Putting Feet to our Faith; Epiphany
Putting Feet to Our Faith. A Sermon for Epiphany 2025
Those magic men, the Magi, Some people call them wise
Or Oriental, even kings, Well anyway, those guys
They visited with Jesus, They sure enjoyed their stay
Then warned in a dream of King Herod's scheme
They went home by another way
We’re reminded on this Feast of the Epiphany that we too are on a journey, and that the church is not so much an institution as an expedition.
Many legends have grown up around this story of the three kings, one of which is that they actually were three kings. The gospel account does not say there were three of them…or five or ten or thirty. The idea of three kings came when the three gifts were given: one each. Names and personal descriptions have even been assigned: Caspar – young, beardless, ruddy complexion; Balthazzar, a bit older, dark-skinned and bearded; Melchior, old, grey hair, long beard. But really, we have no idea. In truth, they probably weren’t even kings. Matthew calls them “wise men from the East” – MAGOI in the Greek, from which we derive the word MAGI. They were more likely astrologers which explains why they would have noticed and then been so excited about seeing something unusual in the sky. As they would later say to Herod, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” This was not unheard of at that time; the idea that heavenly signs marked the births and deaths of great leaders was widely accepted. What they saw excited them, enough to make them drop what they were doing and follow the star.
But what does that mean for us? It is a reminder that we too are a people on a journey, a people who are searching and always on the move. We are reminded that the church is less of an institution and more of an expedition. We too are given signs and circumstances through which we are called to seek the presence of Jesus and go wherever that searching takes us. This means being attentive to what’s happening in our lives, in our world, and yes, in our church. If we aren’t paying attention, we may miss the signs.
As a grade one teacher, one of my favourite stories to tell the children was that of Strega Befana and I’d like to share that story with you because it highlights the need to pay attention and to be ready to drop whatever we are doing when we get glimpses of that star in our own live
Once in a little village there was a small house and that house was remarkable for two reasons. First, it was undoubtedly the cleanest house you’ve ever seen, and second, it smelled better than any home you’ve ever visited. Inside the little home lived a very old woman whose name was Strega Befana. While other people were happy to go roaming through the village or even travel the world, Strega Befana was happiest inside the coziness of her little house. She kept busy all winter long by sewing little toys to sell to families who had need for such, or by making herbal remedies and potions to sell to those who were not feeling well, or by baking some of the most amazing bread and cookies you’ve ever eaten.
She also kept very, very busy, by making sure her home was clean. She swept the floors at least three times a day: morning, noon, and night. If there was one thing that Strega Befana hated, it was a dirty home!
While she depended on other people to buy the things that she created, Strega Befana actually didn’t like people very much and never invited them into her house. She sold them their toys or their cookies or their ointments, and then she sent them away. She led a clean, quiet, life, and didn’t want anyone messing with that!
One night, when she had finished sweeping the last stair and had pulled in the lantern and blown out the light, she was presented with a mystery. Her home was not dark! She checked the lantern and it was indeed out, but light was pouring in through the window. “Why was it so light?” she wondered. She looked out the window and saw a star was shining brightly. It was the brightest star she had ever seen, but she didn’t have time to think about what was happening, because she was startled by a knock on the door. “Visitors now?” she complained. “Who is bothering old Befana so late? If it wasn’t bad enough with the sky all lit up, now I have company!” No one had ever come so late before.
She peeked out her window to see who was there and saw an old man who was magnificently dressed. He looked to be very learned, his face was quite tan, and although his clothes were brightly colored, they were covered with dust from the road. His shoes were very muddy, and he looked worn out from his travel.
She opened the door, reluctantly, and he stepped inside – with his dirty shoes and muddy clothes. “Good evening!”, he said. “I’m sorry to be disturbing you at such a late hour, but I am lost. I’m on a great mission. I’ve seen a sign that a child has been born; one who will lead us all in the years to come. This child is divine! He is full of joy, hope, and love. I know that he is sent from God above. I’ve brought gifts to this child, and I want to give him my heart, too.”
The old man saw the little toys and things on the shelves in La Befana’s home. “Oh! You could come with us! These things that you sell would be fit for a king like this baby!”
“No, no, no,” she said. “I don’t know anything about this child, and I can’t help, and I certainly don’t want to go out following a star or some such nonsense!” She showed him the way to the door and reached for her broom to start cleaning up the mess.
No sooner had she started cleaning when there was another knock on the door. She saw another man, also dressed quite finely. “What do you want?”, she yelled through the closed door.
He answered, “I need directions, my friend. I am also looking for supplies for a journey.”
The second gentleman and his friends came inside. Like the first, their boots were covered with grime and dirt. “My friend,” he said “We are seeking a child of light – one who will become a King! We go to bring gifts and offer him our hearts. He will bring good news to the poor and change the world! Why don’t you join us as we travel to see him?”
Once more she assured them that she was not at all interested in something like that, and so she sold them what they needed and sent them out into the night.
She thought that they had all gone, but she looked out and there was still a young boy, holding a camel. “Please, Befana!”, he said, “Come with us! We will find the king, and he will be good news for all people! He will love and help the poor. There’s still time! Join us!” But Strega Befana just closed the door and collapsed into her chair.
