THE EPIPHANY - Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12 -

6 January 2008 - A sermon preached by The Rev. Peter A. Munson for St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Boulder, Colorado

 

Coming to the Light

 

THE WISE MEN

 

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that there were three of them. Probably that number got associated with them because three gifts are mentioned - gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And they weren’t kings, either. They were wise men or Magi, court priests from the East - Gentiles - who practiced astrology and magic. As such, they paid attention to the stars and planets. Because they were paying attention, they recognized a new star in the sky, and associated it with a child being born, who would be king of the Jews. They did more than just observe the stars, though. They did more than predict that this star was associated with a special birth in Israel. They left their homes, and guided by that star, they began a long journey. And, if you go on to read the rest of the second chapter of Matthew, you realize that they were on the road for more than two years. It wasn’t a brand new baby Jesus they visited. Jesus was a toddler by the time these wise men arrived. Part of the trip involved a stop in Jerusalem, and a question. “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?” With this question, Herod was put on notice that there was a rival king to be concerned about. Herod consulted with the chief priest and scribes, who told him that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem, counting on them to find him, and to return with information on who he was and where he was, so that he could destroy this threat to his own kingdom.

 

Indeed, it seemed to them, when they reached Bethlehem, that the star they had been following hovered right over that little town, and they were overwhelmed with joy. They found the house, saw Jesus with his mother, Mary, and knelt down and paid him homage. They had found what they had been looking for, and they offered gifts from their treasure chests. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod - or maybe just because they were wise, discerning men - they went back to their own country without returning to Jerusalem.

 

THE EPIPHANY

 

This is what we celebrate as The Epiphany, the revealing of Jesus as the Christ to the Gentiles - to the other nations surrounding Israel. That revelation began with the Magi - the wise men. By that special star, God revealed his only Son to the nations of the earth. Or, at least, the representatives of other nations who were paying attention came to see him as the long-awaited Messiah, the newly-born King of the Jews. An epiphany, of course, is also the word we use when the light bulb clicks on for us - an “aha!” moment when we have a sudden flash of insight, when we suddenly know something to be true, on a very deep level. The wise man had such an epiphany when they understood that this star was not like any other star - it was a star associated with a particular and extraordinary event, and a holy birth.

 

COMING TO THE LIGHT

 

The star that the Magi followed had its origin in God. You and I are well aware that one of the main metaphors for God, and for Jesus, is the Light. We have that image in today’s reading from Isaiah 60. “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you... nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn...” (Isaiah 60:1,3) In the very beginning of the Bible, we hear God say, “Let there be light.” And there was light. (Genesis 1:3) And in the prologue to John’s Gospel, we hear of Jesus: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:5) Later in John’s Gospel, we hear Jesus say, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

 

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said to his disciples, “You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14) We are the light of the world when we reflect the true Source of light in the world - when we reflect God’s light, or the Light that is the Christ. We cannot reflect that light unless we do what the Magi did - unless we first come to the light. I am reminded of the Collect for Purity that the Celebrant says at the very beginning of the liturgy for Holy Communion. It begins this way: “Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid...” (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 355) In other words, God shines his Light on us. God sees us as we are. God’s Light reveals who we are. God’s Light reveals our hearts, our desires, our goodness, our darkness - all of it. The Collect continues: “Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit...” In other words, we pray for the Holy Spirit to inspire us - literally, we pray that we will “breathe in” the Holy Spirit in such a way that our hearts will be cleansed. Why? So that - and here is the end of the prayer - “we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

 

We come to the Light that is God. We present ourselves to the Light. The Light shines on us, and reveals everything about us... reveals all the truth about who we are. We breathe in the Holy Spirit, freely given to us by God, and we are cleansed, so that we can reflect God’s light, by perfectly loving God, and magnifying His holy Name.

 

It all begins with coming to the Light. The wise men followed a star. That star was not the True Light, but it led them to the true Source of Light.

 

BE IT RESOLVED...

 

Perhaps that can be one of our main resolutions for this year, then. Perhaps we can pray for the courage to come - over and over again, day in and day out - to the Light. Let’s be honest. It takes some courage and some faith to come into the Light, and allow God to reveal to me whatever God most wants me to know about myself.

 

It takes some courage to stand openly in the Light, and say, “Lord, you are my Lord. I love you and trust you. What do you want me to learn? How do you want me to grow? What do you need to purify in me? What most needs to be cleansed? What part of my life have I not fully turned over to you, that you are now calling me to turn over - for your direction and loving care? Help me see what you want me to see. Help me do what you want me to do. Help me to come into your Light, and remain in your Light as long as I need to, so that I can then go forth from You, and reflect your Light, and let my light shine before others, so that they may see Your good works and give glory to my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

 

CONCLUSION

 

Can we come to the Light - the real source of Light - as the wise men did, when they came to Bethlehem, taking years out of their lives to do that? Can we have their courage, their faith, their fortitude? Can we keep coming to the Light, over and over again in 2008, and be okay with whatever we see when God shines his Light on us, and trust that God will lead us where we need to go - in the very same way that He led the wise men?

 

Lord, help us come to You - on a daily basis. Help us to remember that without You, we walk in darkness, and that even though it can be intimidating at times to come into the Light - your Light - we also know that there is a special joy reserved for all those who open themselves up to the power of your transforming love. Keep us from running away from your Light. Remind us that when we come to the Light, we are coming to You. Remind us that You want only what is best for us, and help us to want that, too. We pray in the name of your Son Jesus, the Light of the World, who shines in the darkness, now and forevermore. Amen.