Post-Christmas Study: Epiphany

For Sunday Jan 11th, 2009

[Note: For this study, make sure to bring paper and pens/pencils. The activity this week could potentially take a fair amount of time, so the rest of the study has been abbreviated.]

1) Have you ever had a situation where you were expecting something bad but it turned into something good? If so, please share what you had expected, what happened, and what it felt like to be in that situation.

2) Activity: Write, Rip and Read
[Note: Give everyone a single piece of paper and a pen.]
Everyone write a story. Try to fill an entire page, even if that means spacing out your writing. Filling the page is important. If you are ambitious, fill both the front and the back. However don't use more than one piece of paper. Write about anything. It can be a factual story or a fictional story. Write about anyone or anything you feel like. Whatever you write though, note that we are going to read these out loud so keep it civil.
[Note: Give everyone 5-10 minutes to write.]
Now that you are done, rip off a piece of your paper so that it removes approximately one quarter of what you had written. Everyone write your name somewhere on that piece, circle your name, and then give those pieces to the leader. We're going to read aloud the pieces one at a time and try to guess what the story was about from the piece we have. If you recognize it as yours, please don't say what it's about until after everyone guesses.
[Note: Next instruction is for the leader.]
One at a time, read whatever you can from the pieces. Ask everyone to try to guess what the story is about from what they heard. Get them to guess at not only the general gist of the story, but also how it starts and ends. Once everyone has guessed, have the owner of that piece read the entire story.

3) Was it hard to guess at what the stories were about from just the piece, and why?
When people were guessing at your own story, was it hard not to tell them what it was about to help them along?

4) Read: Matthew 2:1-12

When Jesus was born in the village of Bethlehem in Judea, Herod was king. During this time some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem and said, "Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." When King Herod heard about this, he was worried, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem. Herod brought together the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses and asked them, "Where will the Messiah be born?"
They told him, "He will be born in Bethlehem, just as the prophet wrote, 'Bethlehem in the land of Judea, you are very important among the towns of Judea. From your town will come a leader, who will be like a shepherd for my people Israel.' "
Herod secretly called in the wise men and asked them when they had first seen the star. He told them, "Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, let me know. I want to go and worship him too."
The wise men listened to what the king said and then left. And the star they had seen in the east went on ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. They were thrilled and excited to see the star.
When the men went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they knelt down and worshiped him. They took out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and gave them to him. Later they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and they went back home by another road.

This is the Epiphany story. We've probably all heard the story of the three wise men following a star and finding the baby Jesus. Reading this story again now, what jumps out at you? [Note: Ask them to describe parts that interest them and why. Perhaps even model for them not understanding part of the story.]

5) Quiz time!
[Note: This part could optionally be run like a game show, although it is not likely they will know all these answers.]

• What is Epiphany? (The celebration of the visitation of Jesus by the wise men, or Magi. It is also the celebration of the revealing of Jesus to the world.)
  
• What day is Epiphany? (Jan 6th, every year. 12 days after Christmas.)
  
• What was the likely occupation of the wise men? (They were probably astrologers.)
  
• What was frankincense? (It was a valuable powder that was burned to make a sweet smell.)
  
• What was Myrrh? (It was a valuable sweet-smelling powder often used in perfume.)
  
• Were the wise men Jews or Gentiles? (Most likely they were Gentiles from Persia.)
  
• Why was Herod so concerned about Jesus? (Herod felt his kingship threatened by the prophecy of Jesus being the King of the Jews.)
  

6) Epiphany is an opportunity for us to be surprised and amazed by God. It is also a time to reflect that we don't know the whole story of God's plan. As we see pieces of God's plan, we can discuss them with each other and try to better understand what God has in store for our futures.
What's something specific about your life that you would like to know God's plan for?