First Presbyterian Church
What do we bring
Sermon for January 8, 2006
by Pastor Susan Barnes

Today I'll be reading from Ephesians toward the end of my sermon, so don't anyone panic if it seems I've forgotten it.

Today, the third Sunday after Christmas is generally the Sunday we remember the Baptism of the Lord. But instead, today we are celebrating epiphany, just two days late. This is the Sunday we remember the magi's visit to see Jesus and his family. This is the day we ungreen the church. The Christmas season is finally over in our church year. So this last day, we sing epiphany songs.

When Matthew writes about the magi, he has some of Isaiah's verse in mind. Our unison reading is from the last part of Isaiah, when the prophet was encouraging the exiles to look forward to returning to Jerusalem. They do not have to fear the future, but to look forward to a time when God's purposes will be fulfilled. And God's purposes are great. Listen for the word of God as we read it together from Isaiah 60:1-6.

1 Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

2 For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you.

3 Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

4 Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses' arms.

5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

6 A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD.

This ends our reading from Isaiah. Isaiah looked forward to a time when Jerusalem will become a place full of economic development, productivity and prosperity, a center of international trade. He knew that would motivate the exiles to return home.

The promise of wealth is a good motivator. But acquiring wealth isn't a good ultimate goal. It often camouflages what we ought to be doing, and indeed are called to do. Earning a living to support ourselves and practicing good stewardship are important for us Christians. But sometimes we go a little overboard and work too hard protecting our money. It should not be what we Christians are about. Mike and I decided a long time ago that we wanted to do focus on doing work we love rather than doing whatever it took to make a lot of money.

I've learned a lot by being married to a journalist. One of the things I've learned is that you have to be very careful with copyrights. I remember one story Mike wrote years ago, and he used the word “q-tip.” The newspaper got a stern letter from the Johnson and Johnson lawyers saying that because their corporation holds the copyright, no one can print “Q-Tip” unless they also say “Q-Tip brand cotton swab.” Apparently lawyers have to actively work to protect their company's trademarks, or else other people can use the name to make money.

So it was nice to read about a copyright that prevented people from making money. I just learned the word Chrismon is copyrighted by Ascension Lutheran Church in Danville, Virginia, because that's where Frances Kiku Kipps Spencer was a member for most of her adult life. She was born in 1917, and died in 1990 at age 72.

Frances was a freelance artist, and her father was a Lutheran pastor. In 1957, she decorated the church's Christmas tree. The notes about her on her church's website said “She thought that the usual brightly colored Christmas ornaments were just not appropriate for a setting of worship, so she began researching and looking for something that would reflect the Christian faith.

   Mrs. Spencer began by trying to imagine herself in the shoes of Mary, the mother of Jesus. She asked, "How would Mary celebrate Jesus' birthday?" The answer from our culture and time period would have a cake and candles and his name on it. Mrs. Spencer then looked upon the traditional Christmas tree as a cake and placed on the tree the name Jesus and his title Christ. Instead of using the name and title in English, however, she used Greek monograms.” 1 She called them Chrismons, for Christ monograms.

Chrismons are more than monograms; they may also tell about the life, ministry, activities, nature and teaching of Jesus. They are symbols that point beyond themselves to God. Each design must proclaim some truth about God as seen in Jesus.

White is the liturgical color for Christmas, and that's why the paraments and stoles are white today. So Mrs. Spencer chose white. Gold is the color of majesty

Have you ever wondered why you can't buy any Chrismon ornaments in the Hallmark store? No cross-stitch Chrismon kits, no plastic Chrismons 12 for $10 in the Oriental Trading Company catalog? It's because the church held the copyright.

Mrs. Spencer wanted Chrismons to just be made by hand or given as gifts, and never to be bought or sold. She never profited monetarily from the idea of Chrismons, although she did write several books about the making of Chrismons. She was happy that the ornaments were used to celebrate Christmas all over the world.

And so today, long after the rest of the world is done with Christmas and is beginning to look to Valentine's Day, we celebrate Epiphany, just two days late, and remember when the magi came to Jesus' family, and brought him gifts.

