Fear Won't Stop Us

“Fear Doesn’t Stop Us”

January 4, 2026 Cobleskill United Methodist Church, Pastor Anna Blinn Cole

Matthew 2:1-12, 16-18

Epiphany

The Visit of the Magi

2 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi^[a] from the east came to Jerusalem, ² asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the east^[b] and have come to pay him homage.” ³ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him, ⁴ and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah^[c] was to be born. ⁵ They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet:

⁶ ‘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^[d] my people Israel.’ ”

⁷ Then Herod secretly called for the magi^[e] and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. ⁸ 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.” ⁹ When they had heard the king, they set out, and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen in the east,^[f] until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw that the star had stopped,^[g] they were overwhelmed with joy. ¹¹ 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. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

¹⁶ When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi,^[a] he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the magi.^[b] 17 Then what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

¹⁸ “A voice was heard in Ramah,    wailing and loud lamentation,Rachel weeping for her children;    she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”

This past Friday was the day of Epiphany, a holiday that passes by rather unnoticed by most of the world.  It always comes on the day after the 12^th day of Christmas, always January 6^th, and it traditionally marks the arrival of the Magi seeking baby Jesus after following the star on a long journey.  And while much of the culture has already moved on from Christmas by this point, with the radio going back to its regular rotations, decorations taken up to the attic, and trees put out on the curb, Epiphany can be this welcomed reminder that the Christmas story doesn’t actually end on December 26^th but lasts for 12 days and has its final day on January 6.  In fact, if we ended on the 26th, we would only have part of the picture and half of the nativity.  

It’s okay if you’ve never heard of Epiphany or if it sits on some dusty shelf in your memory, but let me tell you why it matters for us today.  While the holiday of Epiphany may not be widely recognized in modern culture, the word epiphany itself is something most people have heard of.  What does it mean to have an epiphany?  It means having an “aha” moment!  The sudden arrival of an idea or a realization.  And there’s a connection between the word and the holy day.  It goes back to the Greek origin of the word itself meaning “when something is revealed.”  The holy day Epiphany is the day we celebrate when Jesus’ wonder and glory was revealed to perfect strangers, foreigners, gentiles, Magi who had traveled a great distance searching for a divine presence.  In other words, this was an “aha” moment.  The first Epiphany was a moment when everything made sense in a way that it hadn’t before. 

In this Advent and Christmas season we have been trying to better understand the way fear intersects in our own lives and also into the story of the first Christmas.  It’s been a more realistic and open-hearted journey through the traditional scripture readings as we listen for the way God meets us in our most vulnerable moments.  

This week we’re hearing the last piece of the story as the Magi pay homage to the new-born Jesus.  Matthew is the only Gospel that includes this piece of the story, the Magi.  And it’s become traditional to include this Matthew piece in our pageants as have fun dressing generations of youth up in old choir robes and paper crowns as they parade around with random gifts in their hands following the star.  

Our pageants only tell part of the story, though, right? This is now the second week we’ve looked at this scripture.  Last week it was our focal point for conversations around the brunch table as we focused on how Jesus and his family must flee their homeland.  We thought about how we can help those on the margins.  We made care bags to keep in our cars and give to those who may need a loving word and support in the midst of their own journey far from home.

And this week we see this scripture again from the focal point of the Epiphany.  Specifically, we look at the Magi and we wonder what it must have been like for them coming from a different faith, a different land, a different tradition, and all to carry with them the belief that God’s own child could be born amongst us.  That hope could still live.  Not in palaces and castles, but in a stable where the star’s bright light could not be denied.  This was for them an “aha” moment.  An awakening to God’s movement not just in the halls of power, but on the outskirts of town among peasant shepherds and unlikely parents.  

But this story has other “aha” moments, though. For us, especially.  The story of the Magi doesn’t end with the pageant entrance and oftentimes we forget that.  It’s not just a neat and tidy story.  In fact, this is a story that not only shows the best side of humanity, but also the darkest side of humanity.  The side of rulers who want nothing more than to be at the center of everything.  They are so hungry for power they will stop at nothing, nothing, to glorify and enrich themselves.  Even killing innocent people.  It may come as an “aha” moment to realize that even the first Christmas was marked by violent jealousy.  

