The images of the feast of Epiphany are those of gifts and of light. Think candles and stars, presents and scents. The Three Wise Men journey far to bring their gifts to God’s greatest gift to the world–Christ revealed to all people, all nations.
We’ve probably known the story of the Three Wise Men since childhood. And yet these important men are not the first to greet the holy child. Common working men–shepherds–arrive before them bearing gifts.
What gifts do we bring to God and to the church–gifts of which we’re proudest–that we think are going to be valuable? And what gifts do we bring that we don’t value or we downplay, but are exactly what’s needed? It reminds us that the things the world teaches us to value are not often the things that God values.
This message is adapted from a 2014 Women of the ELCA blog by Kate Sprutta Elliott. Today we celebrate the Epiphany of Our Lord.
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