Then He Smiled at Me (Readings)
Today we celebrate
the Epiphany of the Lord. When I think of the Epiphany, I remember a favorite Christmas
television story from my childhood “The Little Drummer Boy.” It was a based on a song by Katherine Davis.
The story takes
place at the time of Jesus’ birth. It’s about a little orphan boy facing the
twists and turns of a hard life. The little drummer boy, Aaron, witnessed the murder
of his parents. Because of this, his heart was hard with hate for people. The
only joy in Aaron’s life was to play a drum his father had given him. As he
played the drum, his companions, a lamb, a donkey, and a camel, danced.
The twists and
turns of Aaron’s life have him following three wise Kings, bringing gifts to
the infant Jesus. During this journey, his beloved lamb was run over by a
chariot. Aaron goes to the wise kings for help. The kings tell Aaron only the
King of Kings can help him, “Go and look upon the infant Jesus.”
Seeing the
baby Jesus, the little drummer boy was moved to give the only gift he had, to
play for the baby Jesus on his drum.
The song begins,
“Come
they told me,
pa rum pum pum pum”
“A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum.”
The infant Jesus
smiled at the little drummer boy. The lamb is healed and so was the little
drummer boy. The boy’s heart is changed. He no longer hates. In the smile of
the baby Jesus, he finds joy.
This is a made up
story. There is no drummer boy anywhere in the bible. But, this song tells the
story of Epiphany. The realization there is something more; the realization that
Jesus is our salvation.
The Gospel does tell
the story of the wise men, foreigners to Israel. They were people different
from the people of Israel. Yet, they realize the truth of Christ. The truth is Christ
is for all - God’s salvation is for all. Lord all the
nations shall adore you.
The birth of Jesus was
for all so all are one in Christ - the lowly and the well born, Jews and
Gentiles, male and female, all ages and all skin colors.
The Gospel tells of
King Herod, the Priests, and the Scribes. When King
Herod heard what the Pharisees and scribes had to say about the birth of the
messiah, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
The Priests and
scribes knew prophesy. They knew the location of the new born king; yet, they
did not run to worship him. Christ was not found in palaces. Salvation is not
by might or by wealth or by force. God alone is the source of salvation.
The Gospel tells of
the infant Jesus. He is God who showed up in person for our sake. The Gospel
tells of salvation through Christ in this wounded world. Salvation is not God
running away from this sinful world, but God showing up in person to be with us
and to confront the problems we face.
Just like the wise
men, we are on that journey to Jesus. We are searching for God. We look for
truth in our life; looking for epiphany in the twists and turns of everyday life.
For Christians, this epiphany is the revelation of Christ in our lives. Our
epiphany is coming to know Jesus Christ.
The wise men found Jesus
and it changed them. An angel appeared to them in a
dream and told them to return a different way.
Finding Jesus will
change us. When we come to Jesus Christ, we are changed forever. We don’t want
to go back to our old way of life. When we reach a true Epiphany, when we know
Jesus Christ, we change.
The whole world
needs an Epiphany of Christ. The world is full of hate, violence, anger, and
bloodshed. This week we’ve seen the twists and turns of a hard life. A reality
of our world brought about by the hard hearts by those who do not know the joy Christ.
No one knows the
truth of God before He comes into their lives. No person has ever recognized Him
until He reveals himself. Only an epiphany changes hard hearts. This is when
Jesus smiles on us.
I think of that song from my childhood.
I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,
Then He smiled at
me, pa rum pum
pum pum. Me and my drum.
He will smile on
shepherds and wise men and even a little drummer boy. He smiles on you and me. The
world needs to know the joy of that smile. We bring it to the world.
Y’all be good, y’all
be holy and preach the gospel by the way you live and love. Amen
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