Detours of Epiphany, January 5, 2025, Contemporary
Detours of Epiphany
Happy New Year everybody. It’s our 50th Anniversary Celebration year at COS. We have an abundance for which to be thankful. Time to thrive in 2025. 😀 I do wish each of you this new year the Fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control and goodness. And that you bear that fruit in the lives of others as well.
As we move to the message of our Epiphany gospel, let’s warm up with a little game about New Year’s Resolutions. I’m going to give you a resolution that could have been declared by a biblical character and you shout out your guess as to which character it might be. Ready?
Adam: "Stop blaming Eve for everything… especially when I forget where I put the fig leaves."
Eve: "No more unsolicited advice from snakes. Lesson learned."
Noah: "Order a Roomba for all this animal cleanup."
Moses: "Practice asking for directions instead of wandering in the wilderness for 40 years."
David: "Stick to harp playing and avoid rooftop sightseeing."
Joseph (Technicolor Dreamcoat): "Stop oversharing my dreams. My brothers might be a little sensitive."
Pharaoh: "Let people go sooner next time. It’ll save me a lot of plagues."
The Prodigal Son: "Stick to dad's allowance and stop throwing wild parties with pigs."
Today we celebrate the Festival of the Epiphany, with tomorrow the actual day of Epiphany, the first day after the 12 Days of Christmas. Epiphany is a whole season of Jesus “appearing” or “showing up” or “being presented” or “being revealed” to the world as the light of the world. Traditionally, on Epiphany we remember the magi visiting the holy family and presenting their gifts. For gospel writer Matthew, these oriental adventurers prove fulfillment of our first lesson prophesy of Isaiah that God’s light would be a revolutionary blessing for all nations. Jesus is worshiped by lowly, local Jewish shepherds. But Jesus, the Light of the World, marked with this dazzling stellar sign, drawing these foreigners from afar is a global gift for people of all ethnic and faith backgrounds.
Now, these magi, seem to be characters who, like many of you, get pumped about New Year’s Resolutions. Magi come off to me as Type A personalities. If you’re committed to a multi-week or month road-trip to a foreign land, you’re organized, thoughtful, and goal-driven. Organizing the logistics of camels, food, water, gifts, without AAA or Waze? Look out. You are resolved, resolute, and ready for resolutions, whether it’s new year’s or anytime.
So, as pretty focused fellows, how did the magi handle “the DETOUR?” Matthew tells us that in their Epiphany joy of visiting Jesus, they experience a detour sign. It doesn’t come in a physical road marker. They don’t see it in the sky like the star. But through a dream, the Lord conveys, “detour!” Actually, it’s a warning and not a command. They’re warned, best not to go back to Jerusalem because Herod is not up to any good. Indeed, non-biblical historians indicate Herod murdered his wife, his mother-in-law, and at least three of his own sons. And sadly, would give the order to execute the Bethlehem baby boys under 2 years old.
We’re told that the magi heed that warning and return home another direction. But how did they feel about the detour? Was it a hardship? Without going to the big city of Jerusalem, how would they get supplies for the journey home? Were they disappointed? The temple Herod built for the Jews in Jerusalem was one of the largest structures in the Roman world. Had they been promised a behind the scenes tour? They had to be looking forward to some of the treats of the capital city, like any tourist would be revved up for sight-seeing in New York, Vegas, Paris, or London.
Actually, God’s people rising up to handle life’s detours seems to be a key faith-growth opportunity with Jesus’ arrival. Joseph faced the detour sign: your marriage with Mary will not follow the expected road. So, buckle up. The detour sign certainly flashed in front of Mary with the angel’s visit: no straight road for you either, holy mother. Shepherds in their fields realize a huge scheduling detour after the angelic opportunity. And now the magi—don’t go down the path you planned, if you truly are wise ones.
What about you? How flexible are you as you inevitably face the unexpected detours of life and faith? As you contemplate your own answer, here are a few examples of detours that came to my mind this week.
First of all, let me ask: how many of you have visited Disneyworld? One time, when Morgan was young enough to be pushed in a stroller, the Wieses traveled to Disney to “pay the mouse” as the expression goes :-). We were able to be there for two full days. But that was it. (We couldn’t get as much time off for travel as the magi did). Well, in the afternoon of day one Morgan got sick. We were beginning to realize that she was prone to dehydration. One dynamic counterintuitive for me about dehydration is that even though you are low on fluids, you are more likely to throw up. Which young Morgan did prolifically that afternoon and early evening. I remember enjoying that evening cleaning out the floorboard of the family van as well as the car seat while we decided to sleep in and make sure she was OK to return to Disney on day number two. Well, by the time we arrived a good chunk of the day had passed. LuAnne and I were trying to figure out a reasonable battle plan. A Disney worker must’ve noticed just a bit of despair on our faces. Unsolicited, the Disney worker walked over and asked how we were doing. We shared the situation and how we were just trying to figure out how we would maximize our final afternoon at the park. I’ll never forget how the Disney employee said “well, what do you think we help you out by giving you a good number of fast passes?” If you’re not familiar with a fast pass--or whatever Disney calls that--it allows you to go to the very front of the line on any ride you were like. I think we covered in just a few hours what a typical family covers in a full two days waiting in line. That was a great example of a detour that led to good times. The detour was an upgrade. But is that the case always?
