Epiphany 2023

As I mentioned earlier, today we celebrate Epiphany Sunday, a date set as January 6th in the early church—twelve days after Christmas—to commemorate Jesus’ appearing to the world. “Epiphany” means “manifestation” or “revealing.” We often use the word to describe an aha moment—a moment of insight when something that was concealed is suddenly revealed or understood. If we have an “epiphany” about something, we have an illuminating discovery or realization—a perception of meaning that hopefully impacts us in a significant way.

Historically, the Christian Church has celebrated Epiphany in different ways. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Epiphany focuses on the baptism of Jesus, when Jesus is revealed as the Son of God. In the Western Church, Epiphany focuses on the story of the wise men—the magi coming to worship Jesus. The Christ Child is revealedto the Gentiles. Epiphany. A revelation. A manifestation.

I’m going to read today from the story of the wise men, which is told to us only in Matthew’s gospel, in chapter two. But before I do, here’s a word of caution:

There's a danger in approaching these familiar Christmas stories. We hear "wise men" and "star," and we can easily tune out: "Yeah, yeah...know that one. I've heard sermons on that my whole life."

Familiarity with a text can inoculate us from hearing the Spirit's voice in a fresh way.

We can become so obsessed with hearing something new and different that we miss the chance to hear something old and familiar in a new way.

What we need is an “epiphany” about “Epiphany.”

So I invite you, in a moment of silence to quiet your heart and to ask the Spirit to bring this familiar story to life in you, that you might find yourself in the journey of the wise to Bethlehem, as they seek hard after Christ.

PRAYER and read text

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The Magi are old familiar friends this time of year.

They journey on Christmas cards with their treasure-laden camels, under words proclaiming, "Wise men still seek him!"

They show up in television specials with little drummer boys, offering their gifts in the stable.

They appear in Christmas plays and in nativity sets, dressed as kings in royal turbans and bright colors, kneeling at the manger, worshiping the newborn king.

It's a pretty picture--lowly shepherds and sophisticated wise men kneeling together in wonder at God's gift.

But it's not the picture from Scripture, is it? The Magi didn't arrive with the shepherds. They didn't worship Jesus as he lay in a manger. Their journey to worship Jesus was a long one, and by the time they reached their destination, Jesus, Joseph and Mary were staying in a house.

By the time the Magi arrived, Jesus could have been as old as two.

So just who were these strange visitors to Jerusalem who followed a star to find a king?

For one thing, the Magi weren't kings themselves, no matter what our Christmas carols say. It was the fourth-century preacher Augustine who gave the Magi a royal upgrade and made them foreign monarchs. People embraced the idea--it seemed right that foreign kings should bow the knee to the King of kings.

And even though we sing about three wise men, we don't know how many there were--the Scriptures don't tell us. During the Middle Ages it was declared there were three wise men, based on the three gifts given, and the Magi were even given names.

Truth is, the Magi are cloaked in mystery. Were they from Babylon? Were they descendants of the wise men who served in the king's courts with the prophet Daniel--men who had learned the Jewish prophecies about the Messiah during the time when the Jews were in exile there? Or were they a tribe of priests in Persia, who served as teachers and advisors to Persian kings?

We don't know for sure.

From ancient historical sources we glean only that the Magi were skilled in philosophy, medicine, and astronomy. They were known for their skills in interpreting dreams and in watching the movement of stars to predict future events. They were the psychics of the ancient world, writing daily horoscopes for the Baghdad Gazette.

The Hebrew Scriptures condemned the magi type as idolatrous deceivers to be avoided by godly people. In fact a Jewish rabbi wrote not long before Jesus was born, "He who learns from a magi is worthy of death."

You see, we're so used to seeing the Magi make their annual appearance at the manger that we don't catch the scandal of what Matthew is communicating in sharing this story.

In fact…it’s just one of the many scandalous elements of the Christmas story told in the gospels.

