EDITOR'S NOTE: On Oct. 23, 2021, I was ordained as a minister of word and sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and installed as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. I also served the same church for four years from October 2017 to October 2021 a synodical authorized minister. The journey together these past four years has been an amazing one, full of learning, growing and a deepening of my theological mind. This sermon took place on Jan. 7, 2024.
This week's gospel: Matthew 2:1-12
1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means 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 wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, 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.
The message:
Welcome to the season of Epiphany, Faith Family … this wonderful liturgical season that marks the end of 12 days of Christmas, and really truly is a magical time of the church year. … Which in my humble opinion is much too fleeting.
So … Epiphany, right? … What is it! … That might be a fair question this morning.
The dictionary describes Epiphany as: “a moment in which you suddenly see or understand something in a new or very clear way.” … You hear people say this all the time right: “I had an epiphany!”
And in our faith world … we commemorate the festival of Epiphany because it marks the coming of the wisemen as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.
Woowee! … “the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.” … now that’s a mouthful, right?
But what it means is simply that the three wisemen, who we are often told come from the East, are the first non-Jewish people to see and witness little baby Jesus as the incarnation of God on earth.
Now, it’s not in our faith tradition to make much of a big deal out of Epiphany … but in some countries, the festival of Epiphany surpasses even Christmas as a major festival in the church!
That’s right … no joke there. … for instance …
In Spain, the Christian custom is to wait to open Christmas presents on Epiphany, rather than on Christmas. … Now, any of you with children, can you imagine living another 12 days with those presents under your tree?
And in Puerto Rico, before children go to sleep on Jan. 5, the night before Epiphany, they leave a box with hay under their beds so the wisemen will leave good presents.
How about that custom parents, should we start dragging hay into our homes to commemorate Epiphany?
Finally, in France, a delicious "kings' cake" known as la galette des rois is baked.
And the bakers hide a coin, jewel, or little toy inside it, and the cake is to be enjoyed by the family on Epiphany.
What beautiful customs others have to commemorate Epiphany! … Right? Sounds fun!
Of course, this is not our tradition … but nonetheless I think it’s important that we not gloss over the importance of Epiphany. For there is a lot of wisdom to be gained.
First, let’s start with a little bit of “Wisemen” 101 … if you will …
In Christianity, the wisemen -- also known as the Magi … or Three Wise Men … or … the Three Kings -- sre thought of as distinguished foreigners who visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh as an homage to his divinity.
This may be hard to believe, but as ubiquitous as the wisemen have become in our faith, and especially in the story of Christmas. … Interestingly, the wisemen are only briefly mentioned in the Bible … and ONLY in the Gospel of Matthew.
That’s it. … You won’t find mention of them anywhere else.
And, in Matthew, the wisemen are described as "from the east,” and that they came to worship the "king of the Jews".
However, there is zero information about their names, origins, appearances … or even the exact number who visited. … True story.
In our heads, we think it's three wisemen only because Western Christian theologians have traditionally assumed it was three because that corresponds with the number of gifts that were given … gold, frankincense and myrrh.
But in other Christian traditions, it’s thought that as many as 12 wisemen might have traveled to the foot of baby Jesus’ manger.
And finally, we don’t actually know that the wisemen were kings. …
Their titles are never stated in the gospel, and we think of them as kings because of various theologians’ interpretations of Old Testament prophecies.
So there … a little history lesson on our beloved three … or is it? … wisemen on this Sunday morning after Epiphany!
Now, I know what you might be thinking … “When is he getting to the point of all this? … … What is the big deal about Epiphany?” … And here it is …
Imagine being one of those three wisemen …
Imagine being a nobleman of some far off kingdom that receives a sign -- in this case, we know it to be the star -- and you are so moved… that you pack up, mount your camel and head West to meet this newborn king that has made the world all aflutter.
After all, maybe you’re a king in your own right … and yet … you feel this calling … this beckoning to go and meet this baby whom they are calling the “King of the Jews.”
Interestingly enough, somewhere along the way … you join up with other noblemen on the same pilgrimage and you all travel on together. … Oh, you’re headed to see this Baby Jesus too?. … Let’s road trip together!
Eventually you come to the land of Judea, and upon entering, you do the right thing, and you go to visit the local ruler … King Herod … whom you ask about this new "King of the Jews."
And frankly, the conversation just comes off as a tad ominous … Right? … Just a little off kilter.
What do you mean you want us to report back to you after we find this new messiah? …. It doesn’t ring with good intention, does it?
But, after Herod releases you, you go anyway … you and your noblemen friends … you're off to find this Christ child …
… and then in this lowly little village called Bethlehem, you find this new "King of the Jews" … laying in a feed trough … in a barn … out back in the alley … with his teenage parents and the flatulent farm animals huddled around him.
Can you imagine the wisemen's skepticism? … Standing there, looking at each other … like what do you mean this is the king?
I can see them staring up to this star that’s been guiding them … and they’re like, “Yeah, it’s directly overhead. … Right there. The Star GPS says this is it.”
So, with a shrug of their shoulders, they proceed into the barn … and encounter the Christ child … this God who has been made incarnate in a helpless baby boy … Whose parents are of eager means, and whose claim on any kingdom here on earth seems laughable.
But then, you as a wiseman … you look deep into the Christ child’s eyes … and something in the depths of your soul is moved.
And if you listen for it, the heavens have opened and you can hear the chorus of angels singing out.
Maybe you hear trumpets blasting … and you have visions of all the other pomp and circumstance that comes with announcing the arrival of royalty …
But the logical part of your brain keeps tugging at you … hey, nobleman … it’s just a baby … just a simple human baby boy …
But there’s other parts of you though … your heart … your soul … well, they know something different … they know you’ve just looked into the eyes of the savior of all mankind … and you know that you will be changed for all time.
There’s no going back to any regular old faith. There’s no going back to the pagan gods you may have worshipped. … Or the humanism that you may have been practicing. … Or the kneeling at the foot of commerce and wealth … or whatever other human idol you were worshiping.
No Mr. or Mrs. Nobleman … Mr. or Mrs. Wiseman … you know that you have been forever changed because of what you just saw … in the eyes of a baby … the God who loved us so much … that he took on the form of a helpless human child … just to be with you.
And if, as a faithful person, that experience doesn’t move you … Then I just don’t know what will.
That … Faith Family … is the big deal about Epiphany. … That is why it was worth taking a Sunday morning to back up and commemorate such an important festival in our church calendar that we pay so little attention to.
And so this morning my question to you Faith Family is … when you look into the eyes of that infant baby Jesus … how can it not forever alter your life … like it did for the wisemen?
And that is the Good News for this Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024 … the day after Epiphany. … Amen.
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