The Epiphany of Our Lord, January 6th, A+D 2013
Trinity and St. John Lutheran Churches
Sidney and
Fairview, Montana
Wise Men, and God’s Mission - Matthew 2:1-12
Epiphany, Christmas for the Gentiles,
sometimes called Three Kings Day.
Today’s Gospel is much loved, but also much questioned. How many Wise Men, or Magi, (not kings), were
there? We tend to say three, because
there were three gifts. But we don’t
know. And what are Magi, these Wise Men?
Astrologers? Counselors to some
far eastern king? Which king? Don’t know.
What was this star that they saw, and how did it reappear and go before
them to Bethlehem? Lots of questions on
Epiphany, which is ironic, because Epiphany means shining forth, revelation,
uncovering. The Church has named this
day for the fact that the Savior of Israel is revealed, made manifest, known,
to these Gentile, that is non-Jewish Magi.
And yet we have so many questions.
One of the biggest questions is, How did they
hear about Jesus? Somehow these Magi
recognized that the appearance of a new star in the sky was a sign of the birth
of a new King of the Jews. Even more
amazingly, this event prompted them to pack up and leave home, making a long
and dangerous journey across the wilderness, all in order to come and worship
this Baby King, and bring Him gifts.
Theories abound as to how the Wise Men knew of the coming King of the Jews. Perhaps during the captivity of Israel in
Babylon and Persia, when Daniel and the three young men were high officials of
these kingdoms, perhaps then the promises of the Old Testament were taught, God
maintaining the remembrance of them
through the centuries, down to the time of Christ. Or God could have of course simply spoken
directly to the Wise Men, or sent an angel messenger to them, or a message in a
dream, as He does through a dream later in the story. But we don’t know.
In the end, it doesn’t matter so much how
God’s Word of Promise came to the Magi, only that they heard of the birth of
Jesus, and were moved by this Word to come and worship Him. Indeed, while God has always established
regular, public offices for the teaching of His Word, the Word of God is not
limited by these divinely appointed structures.
The Word of God has a tendency to leak out, the Holy Spirit causing it
to be repeated again and again, whether by prophets or pastors or parents or
neighbors, and it is the Word that does the actual work of God’s Mission.
We are right to think and plan and try to
find the best ways to get the Promises of God into the ears of people, both
into the ears of Christians, (for we are all in constant need of being renewed
by the Word and Spirit), and into the ears of unbelievers. Indeed, on February 2nd, pastors
and people from our LCMS congregations throughout the Bakken region will be
gathering in Williston to do just that, to talk and pray and plan how we can
best get the pure Word of God into the ears of the many people moving into our
region.
But we sinners need to plan with humility,
and care, remembering two things: First, that the Mission belongs to God, from
beginning to end. We are merely
servants, privileged to be a part of His plan.
Second, we need to remember that the content of what we say is
the first priority. That is, we can make
great plans to find ways to connect with and speak to people, but if what we
have to say is something other than what Jesus comes to say and do, all our efforts
will be for nothing.
In this concern for speaking truly and specifically about Christ, the
story of the Wise Men is very helpful.
We should take note that God leaves a lot of things unanswered
concerning their journey, their means of instruction, and their lives after
returning to their country by another way.
God has left out these details, which should tell us that the main
points we should take away from this story lie elsewhere.
The first of these points is that this
story is not principally about the Wise Men, but rather about the Child they
came to worship. Epiphany is about the
shining forth of God’s light in Jesus, not in the Wise Men. Jesus, God come into human flesh, is always
the main character, His works and words are always the center of the Scripture
story, and so also should always be the center of what we say and do as
Church. The Wise Men learned this.
We should learn it too, again and again, for
we like to talk about ourselves, about the good we are doing, about the knowledge
we have, maybe even about how as successful Christians we can get our whole
lives squared away. Which of course is
always a lie. Nothing you or I could
ever do can win the salvation of anyone, and all our efforts to live good lives
are continually falling short. When we
speak honestly of ourselves, we always have to speak of our sin and
weakness. This is one more reason why
our focus in what we say and do as Church needs to be centered on Jesus Christ,
Son of Mary, Son of God. In fact, the mission
of God is found only in the flesh and blood Son of God.
Without the God-Man Jesus, there can be no
Mission, no true Church, no forgiveness, no salvation. But with the God-Man Jesus, even when He is a
tiny baby or a little child, with Jesus, God in the flesh, there is always
mission, and forgiveness, and salvation, even when all outward appearances say
different.