Take a look, for example, at the genealogy of Jesus that Matthew shares at the beginning of his gospel: take a close look at it and you’ll see that some of the folks listed there were prostitutes, adulterers, and even Gentiles…non-Jewish folks. In the very genealogy of Jesus!

And of course there’s the central scandal of the Christmas story: that of an unwed teenager finding herself pregnant and a righteous man trying to figure out what to do so that she isn't stoned to death.

And now throw into all of that the Magi.

The Magi were Gentiles. Foreigners. Astrologer-priests. And Matthew's first-century Jewish audience would have been shocked that God used a star to guide pagan philosophers to worship the King of the Jews.

It’s outrageous.

And yet this child born King of the Jews would become the Savior of the world: savior not just to the godly who sought him, but to the scandal-ridden outcasts and outsiders. By showing us the Magi, Matthew is showing us the reach of God's grace. The Christ child who attracted pagan wise men to worship him at his birth would later have the same magnetic effect on lepers, tax collectors, prostitutes, Roman centurions, and Samaritans.

And he has the same effect today, drawing all kinds of people--from all kinds of backgrounds, from all kinds of brokenness and sin--drawing the most unlikely of people to himself. People like you and me.

Our text in Matthew 2 gives us a foreshadowing of the worldwide mission of Jesus Christ. It also gives us a foreshadowing of the rejection he will experience from his own people.

Think about the contrast Matthew provides between the Magi and the Jewish religious leaders.

The Magi commit to traveling hundreds of miles over dangerous terrain in order to seek and find the King of the Jews.

But the chief priests and scribes living in Jerusalem don't even bother to travel five miles to Bethlehem to check out the wise men's claim that their king has been born.

The Magi glimpse the light of revelation God gives them in the heavens, and they commit themselves to pursuing it.

But the holy men in Jerusalem read the light of revelation in the Scriptures, shrug their shoulders, and stay right where they are.

The contrast couldn't be clearer: it's the Magi who are the model of faithful seeking.

John puts it this way when he describes Jesus' coming in John 1:

(SLIDE)

"The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."

The Magi had eyes to see the light of God coming into the world, while God's own people continued to walk in the darkness of their apathy, indifference, and pride.

Ironic, isn't it, that when it comes to journeys of faith, it's the Magi who follow in the footsteps of people like Abraham and Moses?

The Magi had the vision to see that something cosmic had happened. And then they made the commitment to do whatever was required in order to respond to the revelation.

Like Abraham who left everything familiar to journey to a new home in faith, not knowing where he was going. All because he knew God had called him.

Like Moses who left everything familiar to journey back to an old home in faith. All because he had encountered God in a burning bush.

So these faith-filled Gentiles, these Magi, make the long walk west, following a sign given in the heavens.

The journey of the wise is a journey of faith.

And I wonder: Whom do we resemble in our own journeys of faith? How far are we willing to travel in obedience to what God has revealed to us? Do we, like the Magi, have the courage to follow wherever God leads, no matter what the cost?

It’s a question for us as individuals. It’s also a question for us as a church.

We, as a church, face some unparalleled challenges when it comes to being the body of Christ in the 21st century.

For decades, both here in the UK and in my homeland, the church was a backbone of the community.

A central part of the culture’s life.

It isn’t that way anymore. And we fool ourselves if we think it will ever be that way again.

We are strangers in a strange land, much like the wise men were.

And as a result, Christian churches all over the world are on a journey of faith.

And those same questions apply to us: how far are we willing to travel in obedience to what God is revealing to us? Do we have the courage to follow wherever God leads, no matter what the cost?

I said this was an unparalleled challenge, but that’s not really true.

People of faith have faced similar challenges all throughout history.

Think about the wise men.

They refuse to be discouraged, even when no one in Jerusalem can answer the question, "Where is he? Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?"

They refuse to be discouraged, even when no one seems to have seen the star they've seen. "But we saw his star in the east, and we've come to worship him."

