Epiphany 2022 - Episode 451 Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast)

Welcome to Voices in My Head, the official podcast of me, Rick Lee James. I'm a recording artist, a singer, a songwriter, an author, a worship leader, and an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene. The Voices in My Head podcast is where I discuss music, movies, books, pop culture, theology, and more with friends, colleagues, and sometimes just by myself. Now make sure to let me know what you think of today's episode by leaving me a review on iTunes or by tweeting at me @RickLeeJames on Twitter. And please join my mailing list at RickLeeJames.com where you can receive an email every time a new episode is released. By the way, in case you're interested in a daily dose of kindness and encouragement beyond this podcast, I also run the Twitter account @MrRogersSay where I post daily quotes from Fred Rogers, one of the voices in my head. Well, I guess that's it for the intro, so sit back, relax, and listen to the latest episode of Voices in My Head.

Hey friends, Rick Lee James here, coming to you from my kitchen. If you hear little paw prints you hear any barks or little snorts or puffs in the background, it's my dogs, probably. I'm home with them today. Today is the first day that my wife and son have gone back to school. My schooling with Loyola University at the Institute of Pastoral Studies with their master's program doesn't start up again for a few more days. So I am doing a few errands today, doing some stuff around the house, and I have the house to myself for just a few hours, and I thought I would get a quick podcast recorded. I'm up here from the kitchen today, and the dogs have decided they want to be near me, which is great. I love that. And the thing is, though, you might hear a few barks. They've already been kind of getting up here and, you know, kind of, you know how dogs do when they kind of jump up on your leg and want your attention and things like that. So if you're a dog person, you understand. If you're not a dog person, My apologies, but that's just part of life. So Fred and Maisie are here with me, my dogs, and I guess they say hello. So hey, back to them from my podcast listeners. Hey, this is going to be a special Epiphany podcast today. Epiphany is actually on January 6th, and I know that this podcast will be releasing on Wednesday, January the 5th, and I wanted to do a special epiphany episode. Oh, there goes one of the dogs. Fred, it's okay. But you know, in our country, for those of you who are listening from the United States of America— and by the way, thank you for international listeners too. I sometimes forget to thank you, but my goodness, we have so many international listeners now too. As a matter of fact, we've charted on iTunes outside of the country a number of times in several different parts of the world, and I'm so grateful to all of our international listeners. So I wanted to talk though about Epiphany today for something that, that will unite all of us, not just Americans, okay? Because North Americans, those of us in the United States especially, this year when we say January 6th We are thinking probably of something different than the rest of the world maybe is thinking of, because this year for us it's the one-year anniversary of the coup attempt, the insurrection at the Capitol that happened last year when vote certifications were happening and a whole bunch of Trump supporters tried to break into the Capitol.

