A Moment to Arrive: Epiphany, Light & the New Year, with Becca Ellis.

A Moment to Arrive: Epiphany, Light & the New Year, with Becca Ellis. A Spacious Christianity, First Presbyterian Church of Bend, Oregon. Scripture: 1John 4:7-9, 16, Matthew 2:1-12.

Join us this Sunday, either online or in-person, as we reflect on finding light in the darkness. Becca will share an inspiring message about embracing empathy, community, and the love that connects us all.

Join us each Sunday, 10AM at bendfp.org, or 11AM KTVZ-CW Channel 612/12 in Bend. Subscribe/Follow, and click the bell for alerts.

At First Presbyterian, you will meet people at many different places theologically and spiritually. And we love it that way. We want to be a place where our diversity brings us together and where conversation takes us all deeper in our understanding of God.

We call this kind of faith “Spacious Christianity.” We don’t ask anyone to sign creeds or statements of belief. The life of faith is about a way of being in the world and a faith that shows itself in love.

Thank you for your support of the mission of the First Presbyterian Church of Bend. Visit https://bendfp.org/giving/ for more information.

Keywords:

2024 reflections, Dark Secrets, Epiphany Sunday, Magi’s visit, God’s light, Persian astrologers, daily grind, unexpected challenges, relentless year, choosing a word, family emergencies, terminal cancer, feeling alone, empathy power, overview effect, love and empathy, presbyterian, church, online worship, bend, oregon

Featuring:

Rev. Dr. Steven Koski, Becca Ellis, Brave of Heart, Guests

Transcript

Unknown: 0:20

Music. Welcome to worship at First Presbyterian we at first, Presbyterian practice a spacious Christianity, which means, no matter where you are in your faith journey, you belong, and there is space for you at the table, there is space for your doubts and questions. We believe doubts and questions are a gift that invite us into deeper conversations and a more authentic faith. We believe diversity is a strength. Every story is sacred, and everybody matters. We do our best to live the spacious and radical love of Jesus so that all might have a chance to flourish in this world. We are so glad to connect with you in this way. We would also love to worship with you in person if you're ever in the neighborhood on Sunday mornings at 830 or 10am and never hesitate to reach out to us to learn more about us or how we might support you. I hope you enjoy this worship service. Welcome. the writer Anne Lamott says, I do not understand the mystery of grace, only that grace meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us for us for our prayer of confession. We reflect on the love of God. We reflect on the love God has for us, the love we witnessed in Jesus, a love that is expansive and boundless, a love that is unconditional, a love that is accepting and gracious, a love that shares our pain and grief. Life, a love that is with us, a love that never leaves us or forsakes us, a love that is merciful, tender, gentle, compassionate, a love that is patient and kind, a love that does not insist on its own way, a love that turns enemies into friends, a love that recreates, renews, and restores us to wholeness, a love that forgives and forgives and forgives and forgives again and oh god, before your love for us, we confess we have not so loved each other, forgive us, as the psalmist said, Forgive, forgive. O God, all that binds us in fear that we might radiate love cleanse our hearts, O God, that your light might shine in and through us, create in us clean hearts. Put a new and right spirit within us. Friends, hear the good news. You are forgiven. May we now release the energies of love and forgiveness into the world. Amen. Happy New Year. Anyone else been feeling more than ready to move on from 2024 I don't know about you, but for myself and many people around me, this past year has been a year, it even seems like on a larger scale, many unfortunate and terrible things have come to light in the world. We've seen Dark Secrets Exposed, corruption called out, heinous acts and so much violence, hate and division. Maybe this is always the case, and I've just paid more attention this past year, but regardless, 2024 felt especially heavy. But now it is 2025 and I want to invite us to pause to breathe, to take a moment to actually arrive, to allow our hearts to catch up to the rest of our body, similar to how we commonly start our services here is an opportunity to transition from getting here to being here, and a hope that we might bring some intention to the following days and unknowns ahead. This Sunday is often referred to as epiphany. Sunday, we have made it through the darkest nights of the year, the waiting of Advent, the celebration that comes with Christmas and the birth of the child Jesus. Epiphany is a feast day, which traditionally celebrates the revelation of Christ to the Gentiles and focuses on the story of the magi's visit. The word epiphany comes from the Greek epiphania, meaning manifestation or appearance of a God. It is made up of the prefects. Epi meaning on, upon to and the verb faino, meaning to show, to bring to light, to make appear. We might say we've had an epiphany, to describe a sudden and striking realization we hadn't thought of before. And so epiphany is really the celebration of the light of God's love, becoming present, becoming realized in a new and vibrant way in our lives. And more importantly, that this love and light is available to all of us. It's interesting to consider the story of the Magi, who are perhaps the most mysterious figures in the nativity story. There's some debate over who the Magi were. Many scholars believe they came from the ancient area of Babylon and Persia, that perhaps they were Persian priests and astrologers belonging to the Magi tribe. There are plenty of theories you can dig into online, but what we know from the biblical text about these mysterious visitors is that they came from the east. They traveled to pay homage to a new king after studying the night sky closely and following a star as their guide. And they brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to present to the child, the Messiah. And the real irony of the whole story is that these Magi, Gentiles from the east, are the ones who came to honor the newborn king, not the Jewish chief priests or king, but the part of the story that strikes me the most is thinking about the commitment to following this star, this light in the sky. While we don't know how far the Magi traveled, it's speculated that it could have been as far as 800 or 900 miles, which would have taken months. Not only did these Magi study the night sky, notice a light they hadn't seen before, connect it to a prophecy, and then feel compelled to follow it. They kept at it. This persistence strikes me because there are days, weeks, months, years, even, where light can feel incredibly hard to find in our world, where even the everydayness of life can get us down, make us feel stuck, begin to feel daunting. We wake up, drink our coffee, get dressed and start the daily grind, whatever that looks like for each of us. We go to work or take care of young children, or go through whatever everyday rhythm our days are made up of somehow we make it through to the evening. Try to wind down and relax before waking up and starting the whole thing over again day after day after day, then we get hit with the unexpected expenses or the injury or medical issue we didn't see coming. Our pet gets ill. Our friends kids are struggling. Our closest and most immediate people need our help and support. Maybe we suddenly need to ask for help. Somewhere in