A second detour popping to mind involves a mountain hike. I was in Colorado Springs years ago, unfortunately to preside at a funeral. I had one free day and I really feel a connection with God in our Lord’s beautiful creation. So, I awoke at 2:30 and drove the 2 1/2 hours to the trailhead of one of the 14,000-foot mountains in the collegiate mountain range northwest of Buena Vista. I remember taking the final left turn of the route with only about 7 miles to go before I reached the trailhead. That’s when I saw the sign “Road closed 3 miles ahead.” A detour was not even an option. The road was totally shut down. Well, I praise God that a Quickie Mart convenience store was somehow open at five AM and a knowledgeable worker ediredct me to the trail head of another peak. Turned out to be a great day and I hiked with the dean of a Midwestern university. Some great conversation. Would I have had a better hike on my original intended mountain? Who knows.
A third example which was the most difficult detour for me to accept transpired in 1994. I was finishing my second masters and was finally ready for ordination. Back then in the ELCA, the assignment process for all the seminarians was sort of like the NFL draft. Bishops or representatives from all 65 ELCA synods met in Chicago. And they took turns going around the table and selecting candidates based on the profiles and paperwork. I was glad that there would not be a lot of drama for me. Why? Well at that time, the seminary’s director of admissions knew me from our mutual connection at Camp Luther. He had received a call from a senior pastor out in Denver, Colorado looking for suitable candidates for an associate pastor position. My friend suggested me.
Terrific, I thought! LuAnne and I wanted to experience life outside the Midwest before we started raising kids. We had really enjoyed Connecticut for three years. We were looking forward to a similar experience out west. All seminarians are invited to prayerfully discern their top three preferences for which synods they’d like to serve. So I wrote down my very first choice was the Rocky Mountain Synod. And the Rocky Mountain Synod’s very first candidate choice was me. It was a done deal!
So, we were really surprised to learn that the bishop of Northeast Ohio used his trump card on that NFL-like draft day. On one hand, it was nice affirmation to be well thought of when he said “Wiese is an Ohio guy and we’re taking him.” On the other hand, I was livid. It’s a long story, but to tell you the truth, there were some moments I wondered. If the church was going to act this, maybe I should just get an MBA and go a different direction. Over the years LuAnne and I have wondered what our lives would have been like had we started in Colorado instead of Ohio.
It certainly is clear that we would not have made the lifelong friendships we treasure now from serving our first two congregations in Ohio. We would not have the wonderful moments with grandparents. But there are still days when I wonder. I’m sure each of you have those questions. “Without that detour, where would your road have taken you?”
So, to conclude, let me offer some Epiphany RESOLUTIONS when dealing with the DETOURS of life and faith.
- When God blesses me with a fast-pass detour, I will tell the Lord thank you. Many times, it’s clear the Lord is at work. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
- Secondly, I will not blame God for the detours which seem negative in life. I know many people try to face really tough or sad times with the adage, “well, this must be God’s plan for me.” I humbly disagree. Each week we pray the Lord’s Prayer in which Jesus has us state, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Why? Because a LOT of things that happen on earth are NOT God’s will, are not heaven-like. The horror on Bourbon Street was not God’s will. The veteran’s decision in Las Vegas was not God’s will. Sometimes, the detours directing us toward sadness and pain are the result of broken people, our broken bodies, or our broken world. Or in other situations, just good people doing the best they can but not realizing they’re hurting us.
- My third resolution: whatever detour I face, I will tackle it leaning into Jesus’ promise that he walks that unexpected road with me. Joseph, Mary, the Magi all do well with their detours because they believe God is with them and we can activate that healthy perspective too. That’s what Romans 8.39 proclaims: there is nothing that can separate us from God’s love in Jesus. Also, while God is not responsible for all detours, God shows up at every intersection and is working with me to make Plan B as life-giving as possible. Romans 8.28. God is working in all things for good.
So, friends, like the magi of Epiphany, I’m ready for a road trip. I’m ready to pony up and try to follow the Light of Jesus into a bright future this new year, with you. I might even make some resolutions. But you know what, when we hit those DETOURS of life, let’s not lose heart for too long. Let’s look to the Lord for Plan B, for the positive in the new life twist. Let’s look to each other for support along with way, for magi travel not alone, but together. In the name and glow of the Light of the World, Jesus, our newborn King, Amen.
Matthew 2.1-12. 1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’ ”
7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.