January 3, 2021 - Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen. Sunday was the Second Sunday after Christmas. Happy New Year! I know we are hoping that 2021 will be a better year than 2020. A year ago at this time, I don’t think anyone imagined what the new year was going to be like. Also, Happy Day of Epiphany! On the Christian calendar, Wednesday, January 6th is the Day of the Epiphany, when we celebrate the coming of the Wise Men to Bethlehem searching out Jesus. On Sunday I selected the scriptures for Epiphany; the gospel, liturgy, and sermon spoke about the wise men, the New Year, and how the Christian faith is about new beginnings and new possibilities.
Paxton Methodist is having in-person worship; we respect each other by wearing masks and keeping socially distant. Scientists and medical professionals say that we can do three simple things before the vaccines are generally available: To curtail the spread of Covid-19, we should wash our hands regularly, stay at least 6 feet apart—social distancing, and yes, wear a mask. Things are so dire that mask-wearing is the patriotic thing to do. It is also the Christian thing to do, loving your neighbor as you love yourself.
We want to be as safe as we can. Since we resumed in-person worship, our music has been on CD. We can hum the song under our masks but no vigorous singing! Our first song was “Auld Lang Syne,” a Scots language poem by Robert Burns. The second was the hymn, “We Three Kings,” sung by Leontyne Price. The 12 Days of Christmas are officially over on Wednesday, but I might still sneak in some Christmas songs.
The Day of the Epiphany is also Report Day for United Methodist Churches. All the Year-End Reports must be entered and sent to the district and conference. Our treasurer, Gene Hutto, really helped out by keeping and tabulating all the financial numbers and reports that needed to be entered.
During the month of January, Paxton Methodist will be collecting cans of tuna for Community Christian Services. I was able to deliver three checks and many, many cans of soup last Wednesday to CCS. The volunteers there always do a superb job but have really increased their output during the pandemic. Last Wednesday, they were busily handing out boxes of food. Thanks so much to these caring folks!
We had an extra good Sunday School lesson today. Gene read the scripture, Luke 3: 1-8, which talks about John the Baptizer and his ministry along the Jordan River. Our author spent some time on opportunities for a New Year and new beginnings. One thing he said was, “With God’s help, we can live into the new reality of the Kingdom of God.” Amen to that. I always thought of John the Baptist as a bit extreme—the way he dressed, what he ate, and how he seemed to cry and scream his message. But the lesson writer pointed out that what John was calling people to do wasn’t extreme at all—it was very mainstream in Jewish and Christian thought. John says we are to share with those less fortunate, to be fair in our dealings with everyone, and to be merciful in how we treat others. John surely sounds a lot like Jesus!
The Gospel lesson for Sunday was Matthew 2: 1-12 about the Magi coming to Bethlehem looking for Jesus. I also used several images of new beginnings since it was the first Sunday of the New Year. In fact, my sermon title, “The Land of Beginning Again” was stolen from a poem by the same name. The scholars (kings, magi, wise men) coming to Bethlehem is really less abut the moment they discover Jesus and more about humanity’s life-long journey to find God and to live in God. The Epiphany speaks of the Divine shining light on our path as we journey through a sometimes dark world.
Whoever you are, in whatever faith you were born, whatever creed you profess; if you come to this house to find God you are welcome here. Paxton United Methodist Church is an inviting church that takes to heart the idea of “Open Doors, Open Hearts, and Open Minds.” Worship begins at 10:00. Our email address is paxtonumc@yahoo.com. If you would like the weekly email newsletter about Paxton Methodist, you can send your email address to the Paxton email address, and I will add you to the list. God’s Speed.
