Some of you may be ahead of it all, and some of you may have been ahead of it all when you were out shopping for Christmas, and some of us have already taken down our trees and decorations and packed them all away. Is anyone ahead that far yet? What about myself? I'm proud to say that we're all cleaned up except for the outside. Sometimes, though, we pack all those things up. We do all those things during special times of the year and, in some respects, we do that with God as well. In Advent we spend a long time preparing for Jesus - for the arrival of the Christ Child. We make all those preparations. Now that Christmas is over - it seems to have come and gone for another year, and now we are in the process of moving on a little bit - packing things up and putting them away. My fear is that some of us will do that as well with the Christmas Spirit - with the Spirit of God - with God's Gift to us. I hope we haven't compartmentalized God with the seasons, and that we keep God in mind throughout the year.
Having said that, in our readings today it talks a lot with this being Epiphany, about the stars, and we think about the stars - what they do and how they shine for us. They guided the Wise Men to Jesus. In our Isaiah reading it says, Arise so that your Light can shine, for the Light of the World has come. We too are that Light. We too are stars for Christ because we have that Light in us. We are beacons to guide others to Christ - to show the Love of God around us - to shine in the darkness - to be a beacon of hope where there seems to be no hope at all and to be what Christ has called us to be. Some of us need that Light more than others, and at different times in our lives we need it more than others as well, and we are to be Lights for each other, not only to those outside the Church, but to those in here as well - to go that extra mile - to do that extra special thing that shows someone how much you care for them, and how much your love can make a difference. Having said all that, this week I received a really beautiful story by email that I'd like to share with you. Some of you may have heard it already, I'm not sure. I've got an uncle who sends me all those things and it's great. Some of them are very moving. It's entitled, "The Littlest Firefighter," and it's from the States and it's about a little boy in Arizona who has Leukemia:
In Phoenix, Arizona, a 26-year-old
mother stared down at her son who was dying of terminal
leukemia. Although her heart was filled with sadness, she
also had a strong feeling of determination. Like
any parent, she wanted her son to grow up and
fulfill all his dreams. Now that was no longer
possible. The leukemia would see to that. But she still
wanted her son's dreams to come true. She took her
son's hand and asked, "Billy, did you ever think about
what you wanted to be once you grew up? Did you
ever dream and wish what you would do with your
life?"
Mommy, "I always wanted to be a fireman
when I grew up."
Mom smiled back and
said, "Let's see if we can make your wish come
true."
Later that day she went to her local fire
department in Phoenix, Arizona, where she met Fireman Bob,
who had a heart as big as Phoenix. She explained
her son's final wish and asked if it might be possible to
give her six-year-old son a ride around the block on a
fire engine.
Fireman Bob said, "Look, we can do
better than that. If you'll have your son ready at seven
o'clock Wednesday morning, we'll make him an
honorary fireman for the whole day. He can come down to
the fire station, eat with us, go out on all the fire
calls, the whole nine yards! And if you'll give us his
sizes, we'll get a real fire uniform for him, with a real
fire hat-not a toy one-with the emblem of the
Phoenix Fire Department on it, a yellow slicker like we
wear and rubber boots. They're all manufactured
right here in Phoenix, so we can get them
fast."
Three days later Fireman Bob picked up
Billy, dressed him in his fire uniform and escorted
him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook
and ladder truck. Billy got to sit on the back of
the truck and help steer it back to the fire
station. He was in heaven. There were three fire calls
in Phoenix that day and Billy got to go out on
all three calls. He rode in the different fire
engines, the paramedic's van, and even the fire chief's
car. He was also videotaped for the local news
program. Having his dream come true, with all the love
and attention that was lavished upon him, so
deeply touched Billy that he lived three months longer
than any doctor thought possible.
One
night all of his vital signs began to drop dramatically
and the head nurse, who believed in the hospice concept
that no one should die alone, began to call the family
members to the hospital. Then she remembered the day Billy
had spent as a fireman, so she called the Fire Chief and
asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in
uniform to the hospital to be with Billy as he made
his transition. The chief replied, "We can do better
than that. We'll be there in five minutes. Will you
please do me a favor? When you hear the sirens
screaming and see the lights flashing, will you announce
over the PA system that there is not a fire? It's just
the fire department coming to see one of its
finest members one more time. And will you open
the window to his room?"
About five
minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the
hospital and extended its ladder up to Billy's third floor
open window. 16 firefighters climbed up the ladder into
Billy's room. With his mother's permission, they hugged
him and held him and told him how much they loved
him.
With his dying breath, Billy looked up at
the fire chief and said, "Chief, am I really a fireman
now?" "Billy, you are, and the Head Chief, Jesus,
is holding your hand," the chief said. With those
words, Billy smiled and said, "I know, He's been
holding my hand all day, and the angels have been
singing." He closed his eyes one last
time.
That story to me illustrates just what it means to reach out just a little bit more - to go that extra mile - to show someone just how much you care for them. God has called each one of us, in our own little way, whether it be big or small to reach out to, to show how much God loves and cares for us and for everybody. We're not meant to move mountains, we are just meant to be lights, to be beacons for God. If we can do that, then you wouldn't believe the difference that it can make in somebody's life. It may not be big - it may not be small, but the recipient of your gift of love will treasure it forever, and it will be treasured in God's Heart as well. As we enter into this New Year the Year 2002 and we look forward to making plans to do various things let's also do our best to shine for God, to go that extra mile, to do that extra special thing for somebody, to show how much you love and care for them, so that they know that God loves us and that God loves them.
Today's Readings
Revised Standard Version (RSV)
Isaiah 60
1
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen
upon you.
2
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the
peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon
you.
3
And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your
rising.
4
Lift up your eyes round about, and see; they all gather together, they
come to you; your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be
carried in the arms.
5
Then you shall see and be radiant, your heart shall thrill and rejoice;
because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the
nations shall come to you.
6
A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Mid'ian and
Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and
frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD.
Ephesians 3
1
For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you
Gentiles--
2
assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was
given to me for you,
3
how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written
briefly.
4
When you read this you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ,
5
which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has
now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
6
that is, how the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and
partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
7
Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace
which was given me by the working of his power.
8
To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given,
to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
9
and to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in
God who created all things;
10
that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known
to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.
11
This was according to the eternal purpose which he has realized in Christ
Jesus our Lord,
12
in whom we have boldness and confidence of access through our faith in
him.
Matthew 2
1
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the
king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying,
2
"Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star
in the East, and have come to worship him."
3
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with
him;
4
and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he
inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5
They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the
prophet:
6
'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among
the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people
Israel.'"
7
Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what
time the star appeared;
8
and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the
child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and
worship him."
9
When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which
they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the
place where the child was.
10
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy;
11
and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they
fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him
gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
12
And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their
own country by another way.
