Epiphany! We mention it every year at this time. January 6 - the day we remember the coming of the wise men, but what's an epiphany?

The word epiphany literally means manifestation or disclosure. On this Sunday we remember the manifestation, the disclosure of Christ to the world. The first people who heard about Jesus' birth and came to see Him were of course the shepherds. As the days went by, I'm sure that other people in the community heard something and stopped by to see what was going on. But even as the word started to spread, it was still just something that was happening in a small obscure community in Judea.

The coming of the wise men changed all that. They came from a far place. They weren't privy to local gossip and rumors, but followed a special sign, a star in the sky. With the coming of the wise men we are reminded that the birth of Jesus was more than just a local phenomena. Yes, something big happened in Bethlehem, yes the shepherds did get all excited that night and angels did appear, for something wonderful and miraculous was taking place right there in that stable, but now we suddenly see that this birth is bigger than Bethlehem. It didn't just effect a few local residents for a little while. This birth has changed the course of all of our lives.

We know very little about those men who studied the stars. Historically astrologers and others who studied the stars traveled freely around the Mediterranean world, finding a welcome audience anywhere from royal courts to the market places. Kings and other prominent people freely consulted magi - a priestly caste of those who studied the stars.

Herod in particular was constantly concerned with real or imagined usurpers to his throne, and so the news of magi coming to seek a king would guarantee his calling for them. We're told that they brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Myrrh was a perfumed resin produced by a particular shrub and traditionally was used at the anointing of a king.

We might say that the magi came to anoint a king. They came to offer their allegiance and to turn their lives in a new direction. In doing so, we are reminded of how the whole world was turned in a new direction with the coming of Christ.

The magi made this long and difficult journey solely on the strength of their faith. They believed that this star in the sky was a sign revealed to them, and so they left their homes and families, to follow wherever that star would lead them. They did not know their destination. We do know that travel was often dangerous - whether the danger be from robbers or sandstorms, or the lack of water. They set out on a journey that was arduous, time consuming, and dangerous, and they were guided only by their faith.

The star that they were following even disappeared from the sky for a while, but they kept on going. They continued on their journey, asking all the while for guidance, asking if any knew where the Messiah was born, and they were forever changed by the experience.

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In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks briefly about prayer and how we should pray. As you heard in the passage that was read earlier this morning, Jesus lifts up The Lord's Prayer as a model of how we should talk with God. As a result, many churches, including us, use The Lord's Prayer as a part of their regular worship liturgy, and many individuals include it as a regular part of their prayer life.

When we prayed together the Lord's Prayer earlier this morning, we prayed the familiar words, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors". Some translations of the Bible say, "Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us", while the Good News Bible says: "Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us."

Whichever version we use, it's true for many of us that we say these words, we pray these words so often that it's easy to say them without really thinking about what it is that we are asking God. So I ask you now, to stop and think about that for a moment! "Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us".

In that prayer we're not making a blanket request for forgiveness that says, "Lord, forgive me for all that I have done, no matter how I feel or act". Instead, we are making a request for forgiveness that is contingent on our own actions in forgiving others. Forgive us... as we forgive. That puts the responsibility squarely on us. When we pray The Lord's Prayer we have committed ourselves to a request that we be forgiven the same way that we have been willing to forgive. That may be good news, or it may be bad news - depending on how willing we have been to forgive others.

When our hearts are hard. When we're unwilling to forgive. When we're harboring grudges and storing up our anger, The Lord's Prayer is a dangerous prayer. Be very careful, for God may indeed give you what your pray for!

Now what do forgiveness and magi have to do with each other? The reason I bring them up in the same sermon is that the journey of the magi and the experience of forgiveness are both incredibly powerful life-changing experiences. The magi weren't the same after their journey - their lives were forever different. When we forgive someone - or are forgiven - our lives are dramatically different as well. Forgiveness is life changing and life saving gift!

This is a new year with new challenges and new opportunities. We can only guess what 2008 might hold for us, but one thing is clear, we don't have to relive the year 2007 again. The mistakes that we made, the times when we were less than faithful, are all in the past. They are behind us, and we don't need to make the same mistakes again. God has forgiven us. God is offering us another chance, one with new opportunities and new challenges, as well as some of the same old ones thrown in for good measure.

In Jesus' birth, God has been revealed to us in the most profound of all ways. That revelation makes the year 2008 our chance to have the slate wiped clean. We can live differently, live more faithfully, live the way that God wants us to live. As we travel our journeys of faith, God offers us this opportunity for a new beginning, to do things better, more faithfully than we have ever done them before.

You see, this new year is filled with hope and promise, with opportunities and challenges. The still unanswered question is, how shall we respond?

A star appeared to the magi, leading them to Bethlehem. Their on that first Epiphany they encountered the Christ Child. When the magi arrived they offered gold, frankincense and myrrh as symbolic offerings of themselves. They had committed their lives to worshiping the Christ Child.

Many years later, we are called to do the same. As we celebrate Epiphany in the year 2008, we are reminded that Jesus Christ has been revealed to us. He was born for us. This year, by the way that we live, let us offer our very lives to the worship of the Christ Child.

Amen.