Choosing a Direction

... I am trying to decide my focus for this sermon. I want to bear in mind my audience: the faculty, students, and those in the seminary community.
Some possible directions, now that I have opted to focus on the gospel.
...gifts. Gold, frankincense and myrrh. What is the significance? Here is a website that explains some and also offers a special sale (at Magi Gifts, LLC, you can get this special trio for less than $80!) http://www.magi-gifts.com/three_box_set.html
...light. This seems to be a dominant image, and the hymns to be sung in the service revolve around the idea of light.
...the gift of light?
Here are some ideas from internet sources... from Proclaim Sermons...http://www.parishpublishing.org/proclaimsermons/search_1.asp?lec=1
The story of the Magi is astonishing. Magi living hundreds of miles from Israel leave their families and the comforts of home to chase the mere possibility of encountering the long-awaited King of the Jews.
What would have driven these men to go to such lengths to meet a king? They must have realized through their observations of the stars that something spectacular was happening. Moreover, their God-given longing for the true God must have been stirred within them. Blaise Pascal, the 17th-century scientist/philosopher, said, "There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus." God created each of us for relationship with himself and others. We know this instinctively. However, too many of us fail to act and remain unchanged.
The Magi offer a model for life. When they were confronted with the opportunity to connect authentically with God and experience true life, they left their homes for a journey into the unknown. They followed a star hoping to find a king. They risked the security of the status quo for the chance to taste bona fide life.

This is interesting, especially in light of the audience at LTSG. These students and faculty have gone to some pretty incredible lengths to meet the king, and the journey isn't over yet. I would like to use a story, an example, to illustrate the sacrifices and the incredible journeys that have been made in seminary community - I know that each student, spouse, family member has a story to tell, a journey that was made to follow whatever star appeared to lead them to LTSG. I wonder what that star looked like?

And now, from sermonsuite.com:

While commentators note that the astral phenomena regularly attended the births of famous people in the ancient world, the significance of the star in the story here is not its existence, but rather its invitation. In other words, what matters in this story is not the star itself, but rather that the wise men follow the star. A sign that invites no inquiry is just a pleasant detail. A burning bush is just a curiosity until Moses heads back into Egypt. Rather than just observing a brightness in the heavens, the magi see something that compels them to go, ask, and discover. "Where?" is their first word in this text (2:2). It's been the question of seekers ever since. We see something different, experience something beyond and better from that in which life usually consists, so we inquire and wonder and perhaps even follow. The star is a symbol of grace, inexplicably placed by God in the right way and at the right time, invisible except to those paying attention. Like the star, grace exists beyond the bounds of text and tradition so that the outsiders have just as much access to it as those who know the story by heart. It all depends on where you are looking and what you are looking for. The miracle of the star in the sky is completed by the quest it launches in the hearts of the magi.Indeed, a careful reading indicates that it is the star, not the child, which elicits "overwhelming joy" from the magi (2:10). Having accepted the invitation to follow the sign, having explored and questioned its meaning, having gained an understanding of its significance as it finally rests over the place where the holy family is, the wise men are overjoyed and ready for worship. The journey has been fulfilled; the glimpse has proven true beyond their wildest dreams. No wonder they have to travel home by another road (2:12).

Here, the star is viewed as INVITATION...an invitation to meet the Lord...
Here is link to "preaching helps"...http://www.gbod.org/worship/default.asp?act=reader&item_id=15177&loc_id=1,32,46
These are more or less some sermon notes; reminding us that an Epiphany is an a-ha moment.
Obviously, the people at seminary had an a-ha moment, or a lifetime of a-ha moments...
And of course, here is one of the most helpful links (textweek)
http://www.textweek.com/festivals/epiphany.htm
A connection!!
The magi were "foreigners" coming to meet Jesus - invited by the star. We, too, often come as foreigners - invited by the star to be a part of the church, and yet we might not "fit in" - we are not "old school" Lutherans... still we belong... I think this might be a direction I can take. I am going to give this a try... will post more as I work.