Epiphany / Epifania (C) + La fuerza sea con Uds/ May the force be with you + 1.6.16

(Christmas Star, free wallpaper site)

M. Campbell-Langdell

All Santos, Oxnard

(Isaías 60:1–6; Salmo 72:1–7, 10–14; Efesios 3:1–12; San Mateo 2:1–12)

Esta Navidad, tuve una educación teológica muy profunda. Possibly some of you also participated in this. The Star Wars seminary course. Como Pastora Alene no había visto ninguna de las películas, los vimos juntas a las películas viejas antes de ver la nueva y vi muchas cosas muy teológicas dentro de ellas. Since Pastor Alene had never watched the filmed, we needed to catch up with the old Star Wars movies first—the original ones, not the prequels, and then we watched the new film.

Hay un tema muy básico pero profundo en las películas de Star Wars—el tema de la lucha entre la luz y la oscuridad. We see very clearly the fight between the light and the dark in the Star Wars movies. We are reminded of one of our Christmas passages: The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. De hecho, la luz si tiene la fuerza en cada película de Star Wars, aunque hay momentos tristes, especialmente en esta más reciente.
La luz brilla en las tinieblas…

It certainly did seem dark in Bethlehem of Judea. Herod had made Jerusalem fat and rich, like the pigs that he protected more than he did his own sons, all in the name of being a good Jew. Y esta riqueza vino por medio del trabajo duro de los pueblos alrededor. Pueblos como Belén. It was places like backwater Bethlehem that provided the hard work to keep the Jerusalem machine working in the times of Herod the Great. Dark times for Bethlehem indeed. Grinding, hungry times. Tiempos de pobreza y de poco esperanza.[1]

And then Jesus came. Jesús vino y trajo la luz. He came and brought the light.

He was small, but like Yoda we learned not to judge him by his size. Fue pequeño pero aprendimos que, como Yoda, no lo deberíamos juzgar por su tamaño. Because he had the power of the Force— the power of God— in him, he could overcome the death-dealers like Herod. Él tenía el poder, la fuerza, de derrotar a los poderosos.

There is a moment in one of the Star Wars films wherein Luke, training under Yoda, is unable to lift his spacecraft out of a body of water using the force, and when Yoda suggests it to him, he tells him that he is asking the impossible. Cuando quiere Luke levantar su nave especial del agua, él dice a Yoda que es imposible. But Yoda taps into the force and lifts the spacecraft, despite his diminutive size. Aunque es pequeño, él tiene la fuerza y así puede hacer lo que parece imposible. And what is Luke’s response? “I don’t believe it.” “No lo creo.”[2] Exactly!

In baby Jesus, the wise men saw the force incarnate, stronger than any Jedi, with wisdom outreaching any the world has known, even that of Solomon. En Jesús, vieron algo mucho más grande que un bebe, los reyes magos vieron la sabiduría y la fuerza de Dios.
And although this is Epiphany Day, the truth is that Epiphany is a season. It is a succession of epiphanies. Because God reveals Godself to us every day, and that is what we celebrate this season. Esta estación es cuando celebramos los múltiples momentos de la revelación de Dios al mundo. El bautizo en el Rio Jordán. The baptism in the Jordan—around which the Eastern Orthodox focus its Epiphany celebration. Changing water into wine at Cana. El milagro en la boda en Cana. Scripture fulfilled in the synagogue. Jesús lea en la sinagoga y las sagradas escrituras están cumplidas.  Luego un rechazo de Jesús.   Rejection of Jesus’ salvific identity. And we close the season with the Transfiguration—Jesus being changed on the mountaintop, and a pronunciation: This is my Son, Listen to him. Escúchalo, dice Dios. Es mi hijo. But it is all about God being revealed. Tiene todo que ver con la revelación del divino misterio. It is about coming out of the dark into the light. De salir de las tinieblas a la luz. About what is hidden being revealed. Lo secreto será revelado. We will have Epiphany. Tendremos la Epifanía.

How can we live in the light this year? ¿Cómo podemos nosotros vivir en la luz este año?

Anger, fear, aggression, these lead to the dark side. Enojo, miedo, la agresión—todos estos le conducen al lado oscuro. But peace, joy, gentleness—these lead us to Jesus. To the babe in the manger and to our Lord and Savior. Paz, gozo, y ternura—estos nos llevan a Jesús—al bebe en el pesebre pero también a nuestro Señor y Salvador.
Come, let us adore him. Venite, adoremus.
And may the force be with you always!

Amen.

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[1] Eliseo Perez-Alvarez, “Commentary on Matthew 2:1-12,” Working Preacher, for January 6, 2016, http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2736.

[2] “Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back” (1980/2004).