Epiphany of the LORD
In our
reading from Isaiah, he prophesies to a people just returning from 70 years of
exile in Babylon, and he says that the day will come when all nations will
“come to their light…”. And in
our gospel reading we find a fulfilment of that prophesy as visitors from the
East, Magi, i.e. not Jewish people, not chosen race people…....as such folk come to
Jesus, the light of the world.
Will you
come to Him in some new way this year, perhaps even this day?
Let’s work
through our gospel reading and see if it perhaps leads us, like a star, to some
new place.
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea,
during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
Not much
is known about these men from the East, called Magi, or wise men. We know from
Persian documents that they were a priestly class with expertise in astrology,
magic and divination. Now, our
Scriptures strongly condemn these things, and this reading mustn’t be taken to
mean that these things are now acceptable. Rather what this passage shows is
that God will reveal himself wherever people are looking for Him.
He
reserves the right to reveal himself wherever He chooses....perhaps in a temple, perhaps in a stable, perhaps in a beggar on a street corner.
They asked, “Where is the one who
has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship
him.”
Notice
the response that Jesus draws from these pagan astrologers: They want to worship Him.
Do you,
do I, travel here (to this church)… to worship Him?
Can 2019 be a year perhaps when we stop coming to church… and start coming to worship?
When King Herod heard this he was
disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
The
response of the pagan astrologers was… worship.
The
response of Herod (and all Jerusalem) was … disturbed.
Isn’t
that strange? The King of the Jews has been born – pagans are excited about – but Jerusalem, city of David – is disturbed, troubled, worried.
“Religious”
people don’t always respond well to Good News, or to the possibility of change.
We can
understand Herod,...... he is a tyrant, he is not the rightful heir to the throne of
David, he’s only there because the Romans have installed him as “king”.
We can
understand him being disturbed by this threat to his position.
But “all
Jerusalem” disturbed as well…??
These
were people who went to the Temple, many of them daily and did all the right
things… made sacrifices, ..........kept holy days,..............kept Sabbath......
I think
part of the problem was that they were a people who went to the Temple, but who never went to worship.
When he had called together all
the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the
Messiah was to be born.
The chief
priests were Sadducees, the teachers of the Law were Pharisees – and these 2
groups didn’t like each other or even respect each others beliefs, but they
are brought together at the birth of Christ.
They will
often be brought together again during the ministry of Jesus, always with the intention of
trying to catch Jesus out, and ultimately it is their coming together at the
end of Jesus ministry that will ensure His murder.....If the
religious people agree that this man is bad, He must be bad.
Religious
people are dangerous in the Kingdom of God.
Then Herod called the Magi
secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
And the
Magi tell him – it was 2 years ago. Why does Herod want to know the exact time – because he needs to know exactly who
to exterminate in order to get rid of the threat of a new king.
So Jesus,
by the time the Magi visit Him… is… 2 years old.
After they had heard the king,
they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of
them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the
star, they were overjoyed.
Notice
once again of the joy of these pagans as opposed to the worry of the religious
Jews.
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary,
Notice
that Jesus is now… in a house. Born in a barn two years before during the
census when town was full, but now living in a home. Joseph had obviously
decided to settle in Bethlehem after Jesus’ birth.
And they bowed down and worshiped
him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold,
frankincense and myrrh.
There is
of course much significance in these gifts which has no doubt been explored in
previous years, today I just want to say that these gifts would have provided
the financial resources for Joseph and Mary’s trip to Egypt and back which they
needed to make in a hurry in order to avoid the slaughter of all 2 year olds and
younger. Joseph had to shut up his business overnight and flee.
Our God
is a God who provides!
So much
for the reading set for today – what star, what light does it provide for us as
we journey into 2019?
The
gospel must always shine light on our path before we seek to discern how it
should light up someone else’s life. The word of God must always cut us like a
sharp two edged sword before we can use it in the life of others.
We have
before us today, Herod, the religious people of the day… and the pagans/Magi.
Which
group would we be comfortable in? Which group perhaps describes us best?
Herod...................religious people..............pagans
Perhaps the group
of Herod, where hatred and fear dictate our behaviour?
Perhaps the group
of the religious people… those of us in this group, we know
the Bible, we know Gods word, we know what
God says about… homosexuality … horoscopes… death penalty… about divorce… pork…
tattoo’s…gun control..... about gambling etc etc.
In this
group, we know stuff, especially religious stuff, and like the religious people
of Jesus’ day, we are indifferent and
blind to the new thing that God might be doing and we don’t even bother to
explore,.........we don’t bother going to Bethlehem to see for ourselves.
So we have
the group of Herod and the group of religious people.
Then we have the
pagan/Magi group – this group.......... journeys,................ explores,................. gives.................... and worships.
Put
another way, the Herod group is a group of fear and hatred, the religious group is
a group governed by indifference, the Magi group is a group looking for and led
by the shining star of joy and worship
Let us pray.
