Epiphany

 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.

 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.

The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord.  

(Isaiah 60:3-6 KJV)

*Note: The majority of this post is a reformatting and editing of a sermon that I gave in January 2008.  More information is listed in the reference section.

Today is Epiphany (January 6), many churches will observe this special day on the church calendar on January 8.  Epiphany comes from the Greek word epiphania, which means manifestation or appearance.  While today, we use it to celebrate the coming of the Magi, part of its original focus was on the incarnation of Christ.  This focus acknowledges one of the names of God—Immanuel—God with us.  It was through God coming to live with us and walk among us that we could begin to understand His love for us.[1]  According to The United Methodist Book of Worship, Epiphany of the Lord predates the celebration of Christmas.  It originally focused on the nativity, the incarnation of Jesus Christ and His baptism.  Today, Epiphany celebrates the coming of the magi—the wise men—to worship the child, Jesus—the King of the Jews.[2]  

    

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Like the magi, we too, should seek the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  In seeking we will find, and will not be disappointed.  But we do have to want it—want it beyond anything we have ever wanted before, because the journey will be rough and long and things will not always be easy.  In fact, things may get down right rough and perhaps nearly impossible due to Christ.  Within a family, the first person to be saved sometimes faces extreme persecution from his or her family members.  Satan is attacks them (and us) with everything he has, to get them (and us) to leave Christ.  If we hang in there and refuse to give up, we will learn that God is bigger and stronger than Satan and that we will be victorious through Jesus. 

The story of the wise men goes back to the time of Daniel when he lived in exile in Babylonia.  Daniel was able to influence and teach the Gentiles around him, prophecy concerning the coming Savior hundreds of years before it came to pass.  The wise men were scholars—powerful men of a priestly, kingly line.[3]  These men were familiar with royalty and the honors associated with it.   

We can learn a lot from the wise men.  For example, the wise men were persistent; they did not give up until they found who they were looking for.  How are we as individuals at persisting on, despite not finding what or who we are going after?  How often have we almost seen Jesus only to quit when He was less than a step away?  The wise men’s quest took them on a long, arduous journey—one that held a variety of risks.  They left the life they knew behind. 

Consider the wise men’s response when they found the Christ child and His mother.  First, they worshiped.  They knew they were in the presence of a very special child—a royal child.  How are we at worshiping Christ?  How are we at giving Him the time and the place He deserves in our lives?  My beloved, we are to worship Christ, this is one activity that is expected from us as Christians; our worship should benefit us greatly, as well as honor our Lord and Savior.

Second, the wise men did not stay where they were; they returned home to share their experiences with their fellow citizens.  And what an experience and story they had to share!  We, too, have an experience to share and a story to tell; perhaps the experience is not as intense or as life changing as the magi experienced but it is important, nevertheless.  Like the magi, we are to go out and share Christ in the greater world.  It is staggering to realize just how many of those around us have never heard of Christ and His love for them and all that He did for them.  Maybe, we should take the story of the wise men more seriously than we do?  The wise really do seek Him and in seeking they find.  And in finding, they are changed.  This change inspires them to go out and share with others, so that they too can be changed.  The thought of people not being churched should call us to action.  There is much to do!  Many people—people right around us are seeking Christ—they need us to point the way to Him.    

Photo Credit: P. Whitlach

     

For some reason, Christ’s birth surprised the religious leaders and scholars—the way He was born made it hard, perhaps impossible for them to accept Him.  They were caught off guard, because He came in among those on the margins, pheasants, shepherds—instead of coming into a palace or the temple.  He did not come into an easy life but a difficult one.[4]  In this way, He was better able to relate to our struggles, our hurts, our pains.  I would not want a Savior that could not relate to me and the struggles that I face.  What about you?  I know that I find great comfort when I acknowledge that Jesus knows what it is like to have physical pain, to be rejected, to be abused, to be disowned by family and friends, to not be understood, to be mocked, etc.  I know that Jesus has experienced the totality of life; therefore, I have a friend who can truly empathize with my struggles and experiences.  Thanks be to God!        

