
Story of the Eye by Georges Bataille

The most notable figure in the public domain story is Mickey Mouse.  But the only presentation of that character to make the transition is the physical appearance of the player as he appears in “Steamboat Willie” and “Plane Crazy.”  The name “Mickey Mouse” and the appearance of the glove-wearing, perpetually-circle eared presentation is guarded by a legal firewall that would make the National Security Council jealous.  Although Walt Disney unashamedly ripped off Mortimer Mouse and other well-known cartoons of his day and then copyrighted, trademarked, and claimed them as his own, the Disney Empire has maintained ownership and control of the Mouse family apparently in perpetuity.

Copyright and creative control have their place.  But The Mouse and Sonny Bono have warped both intent and justice in the issue of inventive thinking.

But, did you know that your Bible is copyrighted?  If you are reading anything but a King James Version of the Bible that has no annotations or footnotes, that Bible is almost certainly under copyright.  Even if you have some kind of King James Study Bible (Schofield or Tyndale or Life Application Bibles), the King James text itself is not under copyright, but in all probability the footnotes, marginal notes, introductory articles and other “study helps” in the back of the book are under copyright protection.  The National Council of Churches holds the copyright of both the Revised Standard Version and the New Revised Standard Version.  The American Bible Society has copyrighted The Good News Bible (or what some of us remember as Good News  for Modern Man).

 Now, people can’t copyright the Masoretic Hebrew Old Testament or the Koine Greek New Testament.  But they can copyright translations as their own work.  Those copyrights protect – for a time – the academic work of the translators.  But the copyrights also protect the integrity of the texts.  To copyright a translation of scripture is to give some assurance that the work is accurate.  It also provides penalties for misrepresentations of the translations.  Imagine the mischief that could be caused with the substitution of a few “thou shalts” with “thou shalt nots.”  People have enough difficulty reading and interpreting the Bible without ill-motivated persons perverting the Word of God.

 I would love to see the copyright regulations of our country and the world made more equitable.  But I am grateful for the proper guardrails that these laws provide particularly for the religious community.  I don’t want to draw too close a parallel between Walt Disney and the National Council of Churches.  But sometimes it is a matter of “sauce for the goose.”  I surely would like to see all this made good.

Cornelius the Centurion

Today is the Feast of Cornelius the Centurion.  In point of fact, it is a feast of Cornelius.  The Roman calendar recognizes him on February 2 (already a busy day of observances) and the Orthodox Churches place this feast on September 13.  The Anglican calendar chooses today.  It’s not a bad day to celebrate his life.

Acts 10 tells his story. According to verses 2 and 3, Cornelius was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God.  He resided in Caesarea.  In a vision he received a command to send servants to Joppa to fetch Peter.  While this was going on Peter had a vision while a guest in Joppa.  In this vision, Paul had a three-time revelation about being commanded to eat what he understood to be ritually unclean food.  Each time he protested there was a voice that instructed him that What God has made clean, you must not call profane.  (verse 14)

When he woke Peter received the delegation from Cornelius at God’s command.  The next day he accompanied the servants to Caesarea.  Cornelius explained his own vision and in verse 34 made the now-famous statement I truly understand that God shows no partiality.  He preached to a small crowd and the Holy Spirit came upon them.  Peter baptized them and remained with them several days.

So, Cornelius and his household were among the first Gentile converts (the narrative concerning the Ethiopian Eunuch is in chapter 8).  The events in Caesarea caused a great controversy, as you can imagine.  But in the end, the Gentile believers were accepted by the early church and the door opened for a larger Gentile mission.

Eunuch or Centurion, someone has to be first.  The universal grace of God is sometimes revealed in stages.  The recognition of Cornelius’ profession changed the complexion of the church for ever.

Thanks be to God.

The Ninth Day of Christmas

I am drawing a line under what has gone here before.  I am turning the page, so to speak.  I haven’t posted on this blog for about four years.  I’m back.

Today is January 2.  It is the Ninth Day of Christmas.  There are a lot of other designations for the day, but some of those are for another time.

Sunday morning during worship, I mentioned that I had spent a little time during my seminary days working in the stock room in one of the  now-lamented Sears department stores in Memphis.  I remember going in to work at 7 a.m. on the morning after Christmas.  Our orders were to take down every wall poster, every bell and wreath hanging from the ceiling, every red wrapping that had been used to make the pillars in the store look like candy canes – in the language of department store sales: everything must go!  The observation made by the store manage was that by the time of the 9:30 a.m. opening of the store, he wanted it to look like Christmas had never happened.  And when 9:30 dame, the appearance of the store was just that.

