Gifts for the Magi (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

Santa Claus is not the star of traditional Christmas—in Spain.

 

Instead, children look forward to the visitation of The Three Kings (the Magi, the Three Wise Men). Children try to keep awake to catch a glimpse of these Three Royal Visitors. They listen for the cadence of their song in the distance, the sound of camels’ hooves crushing the frozen snow, and the tinkling of silver bridles. Children send toy requests to them, and, anticipating their arrival, leave water and snacks for them and their camels to help sustain them on their long journey.

 

Apparently, there is a certain universality to what happens in the Christmas season, regardless of where people live. Even if Santa Claus is not the star.

 

That universality is our connection to this week's scriptures. The Gospels tell us Jesus came for us all. This is so clear in the selection from the Gospel of John where, upon seeing Jesus again, John the Baptist declares to his own disciples "Behold the lamb of God" who was, even as John spoke, "taking away the sin of the world."

 

Did you catch that? The sin of the world, not just of the Jews. Many of God’s people couldn't quite wrap their heads around it—that their Messiah would somehow also belong to non-Jews. Their thinking was a bit Israel-centric, much like ours is in our own countries. That was never the way God saw it. 

God always pictured an entire world rejoined in harmony, a planet of people who chose God just as God had chosen them.

 

This week's Isaiah passage tells of how the restoration of Israel to God is, by itself, too easy a thing for the Savior. He would also be a light to the nations so that salvation would reach to the very ends of the earth. That universality is there in this week's Psalm, where the writer declares he has proclaimed God's faithfulness and salvation to the “great congregation.” We see it in 1 Corinthians, where Paul greets them “along with everyone else, in every place” who claims the name of Jesus. 

 

Jesus comes not just to one town, but to every village, town, city, and metropolis. Jesus comes to every farm, every vessel on the waters, every mountaintop, every valley, and every crevice. Jesus comes not just to our country, but to every country; to every person in China, in Europe, in Russia, in Australia, in Israel, in the Middle East, even to each of the very few people in the Antarctic. Jesus is universal. He comes not just to one person, but to all persons. 

 

Every one. 

In every place. 

 

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PHOTO: Adobe Express filtered through Photoshop Express 

JUST FOR FUN

A free read of O. Henry’s The Gift of the Magi story from the Gutenberg Project:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/7256/7256-h/7256-h.htm

 

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Epiphany continues. We're in this season until Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday falls on February 17th this year). Gather with us Friday morning at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast as we continue to marvel at how God planned for our salvation. Find us on Zoom* and at Our Breakfast Place. Join us at 8:00 to peruse the menu, eat, pray, read the Bible, and kick around what we discover there.

 

Blessings,

Steve

 

*Zoom link (Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89947678414

 

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=17134&z=e&d=14

 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_SecondSundayafterEpiphany.pdf

 

Isaiah 49:1-7

Psalm 40:1-11

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

John 1:29-42

Second Sunday After the Epiphany (January 18, 2026)

Making the Lightning Flash (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

Have you gone to the well and found it empty? The well of thoughts, that is. For some of us, reaching into our thoughts for small talk at social gatherings produces … exactly nothing. Speakers, poets, songwriters—lots of us—go to that well and come away empty. 

 

An empty well is one of the reasons I fell in love with the rock/jazz fusion band Chicago.* The first time I heard the group, they were performing “25 or 6 to 4.” I was blown away. Perhaps the most interesting thing about that song is that its lyrics are a product of an empty well.

 

Waiting for the break of day

Searching for something to say

Flashing lights against the sky

Giving up I close my eyes

Sitting cross-legged on the floor

25 or 6 to 4

 

Robert Lamm, keyboard player, singer, and founding member of Chicago, wrote “25 or 6 to 4” early one morning while looking down on Los Angeles from the Hollywood Hills. He was trying to write a song—and he was struggling. His well of thoughts gave him nothing useful. Eventually he decided to write a song about the process of writing the song he was writing. (Did you follow that? No? Well … it was the '60s.)

 

He had been sitting up all night, trying to come up with something, anything. The title reflects the time of day—3:35 or 3:34 a.m. Because more traditional lyrics wouldn’t come, he wrote down what he was experiencing. 

 

I think David, the author of this week’s Psalm 29, would understand. He wrote a song encouraging the people to honor their powerful God. But David was not satisfied with simple encouragement. He needed the song to say more. Did David go to that well and come up empty? Maybe. Writing songs can be hard. What I do know is that, like Robert Lamm, David turned to descriptions to complete his lyrics. He included floods, storms, earthquakes, mighty winds, thunder, and … flashing lights against the sky. 

 

Like all songwriters, David had the option to simply list those mighty events—or not. The difference for the Psalmist was this: When he focused on the Lord, his “well” was never truly empty. What he saw and heard was the presence of God all about him. David saw God in the storm. He saw God commanding the mighty waters. David wanted those who read and sang his songs to make that transition, to go from simply seeing the world to experiencing God in every moment. 

