A Message from Pastor Kaji
Dear Church:
How are your Anna Fasts going?
Last week, I invited you to join me in a practice I’ve named: The Anna Fast. If you missed it, please see my sermon where I introduce the Prophet Anna and how her witness & ministry can lead us through the next 6 weeks until our Ash Wednesday worship on February 18, 6pm. (Please save the date!)
This week, we celebrate and honor the gifts, resilience and protection that the Magi offer the Holy Family as they follow the Star of Bethlehem to encounter the baby Jesus. The Magi’s actions and practices spark our imaginations to wonder…how could we do this, too?
Please plan to stay to workshop our Anna Fasts together after worship this Sunday.
Bring your journals and a pen. Below, you’ll see the prompts we distributed last week, in case you missed them. Please take some time to pray and journal them.
To prepare for worship, we’ll turn to Matthew, chapter 2.
Study Guide for Worship
Matthew’s account of the visit of the sages opens with attention. They speak first about what they have seen: “[Jesus’] star at its ascent.” The text places emphasis on their perception and response. Something rises, and they recognize it as meaningful.
This recognition sets a journey in motion. The sages travel from the East toward Bethlehem, guided by the light they have noticed. Along the way, the text introduces King Herod and the religious leaders in Jerusalem, who are able to locate the Messiah within Scripture. Matthew presents these figures together, allowing readers to observe how different forms of knowledge shape different responses.
When the Magi arrive, the narrative slows. They see the child, fall down in reverence, and open their treasure. The gifts named are familiar, yet their meaning unfolds within the encounter itself. The story concludes with guidance received in a dream and a return by another road, signaling that recognition leads to changed direction.
Epiphany invites us to attend carefully to what we notice, how we respond, and what we bring into the presence of God.
Questions for Discussion:
What do the sages notice, and how does their noticing shape what follows?
Pay attention to what the text emphasizes first. What is named, and what is left unexplained?
How do different characters in this passage respond to knowledge about the Messiah?
Compare the sages, Herod, and the religious leaders. What kinds of knowledge do they each hold, and how does that knowledge move them, or not?
What changes between the journey and the moment when the sages open their treasure?
Notice the pacing of the story. What seems to happen in the presence of the child that reshapes how the gifts are understood?
What might it mean that the story ends with a return “by another road”?
How does this detail function within the narrative? What does it suggest about recognition, encounter, and direction?
Where in this passage do you find yourself lingering, and why?
Is there a moment, character, or detail that draws your attention more than the others? What might that suggest about what you are noticing in this season of your life?
I can’t wait to experience all of this with you together on Sunday!
Pax Christi,Pastor Kaji
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 2:1-12 (Year A, p. 92)
1 Now Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod; suddenly sages from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the one born king of the Judeans? For we have seen his star at its ascent and have come to reverence him.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was shaken, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 then calling together all the chief priests and religious scholars of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah would be born. 5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for it has been written by the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
by no means are least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod secretly called for the sages and learned from them the time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go, search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word so that I may also go and reverence him.” 9 When they had heard the king, they left, and there suddenly was the star that they had seen at its ascent going before them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they rejoiced; their joy was exuberant. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they fell down and reverenced him. Then, opening their treasure, 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.
What the Anna Fast Cultivates
Guarding the Gateway
Attention is sacred space. The Anna Fast invites us to care for the gateway of our minds and spirits so that what shapes us aligns with what matters most. As attention is tended, recognition becomes clearer.
Protecting the Body
This practice honors the body as an essential part of our spiritual life. We are invited to notice what supports strength, rest, and presence so our whole selves are available for God’s invitations.
Tending the Gift
Scripture names Anna’s authority before she ever speaks. Her practices keep her gifts ready to be shared. Each of us carries gifts God is already using, and this fast invites us to tend them with intention so they flow with clarity and purpose.
A Shared Season of Formation
The Anna Fast is a communal journey. Over the coming weeks, we walk together, learning how care for attention, body, and gift shapes a life of readiness and responsiveness. This is a season of steadiness, attentiveness, and trust in what God is unfolding among us.
Join Us Through The Turning
The Anna Fast is part of The Turning, our shared commitment to walk together through the seasons ahead with prayer, fasting, and thanksgiving. When you take The Turning Pledge, you join a community choosing to live with intention and care. You’ll receive Outgrow, a devotional booklet to guide daily reflection and support your practice throughout the season.
Come walk this path with us…attentive, steady, and open to what God is about to reveal. ✨