The baby Jesus is not the only one to receive gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh this Christmas. I do, too! However, I’m not sure that my gifts come from a wise man. They come from my brother!

(I’m teasing, of course! That’s what older sisters are supposed to do!)

The gift comes with a little book on the Magi. The illustrations are from paintings at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. A great gift, really!

The book recalls the yearning for the coming of One who will restore relationship with God. Learned persons watch for signs of the Messiah’s arrival. The scripture foretells that “there shall come a Star out of Jacob” (Numbers 24:17). Legends say that the voice of a young child will announce the star, “Unto us is born this day the king that folk have long sought. Come and worship.”

Many of us still seek that star. We are looking for signs that God is, indeed, in the world.

There is a hunger abroad in our time, haunting us. Like an empty stomach aching beneath the sleek coat of the well-fed, it reveals that something is missing. The diet of secular culture does not satisfy. A hunger for spiritual food is gaining momentum.

For some of us, the hunger is amorphous. Like free-floating anxiety, it lurks just below the surface. Perhaps we feel an emptiness that leaves us restless. Perhaps we sense that we are sailing through life in a rudderless ship. Something is missing. Something is out of balance. But it remains nameless.

For others of us, the hunger is recognizably spiritual. We know there is a vacuum inside us that will suck up an infinite supply of thrills, and goods, and success without satisfying the heart.

We are aware of needing a compass. Suffering has opened us to questions for which there are no easy answers – perhaps no answers at all. We have come to believe that only a power beyond this life can give meaning.

In this movie clip from the March of the Penguins, the emperor penguins begin a journey. Like most love stories, it begins in utter foolishness. Their journey describes some of the dynamics of our spiritual search.

In the search for this partnership, simply going to church may seem inadequate. For the first time, people are separating spirituality from religion. People find it natural to create private belief systems. Many consider themselves “spiritual”, but not “religious”.

The thirst has become a social phenomenon as well. People are searching with intensity for a spiritual center. Some drink from the wells of Asian religions, Native American traditions, or New Age. Within Christian communities, many speak of being on a “spiritual journey”.

The reasons for this spiritual ferment are many. We are increasingly rational. Reason becomes the highest authority in determining what is true. What cannot be measured does not exist. Consequently, we have suffered the loss of sacredness.

We live in a culture that glorifies the superficial. Parents want to be able to swim against the tide of hype that seems to be sweeping their children away in a flood of unimaginative toys, name-brand clothes, and sports idols. We see that wealth and status are the spiritual equivalent of empty calories. We are beginning to starve for lack of values.

We are increasingly paralyzed by fear. Fear of drugs and guns linger. Fear of losing jobs and health insurance looms large. We harbor deep pessimism about the ability of human beings to order life. These fears contribute to a pervasive anxiety and a desire for faith.

Personally, suffering and tragedy seem to be powerful catalysts for moving people toward spirituality. Painful experiences cry out for explanation. We want to know how God is related to our pain.

Many people are dissatisfied with the church as they have experienced it. God has not come alive for them.

I know a man who has dutifully attended worship and served as a church trustee for years. He is still mystified by the language of faith. Words about God seem mere words – beautiful and hopeful, but unconnected to the world he knows. This man would like to believe, but he does not experience the reality of God in his life. Deep inside he yearns for his faith to catch fire.

I think that human beings are innately religious. We harbor a bedrock desire for God. Therefore, until that relationship is sought and found, there will always be an emptiness.

Centuries ago, Augustine confesses to God, “You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

So, God is the primary driver behind the searching. It would appear that the Holy Spirit stirs things up when we get complacent.

“What if the ache in your heart and all of your longings are really a longing for God?” she asked me. In the ensuing silence, that settled upon us like heavy dew on dry grass, I could hear a door opening. It was the door to my soul, and I was about to embark on a journey that would take me inward to the place of my resurrection.”

Karla Kincannon, author of Creativity and Divine Surprise, will be with us next weekend, January 20 and 21. She speaks of this undefined longing and the invitation to begin a search for what ultimately satisfies. Check out the registration on the web site. All are welcome.

During the season of Epiphany, I am inviting you to share a spiritual journey. We want to name our spiritual hunger, so we can set the table with food for the soul. We are going to explore the nature of spirituality as it is practiced at St. Luke’s.

What, then, is spirituality? I prefer to use a more biblical phrase, “the spiritual life” The spiritual life is simply the increasing vitality of God’s Spirit in us.

The work of the Holy Spirit is to conform us to the image of Christ.

Paul explains this to the church in Corinth:

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us…are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.
(2 Corinthians 3:17-18)

Several years ago, I am the leader of a retreat for 700 United Methodist Women at Estes Park. Using the analogy of fishing, we explore spirituality. Fish, depending on their species, water environment, and nutritional needs, seek different food sources. Likewise, people respond to different spiritual nurture. We have preferences that are different from one another.

Until I understand spiritual type, I do not know why our staff team is so good together.

I am a strong #1. My second leaning is #2.

Pam and Carrie are #2, with a secondary strength in #3.

Jim is primarily a #3, a mystic, with a secondary strength in #2.

All three live in the lower half of the Spirituality Wheel…as “feelers”.

We balance each other; but, sometimes our differences drive us crazy. I could not understand why, in worship, Pam wants so much time in silent prayer. Too much silence in a worship service and I begin to sweat!

When we revisit the journey of the emperor penguins, we learn that they, too, have differing styles…even on the same journey.

I want to invite us to assess our spiritual types. This simple approach delineates differences among us; it does not rank the content of faith. There are no right or wrong answers, just preferences.

I can hear the conversation at Starbucks this morning. Our pastor gives us homework in church!

Yes, we did. And we hope you will enjoy learning about yourself and about us as a congregation.

This assessment tool will help us answer two questions:

Who am I as a spiritual person?
And, what is the best way for me to grow in my spiritual life?

Knowing how we are spiritually different from or the same as other people can help us understand our strengths. Such knowledge may suggest new ways in which we can grow together so that spiritual experience becomes richer.

In the School of Music at East Carolina University, I play the piano for the musical, “Amahl and the Night Visitors”.

A young child and his mother provide refuge for three men who are following a star.

The first king, Melchoir, is portrayed as an aging man of European descent who bears the gift of gold;

the second, Balthasar, a middle-aged Asian man, brings the essence of prayer, frankincense;

the third, Caspar, an elegant young African, treasures the spice of sorrow, myrrh.

Each man sings a solo, revealing his personal need for this savior child.

Their diversity is reflected in the nature of the gift they choose to bring. Yet, each seeks to gift the same Lord. And each is satisfied in the giving.

Let us be wise people who still follow the Christ child and his star.

For unto us is born the king that folk have long sought.

Come and worship. Amen.