The Festival of the Epiphany of Our Lord on January 6, 2007

Matthew 2:1-12 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." ³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. ⁵ "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: ⁶ "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'" ⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." ⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Why are we celebrating Epiphany?

Why are we celebrating the Festival of the Epiphany of Our Lord tonight? Most people and churches don't celebrate Epiphany at all. Most of the Christians we know don't send out Epiphany cards – unless they’re late with their Christmas cards. Most people don't spend long hours hunting for the perfect Epiphany present. Stores don't tell you that there are only so many shopping days left until Epiphany. Choirs don't call on shut-ins and sing Epiphany carols. Santa doesn't make a second stop at our houses on Epiphany Eve. We don't have special food drives for the poor folks at Epiphany time. Television shows don't have Epiphany specials. There's no program called "The Grinch Who Stole Epiphany" and Charles Schulz never animated "A Charlie Brown Epiphany." Bing doesn't dream about having a white Epiphany, just like the ones he used to know.

Epiphany, the holiday when we remember the coming of the King of Kings is, at least in the Western hemisphere, a real non-festival. That's a shame, because Epiphany means that the angel's message of "good news of great joy" really is for all people. It is a shame that Epiphany has been relegated to the back burners of religious holidays because each of us needs to be led to the King. Each of us should bow down, worship and adore the King of 2007, and every calendar year that has ever been or ever will be.

At Epiphany, we listen again to the story of the Magi from the East coming to worship the Christ child. We learn of the Magi from the Gospel of Matthew. However, Matthew was kind of stingy with the details so people made some things up to fill in the blanks. For example, one church tradition says, because of the three gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, that there were three wise men; but there's another tradition which says there may have been as many as a dozen of these stargazers. It doesn't help to look in the Bible to find an answer; Matthew doesn't say. Nor does Matthew give the wise men names. So tradition has gladly remedied this, calling these fellows: Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthassar.

More recent traditions have these wise men appearing at the stable on Christmas Day where the richness of their garments offers a considerable contrast to the poor homespun of the shepherds. Even the new movie, “The Nativity Story” has the Wise Men visiting the stable. However, the Magi did not come to the stable. The star led them to a house a considerable time after Christ’s birth. So build a house for your nativity set. Put away the shepherds. Move Joseph and Mary out of the barn and into the house. Take Jesus out of the manger and place him in a crib. Now have the Wise Men come to bring Jesus the King their gifts.

Unfortunately, these legends about the Wise Men only cloud the real Epiphany good news: The King has come to win the victory over sin, death, and damnation. Epiphany's good news is that those who are given faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, have their lives changed. They are no longer shackled by sin, enslaved by Satan, nor condemned by an overactive conscience. Because of Christ's life, suffering, death, and resurrection, there is forgiveness and freedom to all who are led to acknowledge Him as crucified Savior and living Lord.

Epiphany is one of the most important festivals of the church year because it shows how God comes to His people.  We are so full of sin and deserving of divine punishment that we cannot hope to approach God.  Knowing that we cannot come to Him, God took the initiative and came to us by becoming one of us.  The most holy and almighty God condescended to take on human flesh in order to reveal His salvation to the world.  This is the mystery of the Epiphany of our Lord.

The Festival of the Epiphany commemorates the arrival of the Magi in Bethlehem to worship the Messiah and bring Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Since the earliest days of the church, these wise men have been considered to be representatives of all the peoples of the earth. By means of a miraculous star, God showed them that Jesus was born to be not only the King of the Jews, but the Lord and Savior of all nations. That is why this Festival of the Epiphany is so important. It is called “The Gentile Christmas.” This is really the time for all of us to celebrate our Christmas, since every one of us here is a Gentile. Christ came to save not only the Jews, but also the Gentiles. The Gentile Christmas means that Jesus came to save you!

That is the story of Epiphany and the story of the Wise Men. It should be the story of each of us as we follow God's leading. That's what Matthew says the magi did: they followed God's leading to worship their King. Look at these nameless, road-weary astrologers as they made the journey to Jerusalem . After many miles they finally found themselves approaching Herod's house. They must have been convinced that their journey was coming to an end, and that here they would find the newborn King. They would have reasoned, "Where else would a King be born, other than in a palace?"

Nobody could dispute their logic. Princes and kings ought to be born in royal mansions. Matthew tells us is that the Wise Men from the East show up at the palace and politely ask, "Excuse us, where is He who has been born King of the Jews?" It was hardly a complex question. It could have been answered by someone pointing down a hallway and saying, "Third door on the left. You can't miss the place." But nobody pointed; nobody said, "that-a-way." King Herod called an emergency cabinet meeting composed of his closest advisers and the highest religious authorities. After consultation with his counselors, the king quoted a cryptic bit of Scripture and the wise men were sent on their way with a Bethlehem address. God provided great assistance, for the star which had been their guide throughout their journey appeared to lead them to the place, the house, where Jesus and His parents were living. It is there in Bethlehem that they found the King whom God has said, "will be the Shepherd of His people."

Matthew tells us what happened next: “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.” Picture that verse in your mind. These men, rich men, educated, intelligent men, do not hesitate. They fall down and worship Jesus. The Wise Men didn't fall down on a polished wood floor, or no-wax tile, or wall-to-wall carpeting. These wise men got down and dirty in the dirt. They didn’t excuse themselves to discuss whether such presents as they had brought might not be wasted on a baby; nor did they negotiate what percentage of their present they would give to Him. No, they fell down, worshipped, and gave. Why? Because they had found their King. That amazes me. I mean, after all, they didn't know that day all the things about this baby that you and I know. They didn't about His miracles or His teachings. They didn't know about His sermons, stories, and how He cared for the lowest citizen in His kingdom. They didn't know how this King would sacrifice Himself to save them from their sins. They didn't know that He would rise on the third day. Those things were years away. But these were Wise Men. When the Spirit said to them, "Worship your King;" they did. And that is why we are all here tonight – to worship our King.

This Epiphany let us all worship the baby born to die, the King who became one with his people, the God of all creation who took on himself the sins and indecencies and evils of his creation.

This is why we as Epiphany Lutherans celebrate the Epiphany of Our Lord. Amen.