A Time For Rejoicing

Now I imagine that some of you are about all rejoiced out.  I’ll wager also that most if not all of you have put away your Christmas decorations and are happy to be rid of them for another season. Christmas is over, New Years is over and we are done with rejoicing, even as the Valentine’s Day candy is already out in the stores.  We are done with rejoicing for a little while.  It has been a lot of work.  But friends, on this Epiphany Sunday we are reminded again of the gift of Christ in our lives and that his coming into our world to be a light shining in the darkness is always about rejoicing.

When the magi come and are seeking this newborn messiah, they are willing to go great distances, encounter many dangers especially considering the cargo they are carrying to honor this new born king.  And when they finally find him where the star comes to rest they rejoice, because of where God has lead them and what God has shown them, and they offer their gifts as a sign of their devotion.

So I have 2 questions for us in 2013: What are you rejoicing about as a follower of Jesus Christ? The second question is: What gift are you bringing to pay homage to the Messiah, the newborn king?

When we look at this first question it may seem simple on the surface but when we think about it more, it can be a lot more complex.  The initial things we can say we rejoice about, family, health, etc. are all good things but those are all pretty self-centered things. Also do we really rejoice about them or are we thankful to have them, compared to other people in other situations.  But if we dig further we can find a myriad of examples of people who don’t have great health, may have experienced tragedy, and yet they can rejoice.  So what are we truly rejoicing about?  Are we rejoicing simply because the holidays are over? Well that is not much a reason to rejoice.  What can we truly rejoice about? 

There is much we can rejoice about in our church, our community of believers, that can make a difference.  So one challenge I have for everyone is to find something to rejoice about in this church and if you think that there is something yet to be done in order to rejoice, then that is the star God is calling you to follow that will lead you into a deeper relationship with Christ and allow others to discover him.  Don’t wait for the invitation, God is already giving it to you rejoice and be glad about it, but then do something about it. If you are not rejoicing about this church in this community, then no one else can rejoice with you. Rejoice and praise God for what God has done in giving us Christ Jesus.