Sermon for the 5th of Janurary - Feast of the Epiphany

Lectionary Readings for Epiphany Sunday

Isaiah 60: 1-6
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawning. Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms. Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

Ephesians 3: 1-12

This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given to me for you, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow-heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.

Matthew 2: 1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.”’ Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure- chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Sermon for Epiphany Sunday

Each Gospel account of the nativity of Jesus is different.

Only Matthew and Luke say anything at all about the circumstances of Jesus's birth--- what happened? Why did no household offer them hospitality? (They surely had relatives in Bethlehem!) Was it a difficult delivery?

Matthew opens his Gospel with a long symmetrical genealogy, tracing the birth of Jesus from his ancestor David to Joseph. Then Matthew recounts how an angel appears---to Joseph, as David is the ancestor of Joseph, not Mary. This is Joseph's great appearance in all the life of Jesus. It is Joseph's obedience to what the angel instructs him to do that is the climax of Chapter One of Matthew. Joseph does not "put away" Mary, or repudiate his engagement to her, as he had contemplated doing, once he learns of her unexpected pregnancy. He obeys the angel sent to him from God in a dream: he marries Mary.

Chapter Two of Matthew contains an account that is also not found in any of the other three gospels: the journey of the Wise Men to honour the new-born Son of God.

In the ancient Near East, in the minds of the people of that time, it was inconceivable that the birth of an important personage should go unattended by a sign that was a star. Such a star was present at the birth of Mithridates, king of Pontus, formidable foe of Rome, who was born in 135 B.C. There were many others.

And a messiah, widely expected in that time: a messiah's advent must be hailed by a star.

The magi were astrologers (you might remember that astrology and astronomy were the same field). The practice of astrology grew out of the belief that since the gods in the heavens ruled the fate of humans on the earth, the study of the stars could reveal their fate.

Historically, there is nothing in the least unlikely about astrologers---"wise men"--- traveling from Babylon westward, or to anywhere else in the Mediterranean world. They would have found welcome audiences everywhere. The consultation of magi by kings and prominent figures is well recorded. Herod cannot possibly have been ignorant of the hopes being entertained in Jewish circles. And the news of magi coming to seek a king would guarantee Herod's calling for them. Herod, who was constantly concerned with real or imagined usurpers.

After dealing with Herod, what then did these wise men bring, to honour the newly- found messiah? Gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Matthew used each of these three gifts as a symbol.

Gold representing kingship: gold was associated with royalty in the ancient near East. Frankincense representing deity: frankincense was an element of worship.

Myrrh representing death: myrrh was used as an oil for embalming.

Each of these symbols, for Matthew, carried the weight of its foretelling of the future of this child-king Jesus. He was royal; he was divine; he was to die as God's Son.

Matthew's Gospel begins this way. The end is known from the beginning.

Only a suffering Messiah could be the real messiah, foretold by the Hebrew prophets. The Christian faith wrested itself out of its Jewish parent-faith in the belief that only this kind of messiah could save all of humankind. Only a messiah who could experience the depths of human suffering could God exalt to sit on high with Him.

The greatest symbol of Epiphany is not gold, frankincense, or myrrh, however, but

light. The greatest gift of Epiphany is Jesus, who is the Light.

The Greek word epiphany means manifestation. This outward rippling of manifested glory was always an intrinsic part of the Christian story. The revelation of God in the Son was not only to the Jews, but to all peoples. Christians reconfigure the astrologers as those to whom the manifestation of the light of God's love also came. They represent the non-Jews, the Gentiles, us.

Epiphany, one of the four oldest festival days of the Christian calendar (Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas, are the others), is not talked about in the popular culture. It is pretty much ignored entirely. But in the history of our tradition, it holds its own because of its awestruck, crowning symbol of bright, shining light that parts the heavy darkness of the world. In Roman times, and now.

What difference does it make for us Christians, to mark this outward-shining radiance of the Light of Christ? This gift of God to us, the gift of his Son in the lowly manger shed?

The whole point of all the Gospels is that, having heard this Good News, we are to bear this light that we have witnessed and believed even farther, that it may ripple outward as on the surface of a pond, the farthest shore of which we cannot see. We are to bring the light of God's love to all the world, in all the ways we can.

How can we do this?

By celebrating our own gifts, I think: our gifts as individual persons, individual persons who follow this unlikely Messiah. What are your gifts?

I know some of you better than others: I can discern some of your gifts.

Kindness and compassion for others: especially for those who are lonely, or ill, or poor. In your visits, in your charitable gifts of money, in your prayer.

Contributing gladly to good causes everywhere: music in the schools, museums, the conservation of nature, fluency in the language for recently-arrived immigrants.

Enthusiasm for sharing the good news from this community of faith: helping with our Sunday School, and Youth Club, and Monthly Luncheon for the elderly. Coming to our Harvest Supper for The Upper Room, that feeds homeless people.

These are also gifts that we share as a community of faith. You come here faithfully, Sunday after Sunday, to strengthen the gift of faith that we share. Collectively, we shine a great light from within these walls.

Phillips Brooks's hymn, written for his Sunday School in 1868, has been ardently sung by believers and unbelievers alike, these 156 years. We sang it together here, on Christmas Eve:

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!

Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light;

the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

As the Gospel of John puts it,

The Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overcome it.

May the light we bear from the Light that is the source of our very being shine forth into the world, that the darkness may be broken and put to flight. In the name of Christ,

Amen.