Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
Original Manuscript:
I was a little surprised, and more than a little sad, to find out last year that the great fantasy writer Ray Bradbury considered himself a Zen Buddhist towards the end of his life. He apparently held to a hodgepodge of Western and Eastern religious beliefs. I had always had it in my mind that Bradbury was an Episcopal Christian. Maybe that was because one of his stories, "The Fire Balloons", has a group of Episcopal priests on Mars.
I think I also assumed he was Christian because there are two stories of his that involve Jesus. One is "The Fire Balloons", and the other is "The Man". "The Man" in particular is very striking. In it, Jesus is going to other planets to spread the Good News.
Both of Bradbury's stories are good reminders to us that Jesus doesn't solely belong to us and that we certainly aren't the only ones looking for him.
The Wise Men, or Magi, are also a reminder to us that others beyond the Abrahamic Faiths are looking for Jesus. Here is a group of men from the Far East, who are not Jewish Scholars, and certainly not Christian ones (since there were no Christians yet). And yet, it is through their studies that they find the star that will point them to Jesus. And they go on their journey to find Him.
All of us are looking for forgiveness. All of us are looking for redemption. All of us have things we wish we hadn't said or done, or things we wish we had said or done, whether we wish to admit it or not. We find that forgiveness, we find that redemption, we find the chance for repentance in Jesus.
We don't have the sole stake in Jesus as Christians. He belongs to all. And all, whether they know it or not, are looking for Him. So our role is to tell people about Him. Our role is to make sure all people can claim Jesus as their own, just as the Wise Men did and just as we do as well. So go out and spread the Joyous News of the forgiveness of sins we receive through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Reveal and make manifest His Glory as we are called to do always, but especially in this season of Epiphany, especially in this season of revealing.