The magi's gifts refer back to the passage from Isaiah that we read earlier. But the priests and scribes know that the messiah will not be about restoring the city as an international economic powerhouse. Instead, they quote from Micah, about a ruler coming from the insignificant rural town of Bethlehem. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Matthew 2:1-12.

1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."

3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"

7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage."

9 When they had heard the king, 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. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

This ends our reading from Matthew. Let us listen to the choir interpret it.

Anthem

The magi brought gold and frankincense, as did those from Sheba in our Isaiah reading. But the magi also brought myrrh. Myrrh was a perfume used to improve the smell of many things. It was also used to anoint the dead. That gift foreshadows Jesus' death.

Our ornaments, the Chrismons also tell the stories of Jesus death, as well as of his birth and resurrection. Jesus became a different sort of ruler, not the kind to save the economy of a city, but the kind to save many cities, in fact, the whole world.

The Crown is a symbol of the kingship, the realm of our Lord Jesus, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. If you have a crown ornament, please bring it forward and put it in the box.

The alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, because Jesus Christ is the first and the last. If you have what looks like an A and a horseshoe, bring it forward and put it in the box.

The fish is a symbol of Christianity. In Greek, the acronym for Jesus Christ

God's son Savior, spells ichthus, the Greek word for fish. If you have a fish, please bring it forward.

The Jerusalem cross represents the gospel going to the four corners of the world. I don't know if there's another Jerusalem cross. If there is, please bring it forward.

The cross over the sphere is Christ's rule over the whole world. If you have one that looks like this, please bring it forward.

The circle symbolized eternity; this one has the cross on it. God is the eternal one

If you have any sort of circle, please bring it forward.

The eight-pointed star is actually the Greek letter chi, what looks like an x to us, over a four-pointed star, which is the star of Bethlehem. Chi is the first letter in the word Christ.

The second letter of the word Christ in Greek is rho. It looks like a p to us. This Chrismon looks like the letter p and the letter x, but it is really the chi-rho symbol.

The butterfly is the symbol of the resurrection. The butterfly comes out of what looks like a lifeless chrysalis, or cocoon. If you have a butterfly, please bring it forward.

The Greek letter iota is the first letter for Jesus. The iota over a four pointed star looks like a six-pointed star. I think we may have one of those.

We have a triquetra, which stands for the trinity, father, son, and holy ghost.

Some of the fish and all of the crowns were made by children of the church the last three years. Some of the crosses were made by them this last Christmas.

I think that covers all the Chrismons we have. If I missed one, go ahead and bring it forward and put them on the communion table.

I was happy to read in Ascension Lutheran church's history of Mrs. Spencer and the Chrismons that “Chrismons are not just ancient Christian symbols, but new explanations of God's constant presence in our ever changing world.” 2

The symbols explain a little bit about God's mystery by pointing out some aspect of Jesus' life. The Chrismons remind me of our epistle reading. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Ephesians 3:1-12.

1 This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles--2 for surely you have already heard of the commission of God's grace that was given me for you, 3 and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, 4 a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ.

5 In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: 6 that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

7 Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God's grace that was given me by the working of his power.

8 Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, 9 and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; 10 so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.

We have a rich variety of ornaments, and they speak of God's wisdom in Jesus Christ. We have so many different Chrismons made by so many different people through the years here at First Presbyterian church.

The snowflakes, while technically not Chrismons are symbols of fidelity.

One woman crocheted a snowflake each year she and her husband were married. When she passed away, she gave the church all of her snowflakes.

I have helped the children sew the Chrismons these last three years. Every year, the Young Families decoration-making event has come at an inconvenient time for me even though I help choose the date. I haven't been able to prepare the ornaments the way I would like; and we never seem to have enough working glue guns to go around. And every year, the children making the Chrismons are full of grace, and wait patiently to make them. They are glad to select from the white and gold sequins and trims and beads, and don't mind leaving the ornaments here to decorate our tree. We write their names lightly on the ornaments, and I hope years from now, when they come home at Christmas they will see the ornaments they made when they were little. And remember that this church welcomed them and their contributions into this family of faith, so that they too can share in the promise of Christ Jesus.

1 http://chrismon.org/site/chrismon/about.htm

2 http://chrismon.org/site/chrismon.htm.