2nd Sunday after Christmas/Epiphany Sunday
Jan 3, 2021
Jeremiah 31:7-14; Psalm 84; Matthew 2:1-12
Joy to the World! The Lord is come!
I’ve been sharing this proclamation with you during the past couple of weeks of our Christmas season…
We began, on Christmas Eve, with the yearly scripture reading from the gospel of Luke, about the birth of our Savior, Jesus…. Joy to the World! The Lord is come!
We were reminded of the gifts given to us, in this season, on Christmas Day…the gifts of love, light, hope, peace and joy…
Joy to the World! The Lord is come!
And last Sunday, we also heard the good news about Jesus’ birth, according to the gospel of John, which took us back to the very beginning…reminding us of the love and the grace of God, which came down to earth, to dwell in us… Emmanuel…God is with us…
Joy to the World! The Lord is come!
Today is the 10th day of Christmas…The season and the unfolding story surrounding the birth of our savior, Jesus, continues…
So, I’ll say it again…. Joy to the World! The Lord is come!
This joy, born for us on Christmas day…. is only the beginning of a much larger story, that we will listen to, in the coming year….we will learn more about Jesus, and his life, and death and resurrection in the coming months…
But for today, I invite you to linger a while longer to celebrate this season….
Be present in these days of Christmas, to the first stories shared about the humble beginnings of Jesus…..as we heard through the experiences told to us, from the perspectives of the shepherds, the angels…and those who were also present to hear the good new news proclaimed on that first Christmas, that first Nowell… Joy to the World! The Lord is come!
Be present today, in reflecting on the gospel reading according to Matthew we just heard, in which we listened to the story of the wise men, sent out on journey to find this child, this King that had been born…be present with them…stay there for awhile with them…gaze upon this child, where we are told the star stopped over the place, where he was with his mother Mary….Stay there for awhile, where the star stopped, and the wise men were overwhelmed with joy…
Stay there for a moment…and let the joy wash over you, let the joy surround you, let the joy comfort you, let the joy turn your tears of mourning into tears of joy…let the joy remind you, that you are never alone…Emmanuel….God is with us…. God has been with us from the beginning, God is with us now…God will be with us for all our days to come…
Let this joy fill you, as one season is ending, while at the same time, a new season is set to begin…on January 6th, the season of Epiphany….A season which begins with this story of the wise men we just heard on this last Sunday of Christmas….But it also sends out on a new beginning…to bring along these gifts of this Christmas season: the gifts of love, light, hope, grace upon grace, peace and joy…with us, in the journey ahead….in the days ahead…
For this morning, though…in these final days of the Christmas season…let us stop…be here now….on the 10th day of Christmas…There will always be somewhere we need to go…there will always be the next thing to worry about….but for now….let’s celebrate our time together this morning……and be overwhelmed with joy…Joy to the World! The Lord is come!
Rev Julie Platson
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church, Sitka, AK
Hymn after sermon: The First Nowell – (H) 109 – vs 1-5
The first Nowell the angel did say
was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
in fields as they lay, keeping their sheep,
on a cold winter’s night that was so deep.
Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, born is the King of Israel.
They looked up and saw a star
shining in the east beyond them far,
and to the earth it gave great light,
and so it continued both day and night. Refrain
And by the light of that same star
three wise men came from country far;
to seek for a king was their intent,
and to follow the star wherever it went. Refrain
This star drew nigh to the northwest,
o’er Bethlehem it took its rest,
and there it did both stop and stay
right over the place where Jesus lay. Refrain
Then entered in those wise men three
full reverently upon their knee,
and offered there in his presence
their gold, and myrrh, and frankincense. Refrain