Thought for Today
Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
Psalm 72:1 Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king's son. 2 May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.
Matthew 2:1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."
“Epiphany (Gr. epiphaneia, ‘manifestation) In general, an appearance of the divine. Specifically, a church festival of January 6 celebrating the visit of the Magi to Jesus as a divine ‘manifestation’ to Gentiles (Matt. 2). Eastern churches celebrate Christ’s ‘appearance’ at his baptism.” (Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, pg. 91)
Generally speaking, Epiphany is not a liturgical holiday much noted by Protestants. My liturgical planning calendar does note that today is Epiphany. It tells me that the liturgical color is white and offers several suggested readings from the Revised Common Lectionary, among them those verses above.
This morning, I am thinking about what Epiphany means to me and what it might mean to you. Is the meaning to be found in the Magi, those “wise men from the East?” That same dictionary tells me “Magi (Gr. magoi, ‘sages,’ ‘wise persons’) Name for the astrologers who followed the star to worship the infant Jesus (Matt. 2:1-12). Traditionally called the ‘wise men.’” (ibid, pg. 106)
Many of us have sung the hymn We Three Kings of Orient Are, sometimes with a more politically correct title and wording. Most creches include figurines depicting 3 regally clad and crowned figures. There are even traditional names associated with these figures, Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar. But, Matthew neither enumerates them nor does he name them. The ‘three’ is merely assumed because of the three gifts mentioned.
If the significance of Epiphany were merely the appearance of the Magi, it would be reasonable to assume that their visit would be mentioned in every birth narrative and every mention of Jesus’ birth. Yet, the story only appears in Matthew’s gospel.
For me, the significance of January 6th is in another part of that dictionary definition above, in “a divine ‘manifestation’ to Gentiles.” I am a Gentile; I am descended from Gentiles. I am literally eternally thankful that however many Magi there were, they did see the star and they did follow that star. The Incarnation of God’s Son was made manifest to those Gentiles and through them and their descendants down to each of us. That alone is reason enough for my noting today and being thankful on Epiphany.
Of course, there is another Epiphany for which I am especially grateful. Luke wrote in Acts, “9:3 Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" 5 He asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” That appearance of the divine, that manifestation, was the springboard which launched Christianity into the Gentile world. Saul became Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles.
Would I be a Christian without those two epiphanies? Would I be a Protestant minister with the manifestation of the divine to the Magi, to Paul? We cannot know with any certainty what might have happened. We do know with complete certainty what did happen. The gospel message spread from one small outpost of the Roman Empire to reach the entire world. The message of God’s love, grace and forgiveness spread from one ethnicity to all ethnicities. God’s love for God’s Creation and for God’s children has been revealed in and through Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God.
Today, Sunday and every day, offer thanks to God for God’s gift, for Creation, for life itself, and for the gospel message of love and hope. God truly did so love the world that he gave his only begotten Son.
Stay safe, watch and wait for epiphanies, trust God,
Pastor Ray