2 Christmas/Epiphany Sunday/Year C– Jan 2, 2022
Jeremiah 31:7-14; Psalm 84:1-8; Ephesians 1:3-6,15-19a; Matthew 2:1-12
Gifts Given and Received
Happy New Year to all of you as we begin 2022!
Gifts given and received are on my mind this week…
One reason…is because as one year is ending and a new year is beginning…it’s a pretty common practice for many of us to look back and reflect on the past year…and when we set aside this time of reflection, it often helps us to recall the gifts given and received throughout the year…even in the midst of some troubling and sorrowful times…
It’s also an opportunity for us to think about how those practices of giving and receiving gifts in the past year, have influenced the way we have loved and cared for one another, in this sometimes heart-wrenching, ever-changing, chaotic world we inhabit with one other…
This time of reflecting back and remembering, also gives us the opportunity to contemplate on what gifts we want to carry forward with us, to share with another, in the coming year…
When I say gifts…I’m not really talking about material or monetary gifts; although, surely those are some of the gifts I’m thinking about… but, at this moment, I’m thinking more about the spiritual gifts that influence and transform our everyday lives together… I’m thinking about the people behind the gifts shared…our loved ones, our family and friends, the health care workers, the caregivers, the counselors, the first responders, the teachers, the artists, the musicians, the faith community leaders, the business owners and employees who assured we had the necessary food and material things we have needed and wanted, the too numerous people to name who have shared their gifts with us to help us walk through this last year together without giving up hope…for better days to come…
So, let’s take a moment now to reflect back a bit…on the topic of gifts…
Looking back to the start of our pledge season this fall…our focus has been on gifts and gratitude…based on the scripture from James 1:17… “Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above…coming down from the creator of lights…”
As part of a year-end reflection time practice, I would invite you to go back to St Peter’s website page that includes all of the letters and reflections on gifts and gratitude from the Every Perfect Gift Pledge campaign this past fall…(https://stpeters-sitka.org/every-perfect-gift-pledge-campaign-fall-2021)... Once you have a chance to re-read some of them…ask yourself a few questions…what is coming to light for you now as you review them? What is it that you want to pay more attention to in 2022? What gifts of time, talent or treasure can you look forward to sharing with the church, the community, and the wider world in 2022?
In the season of Advent…I focused my sermon time on the gifts given in Advent – the gifts of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love…I encouraged you to be on the lookout for the signs of these gifts of God all around us, in the scriptures, the prayers, the music, and in the people and places we find ourselves…especially focusing on the greatest gift of all – the gift of God’s love… A love that changes everything and everyone it touches…A love that has the power to transform lives for those who believe…
Think back to some of those messages I shared about the gifts given in Advent…Are these gifts you want to carry forward into 2022? How might God be calling you in 2022 to be bearers of these gifts to others? How might God be inviting you to gratefully and graciously receive these gifts from God and through others?
My Christmas sermons focused on bringing all of these gifts together…shining light on the greatest gift of all, the love of God made known to us in the birth of a Savior, the Messiah, the Lord…the love of God who came down to dwell among us and walk with us…The One we came to know as Jesus.
In the scriptures throughout the Christmas weekend, we heard the good news about this greatest gift of all, proclaimed by the angels, the shepherds, and treasured and pondered in Mary’s heart…the good news that reminded us that the light of God’s love has always been here…waiting to be born anew in our hearts, and in our lives…not just at Christmas time, but a light that burns in us throughout the whole year…a light that swells within each one of us, when we reach out to one another, to love one another, encourage one another, and support one another…in all the ways that we can…What a wonderful gift to give and receive!
I wonder how you might gather up all of these gifts together, the gifts of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love that you received in 2021…and use them in the coming year to lead others to the light and love of God who was born for us on Christmas Day, the One whom we call Jesus…the light of the world shining for us and in us, forever lighting the way for us to walk in love, with God, with one another, and with all of creation…
There will be so many different ways that each of us will be called in the new year to give and share our gifts, in gratitude for the greatest gift of all given to us at Christmas…
The wise men opened their treasure chests and offered gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh….
In our hymn, we are about to sing…the donkey carried the mother up hill and down, to Bethlehem; the cow gave a manger and hay for the Christ child’s bed; the sheep gave them wool for a blanket and coat; the dove used its voice to coo and to comfort…
In 2022…in gratitude to God, and for the glory of God…What gifts will you give and share with others? What gifts are you longing to receive?
This year, I am longing for the gift of wisdom….
This year, I will be praying for the gift of wisdom as I reflect back on the past couple of years of living through these pandemic times and look for guidance in the coming year….
I will pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give us all a spirit of wisdom and revelation as we come to know him, so that, with the eyes of our hearts enlightened, we may know what is the hope to which he has called each one of us, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe. (Ephesians 1:17-19)
And I will not cease to give thanks for each one of you, for all the ways you have shared your gifts with others in this past year…I look forward to walking with you in this new year…full of promise and hope of what is yet to come….
Rev Julie Platson
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church
Sitka, AK
*Hymn reflection after the sermon: The Friendly Beasts
The friendly beasts
Heralders Children's Choir (Utah)