In the Spring of 2002 Kimeli Naiyomah returned home to his small village in Kenya. Kimeli had been studying in the US and was in New York City on September 11, 2001. Along with so many people he wanted to do something to help. As a member of the Maasai people, cows were sacred to Kimeli … a cow was life to the Maasai. He resolved that he would offer his cow to the American people and asked the elders of his village to bless his cow. As his village heard Kimeli's story they too were moved by the events of 9/11 and offered their own cows … fourteen cows were blessed by the elders. That June the American ambassador to Kenya came to the village to accept the offering of cows. The ceremony moved the ambassador to tears, and a bond was forged between the people in this small village and the grief of the United States. The cows have become sacred, healing cows and can never be slaughtered. They are under the care of the village elder Mzee Ole-Yiampoi. The original group of fourteen cows now numbers over thirty-five and continues to be a symbol of hope – that whenever the story is told of the fourteen cows there will be comfort and peace. This story is told in a children's book entitled: "14 Cows for America," and ends with these words: "Because there is no nation so powerful it cannot be wounded, nor a people so small they cannot offer mighty comfort."

We celebrate the day of Epiphany this morning. The word Epiphany is from a Greek word meaning manifestation or appearance. In general terms we speak of having an epiphany when we become aware or, or awake to something. It's the moment when the ‘light bulb' goes off in our brains. In the Christian sense Epiphany is about signs and events and people that show God's presence. Isaiah's words that we hear this morning open with familiar words: "Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you." The people of Israel had been released from their captivity in Babylon and allowed to return home. Additionally, Cyrus, King of Persia, who had released Israel was sending supplies to Jerusalem in order that the temple could be restored. The people of Israel could see tangible signs of hope in their midst.

Many years later Magi travel from the same region that King Cyrus once ruled following a star. The Persians believed that a star rose at the birth of important people … and from the looks of the star they were following this was one very important person! Determined to find this person they set off on a journey to see who this birth star belonged to and offer him gifts. We are familiar with the magi's story – a mix of Biblical reading and traditions. We know the story of how they traveled from a distant land, somehow encountered Herod's court … how they presented the Christ child with strange gifts, and how they returned home via a different route as to avoid Herod. Here, we have the tradition of singing the magi's story in song as the opening of worship, remembering their journey and their gifts … remembering also in this hymn that for this child there is danger, as it looks beyond Christmas to Good Friday. The poet Ann Weems also tells that truth: In the words of Ann Weems:

If there is no cross in the manger,
There is no Christmas.
If the Babe doesn't become the Adult,
There is no Bethlehem star.
If there is no commitment in us,
There are no Wise Men searching.
If we offer no cup of cold water,
There is no gold, no frankincense, no myrrh.

In all of the readings there is a common thread – the seeds of hope are being sown. We read about people who are willing to talk about the reality of God's love for all people, about people who are willing to take risks in order to both find God and then share the Good News, and about people who are willing to sow seeds of hope so that others might someday reap from those seeds.

This Epiphany season we will be exploring signs of hope and life in our midst and then asking the question what are you willing to do for sake of life? We will continue the question next week as we renew our membership vows together and use a part of John Wesley's covenant renewal service. The question "what are you willing to do for sake of life?" is embodied in a song from a hymnal called Global Praise which we'll hear in some form during the next several weeks. The closing verse of the hymn reminds us of why we are called together and challenges us:

For sake of life our God became an infant.
For sake of life he lived and died for all.
For sake of life the time of God is constant,
the kingdom is at hand for sake of life.

God-signs are all around us. Long ago the prophets pointed the way, the magi traveled far to witness to them. In a tiny remote village of Kenya, a people were willing to set aside the very thing that was life to them – a cow, in order to be a sign of life and hope to us when we were grieving most. These are all signs … all reminders that no matter how powerful we are, or are not … no matter how much we have in wealth and possessions … no matter where we are; we are compelled to be signs of life and hope in witness to the Christ child who was and is the manifestation of God with us. This morning our challenge is to find ways of sowing the seeds so that others may see through our actions the Epiphany of God. What are you willing to do for sake of life?