(This is the seventh in a series of Epiphany posts.)
Had I preached this weekend I would have used this cartoon as a starting point for my Epiphany homily.
"When is it time to want more?"
Well, it's always time to want more - because there's always more! There's always more to discern, more to find, more to receive, more to treasure, more to offer, more to give thanks for, more to share...
The real question, then, is: of what do want more?
Since a tempting piece of fruit off a tree was offered as "more" in the garden of Eden, we've been tempted to want more bling, more stuff, more prestige, more power - more than we need...
The celebration of Christmas actually invites us to want less of what's under the tree and more of what was offered to us in a manger in a stable in Bethlehem some two millennia ago. And what was the original Christmas gift, the one wrapped not in paper and bows but in swaddling clothes? The real gift, the true gift of Christmas is Jesus:
God's eternal Self,
humbled, sharing our own flesh and blood...
God's Wisdom,
making herself known in childlike simplicity...
God's Grace,
mending our brokenness, healing our wounds...
God's Mercy,
flowing as milk from a mother's breast...
God's Consolation,
embracing our weakness with strength and warmth...
God's Peace,
everlasting and true - ours for the taking and sharing...
God's Joy,
making a home in the depths of our souls...
Of gifts such as these, there's
always more to discern, more to find, more to receive, more to
treasure, more to offer, more to give thanks for, more to share...
Perhaps the reason we still want more after opening the gifts under the tree is the simple truth that none of those gifts bring us the wisdom, the grace, the mercy, the consolation, the peace and the joy of God - for which our hearts most deeply hunger and thirst.
Well, it could be that we got Christmas wrong again this year! Could be we looked in the wrong places for the gifts we most desire, the gifts we want in greater abundance - the gifts we want more of. But, not to worry! We have a whole new year ahead of us to discern, to find, to receive, to treasure, to offer, to give thanks for and to share the gifts our hearts most truly desire!
So, collect the gifts from under the tree and be grateful to those from whom they came. Then, in some plain, simple place... when the noise of the day has quieted down... sit quietly in the presence of God and let Jesus know the gifts your heart desires and, with patient faithfulness, wait for him to give you more
of all he has in store for you...
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