Epiphany
Prayer
Pastoral Prayers For All Seasons
Object:
We wonder, our heavenly Ruler, about the three wise men who brought gifts of frankincense and myrrh to the Christ child, some months or years after his birth. What a presence they must have made in Bethlehem. Did the commonplace appearance of the Holy Family's home cause them to think they might have come to the wrong place? Did they wonder about the plainness of the friends of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus? Perhaps they stepped outside their abode to recheck the position of the guiding star.
Did these humble friends quickly step aside to show proper respect for these men of high station, or were they so taken aback by their appearance that they remained frozen where they stood?
Were the wise men comfortable with the magnitude of their gifts, or were they embarrassed that their gifts overpowered the starkness of the people and the setting?
Were the shepherds and servants troubled that they did not give comparable gifts? Or did they take comfort in what they gave this young family at the crucial moment:
* a clean bed made from fresh, new straw
* the care of midwives
* a stable for bedding down their donkey
* assurance that everything would go well
* the words of the angels' new song?
We hope they sensed the importance of the moment and their place in it. We hope the wise men told these caring people how appreciative they were of their service. It's not too much to expect of men who had already sensed, through a dream, the real motive of Herod's supposed interest in worshiping the Christ Child.
Dare we intrude upon this scene? What gifts can we bring? Does it matter with whom we stand? Are we watching out of the corner of our eye to see what others may think of our gifts? Or do we trust that the gift we bring is the gift that brings joy to our God? That it is measured only by the love we have in our hearts for that infant child, in whose name we offer this prayer. Amen.
Did these humble friends quickly step aside to show proper respect for these men of high station, or were they so taken aback by their appearance that they remained frozen where they stood?
Were the wise men comfortable with the magnitude of their gifts, or were they embarrassed that their gifts overpowered the starkness of the people and the setting?
Were the shepherds and servants troubled that they did not give comparable gifts? Or did they take comfort in what they gave this young family at the crucial moment:
* a clean bed made from fresh, new straw
* the care of midwives
* a stable for bedding down their donkey
* assurance that everything would go well
* the words of the angels' new song?
We hope they sensed the importance of the moment and their place in it. We hope the wise men told these caring people how appreciative they were of their service. It's not too much to expect of men who had already sensed, through a dream, the real motive of Herod's supposed interest in worshiping the Christ Child.
Dare we intrude upon this scene? What gifts can we bring? Does it matter with whom we stand? Are we watching out of the corner of our eye to see what others may think of our gifts? Or do we trust that the gift we bring is the gift that brings joy to our God? That it is measured only by the love we have in our hearts for that infant child, in whose name we offer this prayer. Amen.