So, it is with a certain amount of joy that I observe the Ninth – but not final – Day of Christmas.  I am still wearing my Christmas neckties.  I still sport my Festive Socks.  I still have seasonal appointments in my study.  I am holding onto this season for as long as I can.  Christ the Savior is born!

I offer this prayer.  It is one of the collects for Morning Prayer for the Ninth Day of Christmas. 

O Lord our God,
by Your Word You created us,
and by your grace you sustain us.
May your love continually dawn in our hearts,
that others may see you in our actions,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.1

 

¹from The Daily Office: A book of Hours for Daily Prayer After the Use of The Order of Saint Luke for Advent through Season After Epiphany

An on-line worship experience

If you did not receive word in time to join the live stream of worship from First United Methodist Church, Bolivar Sunday morning at 9:30, the service is archived on Vimeo https://vimeo.com/bfumc and on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/70921359026/  .  We will continue to live stream our worship services while corporate worship is suspended -- and perhaps beyond.

I plan (fingers crosseed) to be live streaming from Whiteville UMC next week at 11 a.m. as well.

I hope you will join in this on-line worship experience while we are dispersed.

We are still the church.

We Gather Together...

Sometimes the best-laid plans don’t work out.  Or are at least slow in being realized.  We had hoped to get the worship services at Bolivar and Whiteville live-streaming this Sunday – May 22.  But that will not be the case.  I am still in hopes that we can have everything de-bugged soon.  We are still working diligently. 

Meanwhile there will be a new service of worship recorded that day at Bolivar church, and it will be online at https://vimeo.com/bfumc by mid-day Sunday.  I encourage you to look in, and to treat the experience as if you were actually in the sanctuary.

The piano player, the video technician and I will be the only people physically in the sanctuary.  But I will experience the entirety of our church family/families in spirit.  Please join us.  Pray for those involved in the service and who will be participating from afar.

We are still the church.

Rick

Working to adapt to our new reality

The tragic statistics increase daily.  The far-reaching effects of the coronavirus pandemic can only be speculatively anticipated.  And, how long will this plague be among us?  Travel is limited, and international travel is virtually shut down.  The hospitality and cruise industries are crippled.  Restaurants, taverns and even fast-food outlets have had to find a way to function on take-out traffic.  Major sporting events – really all sporting events – are being cancelled or postponed.  This doesn’t only touch rich owners and highly paid athletes.  Nor does it merely inconvenience high-profile amateur athletes playing for elite universities.  There are concession workers, ticket sellers, custodial staff, grounds crews, parking attendants, program vendors and facility ushers who are all without a paycheck right now.  Try to buy a can of disinfectant spray right now.  And don’t get me started on toilet paper.  School systems and universities are closing, some planning dependence upon on-line classes for the remainder of the current term.

None of these things are insignificant.  Deprivation is striking at every corner of our lives.

In the midst of this, we have also had to close our churches. 

Until at least April 5 – and at this point that date seems wildly optimistic – Bolivar and Whiteville United Methodist churches are in total shutdown.  There will be no services of worship during this time.  Nor will we hold mid-week activities, choir rehearsals or administrative meetings. 

It is painful.  It is uncomfortable.  And the situation is frustrating because it is out of our control.  But it is our only responsible option.  Any one of us might risk our own health in order to be in church.  But to gather right now is to risk the well-being of everyone with whom we come in contact over the next three days.  The Center for Disease Control is issuing warnings for any gathering of over ten people.  For a local church to fly in the face of these cautions is at this point unthinkable.

So, we have to find other ways to be a community of faith.  I hope that we are telephoning one another, checking on those who may be at risk.  We can encourage one another even as we share in these awkward moments.  Read your Bible.  Pray for one another.  Do not forget others of the household of faith.

The church office at Bolivar continues to function.  Please contact us if you have concerns.  And, if you have a pastoral care issue, please call and if I am not there – I intend to be around – leave a voicemail and I will attend to it promptly.

I will be using this blog as a forum to stay in touch and to keep you up to speed on what’s going on.

We will get through this.

But it will take a little time.