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Isaiah 60:1-6
Ephesians 3:1-12
St. Matthew 2:1-12
In the Name…
To the saints who are in Accident, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Eph 1)
Jesus speaks to you on this the day of His Epiphany from His Gospel heard today, saying:
“Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.”
I had mentioned on Christmas Day how we have our current calendar system thanks to pope Gregory XIII in the very recent history of the 16th century, almost closing out the tumult of the Reformation.
Father Gregory was reforming the inadequacies of the Julian Calendar, named for Julius Caesar, initiated in the Roman empire in 46 BC, which was a reform of the earlier Roman calendar, which of course was to unite the whole world.
sufficient for this evening, is to note that our eastern brothers and sisters in Christ are prepping for their Christmas celebrations which they date January 6th, because of the differences between the Julian Calendar and the Gregorian Calendar, about 12 days.
Part of Gregory’s reform was to compensate for these “lost days”. the calendar wasn’t keeping up with the seasons and eventually became out of sync. For good or for bad, the Western churches adopted the new calendar, along with most of the world, and the Eastern churches did not. Possibly wanting to retain the calendar used during the life of Jesus.
And that’s it. Of course there are other details, cultural factors, and hurt feelings, but nothing to say who is right and who is wrong. Nothing to say, “this is God’s will”. I’m sure most of Gregory’s reform was not religious, but economic, retaining just a bit of the ancient “Rome has conquered the world” attitude.
All this and more are the leftovers of the “Great Schism” of 1054, where eastern churches went east and western churches went west. All over a tiny thing, such as the date of Easter and Christmas.
Tell me again how little the importance of a date is? Ask your wife how important your anniversary is. Ask a veteran how important July 4th is. Ask a child how important their birthdate is. Ask an SJW how important the date of Roe v. Wade is.
Ask anyone, not anywhere near church, how important a certain date of a certain event is and you will get the third degree for not remembering. Ask anyone, anywhere close to church, how important a certain date of a certain biblical event is and you will get a “it doesn’t really matter. All that matters is faith in Jesus.”
Repent! In any other part of your life precision, accuracy, and certainty are so important that your life depends on them. You could lose your job, lose your reputation, or lose your marriage. Everything is at risk if you do not get your timing right.
Why is it not so with God’s Church? Why is accuracy, certainty, reverence, and respect thrown out the window when it comes to anything that has to do with Faith and the Church?
King Herod even shows you up here. He is so worried about time and date more than you are are. He “…summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared”, as told in our Gospel heard today. He wants to make sure he gets it right. He wants to be certain where the king is, how old He would be now, and what kind of situation is around Him.
In His Word, Jesus makes it apparent that He is also concerned with precision, accuracy, and certainty. He constantly uses the phrase “on that day” or “at that time” or “then”, signifying a time and a date when He will act.
Exodus 12:41 says, “At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.”
At the beginning of Exodus 12, the Lord creates Passover, saying it needs to be celebrated on the 14th day of the first month.
Deuteronomy 1:3, “In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him in commandment to them”
Jeremiah 39:17, “But I will deliver you on that day, declares the Lord, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid.”
Amos 8:9
“And on that day,” declares the Lord God, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.
Zephaniah 3:16
On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak.
Zechariah 9:16
On that day the Lord their God will save them, as the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land.
Zechariah 14:9
And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.
Jeremiah 33:15
In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
Zephaniah 3:20
At that time I will bring you in, at the time when I gather you together; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says the Lord.
On the 14th day of the first month of the 5232nd year after the creation of the world, of the 2990th year after the Flood, of the 2048th year from the birth of Abraham, the 1543rd year after the Exodus from Egypt, from the 1065th year after David was anointed king, God provided a Passover Lamb for Himself and sacrificed His Son on the cross, at the hands of sinners.
The same Son, Who 33 years earlier was revealed to be the King of kings wearing only swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. This, His precision, is called theophany. Where Epiphany means general “aha”, “you would have thought of that eventually”. Theophany means you would not have thought it without God telling you.
The Lord is concerned with precision, accuracy, and certainty also, not because He wants to make sure He gets His own Prophesies and Word right, but so that poor, miserable sinners can get at least this much right. He is concerned we know when He is going to act, where He is going to act, Who He is, what its going to look like, how and why.
There will be no question as to His birth for angels will sing to Him, shepherds will guard Him, and kings will kneel before Him. there will be no question to His power to forgive sins, for God has given such power to men, says St. Matthew 9:1-8. There will be no question to His identity as He will draw all men to Himself when He is lifted up on the cross.
For it was on that day that the sun went dark at noon, that the earth shook and the graves were opened, and His enemies confessed, “Truly this was the Son of God” (Mt. 27:540. What day? Good Friday.
And it was at that time that the sun revealed an empty tomb, that Jesus delivered His saints from the grave. What time? Easter Time.
such is the strength and authority of the Lord’s Theophany, that no time is lost, no count is lost, and not one thing concerning it is lost to time or memory. And we celebrate our holy Days with reverence, humility, and punctuality.
Why? Because the Lord acted in the past and He acts today.
Exodus 16:25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord
Exodus 32:29 And Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for the service of the Lord”
Joshua 22:31 “Today we know that the Lord is in our midst
Zechariah 9:12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.
Luke 19:9 “Today salvation has come to this house
Luke 23:43 “today you will be with me in paradise.”
Today the Lord presents Himself to you, not in the manger, cross, and tomb of the past, but in the water, Word, bread and wine of the now, which brings the promise of the Lord’s blessing and salvation directly into your hands.
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