Follow that Star!

 

Just when you thought you were done with Christmas for another year, along comes the church season of Epiphany, running for five Sundays between 6^th January through to 4^th February.

During these weeks the lectionary asks us to think about the various ways God ‘reveals’ himself to us. It’s a season all about our search for wisdom.  Or, put poetically, what star we are following?

I suspect many of us have embraced Christianity because deep down we sense the Bible offers us ancient, yet relevant truths that bless our lives with wisdom.

So, here are three ‘stars’ I’ll be following in 2024…

The star of prayer.  And by that I don’t just mean the prayers we say, although these are important and helpful, but the sort of ‘prayerful’ attitude we try to foster.  The type of understanding that welcomes the spiritual alongside the material.  The mindset that leaves room for God and something deeper.

Then there’s the star of liturgy, and by this I mean especially the hymns and songs we sing together in church that not only bind us together as a worshipping congregation but also teach us, reassure us and even provoke us with deep truths.  Us preachers know a secret that we don’t often speak about and it’s this…our congregations have probably learnt just as much from the hymns they sing as they do from the sermons they hear. But don’t tell anybody I said that!  As a hymnbook title says, these hymns can be Ancient and Modern, and once again our lives are blessed through us having such a wonderful treasury.

And finally, there’s the star of fellowship.  I’m not called to live out my faith or cope with the challenges of a New Year alone.  God is with us, and his light, love and strength are often made real to us when we come together in worship, counsel and service. We need one another, for where two or three are gathered in the name of God we again find blessing.

So, Happy New Year and keep following that star!