Series: January 2025
Speaker: Rob McClellan
Today's Sermon
"Changing the Light"
Isaiah 60:1-6
1 Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
2 For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the LORD will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
3 Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
4 Lift up your eyes and look around;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.
5 Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
6 A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD.
Matthew 2:1-12
1In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 3When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
7Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
“Changing the Light”
We still have the Advent Wreath up because the season of Christmas does not conclude until Epiphany, which we commemorate today, though it is technically tomorrow, the 12thday of Christmas. When we put away the Advent Wreath we won’t use the language of extinguishing the candles, for just 12 days ago we spoke of the eternal burning of this light, the light within all light, the light within you, and within all. Rather, we will borrow from the curriculum for our children, as we did on Christmas. We speak of “changing the light.”
Here is how our children’s curriculum puts it:
“There came a time when the light changed. It was no longer in one place and one time. The people could no longer see the light, but they knew that it was there. As we change the light (lower snuffer over flame) we may not be able to see it, (lift snuffer to show smoke) but as it spreads out through the room getting thinner and thinner it fills our pockets and clings to our skin. It heads out under the door and down the hall and stays with us wherever we may go.”[1]
The light looks different, but it is still there. That is an image we will need to remember. Epiphany means “reveal.” In today’s story Jesus is revealed to the world. Through the visitation of the Magi, the wise ones, the ones who could read the heavens, the world has come to behold the light that was the Christ. Of course, as we know, some in the story search for the Christ for ill while others for inspiration. We have a choice to make about what to do with this light we encounter in the world, even if we think we are incapable of making much of a difference at all.
The short film, The Turnaround, is about a baseball player for the Philadelphia Phillies, Trea Turner. No, actually, the film is about a fan Jon McCann, and through him it is about all of us. McCann is not someone who has had an easy life. On top of the external challenges of the world, McCann has struggled mightily with the world within. McCann is bipolar, he’s had suicidal thoughts, even been hospitalized. One thing McCann loves is his Phillies.
McCann, like so many fans, were over the moon when his Phillies traded for Turner, a star to add to their already loaded roster. However, it didn’t start as planned. Immediately upon arriving in Philadelphia, Turner entered a slump. He couldn’t hit the ball. He couldn’t field the ball. He was a disaster, and they were paying him $300 million.
You should know something about Philadelphia sports fans if you don’t already. They don’t take losing well. They have earned a reputation in sports media. National broadcasters never let you forget that Philadelphia fans are quick to boo, they once threw batteries at an opposing player and, famously, on a cold winter’s day at a football game, they pelted with snowballs a pathetic looking Santa Claus. Having lived in Philadelphia myself, I should say that this reputation is…earned.
Philadelphia fans aren’t just hard on opponents; the “city of brotherly love” is hard on its own teams. Thus, when Turner continued to swing and miss, failed to make plays in the field, the Philadelphia fans did what they do best. They booed him. Announcers wondered aloud if his poor performance had gotten in his head. Maybe that is what got McCann’s attention. McCann, too familiar with those kinds of struggles, decided to do something about it. He decided that rather than contributing to the booing, he would try and turn it around, change the way Turner was received. McCann decided that what Turner needed was not booing; what Turner needed…was grace, for someone to have faith in him. What Turner needed was to be encouraged.
McCann started a movement to show support for Turner. He promoted the idea that instead of booing Turner, when he came to the plate he should be cheered wildly, no matter what happened. The campaign went viral. It was all to take place on a Trae Turner appreciation day. When Turner emerged from the dugout, the crowd rose to its feet giving him a standing ovation. A couple of pitches in, Turner got a hit, later a homerun. His hitting picked up. His fielding picked up. He was crushing it. Over the next two months, Trea Turner hit 16 home runs, the best stretch of his already successful career.
But, as I said, the story isn’t really about Turner. It’s about McCann, someone who had struggled mightily in his own life. It would have been easy to think he couldn’t do anything, but somewhere along the way McCann realized he could do one thing, he could change the energy around something. He could change the light, the way it shone harshly and hurtfully on someone. Think of that, a man riddled with mental illness, his own dark thoughts, changing the light of an entire stadium, if not a city.
That’s what we’re called to do, to change the light around us because of the light that shines within us, and it shines within all, no matter how faint. The prophet writes of nations streaming toward the light, but of course we know that’s ridiculous. The prophets knew it too, they held up the light because they wanted us to see it and stream to it. That is our invitation, to remind people of a light that shines in the darkness. We have to lift it up and others up so they can see it. When we practice changing the light in here, we remind ourselves of our role and our ability to change it out there, no matter what trouble we carry inside.
Amen.