An Inquiring and Discerning Heart - a sermon for the Epiphany 2013

A Sermon for January 6, 2013 (The Epiphany)

Offered by Nathan Ferrell for The Church of Saint Mary

Texts:             Ephesians 3:1-12; Psalm 72:1-7,10-14; Matthew 2:1-12

Call to Action:       be ready and open for what God is bringing  

Title:               An Inquiring and Discerning Heart

My dear friends in Christ: what is next in your life?

Today, on this feast of the Epiphany, we remember the epic journey of the magi from the east. They journeyed across the desert, following a star, pursuing a vision, guided by dreams.  

These magi, these wise men, these three kings of orient, they are now a regular and familiar part of our Christmas story. After all, they are some of the brightest stars of our Christmas pageant!

But…but let’s not forget that they remain shrouded in mystery.

In our reading from his letter to the Ephesians, Paul speaks of the mystery of the Messiah which was hidden, but which now has been revealed through the apostles for all of the world to see. This much is true, but there is still plenty of mystery remaining when we consider the works of God.

Look again at these magi. A group of astrologers – we think – travel west in response to a sign which they discerned among the stars. How many were there? We have no idea. Who were they? What does the title “magi” actually mean? We really don’t know. Why exactly did they come? Why did they wish to pay homage to a new king of the Jews? And what happened to them after they left Bethlehem? They came and gave their gifts and went home. And then what happened? Did this visit have any impact upon their lives? Or was it just a fun trip, like a tourism adventure to visit an exotic land and see new things?

These magi from the east are shrouded in mystery, but their journey itself presents us with a powerful image of our own journey through life.

Traveling across the desert, persevering through the trials and struggles of life, following signs and seeking after light, pursuing hopes and visions, guided by dreams…you and I are travelers in a strange land, looking for Christ, seeking to pay him homage, even when we find him in the wrong place.

At least, my dear sisters and brothers, this is who we are called to be! This is who God wants us to be: travelers on the way, always seeking to learn more, to know more, embracing every new experience in life as a gift of God’s grace.  

I recently read the story of the first kidney transplant operation. It occurred on December 23, 1954 at Brigham Hospital in Boston (now known as Brigham and Women’s). The surgeon was Joseph Murray. He had served during the second World War using new skin grafting procedures on burned soldiers. After the war, his curiosity about what made some tissues compatible between patients urged him forward in his research. In 1954, a young man named Richard Herrick came to him in the final stages of renal failure. The crucial factor in this case was that Richard had an identical twin brother who was willing to donate one of his kidneys to his brother. Dr. Murray was convinced that this would work – that the donated kidney from his brother would not be rejected by Richard’s body. But as soon as he presented his proposal for this ground-breaking procedure, Dr. Murray was pummeled with criticism.

He was accused of a breath of ethics. To subject a healthy person to a dangerous operation such as this – referring to the removal of a healthy kidney from the healthy twin brother – this was considered by many as a breach of the Hippocratic Oath. A number of religious leaders accused Dr. Murray of “playing God”, of trying to determine who lives and who dies. Some in the media accused him of acting like Dr. Frankenstein.

Procedures like this are so routine for us today, but we must try to remember that something like this had never been done before. Dr. Murray was a devout follower of Christ. He had no desire to flout the guidance of respected faith leaders, so he organized a series of conferences with the Archbishop in Boston, and with rabbis and other bishops and pastors. When a consensus began to develop out of these meeting, the surgeries were scheduled and undertaken during the week leading up to Christmas in 1954. It worked, of course, and Joseph Murray rightly was lauded and acclaimed for his ground-breaking work.

In 1990, he received the Nobel Prize in Medicine, and he passed away just before the Thanksgiving that we recently celebrated. He often spoke of the acrimony that confronted him throughout his years of research, coming mostly from fellow Christians who distrusted his work.

“We have to avoid the arrogance,” Dr. Murray once spoke, “of person on either side of the science-religion divide who feel that they have all the answers. One truth is revealed truth; the other is scientific truth. The more we learn about creation – it just adds to the glory of God” (The Boston Globe Magazine, December 16, 2012, p.6).

To be faithful in our relationship with Christ, each of us needs to avoid that arrogance of having everything organized in our minds into neat little boxes, the error of thinking that we understand everything, while we also must maintain our sense of curiosity about the world. Exploring, learning, growing.

And so I ask you again: what is next in your life? What will you discover next on your journey?

After someone is baptized in water and sealed with the oil of chrism, we pray for each of the newly baptized in powerful words carefully chosen. We pray: “Give her an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works.”

These are keys, signs of a life being faithfully lived: an inquiring and discerning heart, joy and wonder in all the works of God.  

Because all truth is God’s truth, my friends, and it matters not if you find joy and wonder in the intricacies of human biology, or in the fine art of cooking excellent meals, or in the deep understanding of the Bible! What matters is that you pursue truth, and that you never, ever cease in that pursuit.

One of the sage desert monks of the 4^th century, Abba Palladius, spoke these words of wisdom: “The first step away from God is a distaste for learning.”

The first step away from God is a distaste for learning.  

If you ever find yourself at a point when you know no longer seek after Christ in the faces of every person you meet, when you no longer have any interest in exploring the mysteries of life and faith, when you no longer have that hunger to learn and explore the wonders of this creation, then you can be certain that you have taken a step away from God.

Don’t go down that path, my friends! There is a better way to live, and so I ask you once more: what is next in your life? Where is God leading you on your journey of discovery, on your pursuit of truth?   

Wherever the Holy Spirit is leading you, like the mysterious magi from the east, like Dr. Murray, may you always follow God’s leading with an inquiring and discerning heart, and with the gift of joy and wonder in all of God’s works. Amen.