Epiphany January 6
Isaiah 60: 1-6 Psalm 72: 1-7, 10-14 Ephesians 3: 1-12 Matthew 2: 1-12
The feast of the Epiphany stands out as that last little remnant of Christmas. The last Christmas carol to make its way into our services and one that I rather like is “We Three Kings of Orient Are”. It may be a song that tells of the travelling wise men and their gifts, but there is actually a whole lot of theology in that carol, as you find when you unpack some of the other traditional carols.
I’m pretty sure I’ve reflected in the past about the significance of the gifts that were given; Frankincense, Myrrh and Gold. The song tells us that Frankincense signified the deity of Christ and that he is God incarnate. Myrrh prophecies the ministry of his sacrifice on the cross; “myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume, breathes a life of gathering gloom. Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying, sealed in a cold hard tomb”. Gold signified Jesus’ Kingship.
So this song and the gifts tell us about who Jesus is, but there is a curious element about this visit. These wise men are “outsiders”, and their part in the Christmas story has some very important messages beyond their gifts and confession of the nature of Christ.
The Jews were awaiting a Messiah. When the wise men began their travels they went first to Jerusalem to visit King Herod and find out about the facts. Perhaps they assumed that this King would be born in the palace.
Matthew 2:1-2 “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Can you imagine the surprise and alarm of Herod to hear this news? For certain we know that these men were taken seriously, so much so that Herod later ordered, in Bethlehem, the murder of all baby boys under the age of 2.
We also discover that all of Jerusalem was disturbed over the news that a King had been born:
Matthew 2:3 “When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.”
I find it interesting how there were so many who heard the story…. So many of God’s own people who heard the story, and yet it was only these outsiders who found Christ.
Somehow King Herod and the people acknowledged that this king must be the long awaited Messiah and so King Herod called together the chief priests and teachers of the law to find out all the facts that would fulfill the prophecies, and discovered that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. But Herod failed to see the significance of prophecy…. That there is a destiny that must be fulfilled, and he foolishly attempted to thwart the plans of God, but all he achieved was heartache and pain for those whose children were born at about the same time as Jesus in the region of Bethlehem. (Pain is what we bring when we unwittingly strive to thwart God’s plan also)
The wise men were warned in a dream not to tell Herod where they found the baby Jesus, so we once again see that these men are directed, led and obedient to God. They are the outsiders, but they are faithful.
The important message of the story of the wise men is that God came, called and worked through people who were not just the Israelites. We rejoice in this because, we who are not born of Jewish bloodline, have in this story the confirmation of God’s ministry within us.
In fact it should be a very loud warning to people to be aware of the way that God surprises us constantly with how big and wide his love and plan for salvation is, and how many and varied a people he can, will and does use in ministry… in fulfilling his purpose. We are so in need of His Holy Spirit to open our minds to His ways, because without it we are left guessing and cutting ourselves off from the many wonderful experiences of God’s blessing. (We do need the Holy Spirit’s gift of discernment also!!)
It is through the ministry of St. Paul, that this message of God’s salvation to the “outsiders” really became understood, and it is really only through God’s message to the “outsiders” that the more complete understanding of God’s Good News was revealed.
“Outsiders” had always been loved and part of God’s promise, right from the time of Abraham; Genesis 22:18 “and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me”.
St. Paul explains that there were mysteries in our understanding of God, but through Jesus these mysteries have been revealed and in particular the mystery of just how God is a God for all and not just the Israelites. (Gentiles = non Israelites i.e us).
Ephesians 3: 1-6 “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—
Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”
In the past the Israelites had a method of being in touch with God. It was in the fulfilling of the Law. It was through the priests and the many traditions and ceremonies that accompanied. It was only through these that the people of God felt that they could properly approach God, and sadly we are really not so different today if we don’t properly understand the gift of God.
There are still many people who think they must do a certain amount of penance, fasting or confession before they can be acceptable to God. How many people have you heard say, “The roof will fall in if I go to church”? This comes from the same understanding or should I say misunderstanding about the ways of God.
To acknowledge our unworthiness before God can be a healthy thing, but when we allow this to keep us away from him, we’ve really missed the message…. Or never truly heard it.
God’s gift to us through Jesus is His grace. St. Paul experienced God’s grace first hand and understood it by heart. St. Paul expresses a vision that God has for the Church that the Church would be a proclaimer to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm that through Jesus Christ we can approach God with freedom and confidence. I wonder if we, as church, really do proclaim this to the heavenly authorities, when we exclude people as we sometimes do, when we refuse to hear God’s message because we believe women should not preach, or when we have so many lovely dedicated people who are fearful that they are not good enough for God to accept them.
No matter who we are, Jesus Christ has brought us this grace which means we have God’s favour. We received it when we received the gift of Christ’s sacrifice; we continue to receive it with every breath that we take. It isn’t a grace that runs out, but if we refuse the grace, there is no other sacrifice left. WE HAVE TO REMAIN AWARE that we live every moment in His grace… and his one sacrifice is all that was needed.
Ephesians 3:7-12 “I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 1His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”
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