Epiphany

Are we paying attention?

Good morning church! It is an honor to be able to share again today. This time of year can be so incredibly busy and overwhelming that often times, important things can be overlooked. Not that the overlooking was done on purpose but that we can so jam pack our schedules with stuff that we barley have time to sleep. I know its not everyone that can find themselves in this situation but a lot do. So what does this have to do with my message today? Well, in its most basic sense, if we don’t slow down, we may very well miss something of great importance. Let’s pray.

The basic theme for my message today is, Are we paying attention?, with a focus on the celebration of Epiphany. So what is Epiphany? I can think back to when I would hear someone say, I had an epiphany, meaning that they had this great idea just pop up in their head. And to be honest, that is pretty much what it means. The word means to reveal, appearance, or manifestation. This celebration takes place 12 days after christmas. Kinda sounds like the carol 12 days of christmas. And so the next question would naturally be so what? What is being celebrated? This is where things start to diverge depending on what denomination you’re from and what part of the world you’re from. Eastern traditions have chosen this date as the day of the baptism of Jesus. Which would be an epiphany. I’ll explain why in a minute. Western traditions, which is us, have chosen this date as the arrival of the wise men from the east, which would also be an epiphany. Let’s look at a couple of verses.

So for the eastern tradition, we have Luke 3:21-22

Luke 3:21–22 ESV

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Like I have previously mentioned, an epiphany is a revelation. So what exactly is being reveled here? God is reveling that Jesus is the Son of God! God manifested in the flesh as Jesus Christ. So I could say that this event recorded in scripture is a clear epiphany. Make sense? A clear revelation and or manifestation of who Jesus is. We can look at today for example. When we get baptised, think about what you’re doing? Yes it represents us dying to our old selves and become a new creation. But It is also a public declaration of your faith in Jesus! Your faith is being reveled to the word. An epiphany of sorts.

Now back to the western traditions. What we typically consider to be epiphany. The arrival and gifts of wise men. There are so many stories throughout scripture that have so much more going on than just the surface level. Now, who were the wisemen exactly. When we see the word wisemen, it is referring to Persian men who were likely priests, interpreters of special signs (especially those astronomical in nature, like the alignment of stars and planets.). So knowing this starts to paint a picture of what was going on that led them to Jesus. They paid all sorts of attention to the sky and with the appearance of that star, they had to find out what it was. It was something that they hadn’t seen before. See, if a new star or hundreds of new stars popped out at night, I literally wouldn’t know the difference. It was their job to know and study the stars. Matthew 2:1-12

Matthew 2:1–12 ESV

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ” Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 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. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

Isaiah 60:1–3 ESV

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

I know that I have said this often, but what took place that night was another prophecy fulfilled.

Scripture says that the men came from the east. With that piece of information, we can know that they came from Babylon/Persia. But also with that scripture, we can see that the wisemen didn’t come on the night that Jesus was born. How? Well, the verse clearly says that when the wisemen came into the house. Well, Jesus wasn’t born in a house.

With the culture and cartoons and decorations, we have been led to believe all these things about the wisemen. Which aren’t bad, just inaccurate. Like how many there was for example. There wasn’t 3 of them like its portrayed everywhere. The idea of 3 came from the amount of gifts they brought. What we do know is that there was at least 2 but early church traditions point to 12 but once again, we really don’t know and its not something that we need to die on a hill for.

Now the gifts that they brought. To make this as simple as possible, they were very expensive. This wouldn’t have been something that was commonly brought to commoners as a gift. I wouldn’t buy $20,000 diamond ring for one of Chloe’s friends birthday. That’s ludicrous. That same applies here. But why bring these specific gifts then? Well that surprisingly easy. They were gifts worthy of a king. And this is what the whole western tradition boils down to. The wisemen recognizing Jesus as king by presenting Him these gifts, reveals who He is. Its the epiphany that the whole world had been waiting for. Ephesians 3:5-6

Ephesians 3:5–6 ESV

which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

One of the biggest reveals is that the gentiles are fellow heirs. This was astonishing news for the Jewish people and the most amazing news for the non-Jewish people. Think about the wisemen for a moment. They were most definitely not of Jewish heritage yet they came and worshipped Christ as king thus making Him known to not just the Jewish people but to the world as well.

This all leads me to this. From the beginning of my message. Are we paying attention in a world where absolutely everything is clawing for it. Look around. Advertisements and the such. Imagine, would you, if the wisemen were not paying attention and were instead caught up with something that they deemed important. They would have missed the whole thing. This incredibly huge event would have gone right past them. Do we do that church? This is where it gets tough. I try to reflect upon all of the things that I have occupied myself with that I deemed important. And compare to the things that were most important. A heartbreaking thought, but what have I missed. What experiences. What memories. In my constant pursuit of busyness and entertainment, how many things have passed by, never to come again. What blessings, what opportunities had come and gone. And for what? Some moment of temporary pleasure. As I get older these truths jump out at me more and more. Not to make me depressed, but to make me aware. Sure, Those things have come and gone. But we must always continue to look forward. To look up. Look what looking back did to lots wife. She turned into a pillar of salt. It made her useless. That’s what looking back does. It steals away the very purpose that God has designed each of us for.

So in closing, an epiphany is a revelation or revealing. The wisemen and their gifts for Jesus did that very thing. It revealed who Jesus was. Like baptism does for us and our faith. The wisemen kept their priorities in order thus leading them to Jesus and giving us a lesson. Are your priorities in order? What could you be missing with our pursuit of self seeking selfishness. Once again, I am not perfect. I too struggle with these things. But it was the preparation for this message that brought this epiphany of needing to slow down and prioritize what’s most important. Let’s pray.