Thanks for joining us for the Breakfast Epiphanies!
Enjoy all the supplemental info at once or come back each morning with your cup of coffee to experience more Breakfast Epiphanies.
Tues., Dec. 26
Download "Epiphany – Search Engines, Socrates, and Demons"
Written by the Rev. Derek Davenport ’05/’17, Director of the Miller Summer Youth Institute
Wed., Dec. 27
Download "How Would the God of Israel Show Up? Some Thoughts on Jesus in the Jordan"
Written by Dr. Tucker Ferda, Visiting Assistant Professor of New Testament
Thurs., Dec. 28
Download the Epiphany Quiz (with answers)
Download the Epiphany Quiz (questions only)
Fri., Dec. 29
“Dragons, Water, Light, and the Holy Spirit: Theophany and Its Forefeast”
Written by Dr. Edith Humphrey, William F. Orr Professor of New Testament
Sat., Dec. 30
“The Meaning of Words—‘Well Pleased’” An Epiphany Meditation based on Isaiah 42:1-9 and Matthew 3:13-17
Written by the Rev. Dr. Jerome Creach, Robert C. Holland Professor of Old Testament
Listen to the Sermon (with Scripture)
Sun., Dec. 31
Gold
Matthew 2:10-12
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.
As we continue our journey to epiphany, we’re going to take a few days to look closely at the three gifts given by the Magi. The first gift listed is gold.
Humans have been fascinated by gold since the dawn of history. There’s a great passage from to book of Job in which Job discusses how difficult it is to find wisdom. He compares the search for wisdom to the quest for gold.
Job 28:1-13
‘Surely there is a mine for silver,
and a place for gold to be refined.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
3 Miners put* an end to darkness,
and search out to the farthest bound
the ore in gloom and deep darkness.
4 They open shafts in a valley away from human habitation;
they are forgotten by travellers,
they sway suspended, remote from people.
5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread;
but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
6 Its stones are the place of sapphires,*
and its dust contains gold.
7 ‘That path no bird of prey knows,
and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.
8 The proud wild animals have not trodden it;
the lion has not passed over it.
9 ‘They put their hand to the flinty rock,
and overturn mountains by the roots.
10 They cut out channels in the rocks,
and their eyes see every precious thing.
11 The sources of the rivers they probe;*
hidden things they bring to light.
12 ‘But where shall wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 Mortals do not know the way to it,*
and it is not found in the land of the living.
Job’s language makes the quest for gold sound like a mythical adventure. He’s not the only person to romanticize the quest for gold. For many years, people told stories about monsters that guarded the entrance to gold mines. Herodotus makes several mentions (for example, in The Histories 4.13) of creatures protecting deposits of gold. He calls them “griffins,” the monsters we know as part lion and part eagle.
Though today we don’t often equate gold with griffins, we do have some pretty powerful associations with the precious metal, from the lore around the 19th century “Gold Rush” to the way we use gold ceremonially, even in weddings.
Gold is the first gift in the list that the Magi give to Jesus, gold from the depths and edges of the earth, gold guarded by supernatural creatures in myth, gold the subject of lore and ceremony. The gift of gold, even apart from its price or value, alerts us to something wonderful and mysterious in the Epiphany. The Magi make a claim that Jesus is worthy of a rare and precious gift—and that his presence has cosmic significance.
Image left: Griffin sergeant – German Version, from Fictitious Symbolic Creatures in Art, by John Vinycomb, 1906, p. 152
Mon., Jan. 1
Frankincense
Matthew 2:10-12
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.
As we continue our journey to Epiphany, we’re taking a few days to look closely at the three gifts given to Jesus by the Magi. The second gift in the list is frankincense.
We know what gold is. Frankincense, though, is a mystery to most of us. In short, it’s a sort of resin, often burned as incense, that comes from a variety of trees.
Which . . . doesn’t help a whole lot. Luckily, frankincense does appear in Scripture from time to time. For example, this passage in Exodus helps describe its use.