 

The lesson for us: Robert Lamm wasn’t the only psalmist who saw flashing lights against the sky. But it was David who wrote: “The Lord’s voice makes the lightning flash!”

 

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PHOTO and real flashing lights in the sky from The Almanac:

https://www.almanac.com/flash-light-night-sky

* Hear Chicago perform “25 or 6 to 4” with lyrics: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb13I34J8K4

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Join us Friday morning as we gather for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We meet on Zoom* and in person at Our Breakfast Place at 8:00. Lots of laughter mixed with good food, scripture, and good discussions. 

 

Blessings,

Steve

 

*Zoom link (Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89947678414

 

 

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEKS

 

Read them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=17134&z=e&d=13

 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_BaptismoftheLord.pdf

 

Isaiah 42:1-9

Psalm 29

Acts 10:34-43

Matthew 3:13-17

Baptism of the Lord (January 11, 2026)

 

 

Chart of readings for Epiphany through Transfiguration Sunday (01/06/2026 through 02/15/2026):

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/calendar/2025-26/?season=epiphany

 

🎼 “On the Eleventh Day of Christmas…” (a Steve Orr Bible Reflection for Epiphany)

This year, the Eleventh Day of Christmas falls on Sunday, January 4th. At our church, it’s going to share the day with Epiphany Sunday. Can you imagine it? Those eleven pipers piping as they march down the aisle of the church? 

 

That’s probably not happening.

 

But we need to pour that kind of excitement into our Epiphany Sunday. Christmas celebrates the day Jesus came to the people of Israel. Epiphany (sometimes called Three Kings Day) celebrates when, in the form of the three wise men (the Magi), the rest of the world joined in. Celebration is key.

 

Here, from the Matthew passage in the Epiphany scriptures, is what we think we know about those Magi. We learn that some “wise men” (astronomers? scientists?) from somewhere east of Israel observed a light in the sky they had never seen before. They interpreted it to mean a new “King of the Jews” had been born. Somehow, this light—the star—led them westward, in the direction of Israel. They took note of when the star first appeared, packed up some supplies and gifts, and headed west—not knowing their final destination. 

 

They upset King Herod “and all of Jerusalem” when they told why they had come. King Herod called in priests and scholars to tell him and these Magi where this “King of the Jews” was to be born. Prophecy said: Bethlehem. So, the Magi left Jerusalem, following the star until it “stopped” over a house. They went into the house where they presented their gifts to Mary and the baby. 

 

They brought gifts to Christmas. 

 

Now, none of that actually explains what the Magi saw in the night sky, why they believed it heralded the birth of Israel’s new king, or how, exactly, it “led” them westward. We are left with lots and lots of supposition—and little clarity—about those visitors from the East. 

 

Here’s what we can know: God got their attention by placing something unusual where they couldn’t help but see it. God enticed them to leave the comfort of their homes and travel to meet Jesus—and bring gifts fit for a king. God led them to Jesus using that same unusual thing. This is true for us today. God calls us in ways we understand, and then leads us gently to that place of meeting. 

 

For all the uncertainty surrounding those travelers from the east, there is one thing that is perfectly clear in scripture: We are to enjoy ourselves in this Epiphany season. If you haven't picked up on that in your Bible reading, look again. It's there.

 

That is my wish for you. As we wrap up the twelve days of Christmas and move into the Season of Epiphany, take time to soak up the good stuff. Take a break. Put your feet up. Eat some fruit cake. Drink some wassail. Sing "The 12 Days of Christmas" and giggle when you mess up on the eight whatevers. Spend time with loved ones. Cut everyone (including you) some slack. Snuggle. Play. Hug. 

 

Enjoy.

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PHOTO (The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo):

https://www.edintattoo.co.uk/

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Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and whatever you wish people for Epiphany! 

We’re taking a break for the holidays. Come and meet with us again on January 9th for DaySpring’s next Lectionary Breakfast. The Epiphany scriptures are included in case you’re celebrating Epiphany on Sunday January 4th instead of on the 6th. 

 

No wise guys (unless you’re bringing gold. We have way too much frankincense and myrrh).

Blessings,

Steve

 

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY & THE COMING WEEK

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=17134&z=c&d=11

 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_SecondSundayafterChristmas.pdf

 

Jeremiah 31:7-14

Psalm 147:12-20

Ephesians 1:3-14

John 1:(1-9), 10-18

Second Sunday After Christmas (January 4, 2026)

 

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SCRIPTURES FOR EPIPHANY

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=17134&z=e&d=12

 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_EpiphanyoftheLord.pdf

 

Isaiah 60:1-6

Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14

Ephesians 3:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12

Epiphany of the Lord (January 6, 2026)