Epiphany
Observed – Jan 2/3, 2016 – Matthew 2:1-12
In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +
In the Name of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World +
Although
technically we are only on January 2nd/3rd, the 8th/9th
day of Christmas, today we are going to celebrate and observe the
12th day of Christmas – January 6th, the day of Epiphany – the
season of the Church year which we are about to enter. Epiphany
means to shine upon, it is a season of revelation – where we see
and understand more and more just who this Christ Child is whose
birth we have been celebrating these past few weeks. And to start
off the season of Epiphany, we have a lesson of vital importance for
each and every one of us in this room – the coming of the Wise Men.
Now
after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the
king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,
"Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his
star when it rose and have come to worship him." We are
used to this story. We are familiar with it. We tend to just toss
out some wise men with our nativities without much thought, we sing
“We 3 Kings” because it has such a fun refrain. And so we forget
just how strange it would have been for the people in Herod's court
to have these wise men – and no, Scripture doesn't say how many of
them - to have these wise men simply show up. And by rights they
shouldn't be there – they don't fit in. Think on your classic
Nativity scene. The stable – well, okay, there's no room at the
inn. That explains the animals, that makes sense too. And shepherds
– well, Bethlehem was kind of rural, so the fact that folks in
fields right on the outskirts of town might show up, there's nothing
strange about that. But these Wise Men showing up – from the East,
they stand out like a sore thumb. They had to travel a long way –
and more over, they were Gentiles – they weren't Jewish – and yet
they knew that this Jewish Boy who was born was important – and not
only important – but that this One who was born King of the Jews,
was True God whom they ought to worship.
That's
astounding – that these Gentiles would seek to find the young
Jewish Child whom they know is God. This, dear friends, is really
where you fit into all this Christmas pageantry. This is the wonder
of Epiphany – that this Christ Child who comes really is for all
people – not just all classes of Jew, not just for the rich and the
poor of Jerusalem – but for all people – even those strangers and
foreigners. Even those people from the East – even those Germanic
folk from the north, even for folks even further afield. That's part
of the reason why in a classical nativity the three Wise Men will be
three different skin colors – all peoples of the world will be
saved by this Christ Jesus, all nationalities – red and yellow,
black and white. It does not matter a hill of beans where you are
from, Christ is for you. (It's Saturday Night here, but Sunday
morning to the East, and we worship at the same time as folks over
there) (Already this Sunday our brothers and sisters in Christ have
worshiped our Lord in Asia, in Europe, in Africa. My friend who is a
Missionary in Peru is probably preaching right now as well.) You fit
in now – you are a part of the story – even the Gentiles, even
non-Jews – they have a Savior.
When
Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with
him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people,
he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him,
"In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet.
Herod is a nasty sort. If we had done the readings for the 2nd
Sunday after Christmas, we'd hear how Herod kills off all the baby
boys in Bethlehem. He's a piece of work. We would expect wicked
Herod to be troubled by this news – but all Jerusalem as well? The
chief priests and the scribes, even the people who knew that the
Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, they are troubled too? Why?
Well, sadly, it boiled down to earthly things. If you are King, and
someone else is born to be King, it means your reign will be cut
short. It means that maybe it won't be all about you or your kids.
It may be that, like John the Baptist, you must decrease that Christ
may increase. Herod didn't like that idea. It made him unhappy.
You've heard the phrase, “If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy”?
Same thing with kings. If the King ain't happy, heads tend to roll
– and that makes us afraid. This coming of Christ is met with such
fear – fear of how it will impact King Herod.
Allow
me a few moments of bluntness. When you hear these words, when you
hear of Herod's fear, of Jerusalem's fear – know that this is
precisely how Satan will try to tempt you, that this is same sort of
fear the Devil will try and raise up in you. Why is Herod afraid?
Because Herod’s focus is on his kingdom, his power, his stuff. Why
are the people afraid? Because angry kings might mess with their
lives, their power, their stuff. They are afraid of their stuff
being disturbed – and they did not seek to worship Christ Jesus as
the wise men did. Oh, you wise men, just go ahead with out us –
come back when you've found Him, we can't be bothered now. . . we
have emergency plans to make. Instead of beholding God – Herod's
eyes and the eyes of Jerusalem are firmly faceted on earthly politics
and pomp and power.