there, we might have some sort of stirring inside to do something more, to bring some extra intention to our day, to do the work to improve ourselves and offer more light to the world around us. But it's easy to wonder, what's the use anyway? And how can I offer anything more when I'm drowning as it is, I'm just one small person in this big world. What difference do I make? And if people knew the real me, they wouldn't see light. They wouldn't think I am good. Maybe I'm just a big disappointment. After all, if any of those things resonate, or you've heard yourself say them to yourself, first of all, you're not alone. And second, none of them are true. Life can just be incredibly hard. It is beautiful and it is hard, but it has nothing to do with your goodness. It has nothing to do with your worth. But I understand what it is to feel like everything is unraveling and having the thought that maybe you did something to deserve it. I don't know if you've ever heard of this practice of choosing a word for the upcoming year. Usually, you pick something that captures your goals, dreams, ambitions, for what you'd like to see in your life, sort of like a theme or focus for yourself, a guiding light, if you will. I'll hear friends share their word for the year, and it's usually something inspiring, like transform, courage, balance, thrive, connect. I don't remember what word I chose at the beginning of 2023 but I remember at the end of that year saying my word should have been relentless. I tend to be fairly private, but in my own little world, within one year, there were multiple major family medical emergencies. My mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. My marriage of 16 years ended. I had to face some hard truths about those close to me and myself. I felt more vulnerable, exposed and misunderstood than I ever have in my life, I've made mistakes and amends. I've had to forgive others, too, and with all that, has come a lot of grief, pain and shame. Some of these things are just part of life and unavoidable. They are as bad as they seem, and that is an essential truth to accept in order to heal and grow. But shame, we're never meant to carry it because Shame, shame does nothing for us other than keeping our light dim, making us so much smaller than we are meant to be. Brene Brown, who has done extensive research and writing around shame and guilt, says, if you put shame in a petri dish and cover it with judgment, silence and secrecy, you've created the perfect environment for shame to grow until it makes its way into every corner and crevice of your life. If, on the other hand, you put shame in a petri dish and douse it with empathy, shame loses its power and begins to wither. Empathy creates a hostile environment for shame, an environment it can't survive in, because shame needs you to believe you're alone and it's just you. I have found this to be so true, because in order for the shame that I was experiencing to begin to lose its hold on me, what I had to learn in the midst of what I was going through and feeling was exactly. That I needed to know that I was not alone. Last week, Steven spoke about being light bearers in an unbearable world, how we each have the ability to impact those around us. And the thing that kept me going gave me hope and allowed me to realize I was not alone and break loose from the grip of shame, were the people around me who offered me the light of their support, love, empathy and understanding as I was going through the hardest time in my life. And the thing I learned is that none of us are as alone as we think. Whatever your previous year or years have been made up of whatever mistakes and wrong turns you have made along the way, you need to know this, you are not alone. As we consider epiphany and this theme of light and revelation, I also think about how light reveals what is in the dark, and sometimes it isn't pretty. Sometimes we find things we'd rather not, or other people find things we hoped we could just sweep under the rug and keep it hidden forever. One of those big life lessons that I've learned, though, is you can't just close your eyes and wish part of your life away, pretend it doesn't exist, or that what is actually happening isn't as bad as it really is. I think of Joan Didion, who wrote, it occurs to me that we allow ourselves to imagine only such messages as we need to survive. Where has she said in another way, we tell ourselves stories in order to live. What is the story you are telling yourself right now? About yourself, about the people closest to you, the ones you can't understand, who don't seem to understand you, about the world, about God. We tell ourselves stories every moment of every day, and the older I get, the more aware I become of how many of the stories I tell myself are really just based on assumptions I make. And I don't know about you, but when I act from an assumption, it doesn't usually go so well. So perhaps the question we need to ask in 2025 is, what story do we want to be telling with our lives as we enter the new year? What truths do we want to embody? How do we want to relate to the world around us? I recently learned about something called the overview effect. This is a document cognitive shift some astronauts experience after viewing Earth from space, it sort of reframes everything for them, brings this profound sense of awe and wonder and awareness of the interconnectedness of life. Here's one way somebody described it. It relates to the experience of seeing first hand, the reality of the earth in space, which is immediately understood to be a tiny, fragile ball of life hanging in a void, shielded and nourished by a paper thin atmosphere from space and national boundaries vanish. The conflicts that divide people become less important, and the need to create a planetary society with the united will to protect this pale blue dot becomes both obvious and imperative. It's as if, once you really see the smallness of Earth suspended there in the universe, so many things in life become so very trivial. There is some striking realization here, an epiphany, if you will, that we are all so much more connected than