A while back I ran into someone that I hadn’t seen in years. But I remembered that she’d had a birthday recently and so I said, “Happy Birthday!” Well, she was confused by this and I realized that I had crossed that invisible line that divides friends from mere acquaintances.

Only good and close friends know when your birthday is. So how did I know it was her birthday? One reason – Facebook. Although we were no longer part of each other’s lives, we were still connected through Facebook. And it was discomforting to her that I knew her birthday.

Which raises the questions: What do you know? And how do you know what you know? Which are also that arise from today’s familiar story of the Magi’s visit to Jesus.

It’s interesting that these astrologers from the East are of the first to know the good news of Jesus’ birth. Reading the stars was a craft that had been around since before Moses, and yet both Jews and Christians regarded their art / skill as not just possibly deceptive but dangerous.

How did the Magi know what they knew? They gathered their information not from ancient texts but from the natural phenomena around them. They had determined that something was going on from how the stars moved and the heavens changed.

It was a process of trial and error, of adjusting and readjusting, of being willing to go in a different direction because of the unfolding information of the stars. The celestial tapestry didn’t bring forth its wisdom with Google-like accuracy. The Magi’s two-year or so journey was probably full of wrong turns, detours, and plenty of boring days.

Sometimes we think that it will be easier for us. So often we think and say that God has a plan for our lives. But that doesn’t mean that God will let you in on every detail – what job to take, what car to buy, what classes to take – as if there is a divine Facebook page with your name, profile and timeline laid out for you.

Not that God isn’t concerned with the details of our lives, however much of it is left up to us. We are still responsible for reading the landscape, for making decisions, for setting out. But how often do we get stuck or discouraged because we think we’re going to get more information than the Magi got?

What I like about the Magi is that they were not afraid when they found they were off course, to ask for directions, and adjust their routes in response to new information. And did you notice that their new information came from the Bible? King Herod didn’t know until he asked and was told what the Scriptures said. This was all part of the journey, especially one which began with only the stars for a GPS.

As Christians, we are all on a journey, and the destination is actually the same for all of us. Like the Magi, we are going to see Jesus. God has come to Earth – to us – and we have set out to see him, not in the flesh, but manifest in the world around us – in our own lives and the lives of others. That’s what Epiphany means – to make manifest, to bring to light.

And like the Magi, God also gives us signs to help us find him; but this is where our journeys diverge. While the destination is the same – Christ – our journeys are different. This is true for all Christians, but especially so for us today. Because today we begin a particular section of the journey called Sabbatical. As of tomorrow our paths will be divergent for a while – three months to be exact.

And I wonder, for each of us, how we will find our way.

Once I decided (last spring) that South Africa was our destination, I began researching and planning to secure a place to serve and a place to live, as well as many of the other details needed to set us up to live for 6 weeks in Cape Town.

And while I have spent hours reading – on the internet (mostly mapquest!), I have also had to rely on connections and advice from a good number of people – some I have known for decades and some who are new acquaintances gained through the searching.

And yet, through it all I have seen the signs – that is, God’s hand nudging and confirming decisions and plans along the way. [Example of how to pay for housing….]

And then there’s the journey that YOU are on. Our sabbatical committee is spent a lot of time – not so much in meetings – but thinking and imagining – what the next three months will be like for you.

And this is the part of the journey that is yours – YOURS – and I trip up a little when I say that.

You see, when I first started serving as your pastor in 2006, it was as an Interim – intending to stay only for 2 years while you searched for a permanent/settled pastor. Interims are trained to speak to their congregations, using the 2nd person – you – NOT the 1st person plural – us. The point is that it keeps a bit of a distance between pastor and congregation so that the good-bye is not so jarring.

But then with the help of the UCC, you decided to invite me to apply for the permanent position – and we all know how that turned out. And the sermon I preached the day that we voted on this, was titled “The Day the Pronouns Change” and I spoke about how I and WE now will use first person plural – we, us – as we talk about the church. And I remember having to consciously make the change – and that it was uncomfortable at times, but soon became default language for me.

Well, I’ve found that as the sabbatical has gotten closer and closer that I’ve been forced into using YOU again – and it’s been hard. But that’s the way it is! As much as I’d like to share our Africa adventure with you, the reality is that you are not able to join me.

For a while we are on very different paths. And as much as we have tried to see into the future, I cannot know what it feels like for you to look ahead into the next three months.

So, I leave you with questions and ponderings to explore on your journey – as individuals and together.

How will God surprise you during this time?
What will He say to you and how will He say it?
Which signs will be like neon billboards, and which will be harder to see?
What new discoveries will you make – about our faith and your life together as the church?

Also like the Magi, you will need to stop and ask for directions. Here in worship each week for sure. But also in your coming together throughout the weeks, in book discussion groups, Bible Studies, meetings and dinners.

And you have Christina as your pastor – she is a good listener and wise, and caring. She’ll ask good questions and offer good suggestions. And together you will read the stars and the Scriptures and find your way to Jesus.

As Christians we chart our path by the light – the true light of Christ, which, we must remember, came into darkness, into a world that did not recognize him. (John 1:10). But if we take that light out, put it on a lamp stand, and add a few more candles, we have a world aflame with God’s glory.

We may know enough about all this to blurt out Happy Birthday to Jesus on Christmas Day, but today he invites to go beyond the timeline and to become a REAL friend, to go deeper into the rich complexity of life lived in, with, and even FOR God.

The Magi are good traveling companions for us on this journey, and especially good for us to emulate as we think not just of the next three months, but as we put one year to bed and once again hold out hope for the New Year.

Our plans may seem set, but just as 2013 took many of us in directions we couldn’t anticipate, so will 2014. Job prospects may fall through; or new opportunities may appear. Relationships may fall apart; and new friendships may appear. We will learn things we never thought we’d learn; and possibly some things we never wanted to learn.

Most of us will end the year in a different place than we expected.

This is the first Sunday of a new year, and the first Sunday of each of our Sabbatical journeys. And once again, as it does every year, the star is rising in the East.

With the knowledge we do have, and the traveling companions that we’ve been given, we set out and follow. I’ll go by way of Africa…. And we’ll meet back again, at this table in three months.
Amen.