This
is the way in which Satan will try to attack you. What you have to
remember is that you also can be compared to the people here in
Herod's Jerusalem's. If I were to ask any of you, “Where was Jesus
born” - is there anyone in this room who can talk who wouldn't be
able to tell us that He was born in Bethlehem? These were people who
knew who the Messiah was, who in theory where those who were looking
for His coming. . . but when it comes down to it, when He comes,
there's just not that much interest – other than what chaos and
trouble it might cause. We've got to focus on the hum drum things of
life.
Isn't
that the temptation that Satan levels at us Christians, we who know
who the Messiah is, even today? How many are not here because they
cannot be bothered? Too much stuff going on, too many things coming
up? But as you know, God's Law is not given to us so that we can
point fingers at others – rather the Law is applied to us. How
easy would it be to fall into that habit, to slide away, to become
worn down with cares or worry? Or even for us here – how many of
us felt joy and wonder at being allowed to come to Church? We are
invited into God's House to hear His Word – in fact, God Almighty
will give us His Body and Blood today – and did any of us this
evening/morning look like kids on Christmas day ready and excited to
go? Or was it more of, “Well, we probably oughta get to Church
today”? Did we approach this evening/morning thinking more that it
was the end of vacation with a little bit of dread of heading back to
the normal slew of things now that the holidays are done – or
thinking that Monday is going to bring the new slate of 2016
business, or another crop to worry about? We too, each us of here –
even as we are here, we can be worn down the weight of this world,
our responsibilities here and now – where our eyes become focused
mainly on the things of this life, jobs, bills, weather, the economy.
And that's heavy. That comes with fear.
This
is why God calls us to worship – to have us rest from the
responsibilities of this world and instead be in His care, be served
by Him, be refreshed by Him. We are told in Scripture that perfect
love casts out fear – and Worship is where we see, where we receive
God's perfect love – where once again He applies it to our lives
through our ears, where He places it upon our tongues. The heart of
worship is that God gathers us to focus upon what He does for us, the
rest and forgiveness which He gives to us. Those people whom we
rightly call the wise men knew this. See what they brought to their
worship of Christ the King - And going into the house they saw
the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him.
Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and
frankincense and myrrh. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We
can miss this today, but Gold and frankincense are part and parcel of
worship. When Moses builds the tabernacle, when Solomon builds the
temple – gold is used - the idea of a precious metal shows that
what is going on is something precious. There's a reason why we take
care with the things we use in God's House – they demonstrate the
importance of what goes on here. The stuff we use in worship shows
that. Frankincense was also part of worship – the tabernacle and
temple were always filled with smoke – smoke of incense. The
incense, the smell was a reminder, a confession that God was present
at worship for the benefit of His people. Gold and Frankincense were
things that were present at worship, that let you know you were at
worship – so the wise men brought them to be present at their
worship. But then, they also bring myrrh. Myrrh is used to anoint
the dying – myrrh was the chief spice that is used to cover the
stench of death. On Easter morning when we see that the women are
hastening to the tomb with spices to anoint the body – the chief
spice of that mixture is myrrh.
This
Christ Child whom the wise men worship, whom we ourselves worship, is
the God who becomes Man to stare into the face of death and win us
life through His own death and resurrection. The wise men see and
know this – it is part of their worship. When we gather here for
worship today – the center, the focus of our worship is that Christ
Jesus goes to the Cross, and thereby wins us forgiveness and life –
and that what He has done trumps and enlightens everything in our
life – that His love drives away the shadows and fears of this life
– that in the light of Christ we face all things confidently seeing
the proof, the depth of His love for us – knowing that nothing can
separate us from Christ our Lord.
This
is what our Lord brings to us here in His House – the Lord who
comes to serve His people with life and Salvation, the Lord who comes
and gives of Himself to bring us unto Himself and enfold us with His
love. And He continually pulls us unto Himself. He is our God –
He comes even to bring the Gentiles into His Kingdom – to pull us
away from the world of sin and strife and to give us Life in His
name. All praise and glory be unto Christ Jesus, our God who wins
for us salvation. Amen.
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