Exodus 30:34-38
34 The Lord said to Moses: Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (an equal part of each), 35 and make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy; 36 and you shall beat some of it into powder, and put part of it before the covenant in the tent of meeting where I shall meet you; it shall be for you most holy. 37 When you make incense according to this composition, you shall not make it for yourselves; it shall be regarded by you as holy to the Lord. 38 Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from the people.
In this passage, as the people are beginning their new life, free from slavery in Egypt, they make new preparations for how to worship. As part of these new preparations, they use frankincense. Often, the fragrant substance was used in worship; it signaled an encounter with God.
In addition to its use in worship, frankincense was considered valuable and very dangerous to obtain. Herodotus claimed that the trees needed to make frankincense were difficult to reach because “winged serpents, small in size and various in form, guard the trees that bear frankincense, a great number round each tree” (The Histories, III.107). The only way to reach the trees was to burn special flowers, the smoke of which repelled the flying serpents.
Herodotus also explained how people used frankincense. After battling the winged serpents and obtaining the rare incense, people would use it as a gift for kings or as incense in sacrifices.
Historically, frankincense was used for worship and sacrifice. In legend, it was dangerous to obtain and so precious that it was reserved for kings and gods. When the Magi brought frankincense to Jesus, the gift may have carried a proclamation about his identity.
Image left: Amphiptere or Flying Serpent, from Fictitious Symbolic Creatures in Art, by John Vinycomb, 1906, p. 122
Tues., Jan. 2
Myrrh
Matthew 2:10-12
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.
As we continue our journey to Epiphany, we’re taking a few days to look closely at the three gifts given by the Magi. The third gift is myrrh.
Often in Scripture, especially in the Song of Solomon, myrrh is paired with frankincense. But perhaps one of the most powerful mentions of myrrh appears in the Gospel of John.
John 19:38-42
38 After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. 39 Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. 40 They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. 42 And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
Myrrh is used in the burial of Jesus. Not only does it appear at the beginning of his life, but it also appears at the end. It serves as a sort of foreshadowing of what is to come. Like that ominous line in “I Wonder as I Wander,” which proclaims that Jesus was “born for to die,” myrrh signals to us that there will be very difficult days in the life of Jesus.
There’s another story about myrrh that comes to us from outside Scripture. It’s not a true story, but it highlights how rare and valuable frankincense was. Herodotus again tells the story of a fantastic creature, the Phoenix. He explains that once every five centuries a phoenix buries its dead inside an egg of myrrh (The Histories, 2.73).
As with gold and frankincense, there is something otherworldly about myrrh. As in the passage from John, there is something ominous about its presence—something that points beyond Epiphany to Holy Week and hints at Easter to come.
Image left: The Phoenix, from Fictitious Symbolic Creatures in Art, by John Vinycomb, 1906, p. 171
Wed., Jan. 3
Download the suggested list of hymns to use for Epiphany
Three of the selections—Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; Angels, from the Realms of Glory; and What Child Is This?—are also available through the Miller Summer Youth Institute Guitar Hymnal, which provides up to five charts for players of all levels to perform the song or provide accompaniment. Encourage the youth in your congregation to get involved in a worship service!
Additionally, alumnus Jeremy Fisher, music director of the Seminary’s Miller Summer Youth Institute, performs the hymn What Child Is This? on strings. Download the song, play it at the beginning of your service, have the congregation sing along, or push repeat and enjoy the beautiful melody again and again.
Thurs., Jan. 4
Download "Baptism . . . and Living into Our Identity"
Written by the Rev. Dr. Christine Chakoian, Vice President for Seminary Advancement
Fri., Jan. 5
Consider using the video "What is Epiphany?" with a small Bible study, with a youth or adult Sunday School class, or during your Sunday service.
Sat., Jan. 6
“Light in our Darkness”
Written by Dr. Edith Humphrey, William F. Orr Professor of New Testament
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