How much more unlikely looking a candidate
for the worship of these wise men could you find than this little child, born
into poverty, born in a barn, born under a cloud of assumed impropriety, his
birth coming less than nine months after Joseph and Mary’s wedding, so they
must have committed adultery? Who would
have believed Mary, if she told of Gabriel’s message and the Child’s immaculate
conception? The whole situation doesn’t
look very impressive. And yet the Spirit
who showed the star to the Magi, the Spirit who somehow brought the Word of
this Promise to their ears, the Spirit who moved them across hundreds and
hundreds of dangerous miles, all to come and worship a newborn king, this
Spirit in the end brought the Wise Men to the house where Joseph, Mary and
Jesus were dwelling, in sleepy little Bethlehem.
The Spirit of God even teaches in the
gifts they brought. Odd, perhaps, that
we know very little of how the Wise Men knew about the promised King of the
Jews, but we are told exactly the gifts they brought: gold, frankincense, and
myrrh. As prophesied in Isaiah chapter
60, among other Old Testament places, these travelers from the east come
bringing gold, a gift fit for a king, and frankincense, burned in the
tabernacle and temple worship of Israel.
Appropriate, for this little Child is the true King, the King of kings,
and Lord of lords, the true ruler of heaven and earth. And He is also our great High Priest, the One
man who is worthy to carry our prayers into the sanctuary of Almighty God, the
One who prayed, and still prays, for us, the One whose prayers are pure because
He is pure, the One who has given us His prayer to share, teaching us to call
His Father ‘Our Father.’
Jesus of Bethlehem, the fulfillment of the
Words of the Prophets, the promises of God appearing in human flesh. Jesus, our Great High Priest, interceding for
us at God’s right hand. Jesus, King of
the Jews, and Savior of the Nations, come for every sinner. All of this, the story of the Magi teaches
us, when we read it with the rest of Scripture.
We learn all of this, and one more thing, too. One more thing, in the third gift. Gold for kings, frankincense for praying
priests, and myrrh. What of the
myrrh? What is myrrh? An ointment, a spicy, aromatic ointment. Valuable, yes, mentioned many times in
various Old Testament passages. But more
importantly, mentioned only twice more in the New Testament. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the
third gift of the Magi looks forward more than back, forward to its most
important uses.
For St. Mark tells us that they offered
the just crucified Jesus wine mixed with myrrh, a mild narcotic which passed
for Roman mercy, slightly numbing the pain for those condemned to hang on a
tree as the worst of criminals. Wine
mixed with myrrh, which Jesus refused, for He did not go to the Cross to avoid
any suffering, but rather to drink the cup of suffering to its bottom, taking
on all the just, well deserved suffering of all of us, to take it
from us, forever, suffering under God’s wrath, so that we may not suffer, but
instead know God’s grace. The Magi’s
third gift foretells the Baby’s suffering.
And then St. John tells of Joseph of
Arimathea, a council member, and also a secret believer, secret until that
Friday afternoon, when he was made brave by the self-sacrifice of Jesus. After ‘it is finished,’ Joseph goes, and asks
Pilate for the body of Jesus, and with the help of Nicodemus the Pharisee,
wraps Jesus’ dead body in linen cloth, along with 100 lbs of myrrh mixed with
aloes, burial perfume, to cover the stench of death. The Magi’s third gift foretells the Baby’s
death.
But there was no stench of death to cover,
for God the Father did not let His Holy One see decay. Just as there was no stench of sin in the
life of Jesus, so also there was no bad smell, no decomposition of His Holy
Body, as it rested in the tomb on the Sabbath.
For God was pleased with Jesus and the completion of His mission. Bursting forth on Sunday morning, Jesus
turned the burial smell of myrrh into the sweet scent of eternal life, for all
who trust in Him.
Did the Wise Men understand all this? Did Mary and Joseph understand all this? I don’t know, God doesn’t exactly say. Which is fine, because whether they
completely understood at first, or not, God knew what He was doing, and still
does. God in Jesus Christ has achieved
the reconciliation of every sinner to Himself.
All who by the Holy Spirit’s power are made to believe this Word of
Promise are thereby declared righteous and holy by God. You are forgiven and claimed by God, through
the Cross of Jesus.
This is the center of Christian life, the
heart of Christian mission. We, today,
right here, are blessed to have and to hear the whole truth of Jesus, passed
down from the Apostles, recorded in Scripture, empowered by the Holy Spirit,
delivering forgiveness and salvation through Word, Water and Wine, the Good
News of Jesus death and resurrection, and His future return in glory. By His Word, God brings to consummation His
plan of salvation, His mission, which is for you, and me, and for all who trust
in His blood bought forgiveness. And so,
on this day of Epiphany, with the Wise Men, and with believers from every
nation, we rejoice, for God’s Mission has found us, and continues to go forth,
in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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