God’s
grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon title is Epiphany’s Five C’s. My
focus is our Gospel. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I
rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”[1] Now that our feet are within
your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit
enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we
pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.
I hang
most of my sermons on three points, usually three words all beginning with the
same letter, but there are so many wonderful details in the Epiphany story that
I need five points, five C’s: Call, Constancy, Confession, Cost and Conversion.
First,
Call. The text says that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi from the east arrived in
Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at
its rising and have come to do him homage.” Notice first the
identity of these individuals. They are called Magi, and they are from the
East.
Exactly
what magi are
is debated. Perhaps they are learned men or ancient
astronomers. We often think of them as kings though the text does not call them
that. It also seems Herod would have been far more anxious had they been actual
rulers from an Eastern Kingdom. In our imagination we often think of them as kings
since Psalm 72 speaks of kings coming from the East bearing gifts of gold and
frankincense. However, for the record, today’s gospel does not call them kings,
but magi.
Yet,
here is their key identity: they
are Gentiles,
and they have been called. Up to this point in the Christmas story, only Jews found
their way to Bethlehem, but now the Gentiles come. This detail cannot be
overlooked, for it is clear that the Gospel is going out to all the world.
St.
Paul rejoices in this fact in today’s second reading as
he says that the Gentiles
are coheirs, members of the same body, and co-partners in the promise in Christ
Jesus through the gospel.[2] Most of us are not Jewish by
ancestry, and so we rejoice because the call of these Magi is prefigured in our
call.
And
notice that God calls them through something in the natural world – a
star. God uses something in creation to call out to them. We do well to wonder what is the star
that God used to call us? Perhaps it was Scripture, but
more usually, it is first someone God used to reach us: a parent, family
member, friend, pastor or teacher. Who are the stars in your life by whom God
called you?
God
can also use inanimate creation like he did for these Magi.
Perhaps it was a beautiful Church, a painting or a song. By someone or
something God calls. He puts a star in our sky. These Magi follow the call of
God and begin their journey to Jesus, and so, we move from Call to Constancy,
my second point.
Upon
their arrival in Jerusalem the Magi find a rather confusing and perhaps
discouraging situation. The reigning King, Herod, knows nothing of the birth of
this new King. It must have seemed probable to them that the newborn King would
be related to the current King, so his surprise may have confused them. But
Herod seems more than surprised, he seems threatened and agitated.
Even
more puzzling, he calls religious leaders to further inform him of this King. They
open the sacred writings and the Magi hear of a promised King. In other words, the
birth of this king has religious significance. But these religious leaders seem unenthusiastic of
the newborn King and after giving the location of his birth seem to make no
effort to follow the Magi. There is no rejoicing, no summoning of the people
that a longed-for king had finally been born. Not even further inquiry!
So,
the wicked Herod and his court are wakeful, and the saints are sleepy. How
odd this must have seemed to the Magi. Perhaps it occurred to them to suspend
their search. After all, the actual king knew nothing of this birth, and those
who did,
seemed little interested. But
praise the Lord they did persevere in their search. They
do not give up!
Thanks
be to God too, that many today have found their way to Christ despite the
fact that parents, clergy and others, who should have led them joyfully to
Jesus, were either asleep, or ignorant or just plain lazy. I am often amazed at
some of the conversion stories I have heard, people who found their way to
Christ and his Church, despite some pretty discouraging obstacles like poor
religious upbringing, scandalous clergy and bad example. God sometimes allows
our faith and call to be tested but those
who persevere to the end will be saved.[3]
To persevere is to open the door to Wisdom which must often be sought in spite
of obstacles. That brings us to my third point, Confession. In this case,
Confession of Faith.
Our
Gospel says that after their audience with the king they set out, and the star that they saw at its rising preceded them,
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were
overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with
Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
With what little information they have, they set out and followed the call of
God through the star.
Note
that they enter a house. We often think of the Magi as
coming that same Christmas night to the cave or stable, but it seems not. Mary,
Joseph and Jesus are found now in a house. It seems that they found decent
lodging. Has it been days or weeks since Jesus’ birth? Whatever the case, we
are dealing with a different day other than Christmas.
Notice
too that they prostrate themselves before Jesus. The
Greek word means to fall down in worship or give adoration. The verb is used 12
times in the New Testament and is clear each time that religious worship is the
purpose of the prostration.
This
is no mere homage or sign of respect to an earthly king; this
is religious worship. This is a confession of faith. So, our magi
manifest faith! The Beginning of Wisdom is the fear of the Lord. And these magi
are well on their way from being mere Magi to being Wise Men!
But is
their faith a real or just a perfunctory observance? It’s
not enough to answer an altar call or get baptized. Faith is never alone. It is
a transformative relationship with Jesus Christ. So, let’s look for the effects
of a real and saving faith in our next point, Cost.
There
is a cost to discipleship. The magi are moved to give three symbolic gifts that
show some of what true faith includes, and they are costly gifts.
Gold is a
symbol of all our possessions. In laying this gift before Jesus they – and we –
are saying, “I acknowledge that everything I have is yours. I put all my
resources and wealth under your authority and will use them only according to
your will.” A conversion that has not reached the wallet is not complete.
Frankincense is
the gift of worship. In the Bible incense is a symbol of prayer and worship.[4] In laying down this gift
we promise to pray and worship God all the days of our life. To be in his holy
house each Sunday and render Him the praise and worship He is due. To listen to
His Word and to consent to be fed the Body and Blood of Christ by Him. To
worship Him worthily by frequent confession and to praise Him at all times.
Myrrh
is a strange gift for an infant because it is a burial
ointment. Surely this prefigures Jesus’ death but it also symbolizes our own.
In laying this gift before Jesus we are saying; my life is yours. I want to die
so that you may live your life in me. May you increase and may I decrease. Use
me and my life as you will. So here are gifts that are highly symbolic.
The magi
manifest more than a little homage to Jesus. They show forth the fruits of
saving faith; and when we give these gifts, we show the fruits of faith.
Finally,
Conversion. The text says that having been warned in a dream not to return to
Herod, they departed for their country by another way. Conversion is the essential
evidence for faith. It is not enough to get happy in
Church, we have to obey. Hence, these wise men are walking differently now.
They are not going home by the same way they came. They’ve changed direction,
they’ve turned around. They are now willing to walk the straight and narrow
path that leads to life rather than the wide road that leads to damnation. They
are going to obey Christ. They are going to exhibit what St. Paul calls the
obedience of faith.[5]
They have not just engaged in a possibly perfunctory worship, they are showing
signs of a true and saving faith. They are not just calling Jesus “Lord, Lord!”
They are doing what he tells them.[6] No longer mere Magi, now
the wisdom of Wise Men!
So,
there it is. Through careful stages the Lord has brought the Gentiles (this
means you) to conversion. He called these Magi to
Wisdom. They remained constant, confessed him to be Lord, accepted the cost of
discipleship and manifested conversion. Have you? Have I?
Walk
in the ways of the Wise men! Wise men still seek him. Even
wiser ones listen to him and obey. Are we willing to go back to our country by
another route? Is on-going conversion part of our journey home to heaven? If
Epiphany means “manifestation” how is our faith manifest in our deeds and
conversion?
I imagine
that as the Wise Men went home by another route, they were singing a Gospel
song: “It’s a highway to
heaven! None can walk up there but the pure in heart. It’s a highway to heaven.
I am walking up the King’s Highway. If you’re not walking, start while I’m
talking. There’ll be a blessing you’ll be possessing, walking up the King’s
Highway.“ … My friends, as you walk the King’s Highway, may the
peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds on
Christ Jesus. Amen.
[1] Psalm 122.
[2]
Ephesians 3:6.
[3]
Matthew 24:13.
[4]
Psalm 141.
[5]
Romans 1:5; 16:26.
[6]
Luke 6:46.
