Sermon for Epiphany

Years ago, Dr. Seuss wrote a book called How the ‘Grinch Stole Christmas’.

If you’ve got grandchildren you will know the story otherwise – here’s a snapshot.

In the town of Whoville, the human like creatures called ‘Whos’ are filled with excitement about celebrating Christmas. However, the only one who is not amused is a cantankerous and green-furred creature named the Grinch, who has a heart that is ‘two sizes too small’ and lives in a cave on top of Mt Crumpet, just North of Whoville. The Grinch hated seeing and hearing all the people celebrating Christmas--so he tries to find a way to stop Christmas from coming to Whoville.

He plots to steal all the presents, all the decorations, and all the special Christmas food. If he does this, he believes, that he can stop Christmas from coming. The Grinch spends the whole night before Christmas sneaking around and stealing everything Christmassy from all the houses in Whoville.

When Christmas morning comes the Grinch is shocked his plan didn't work--Christmas still comes to Whoville. The people are still happy and they gather hand-in-hand to sing Christmas songs. He learns Christmas is more than just presents and decorations.

Who is the Grinch in our gospel reading for today? It is the story of the Magi, the wise men, finding the Christ-child. We know the story well - parents, Sunday school teachers – little stickers – original Myer windows – preachers – all regular tellers of this wonderful story.

As an aside: -what would have happened if it had been three wise women instead of three wise men? They would have asked for directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, brought practical gifts, and there would be Peace on Earth. We move on…

We don’t know how many magi there actually were. We assume three because there were three gifts. We do know they were men of science--astronomers, highly educated, wealthy, upper class citizens, and highly respected in their Gentile culture - they were seekers after the truth, visionaries, and spiritual.

And we hear of Herod - He was power hungry, self-absorbed, and ruthless. Murdering his wife, three sons, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, uncle, and many others. No wonder he had no problem killing so many babies in Bethlehem.

The chief priests and teachers of the Law were trained and educated in the details of scripture, but spiritually ignorant. They knew the right answers, where he was to be born - but didn’t possess a right heart.

Who is the real Grinch in our gospel story? What were the motivations of the players? All of them were on a journey. They were all seeking for meaning in life, for something outside of themselves to put life in context. They were searching for something more than they had. This desire was motivating them to do what they did. All of them searching for meaning.

 Herod, was self-absorbed and power-hungry, he was led to frustration, failure, and loneliness. The chief priests and teachers of the Law, the “I’ve-got-all-the-answers” people, found cold hard facts but they missed the meaning, they never really got it. The magi -sincere seekers of truth, meaning, and substance in life—they discovered what they were looking for.

They were searching for meaning in life outside of themselves. They were seeking the One who made life meaningful. Money was not an issue to them. Power was not an issue to them. Position and titles were not issues for them. They were seeking something that would help them make sense out of what was going on in life.

What is your star? What is it that has you questioning meaning? The magi started on a journey for truth, meaning, and substance in life. God led them on their journey.

God has led you to this place, this morning, on purpose. Not one of us is here by accident. Often, we search where we think we ought to look, but it’s the wrong place.

If we knew the whole story, we’d know to begin with Jesus.
God looks at the sincerity of our hearts and guides us in our search for truth, meaning, and substance in life. Who is the Grinch in our lives? What handicaps our Christian journey?

The real Grinch is our own selves. It is you; it is me. We have often stolen Christmas from ourselves.

The magi point us to the right choice: break with the self-absorbed quest and go beyond mere knowledge. They teach us to search for the One who can give life meaning and substance. We can live the self-absorbed life motivated by selfish ambition and self-preservation. We can keep trying to figure it all out, gathering information, searching for answers as if we have the mental capability to know it all.

Or, we can just worship Jesus. Open our treasures and give ourselves to Him. What are you going to do, Mr. Grinch? The question remains for us all.

Epiphany remains for us in our own age an astonishing sign of the hardly believable yet very much real – God’s wisdom masquerading as human weakness and folly. For as we readily see, God’s eternal wisdom is found not at King Herod’s magnificent court, but rather in the humble village home of a small and vulnerable child and his parents. Perhaps it does take show-business-like conjurers – themselves no doubt masters of surprise and the unexpected – to recognize the real in the impossible.

There is, of course, always a fine line between the real and the impossible. All too often it is indeed the impossible that inevitably comes to pass:

There are wise men – and women – among us still.

But if there is a fine line between the real and the impossible, there is sometimes an even finer distinction to be drawn between true wisdom and our own self-deceptions and doubts; Mr Grinch at work again!

We must admire the persistence of the Magi making their way methodically and sure-footedly across wilderness and desert, seeking an out-of-the-question reality they were certain had come to pass. Few of us are so sure of ourselves and our paths. Too many among us never even dare leave home.

But the Magi, their task accomplished, return home from their journey “by another road” as the gospel tells us, and have not been heard from since. For all we know, they may still be on their way. For all we know, they may be journeying among us here and now in our congregations and communities, bequeathing to us from time to time their precious gifts of wisdom, knowledge and understanding – gifts that remain as rare today as gold, frankincense and myrrh in any age.

Perhaps that is why the church has given us this special festival day of Epiphany, to celebrate the wondrous and amazing things in our own lives. And to give us courage to follow, in our day, the star of the Magi as it leads us – just as it did them – to Bethlehem and the Child Jesus. If the Magi are not real, who is?

You're a monster, Mr. Grinch! Your heart's an empty hole Your brain is full of spiders You've got garlic in your soul Mr. Grinch! I wouldn't touch you!