The Rev. Megan Collins
Sunday, January 5, 2025
When my two sons were little, we loved to take them hiking.
We too them partly because we love to hike, and it was great to spend the day out in the woods and the fresh air. We hoped it would also build good memories for them, hiking with their parents. But truthfully, the big reason we went hiking was to wear them out. They had a lot of energy, and a couple of miles in the woods was a great way to make sure everyone went to bed on time.
Usually we hiked as a family, but one afternoon I decided to take them out on my own. In the area where we lived in Ohio there were dozens of trails through the woods, huge meadows and large rocks that you could use to hop across the creek. The boys and I set off on a hike, just the three of us. They were pretty young when this took place, about 4 and 6 years old. About 30 minutes in, I realized we should probably head home. They had eaten all of the snacks I have packed, and one of them had dumped out all of our water on the ground. Time to call it a day.
But as we turned around to head back, we took one turn, and then another, and then another. You know when you watch a movie, and someone is lost out in nature, and they pass a rock, or clearing, and then a few minutes later they pass it again, and then again, and they realize they are right back where they started? That was us. I was lost, with two small children.
I called the ranger of the park on my cell phone and they asked what I could see. We were way out in the meadows, so all I could see was the grass that were as tall as I was, and then a line of trees off in the distance. Then the ranger said, “Just follow the sun.” So we did, and she was right. We followed the sun and eventually found our way back.
I did some reading about this, and it turns out that if we don’t have an external focus point to guide us, no matter how hard we try, we won’t walk in a straight line. We will instead go in a circle. In 2009, a group of researchers actually put this to the test. They took one group of volunteers out into a large forested area, and another deep into the Sahara desert. Then they let them out individually on their own to find their way back. They tracked the path they walked using GPS. What they found was if the people who could not see the sun, they walked in circles. If they blindfolded the participants, they not only walked in circles, but in even tighter, smaller circles.
This morning we are at the start of a new year. Maybe you have set resolutions or have goals or plans of things you want to accomplish. Maybe you have thought about where you want to go this year or how you want to be different. Or maybe you are limping into the year, just hoping things will get a little better. But how many times have we done that on January 1st, and then at the end of the year, found ourselves right back where we started? I’ve seen this tree before. That rock looks familiar. How many times have we walked in a circle and gotten nowhere? Ended the year with the same problems, the same disappointments? If that’s you, how can we make this year different? How do we keep from going in a circle, and ending up right back here, next December? If we don’t want to go in a circle, we have to focus on something outside of ourselves. We need an external point to focus on.
Today is Epiphany. Epiphany is the celebration of God’s self-revelation to the world in Jesus Christ. Specifically on Epiphany we celebrate the revelation of God’s promise and purpose to the nations of the whole world. The magi came from the East to worship to the Christ child. We see on Epiphany how God’s covenant of grace is extended to all who believe the good news of Jesus Christ. Our Bible story for today, the one we read on Epiphany, tells the story of these Magi who traveled from the east. Let’s read from the gospel of Matthew:
Matthew 2:1-12
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 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.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
“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.” ’
Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 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.’ 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. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 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. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
The magi focused on the star and it led them to where they needed to be, right to Jesus.
If we want to get where we need to be, we focus on something outside of ourselves. It keeps us from going in a circle. When I was hiking, it was the sun. For the Magi, it was the star in the night sky. For us, we focus on God, of course. But sometimes we need something specific, a little help on how to tangibly do this. We’ll talk more about that in a minute. First, it's important to remember that that even if we focus on God this year, and we don’t go in a circle, it doesn’t mean we still won’t wander off course.
In the study of the people walking in the woods and in the desert, the blindfolded group walked in a circle. The group that couldn’t see the sun walked in a circle. But there was another group of volunteers who could see the sun. This group who could see the sun, they made it out of the woods. But their path was not a straight line. They still wandered, back and forth, moving in the direction of the sun, but not taking a direct route. Having a focus point outside of ourselves can keep us from ending up back where we started, but it doesn’t mean we won’t wander.
Even with the sun to focus on, the road isn’t straight.
Even with a star to focus on, the path isn’t direct.
Even when we focus on God, our paths will wander.
When you look at your life, you know this. There are most certainly some unexpected twists and turns in your path. You start off determined, moving toward your goal, but then there is a detour. Something unexpected takes you off course. You get turned around for a bit and aren’t sure what to do next. Even when we focus on God, our paths will wander. But here’s the good news: we were never meant to walk in a straight line. There isn’t just one right path. There isn’t just one way to get where God is calling you to go. There isn’t a prize for getting there the fastest. In fact, sometimes the exact place we need to be is wandering off of the route we had planned.
It’s not about taking the most direct route to the place God is calling you to.
It’s not even about knowing where you are going to end up.
It’s about the direction you are heading in. That’s what matters.
Sometimes the path you’re on will feel straight and easy. You can see where you are headed and confidently walking toward it. Sometimes you’ll feel like you are wandering in the woods. Sometimes there won’t seem to be a path at all. Maybe this year starts and you are dealing with impossible loss or grief or illness or pain. You can’t get lost because you don’t see any path forward. You’re just stuck. But God is there too. Our other Epiphany passage comes from Isaiah 43:16-21:
Thus says the Lord,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
who brings out chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
The wild animals will honour me,
the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.
If things feel impossible right now, Isaiah promises this: God makes a path, even when there is not one. God will find a way forward for you, even if that feels impossible. God is about to do a new thing. So how do we follow God? How do we keep our focus there? There are lots of ways to do this. Sometimes it helps us to have something simple and tangible, to give us a focus. Let’s talk about star words.
The use of star words, also called “star gifts,” is a prayer practice connected to Epiphany and the new year. The idea is that a list of intention words, or guiding words, are offered. Then you are invited to take a word and to use that it was a guiding idea for this year. It’s a focus point, a star, that can keep you focused on God and might even keep you from walking in circles.
Today you’ll take a star word, if you like. Then what? First make sure you really think about the word. Where does it show up in the Bible, if it does? What does the word really mean? What does it mean for you? Then put the word somewhere you will see it often. Maybe on your mirror, or in your car, or taped to your coffee maker. Then throughout the year, look for how this word is pointing you to God through the circumstance in your life. There is nothing strict and certainly nothing magical about this process. You can trade in your word if it doesn't feel right, or get a new word in six month. But the star word can give you a focus point when your path wanders to bring you back to moving toward God.
I’ll close with these words from the Rev. Sarah Speed who wrote about this path we walk as we move toward God:
With tears in your eyes,
you name all the bumps
and zigzags your life has taken.
With clenched teeth
and a hummingbird pulse,
you wake up
and wonder—how did I get here?
In the last 40 days of
desert wandering, you say
you haven’t heard God’s voice once.
You say you miss when God was close,
when God used to sing the harmony line.
So you yell at the sky,
begging God to drop a pin,
to name the road,
to draw you a map.
You lament the way this life isn’t easy.
You ask me—was the road ever straight and narrow,
or was that all a lie?
But then you crest the mountain,
and I don’t hear from you for a while,
because God was growing
in the lilac field
on the other side of the hill.
God was scattered
among the pebbles
of the road you never planned to take.
Isn’t it amazing, you say,
there are a million roads home
and God walks every single one of them.
Star Words List for 2025: