Sermon for the Epiphany of Our Lord
Isaiah 49:1-7 + Isaiah 60:1-6 + Matthew 2:1-12
Now. Now, after Christmas is over and all the decorations are put away, it’s time to go back to Bethlehem one last time for the Epiphany—the appearance, the revealing, the manifestation of Jesus to the wise men. The visit of the wise men is full of mystery and wonder. Who were these magi? From what nation did these Gentiles come? How many were there? And how did they know to mark the birth of the King of the Jews by a certain star? And who told them that the King of the Jews was any concern of theirs? We can’t be certain about those things; the Holy Spirit chose not to reveal them, chose to focus on other things, more important things, like, what is the significance of the wise men’s visit? What does it prove? What does it matter?
It matters very much, especially to us Gentiles, because it proves that what God had said through the Prophet Isaiah was already beginning to come true in Jesus’ infancy. A glorious light had arisen in Israel at the birth of Christ, a light that was intended to break the darkness of both Jew and Gentile as the Light of Christ shines into all the world, and Christ is revealed as the Savior of all.
Arise, God cries out to Israel. Shine! For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you… the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Now, just as Jesus’ spiritual healing of sinners is pictured by means of His physical healing of the sick, so, too, the spiritual light of Christ is pictured by means of the physical light of a star, or, some bright object in the night sky. God made a real light appear in the sky to herald the birth of His Son, who is the Light of the world. Through Isaiah, God had identified the Messiah as His Servant Israel, who was sent to save Israel. We heard about that yesterday morning a little bit. But through Isaiah, we also heard this evening that it wasn’t enough for God to have Christ save the Jews only. That was too small a thing. So He sent Him to be a light to the Gentiles. And somehow, some way, maybe through Isaiah’s prophecy, God made it known to the Gentile wise men that the star they saw in the East signaled the birth of the King of the Jews, and that the King of the Jews was born for them, too.
So they packed up their gifts and prepared their rations and made the long journey. They probably didn’t have the star to guide them most of the way, but that was OK. They saw it when it first rose in the sky and they knew where to go—to the land of Judea, the land of the Jews. And naturally, they went to Jerusalem, the capital city and the home of kings. Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.
It says that When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Now, isn’t that something! Foreigners, Gentiles, non-Jews notice the sign of the birth of the King of the Jews and are so excited about it they travel hundreds of miles to worship Him. When the Jews hear about it, they’re troubled. And so it would go throughout Jesus’ life, to the point that, after the Jews crucified Him, the Gospel was still taken first to the Jews, and was still rejected by most of them, while many of the Gentiles welcomed the Gospel with open arms. It’s as God said through Isaiah in chapter 49, Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One, to Him whom man despises, to Him whom the nation abhors, to the Servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD who is faithful.
There’s a continual warning in that for us in the Christian Church. Those who are surrounded by the Gospel for a long time, like the Jews were, can eventually become tired of it and grow apathetic toward it, and even become opposed to it. It’s not a matter of lacking knowledge, either. The priests and scribes knew the prophecies of Scripture. They were able to direct the wise men to Bethlehem as the birthplace of the Messiah. They knew the Scriptures, but they no longer acknowledged their deep need for the Christ to save them from their sins. May God always guard us from getting so “used to” the Gospel of Christ that we take it for granted.
As soon as the wise men heard that the Scriptures revealed Bethlehem as the King’s birthplace, they believed and started on their way again. And now, it says, the star showed up again and pointed them to the very house where Jesus was—definitely not a normal star. Why didn’t the Jews notice such a strange sight—a light in the sky pointing to a house? Well, maybe they were unable to see it. The light of Christ blinds those who think they can see already and opens the eyes of those who sit in darkness. The wise men believed in Christ and so were given all the light they needed to find Him where He was, and they rejoiced exceedingly.
They fell down and worshiped the Baby. They offered precious gifts—gold and frankincense and myrrh. As Isaiah said, They shall bring gold and incense, and they shall proclaim the praises of the LORD. And that was it.
It’s a simple story, isn’t it? Not hard to understand—if you pay attention to the prophecies about the Christ, like the ones we heard from Isaiah, and take them to heart. Christ was born for all men, Jews and Gentiles, because all are sinners, both Jews and Gentiles. Christ died for all men, shed His blood for all men, and calls all men to Himself as the Savior and Redeemer of sinners.
How does He call? He sends forth His Light and His Truth. And what is His Light? His Light is His Word. How does He send it out? Through the Church and her ministry. God the Father has caused the Light of His Son, Jesus, to shine to all nations by the working of His Spirit in the Word.
To where specifically does He call us? He calls us to actual churches, throughout the world, to hear actual preachers proclaim His Word in truth and purity. Here He calls us to repentance and faith in His Son. And once He has called us through the Word, He calls us again to very specific places—to the Sacraments, to real water and a real Meal on the altar, to the real Absolution of Christ spoken by an ordained pastor to individuals. This is where His light leads us, to find Christ here in His Sacraments, to have our faith strengthened here, to receive salvation from Christ here, which is the true Christian worship of the King.
Here He also sanctifies us and makes us kings and priests, who are given the privilege of offering gifts more precious to God than gold, frankincense and myrrh. As St. Peter says, You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
Here in the Church we offer ourselves to God as living sacrifices. Yes, the gold—the money—you put in the offering plate is part of it, but only as a token of your whole self. All your works of service to your neighbor in accordance with the Word of Christ are offerings to the King. Every deed of service and love as a husband, wife, son, daughter. Every attitude of respect and honor toward parents, toward authorities. Faithful, hard work at your job. Honest and fair treatment of your employees. Helping your neighbor in his or her need. Your songs of praise. Your time spent in God’s Word. God has sanctified all these things for the members of His Church. All are acceptable and pleasing in God’s sight, being cleansed by faith.
Isaiah prophesied to Israel, Your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side. Brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, you are the sons and daughters who have come from afar, not to the land of Israel, but to the House of Israel, to the Head of Israel, which is Christ, to the New Jerusalem, to the Church of the living God. You are the ones who now bring gold and incense and proclaim the praises of the Lord.
That’s why we celebrate Epiphany. The Light of Christ went out from Israel already at the time of His birth, and it has been going out through the Church ever since, reaching you and me in our time and place. Epiphany is a celebration of God’s grace that has brought the Light of Christ to us Gentiles, bringing us into the house of Israel. In the words of Isaiah, O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord! A blessed Epiphany to you! Amen.
