Led by a Star

If you weren't able to make it to church this past Sunday, we missed you and hope to see you soon.

Sunday was actually the Second Sunday of Christmas, but we celebrated Epiphany a couple of days early.

As we entered the nave, many of us (including the choir) saw photos in the pews and the choir stall. A fellow choir member leaned over and asked if I had any idea what it was. I had to admit that although it appeared to be an abstract painting, I had no idea what it was.

What do you think?

All was made clear when Tricia began her sermon. Here's the short version as posted by Tricia on Facebook:

An Epiphany offering. My favorite painting of the three kings does not hang in a museum or grace the pages of any art book. It hangs in our house and was painted by my mother. She didn’t start out to do a painting of the magi. Joe and I had asked her to do an abstract painting. But as she painted the forms began to emerge. Can you see them? Three kings, on horseback, not camels (as some of the earliest depiction of the magi showed).
They ride out of the mist with intensity, the horses galloping, the kings leaning forward in their saddles, determined to get to their destination as quickly as possible.
I love that the kings emerged from my mother’s canvas without warning, and I love that when she realized it she allowed them to continue, following their lead, not knowing where they would take her, having faith she would end up in the right place.
That in itself is the essence of this story.
The wise men set out, following a star, not knowing where it would take them or what they would find.
But they trusted that God would lead them where they needed to go, even if it wasn’t anywhere they could have predicted.
May we have the courage to do the same.

The complete text of Tricia's sermon can be found here.

As always, you can find past sermons here:

http://www.stdunstan.net/sermons.htm