They encounter apathy and indifference with zeal and commitment, and they press on, asking, seeking, knocking.

Which is exactly what we need to do.

And the same God who guided them will guide us.

Who knows where it will lead?

In the case of the wise men, their tenacity ultimately grants them an audience with royalty. News of their single-minded pursuit and simple proclamation attracts the attention of Herod the Great.

Herod, the man who was not born king of the Jews, but rather the man who had been appointed king of the Jews by the Roman emperor.

The wise men have his undivided attention as he cross-examines them about what they've seen and when it all began.

Herod, Matthew tells us, was extremely agitated by the wise men's arrival. And in fact, Matthew shares with us that since Herod was disturbed, so "all Jerusalem" was disturbed with him.

Pretending to join the wise men in their desire to worship the new king, Herod—after consulting with the chief priests and scribes--provides the magi with the name of the place where the Messiah was to be born--Bethlehem. Then he sends them on their way, commanding them to search diligently and report back to him.

So the wise men continue their journey. As they go, the star appears again and directs them right to the house where Jesus is.

Matthew tells us that when they saw the star again, they were filled to overflowing with an exceedingly great joy--our English translation just doesn't do the hyperbole justice. I normally imagine the Magi processing sedately and solemnly. But imagine instead an overwhelming exuberance--hooping and hollering, high-fiving and dancing. That's the kind of joy they had when they reached the goal of their journey.

They have been seeking the king for one purpose from the very beginning: they have come to worship him. And so these Gentiles bow down before the child and worship, humbling themselves before this peasant family and opening their treasure chests to pour out their gifts.

Whatever expectations they had of the king they would find at the end of their journey, they trust the sign God has given that the one they've been seeking is this little child who sits not on a throne, but on his mother's knee.

And they offer their costly gifts with joyful abandon.

Years ago, when I was in university, my pastor told us the story about a missionary in Africa who was preparing to leave the community he had loved and served for many years. On the day of his departure a young boy from the village presented him with a gift: a beautiful sea shell.

The missionary was surprised. "Where did you find something like this?" he asked.

The boy explained that he had walked to a bay miles from the village in order to find it.

"You didn't need to do that for me!" the missionary exclaimed.

But the boy smiled and replied, "Long walk part of gift."

Long walk part of gift.

Like King David, who once declared that he would not offer the Lord a sacrifice that had cost him nothing, the Magi did not offer something that had come without cost.

Yes, their gifts were extravagant and fit for a king.

But the Magi offered something far more costly than gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

They offered themselves in worship. That's an offering fit for a king.

Throughout his life and ministry people sought Jesus for many different reasons. Some sought him for healing or deliverance, others for forgiveness and salvation.

And these are right reasons for seeking him.

But very few ever sought him simply to worship him.

Again, the Magi show us the way. The journey of the wise is a journey of worship.

Before Jesus performed a single miracle; before he preached a single message or healed a single person...here are the Magi, worshiping him simply because he is worthy of their worship.

And how about us?

There are still plenty of reasons people give for seeking Christ.

Some reasons are self-serving: some seek him for self-fulfillment and purpose. Some seek him for happiness or for eternal life insurance.

Some reasons are right and good: some seek him as Savior, as Healer, as Comforter, as Friend.

And while God invites us to seek him for everything we need, let's not forget to seek him to worship him, simply because he's worthy.

That is our first and utmost priority.

Everything else God has for us as individuals and as a congregation will flow out of that.

It starts with worship.

Which is where we’ll be picking things up when I return to the pulpit in a couple of weeks. We’re going to spend some time talking about what it means to be the church. And we’re going to start with worship.

Along the way we’ll ask ourselves, what is God asking of Gilfillan Church as we enter 2023?

May God grant us the courage and perseverance of the Magi as we seek to follow wherever he leads us, no matter what the cost.

And may God grant us their joy and sacrifice as we seek to worship the King of kings.

Let's pray.