READINGS FROM HOLY SCRIPTURE:
Isaiah 60:1-6
Ephesians 3:1-12
St. Matthew 2:1-12
Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
Who speaks to you today saying:
“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.”
Thus far from God’s Word, which He includes for us here, in
order that we may see that, whenever God acts, it is always within His Church
where He holds no secrets. There is always a Divine Service called in order to
hear the Word of God. Doubly so in today’s case. First, by Herod and second, by
the Wise Men’s presentation to Jesus of their gifts. May we be so moved to the
Divine Service in our midst, as often.
Double First class with privilege octave second order. That
is the official Church classification of the Feast of our Lord’s Epiphany,
which we celebrate today. You can think of it this way: Easter is emperor,
Christmas is Empress, Last Sunday is King, Epiphany is Queen. Or something like
that.
The point is, a great and holy day has come upon us, ready
or not, and we are not ready. It is within our Lutheran tradition, that we used
to know how to celebrate high holy days. Part of how you celebrate is by giving
importance. By robbing time and energy from everything else and offering it to
God for His mercy shown in His Word, preached on that day.
For just a regular Sunday, the Lutherans used to gather for
Vespers Saturday evening, for that is the beginning of the celebration. The
prayers would be focused on keeping vigil, that is keeping watch for the coming
morning of the Lord’s Day. Confession and Absolution would be center stage, as
preparations were made to go to Communion the next morning.
There would be some rest, but then, early Sunday morning the
Church would begin praying Matins. This was to open the doors and prepare
people and Church to enter into communion with Jesus. Matins would lead
directly to the Divine Service, which would be a couple hours long, rejoicing
in the Gospel preached, heard, and received at the Lord’s hand.
In some instances, people would return home for lunch, but
they wouldn’t stay there. They would be visiting with friends, strangers, and
the sick. Then everyone would be back to Church to pray evening Vespers again,
all different of course, but all to fill up at least a whole 24hr day,
dedicated to the Lord and His work. A true Sabbath.
Tell me that’s not how you celebrate a high, holy Feast Day?
Well, that was just for a regular Sunday, though…
And then tell me what we do today? Primarily, we let the
world determine how we celebrate. Aside from family lunches and dinners, we
have allowed the world to dictate how and what we celebrate in church.
Take Christmas, as example. Everyone, every year complains
about how commercial Chrsitmass has become. Yet, everyone, every year does
nothing about it and to our shame, the world puts on a better celebration of
Christmas, than we do, lasting months if you count from when Christmas music
hits the air waves.
How did the Magi celebrate, from our Gospel reading? They
left clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children,
land, animals and all that they had to pursue, what, a star?? For 2 years? They
bet everything from their lives on one fragment of Scripture that had been
preserved among the sons of Babylon.
Just one small Word from God, kept and treasured, was all it
took. That Word?
“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a
star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall
crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth” (Numbers
24:17).
I encourage you all to underline that one in your Bibles.
Meditate on it, but do not look for the Bethlehem star. Ever. Do not let anyone
trick you into thinking that the Bethlehem star has shown up again or that you
must follow it. The star was only for the Magi, only for the Birth of Jesus,
and only to be illumined by God’s Word alone. We do not worship creation, but
the Creator and He has ordained this time for His Son.
Repent. We do not have to look far to find things we have
lost and have given up along the way, even in our own lives. We have cast aside
the good and the true for the easy and convenient. “What is the bare minimum I
need?” That is our standard of life, of worship, and our standard of
truth.
We have become spiritually lazy, drunk on the illusion of
peace around us. Bare minimum? What is the bare minimum amount of God a human
heart can contain? Is there even a way for the finite to contain the infinite??
How much of God can the world handle at one time? Our Church?
None. No amount. Not even the slightest breath, for that
would wither the grass and fade flowers into nothingness (Isa 40:7). If that’s
so, then the star the Magi followed was a trap and only pointed to an earthly
boy who would grow up to be an earthly king. And Herod was just a crazy old man
to think he would be alive long enough to be threatened by an infant’s claim to
the throne.
But this boy grew up and had no interest in removing any
earthly kingdoms. Not even the fake, Jew-king Herod. Not even the oppressive
Roman Empire. He let them be.
He did not let them be because they were doing right or
obeying God. He let them alone for our example. Listen, when Israel first
conquered the Promised Land, they did it their own way, leaving unbelievers in
their midst that God had commanded be removed. But, the Lord said this from
Judges 3: “Now these are the nations which the Lord left, that He might test
Israel by them” (Jud 3:1).
The test at that time, was to see if Israel would follow
after other gods or remain faithful.
The Test is different now. You see the nations that were
being driven out have become faithful and Israel, faithless, such that its king
wants to murder Jesus. It took the Magi, foreigners, outsiders to force King
Herod to finally call upon God and ask for the sign of the Messiah.
Though he didn’t believe when the Lord spoke to him through
the chief priests and scribes, the Lord spoke none the less and it was the
gentiles who believed. The Babylonians, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the
Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites have all been given a
seat at the table, because those who were invited refused.
Jesus has not come to bring a sword to slice between the
nations. His sword is His Word and it cuts between belief and unbelief. The Old
Testament tribes did not believe the Word, so they were separated. Now, the Old
Testament people do not believe, so they are separated and those who were
separated have become heirs, through faith.
How can this be? The Word does not change. The Promise was
made to Israel, but the blessings and benefits of that promise were always for
all who would hear and believe, as our Old Testament reading has already
proclaimed, “The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the
brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes all around, and see: They all
gather together, they all come to you;”
They all gather. They all congregate. They all circle around
the Lamb and His throne when He comes to Commune and speak of the things
concerning Himself, that is His Word of the Cross for the forgiveness of
sins.
For Christ is the Light. He is the Light of Faith that never
burns out or burns dim. It was Jesus’ light that brightened the star of
Bethlehem. It was the Light of Christ that enlightened our darkness by His
Crucifixion and Resurrection. It is the movement and work of Jesus to now
continue to ordain our lives in His love.
That love being our own gathering around Word and
Sacrament.
You want a star in the east? The Lord of that star in the
east preaches to you this very morning. You want the King of the Jews? The King
of all kings and nations has shaken the heavens and the earth with His
incarnation, just to purchase and win you.
You want gold, frankincense, and myrrh?
Gather around the Lord and taste and see that He is good.
You may live in the world but be not of the world. The world does not know
Christ and therefore does not know how to worship. The wise men submitted to a
star. You are not asked to do that. You are asked to submit to the work that
Jesus has accomplished for you and wishes to distribute to you: Word and
Sacrament through His Spirit.
Christ’s Word and His Church are never lost. We may forget.
We may lose things, but they always come back to us and always in the same
manner: by His Word. Here is the most exciting Church Service you could ever
attend on earth. In the Blessed Sacrament… you will find romance, glory, honor,
fidelity, and the true way of all your loves upon earth.
And in that, all the past piety and celebration is your
history for you to be proud of and to cherish and treasure, as it waits for you
to someday rediscover it and enjoy it in the freedom of the Gospel. That is the
true meaning of Epiphany.
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