This morning we celebrate Epiphany and the baptism of Shelby, Barbara Hay’s granddaughter. And though I don’t want to make it all about Shelby or Barbara or any of Barbara’s family who we are honored to welcome this morning, it’s hard not to. For the Christmas season, which proclaims the presence of God among us in flesh celebrates the birth of Jesus. And the birth of a grandchild or any baby is an opportunity to recognize new life, new possibilities, the reality of hope and transformation wiggling and cooing in the middle of our lives. For as we know, the birth of a child changes our lives forever!

Epiphany means "manifestation." We see the light of Christ, as it’s manifest from the crib of Jesus in Bethlehem to all the nations. "A light for revelation to the Gentiles" (Luke 2:32) is the Bible's shorthand way of saying that Christ's mission is to the whole world. Epiphany stories will reach out to the world through the coming of the Magi, by Jesus' baptism by John next Sunday, the call of the first disciples, and the beginning of Jesus' ministry. The Epiphany calls us to manifest the birthing of a new reality in our midst; just as the birth of Shelby splashed down in the midst of her family shines an Epiphany light upon each of the lives in the Hays family. Hear again pieces of a journey that resulted in claiming The Epiphany.

2:9 ...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.

In studying the gospel for this morning, a memory came back to me that I had not visited in a long time. I was teaching in the Baltimore, MD. school system, teaching junior high health and physical education and in this first year of teaching, I was 20 years old, and driving a now-vintage VW bus! Yea, don’t EVEN go there with that yellow submarine image! It was my first Christmas, my first car, my first apartment...I was finally ‘on my own’! We celebrated Christmas at that time in the home of my parents and on the second day after the Nativity, having received camping gear as gifts, I got up early, packed my VW and left my family a note that I was taking myself on a mini-vacation to somewhere...I knew I wanted to head south to warmer temperatures and to the beach...off I went! By nightfall, I was still not south enough to be as warm by the ocean as I longed for—at about the same time I noticed, a full moon began to rise. And as only a 20-year old can dare to do, I decided to keep the moon in front of the van, and would turn left or right, using the moon as a navigating instrument! I ultimately ended up on Pawley’s Island in South Carolina, on the beach and slept in the back of the van that night, windows open and waves crashing! The next morning, I woke up to the smell of bacon, the sound of chatter and a family who invited me over to share their breakfast. I ended up spending an entire week on the beach, hearing stories and taking turns cooking with this family of 6, a family I would never see again…and yet…they’re an indelible part of my life experience, as real as the indelible part of life with you, as indelible as the cross we will make on Shelby’s forehead, as we claim, “Shelby, you are marked as Christ’s own forever”, joining her to a family which stretches to heaven and back with the full Trinity as existential parents, flesh and blood family standing in on behalf of God, and this now church family who will raise up our very selves and our resources, promising to bring her up to know all the family of God. Following stars, daring to spiritually journey is risky, can be dangerous. What do we lose by never daring to journey into the unknown—what epiphanies might we miss?