we may be cognitive of in our day to day life, the things that divide us much smaller than we might believe. And I wonder, perhaps the real epiphany the Magi, these outsiders from the east invite us into realizing is just this. We are all one people, and at our core, we are much less different than we think. We are all walking around this earth made up of the same stuff. After all, our hearts all beat, our lungs inhaled the same air. We may speak different languages, but we all experience the same sensations of this life, sorrow, grief, love, joy, happiness, pain, loss, passion, wonder, awe. We are each born of love to be love in this world, it's our assumptions, our stories about one another, that get in the way. But when we can zoom out, taking a wider perspective, a shift in how we see the world as possible, consider these words from First John, dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed God's love among us. God sent God's one and only Son into the world that we might live. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, in God in them. This is the epiphany we are given as we read the story of wise ones who witnessed the arrival of love born in the flesh. Gosh, we have all been born by love into love, whether you are shepherd or Magi, adult, teenager or child, teacher, lawyer, artist, landscaper, nurse or caretaker, whether you are a parent or childless, straight, gay, CIS, trans or questioning whether you are doing better than you ever have or feel like you are drowning in life. You have been born at the exact time and place you were meant to into love, to experience and know love, so that you might be love in this world as well. The world is relentless. Friends. It's easy to try and outrun all our problems, keep them hidden with shame, to just keep moving forward. It's hard to look at our life and everything that might be happening, and instead of offering platitudes, say it like it is, that it really is as bad as you think it is, to sit with that, whether it is our own pain or another's, and begin to find understanding, tap into empathy for yourself, for others, look for the light, keep following it until, like the Magi, you see love made visible in the world, so that you can also be that love in the world. So let's take a moment to arrive in 2025 fully with all of us. Let's allow our heart to catch up to our mind. Step back and look out with wider eyes, curiosity and understanding. Let's ask the questions that lead us toward love and let the light in. What is it our world is most aching for? And how can we offer that? Can we be a soft place when everything seems hostile, sharp and hard? Can we become better listeners? Can we practice radical empathy? Can we ask for help? Can we perhaps step a little slower, create some margin, to zoom out and see the bigger picture? Can we remember that each of us are made up of the same stuff, and that whatever our years have been made up of, it has nothing to do with how good you are, but the light and love celebrated today as a holy reminder that there is a love we can never be separated from, as if fused to our very souls. Whatever unhelpful stories you've been told and even begun to believe, however cynical you've become, may you hear this as you walk into this year ahead. You were made by love for love, and like Jesus said, You are light for all The world. the world is relentless, friends, but there is so much light to be found. I want to offer you this blessing and reminder as you enter the new year. I don't know who needs to hear this right now, but you are loved. I don't know what the past year was like for you, your past month, week, day or even hour, but you are worthy of being loved. I don't know what your first thought is when you wake up in the morning, but you deserve to be alive and breathing on this earth, in this body. I don't know what your final thought is before you close your eyes at night, but you are allowed to take a break and find rest. I don't know what you say to yourself when you look in the mirror, but you are a gift. I don't know if tears come easy for you, whether from joy or sorrow, but you have something of value to express in this world. I don't know if your heart feels light or heavy, but whatever the weight you hold light within you and the ability to make a difference. I don't know if you have felt lonely, forgotten, discarded or abandoned. But I know that no matter what, there is a love in this world that will find you, knows you, wants nothing but the best for you. I don't know if you've thought to yourself, what's the point anyway? If you have felt small, afraid, uncertain, if the year ahead feels like a clean slate, fresh start, deep breath and long exhale, or a looming disaster full of unknowns. I don't know what you are thinking right now as you hear any of these words, all I know is that we are all so very human. We have all made mistakes, we have all fallen down. We have all learned things the hard way, and none of us are as alone as we think. Whatever the story is for last year, this coming year, whatever wrongs you can't seem to write, whatever dreams were achieved or still left to be chased, whatever tragedies, interruptions, setbacks and heartbreaks occurred, whatever hope that might be left. I don't know who needs to hear this right now, but you are loved. You are loved, you are loved, you are love. Thank you so much for joining us, and we hope you enjoyed this worship service. If you would like to make a donation helping make these podcasts possible or support them many ways. First, Presbyterian seeks to serve our community. You can make a financial gift online at bend fp.org, every week, we hear from someone thanking us for the gift of these broadcasts, and what a difference they make. Your support makes that possible. Our church is committed to reach beyond our walls, bringing hope where there is despair and love where it is needed the most. Your generous support helps us to be generous in love. Go to our website, bend fp.org, and click on the link. Give online. Your support is really appreciated and makes a difference in people's lives. Thanks again. I hope to see you next week.