There was—

were deaths that happened. It was just a tragic day. It was horrible. I mean, it was just awful. You look back at everything that happened. And that's not to say that everybody that was there knew what was going on, but it was one of the dark days of history. And as we learn more and more and we see more video footage and we are learning more about all of the things that went into it, it's just— it seems like it's all anybody's talking about right now in media circles and in conversations that a lot of people that I know are having. And I just thought, what a tragic thing it would be if that was all that we were talking about as Christians right now, and especially on a podcast format where we are International Christians. Because January 6th, we actually do have a Christian holy day on that day. And what a tragedy it would be if once again the Christian holy days were hijacked by the secular And I don't mean that it's not important for us to commemorate those days and those tragedies and things, but it's even more important in those times that we talk about the light, and that we shine a light in those moments on those things that make us Christians. And I would say the Epiphany of the Lord is maybe one of the most important things that we could celebrate together. On January 6th this year, which is what this podcast is about— I know it comes out on the 5th, but it's in anticipation of the Epiphany of the Lord on January 6th. I hope that we as Christians can focus on this holy day for what it is. And so I want to talk a bit about that today and share with you a resource that, that may be helpful to you. I want to point you to Loyola Press. If you've heard of Loyola Press, and I'm sure many of you have, because I'm a student at Loyola University, it's probably in my mind more. I'm thinking a lot more about Loyola and resources that Loyola offers. But Loyolapress.com, they actually have some really great family worship resources. And I think this is especially important right now because in the times that we are living in, a lot of families, including my own, are choosing to participate participate with their congregations online. I go to lead worship at my church on Sunday morning, but my family generally stays home and worships online. And it's just the way that a lot of families are doing it right now because of COVID and because of a lot of things that are happening, because we don't want to spread COVID to other people and we're trying to protect other people. And we're just trying to make the best decisions we know how to do. And it makes family worship all the more important. So we are always looking for ways, how do we do devotions more effectively? How do we do family worship more effectively? How do we disciple as effectively as we can at home? It shouldn't be the church's responsibility to do that in the family anyway. Well, Loyola has some really good free resources for that. And if you look up— just, this is what I did this morning, by the way, in preparation for this quick podcast— I did a search for Loyola, and then I did comma, and and then I did Epiphany. And it brings you right to Epiphany of the Lord. And you'll see on this page what I'm gonna share today from is Loyola Press, and they have resources for not only readings and backgrounds for that particular day for readings from scripture. They also have lessons for grades 1 through 3, grades 4 through 6, grades 7 through 8, and then they have family devotional ideas. So these are great resources. So if this is a help to you at all, and I hope it will be, this is a way for us to focus together on epiphany. Epiphany, by the way, which is the word which, if you don't know what that means, and if your faith tradition hasn't practiced epiphany and honored that throughout the years, epiphany means revelation. A lot of times somebody says, "I've had an epiphany," or, you know, you know, I've had a revelation, or somebody might say, I've had an epiphany about myself, or I've had this real revelation about myself. Something has been revealed to me. I've had this real astonishing truth that has come about. I've learned something about myself, or I've learned something about someone else, or I've had an epiphany in my life. That's what we're talking about. Well, this is the epiphany of the Lord, the epiphany of Jesus. So the readings for this day, the first reading comes from Isaiah chapter 60, verses 1 through 6, which focuses on Jerusalem shall be a light to all nations. There are responsorial readings from the Psalms, which are from Psalm 72, which talk about every nation on earth shall worship the Lord. There's another reading from the Epistle to the Ephesians chapter 3, verses 2 through 3 and 5 through 6, and that talks about Gentiles and co-heirs in the promise of Christ. And then there's a Gospel reading for the day from Matthew chapter 2, verses 1 through 12, where the Magi seek out Jesus and do him homage. And I know a lot of people think that the Magi showed up at the manger scene, and that's the popular view because that's what we see in manger scenes in depictions. And Saint Francis, I believe, who was responsible for those, you know, manger plays that we have, was trying to tell the whole story in, in as easy way as possible. They're great teaching tools, but that's not when it happened chronologically. We actually have a couple of years in between when the Magi came, so Jesus was a little bit older. I mean, we have the the escape of Jesus and his family, and Mary and Joseph running for their lives when all of the babies were being slaughtered. And there's some really powerful artwork you can find that people have depicted from that. There's actually a pretty powerful scene in the Nativity Story, the movie, which I have a lot of problems with that movie, but it actually does a pretty good job in certain scenes, I think, of doing some imaginative, some theologically imaginative narrating of the story, and I think it's pretty interesting. But they get the magi completely wrong in that movie. It all happens right at the time. They show up when the baby is being born basically. So we're gonna focus a little bit on the Epiphany and the Magi a little bit more gospel-oriented. So here's the background on the gospel reading, and this comes from LoyolaPress.com. So the background on the gospel reading: the visit of the Magi occurs directly before the story of the Holy Family— the Holy Family's flight into Egypt. So it's directly before their flight into Egypt. Matthew's Gospel tells a version of Jesus's birth that is different than the one in Luke. Of the actual birth of Jesus, Matthew tells us little more than, "When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod." The story of the census is found only in Luke's Gospel, but we hear about the visit of the Magi only in Matthew's Gospel. We know little about the Magi. They come from the East and journey to Bethlehem following an astrological sign. So we believe them to be astrologers. We assume that there were 3 Magi based upon the naming of their 3 gifts. Uh, the Gospel does not say how many Magi paid homage to Jesus. So there might have been 300 for all we know. Um, in Matthew's Gospel, they represent the Gentiles' search for a savior. Because the