She looked at her room – it had been soooooo clean! She set down her broom and decided that she’d take a quick nap before she cleaned it up again. As soon as she sat to rest, the front door was pounded on one more time. She didn’t even get up – she just yelled at the door: “Go away! I know nothing about this child that everyone is trying to find! Please, leave at once! I will not come, and I’m not interested in selling anything else!”
Whoever it was that had knocked went away slowly, and Befana finally started to finish cleaning up her house. She muttered and sighed as she swept. “Coming to serve the poor…hmph! Old Befana is poor. Does this baby care for her? I think not!”
But when she opened the door to sweep the dirt out she let out a small cry. There in the distance, something bright caught her eye. It was a wondrous new star in the deep blue sky. Something in her changed, and she realized that this was not an ordinary star, and it was not an ordinary day.
She thought back to those lost gentlemen, the king they were seeking, and the gifts that they’d brought. “That star – and those visitors – they were right!” she said to herself. “Maybe it’s not too late for me to go. I will find them. I will go with them and present my gift to the child king. But what could I take?”
She set down her broom and went to the kitchen. All day long she baked. When she was not baking, she was clearing all the little toys from her shelves, throwing everything into a large bag.
She put on a shawl, and she opened the door. She grabbed her broom, thinking, “I imagine that when I find that baby his mother will not have had time to clean. I can help her with the sweeping of her home…”
But as she stood at the door looking back into her home, Befana noticed that there was a speck of dust in the corner of the room. She thought, “Well, now, how would it be if I were to go on a trip and leave my own home a mess!”
And so Befana put down her sack and started to sweep. She got the speck of dust. And then she swept the room, and the other room. She swept the steps, and she even thought to sweep the walk outside.
Finally, hours later – she was ready to leave. She glimpsed the star all right, and she walked toward it. She was in such a hurry that she began to run, and she ran as fast as she could… but it was a long way, and she was old, and she got tired. She started to walk, and she thought, “This is no good. I’ll never find this baby. I don’t even know where he is.”
And, sure enough, when she looked at the sky again, she wasn’t sure which star was THE star. She sat down and cried. She got up again and started to walk when she saw a home with an open window. She looked inside, and there was a child asleep. “I wonder,” she said, “Could this be the one? Is this the one who is born to be king? Maybe I better leave something just in case…? The further Old Befana walked, the more sleeping children she passed, and in every home she left a small gift and swept it a little cleaner with her broom, because she said, “After all, I’m not sure which of these was born to bring good news to the poor and to change the world.”
Well, Befana never caught up with the wise men, and she never made it to Bethlehem, and she is still not sure which child they came to see.
So now, every year on the eve of the Feast of the Three Kings, the story is told of a Strega Befana who brings little treats to children. She’s happy that she can share what she’s been given, but she’s sad because she wasn’t able to welcome the visitors to her home, and she missed her chance to follow them and to greet the Christ child. She’s decided that from now on, she’ll never miss the chance to show kindness to strangers, or to welcome visitors, and in so doing, to follow the star of Bethlehem.
There is a wonderful lesson for us right there: the magi, whoever they were and however many, met God in the midst of their normal life: they were at work. God is not limited to meeting with us in a certain place (a church) or at a certain hour (10 am Sundays at St. Matthias). God can and does speak to us anywhere and anytime. The lesson here is to pay attention and be alert.
A second thing we might consider was their willingness to take action. They could have noted the appearance of the star in their logbooks, indicated their conviction that this phenomenon probably heralded something or someone very special, and then gone about their business. But no. They put commitment to their conviction, they put feet to their faith and began a journey which was no doubt difficult and dangerous at times, all because they believed, at the end, they would finally meet the new king. When God presents us with some new opportunity, are we willing to leave our comfort zone and begin a journey of faith? The story of the Wise Men says there is something special that awaits us when we set off in faith for paths unknown. In the story, Befana at first said “no”, then when she did decide to go, she got distracted and missed her opportunity. But she was changed in the process and still put feet to her faith imagining that every child might be the Christ child.
One of the things that has intrigued me about this story of the magi is the incredible wrong turn they took as they neared the end of their journey. Instead of following the star to Bethlehem, they stopped off in Jerusalem to ask directions of Herod and we know the trouble that decision caused. Of course, the Magi did get back on track, found Jesus and gave him their gifts. There is another lesson for us in the gifts. Gold? It is easy for gold to become god; over and over Jesus noted how hard it was for any of us to manage money and keep it in proper perspective. Put it to use in the service of the Christ child, and we begin to break its dangerous hold on us. Frankincense? They burned that in the temple as a symbol of prayer. Bring the Lord your hopes, your dreams, your petitions, and don’t forget your thanks. Finally, myrrh, a spice used by the ancients as medicine and for embalming. Tradition says that the gift was given in anticipation of Christ’s crucifixion and death. Perhaps it was also given to encourage us to bring him our sorrows and sadness, our depressions and despair, because then the “medicine” of the Great Physician goes to work and the healing process can begin. Gold, frankincense, myrrh – not only gifts of the Magi, but gifts from you and me as well.