But I hope that “aha” is not the only “aha” you will take with you today.  For every land and every people will be plagued by the effects of jealousy and hunger for power.  It will cripple everyone who is blind to the way God moves and lives among the vulnerable, the foreigner, the homeless, the poor.  These kinds of atrocities are not a modern invention.  They are as old as power itself.  Those in power will stop at nothing to keep themselves in power.  Nothing.  The Bible doesn’t just mention that, it exposes it for what it is.

But I hope that “aha” is not the only “aha” you will take with you.   The Epiphany that overcomes even these most disparaging “ahas” is this:  The empire, embodied by the puppet king Herod, thinks its power is absolute.  It thinks it is the one who occupies the world.  But it is not.  The world is not Herod’s and it is not the Empire’s.  God, the Beloved, has come not just to stand alongside the marginalized, occupied peoples of every land, but to also occupy the very heart of domination itself.  The incarnation of God occupies the heart of domination itself.  An empire is not an empire unless they have blind allegiance.  Matthew begins his gospel with the story of the Magi because the Magi model for us how to stand up to the empire.  They trust their heart.  They listen for God’s dream.  They worship Jesus in secret.  They protect the vulnerable.  They carry the good news onto the backroads and let it spread in the dark out of the Empire’s watch.  Matthew begins his Gospel with the Magi who were the first to worship the newborn Incarnate God because this is not just pageant material.  This is a political story of hope and resilience.  

And this is the Epiphany.  The good news. The revelation that lays hidden in the dark crevices of the scripture’s Holy Word.  Herod can do all the terrible things he can possibly think of to ease the pain of his jealous, greedy heart, but this isn’t Herod’s world.  This is God’s world.  And in God’s world outsiders always lead the way.  In God’s world, the cries of the mothers will always be heard.  In God’s world dictators aren’t obeyed.  They are overcome.  Not with force or military or violence.  But with a resiliency and a hope born out of suffering and conviction.  

This isn’t Herod’s world. 

This is Rachel’s world.  

This is every mother’s world who cries out for a lost child.  

This is the refugee’s world who runs away from harm hoping for something better.

This is the shepherd’s world where their presence is valued despite their circumstances.

This is the Magi’s world where dreams of resistance become the final act of the Christmas story and the first chapter of the Jesus movement.

This is God’s world.

This is God’s world.  Can we refuse to forget?  Can we hold on to hope that love incarnate will find a way? 

I can’t help but think about how stars align sometimes.  How one path and another path overlap and share a direction.  And this week, as I thought about the Magi coming from far away with their very different faith and culture but with a persistent and undeterred hope for a better world—as I thought about that—I was seeing this in the news:

A group of Buddhist Monks are in the midst of a 2,300 “Walk for Peace” taking them from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington, D.C. over the course of several months.  They walk 20-30 miles a day, some without even shoes on.  They have stated that their walk is meant to spread a message of unity, nonviolence and kindness.  In a world and a nation where fear is the dominant currency, these holy men have chosen to send a different message…to literally not let fear stop them.

They have run into obstacles. Their walk has not been easy.  Last night, they posted this video (https://www.facebook.com/reel/851499117491262).  Their walk lasted into the darkness.  

They said: 

“Tonight we walked after the sun had set, the road dark around us.

But we were never alone. All along the way, people waited to welcome us—their warmth lighting up the night. When hearts greet us on the road, even darkness becomes light.”

On a day when their nation went to war, they walked for peace.  As Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hahn has said: “There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.”  This is what it looks like when fear doesn’t stop us.  When we refuse to let our differences divide us and our fear paralyze us. To greet one another on the road and see the light within each other.  

Not all of us will walk across the country, but we can each summon a courage we didn’t know we had.  To find resistance to empires of greed.  To stand up to policies of exclusion.  To walk alongside and support those whose very existence is threatened by the powerful people at the top.  

Herod may get several lines in the scripture to recount his awful deeds, but we read it out loud only to remind us that this is not Herod’s world.  This world belongs to those who dream dreams of resistance and courage.  This world belongs to those who cry out.  This world belongs to those who refuse to let fear stop them.  This world belongs to God.  And you and I, we get to live in it.  Now let’s act like we believe whose world this and not let fear stop us. 

Grace and peace,

Pastor Anna