At whose feet?

So here we are in 2019 and we start to see the pace quicken as people return from holidays and Christmas fades into the background. Yet much as Pentecost involves us in carrying on the mission of being disciples so Epiphany asks us questions about how we live our lives. These questions are not just about resolutions which seek to make us better but rather focus on who we are living our lives for. This seems to be a more fundamental question as it looks at the motivation for our actions and what will sustain us. Hence my question at whose feet will we lay our gifts?

So often we can struggle to regain control of our lives and seek to influence at least some more area to which we can claim ownership. There can be a sense of achievement when we successfully reach our goals and rightly so. However, if our life becomes driven by external factors we become shaped by influences beyond our control. Hence we start to become protective or overly concerned by anything that can threaten the security of what we want to achieve. We can put in a lot of emotional and spiritual energy into building protective walls around the things that we possess whether it be material goods, actual achievements or our own plans. We can start to hold these things up to the world and believe that they are us. We can start conversations talking about what we are doing rather than in learning to know who we are. We receive plaudits from people who praise this reality but do not actually know us. There can be a sense of pride which rises within us and after this, we will start to fight with all our heart, mind, strength and soul to protect what we have earned.

Yet what can we learn from the wise men who travelled to meet Jesus? The first thing is that they realised that the physical gifts that they bought to lay at his feet had a deep inner meaning. In presenting them before Jesus they drew attention to him and the life that he was called to live in them. They recognised what it was to allow them to listen for his voice, to trust that voice and to allow that voice to direct their lives. They also saw that while many people had opinions about the birth of Jesus they were called to listen to the quiet still voice within. It allowed them to not draw attention to themselves but allowed their actions to speak eloquently about how our lives can proclaim God's glory.

So we return to our fundamental question, at whose feet will we lay our gifts? Will we expect people to beat their way to our door to acclaim us or will we allow our lives to be drawn more closely to the life of Jesus within our own hearts?