The Epiphany B—2006, Isaiah 60:1-6, 9, Psalm 72:1-2, 10-17 Ephesians 3:1-12, Matthew 2:1-12 The Rev. J. Brian Ponder Church of the Resurrection, Starkville, Mississippi January 6, 2006 In the Name of Emmanuel—God with us. Amen. I’ve been giving a lot of thought recently to a carol in our hymnal. It’s gotten a lot of air time … in my shower … in the car. I’ve found myself humming it, whistling and even singing it in my office or down in Long Beach, or here and there. You name it. It’s a hymn that’s fairly new to me, but it’s one with images that capture me. They enthrall me. Those who were here Christmas morning know that I have begun a collection of Christmas books. It’s a family tradition that my Mom began many years back. And one of my new books, I shared with you that day. Tonight, I’ll share another book with you. It’s a book based on this carol, this song from our hymnal—The Huron Carol, or as we have come to know it: ’Twas in the moon of wintertime. I invite those who would want to read along with me to turn to Hymn 114 in the blue book, or better yet, just close your eyes and imagine the setting. Imagine a Canadian forest, thick, wooded lands with fir and evergreen trees of all kinds, snowdrifts before you. Envision the crispness of the air, the dry snow under foot, the crunch as you walk, your breath frozen almost solid as you exhale into the nighttime air. You can feel the lacings of your moccasins, contracted tight because of the cold, and they hug your feet protecting them from the cold beneath you, the sturdiness of snowshoes steadying your steps. The winter moon shines over the horizon, your fur skins warm and cozy, and those encamped with you circle around the heat of a fire, the smell of smoke wafting across as a soft breeze wisps the snow, then disappears. The muffled voices of conversation become quiet, and the great storyteller takes his place, staff in hand, looking into the expectant eyes of you and your woodland brothers and sisters. [The story was read here.] It’s a beautiful imagining of the Christmas story, the story of the wondering and wandering hunter-shepherds, the chieftain-kings from distant lands paying tribute with their most costly possessions, the heaven-hymn singing angel choirs and God bursting forth into this world—the Epiphany, the revelation of God manifest for all. The history of how this hymn has come to us would, by many, be considered a discounting of the fullness of the spirituality of the indigenous peoples of this land—the spiritual and religious practices in place well before Christian settlers entered into the picture. But for the Huron, it is kept close as a piece of the nation history, something that has meaning and significance even today. For us, I would suggest that this hymn broadens our horizons, sheds a new light, so to speak, on the story we’ve come to know. It dispels the imagination that the story is to be merely pulled from the shelf of long ago and dusted off, cobwebs wiped away, but that the story—though of long ago—is also of today, that the story crosses all time and space and that the story would have been just as relevant, just as significant if it had taken place under the hill in Natchez, or better yet, back of Oddfellows Cemetery here in Starkville. The Christmas story, the Epiphany story, is about Emmanuel. It is about God dwelling with us, not just a chosen people of long ago, but God dwelling with God’s peoples … peoples, yesterday, today and tomorrow. And it’s about our response to a God who desires to be with us. … May we always know that God desires us. On this night, may the Light of Christ burn pure and holy for us all. May it be enshrined within our very hearts, and may we ever carry this Light into the world. Amen.