Magi represent the entire world, they also represent our search for Jesus. So that's an important thing to remember. The Magi represent us, and they represent our search for Jesus. We have come to consider the gifts they bring as a foreshadowing of Jesus' role in salvation. We believe the meanings of the gifts to be Christological. God— sorry, gold is presented as representative of Jesus' kingship. Frankincense is a symbol of his divinity because priests burned the substance in the temple. Myrrh, which was used to prepare the dead for burial, is often in anticipation of Jesus' death. The word epiphany means manifestation or showing forth, or as we talked about before, revelation. Historically, several moments in Christ's early life and ministry have been celebrated as epiphanies, including his birth in Bethlehem, the visit of the Magi, his baptism by John, and his first miracle at Cana, which was— anybody remember what that was? When he turned the water into wine. So that's Jesus's very first miracle, was he made moonshine. No, no, he made wine. That's, that's just a joke I tell. But that was his very first miracle, and he did that actually in ceremonial vessels, vessels that were used for worship. Now I want to look quickly just "At Their Family Resource" from Loyola Press, in case you had any interest in using this for family worship. The Gospel reading, Matthew 2:1-12, when the Magi seek out Jesus to do him homage. The family connection here: the tradition of giving gifts at Christmas is thought by some to be rooted in the gift-giving of the Magi. In many cultures, gifts are not exchanged Christmas, but rather on the Feast of the Epiphany. Whenever you exchange your Christmas gifts, take some time to reflect on this tradition of gift-giving at Christmas. Think of the best gift you have received. What was it? What made it special? Was it the gift itself, the thought that went into it, or the person who gave it to you? Then read today's Gospel, which is is Matthew 2:1-12. The gifts of the Magi—gold, frankincense, and myrrh—have come to be understood as symbols of Christ's royalty, divinity, and eventual suffering and death. They are special because in giving them, the Magi acknowledge who Jesus was to be—our Savior. We pray that we will acknowledge Jesus as Savior in all that we do and say. And then they suggest that you conclude your time together as a family by singing together "We Three Kings." Now I know that for some, the idea of your family singing together would be about the scariest thing you could possibly think of. So that may not be something you would want to do, but maybe you'd want to play a song. One thing that is kind of neat about, you know, the digital age that we live in is sometimes you can find some pretty cool YouTube videos and you can kind of curate this yourself. You know, find a playlist online and find a cool music video. There actually are some really good options out there and you might find like maybe your favorite version of this song and go, hey, tonight as we read Matthew 2:1-12, when we finish, we're going to listen together to We Three Kings. Or maybe you can find an instrumental version. I honestly, I like the version on the Peanuts soundtrack, the Charlie Brown Christmas. I think that one's actually really nice. But I think I'm going to close our time together today as we think about maybe in a new way, what it means for us to be the magi, or the magi to be representative of who we are in our search for Christ. What it means that we are the ones bringing ourselves and bringing our gifts, asking what we can bring. And also the fact that God is the one who is the first seeker, that God is seeking us, that God in Jesus has actually come into our world seeking us and then we are seeking him, that there is this cycle going on and happening. It's this almost Trinitarian perichoresis dance that we talk about in one of my classes, that the Trinity is this ever-flowing, ever-happening, never-ending dance together of relationship. And in a sense, God is entering into almost this perichoresis dance with us, inviting us into it. What does it mean that Jesus comes to seek us, and the Magi are seeking Jesus. What does it mean for us in that way? So I'm going to close the episode today as we focus on Epiphany, our January 6th, our Christian January 6th, as we look at Matthew chapter 2, verses 1 through 12. The Magi visit the Messiah, and I'm just going to read that from the NIV. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem In Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the East came to Jerusalem and asked, 'Where is the one who has been born, King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.' When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the peoples, chief priests, and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was 'In Bethlehem in Judea,' they replied. For this was what the prophet had written: 'But you, Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.' Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, 'Go and search carefully for the Carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me so that I too may go and worship him. After they heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house— see, not the cave or the manger, not the not the barn. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother. They bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. This is the word of the Lord, and we are thankful for it. Apparently my dogs are so thankful they just got up and started roughhousing. So, so I hope that you are thinking of Epiphany in a little bit different way this year. That on January 6th when it arrives, that you will be thinking about yourself as the Magi. What does it mean? What can I bring to the Lord? What can I bring him poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb, as the song says. If I were a wise man, I would do my part, but what can I give him? I'll give him my heart. All right, thank you so much for listening to Voices in My Head. As always, I'm your host Rick Lee James. We'll be back next week, and if all goes as planned, my guest is going to be the great writer Matt Mikolaitis, and he's got some great news to share with us, and I can't wait to to hear all about the good things that he's doing, the, the scripts that he's writing, the TV shows, the movies that are about to come out. And, uh, he's going to tell you all about it. So hopefully that's going to be our guest next week. Thanks for listening to Voices in My Head. God bless you guys, and thanks for listening.

Thank you for joining me here this week on Voices in My Head. I hope you'll visit me on my website at rickleejames.com where you can find out more about me Get my music on vinyl and CD, follow my blog, and even schedule me for a concert or a speaking engagement. Better yet, even a book signing in your neighborhood. You can find all that and more at rickleejames.com. Also, it would mean a great deal to me if you could write a review of this podcast on iTunes. The more positive reviews that we receive, the more visible this podcast will be online. And now for the benediction: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. God bless you, and thank you for listening to Voices in My Head.