Now, Scripture does not tell us if there really were three kings (or magi) or if there were more or less.  The number three is assumed because of the three gifts:  gold, frankincense, and myrrh—which acknowledged Jesus’ roles.  Gold—symbolizes His kingship.  Frankincense—symbolizes His priestly ministry.  Myrrh—symbolizes our redemption through His death.  The important thing to consider on this day is that they—the magi—came and worshiped the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords who revealed Himself.  These Gentiles realized that God had revealed Himself and come to earth, yet I doubt they realized the full import of this event.[5]  Amazing!  Simply, amazing—the Creator of the heavens and earth and of everything in it came to earth to live among His creation.  We truly have an awesome, loving God! 

What Scripture does reveal to us is this: the magi knew that a King—a King of the Jews was to be born and they were following His star, so that they could worship Him.  Moreover, the magi were Gentiles—this tells us that Jesus was to be not only for the Jewish people but for Gentiles as well.  The magi came from the east—Medio-Persia (in the area of modern day Iran).  How are we at following the star, following the path to Jesus?  In many ways, it should be easier for us; we have more history and the totality of Scripture in the Old and New Testaments to guide us.  Yet, many times, I am afraid that we are blind and miss it, not unlike the Jews missed the birth of Christ.  Christ, now as then, comes in unexpected ways and in unexpected wrappings.  The Jews missed Him because they were expecting a political Messiah and coming that is in line with Jesus’ second coming.  They missed how He was to come the first time, despite what prophets, such as Isaiah had prophesied.  The Jews wanted earthly freedom—freedom from oppression and dominion—never realizing that their true need was for redemption and an eternal freedom that only a Savior who could be a suffering servant could provide.  We miss it too!

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Today, I encourage you to take some time to reflect on how Jesus has revealed Himself to you in the last year.  Jesus, if we take the time to reflect, I believe that we will find Jesus revealing Himself to us in both the good and the bad.  We serve a visible, living God; a God that is beyond any adjective we can place on Him.  He reveals Himself to us in so many ways—ways that many times we do not notice or maybe ignore because they are so common place.  Despite how difficult it is to see and understand our Savior reveals Himself in the most difficult times and or places of our lives.  Yes, it is hard to see Him at the time but I want to assure you that He is there.  He is there holding you.  He is the one who keeps you from falling.  It seems to be that when we are at our weakest is when He is at His strongest in our lives.  Seek our Savior and His activity in your life; you may be surprised at what you find.

Scripture tells us to seek the Lord while He may be found (Isaiah 55:6-7) and if we seek we will find (Matt. 7:7).  Indeed we are to thirst after God like a deer pants after streams of water (Psalm 42).  May our souls long and thirst after the living God.

May we all follow the example of the Wise Men and seek Christ with all of our heart and may we encourage others to seek Christ too.  Seek Christ with your whole heart!  He will be found and your life will never, ever be the same again!

How have you seen Jesus manifested in your life this week?

Please join with me in prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, as we start a New Year, we look to you for guidance.  Open our spiritual eyes to the multitude of ways You guide us.  Open our eyes and help us to see Jesus in our daily lives and especially in the dark, difficult times.  May we like the wise men not stay where we are, but go out and share Jesus with those who live and work all around us.  Thank You for sending Jesus to save us from our sins and to walk among us.  In Jesus’ name, we pray.  Amen. 

From My Heart to Yours,

Kim

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[1] This post is based on a prayer sheet from January 2007 and one of my sermons The Wise Still Seek Him (January 6, 2008).

[2] The United Methodist Book of Worship (p. 295).  The United Methodist Publishing House, 1992.

[3] From Neil Montz, Late Birds Lectionary study and other studies.

[4] From The Upper Room Disciplines 2000:A Book of Devotions Jan. 6, 2000.

[5] More information from Neil, Late Birds and other studies