January 4, 2015
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Worship
Theme: Epiphany Sunday
Matthew
2:1-12 NIV
Luke
2:22-40 NIV
A
Reading From the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2, verses 22-40…listen for a Word from
God to you me the people of God…(Read Scripture)
Epiphany→ noun, plural epiphanies.
1.
(initial capital letter) a Christian festival, observed on January 6,
commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the gentiles in the persons of the
Magi; Twelfth-day.
2.
an appearance or manifestation, especially of a deity.
3.
a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential
meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace
occurrence or experience.
4.
a literary work or section of a work presenting, usually symbolically, such a
moment of revelation and insight.
Good morning to all of you and Happy New
Year. I can’t believe that we are at a new year already. Have you all made your
New Year’s resolution yet? I have made a couple but we’ll see how that goes… I
pray this New Year brings you blessings, hope and joy and that you have a
renewed vision of Jesus and who He is in your lives.
In the Christian calendar the first
Sunday of the year is known as “Epiphany Sunday”. “Epiphany” is a very interesting
word to me…so much so that I decided to look up the definition which I just
read. This definition kind of reminds me of those old V8 commercials… you know
what I’m talking about, the ones that the person has just discovered that what
they were drinking had no real nutritional value and they could have had a V8
instead that would have given them nutritional value. That sudden realization
that there was something more out there than what you are living with or doing.
From the Matthew Scripture form this
morning we see the Magi…these Wise Men…they had their “epiphany”, their V8
moment, before they ever came to visit the babe born in a manger. These
Magi…these scholars of the stars…they knew who this child was that they waited
for a long time to come into the world. They knew the path that He would
travel. Look at the gifts that they presented this new born king.
Gold
→The meaning of this gift represents Kingship on earth. They knew that Jesus
was a king. But not just any king…He was the King of King’s and Lord of Lord’s.
Frankincense
→This incense that they offered represented priest ship…priesthood. They knew
that Jesus was the High Priest. They knew that He was the one who would
lead…would be king of…the Jews.
Myrrh
→This was an anointing oil…an embalming oil and was the symbol of death.
All three gifts were ordinary offerings
and gifts to a king. These gifts are also sometimes described more generally as
gold symbolizing virtue, frankincense symbolizing prayer and myrrh symbolizing
suffering.
These Magi “fell to their knees” when
they entered the house where Jesus was. This falling to the knees represented
great respect and was typically used when venerating a king. These Magi had it
right…they knew who and what Jesus really was. They knew that this infant born
in Bethlehem was the true king that would bring justice to the poor and save
the lives of the needy.
But in this story of the Magi, there is
another epiphany, so to speak… the epiphany of King Herod himself. Remember
what happened when Herod heard of the Magi coming to visit the newborn King? He
was terrified. Now I am sure that there were other kings around and Herod was
not afraid of them but this one king, this king of the Jews…well this was a
different kind of king and Herod knew it. This would be a king that would turn
the world that he knew upside down. As a matter of fact, when Herod called his
priest and scholars together, he didn’t ask where this new king was supposed to
be born. Oh no…he asked where the “Messiah” was suppose to be born. He knew…he
had his V8 moment…his epiphany of what was to be. He knew that the prophecy was
being fulfilled…the prophecy of the prophet Micah that was told so long ago.
And he was afraid…
God’s people were waiting for that Messiah…the
new King that would free them of the oppression they were feeling from the
Romans. They knew that God had promised them a Savior and that God kept His
promises…but they didn’t get the type of
Savior they were looking for. They didn’t get one that would take Rome by storm
but one that we gentle and mild and the salvation that He would offer was pretty
radical…
The reaction of two such people is found
in the Luke scripture from this morning…the reaction of Simeon and Anna. They
worked in the temple and I am sure they prayed daily for the savior that was much
needed for God’s people. They could look around and see how things were not
getting better but worse for their people. They may have even resolved that
they would never see the “salvation of God’s people” in their own time…in their
life time. But God had another plan and they would see the “salvation of the Lord”
before they went home to rest in the arms of God. Oh what an epiphany they received
when Mary and Joseph brought their child to the temple so they could offer their
first born to the Lord and bring an offering. They had their Epiphany of who
this child was…they had their Epiphany of what this child would do…they had their
Epiphany of the goodness and mercy of God. What
a glorious day for them…what a glorious day for us as we have our own epiphany
of who God is…of who Jesus is…of how good our God is…of how merciful and
gracious of Creator is to the created…
I think we all have epiphanies in some
shape or form. We are looking for our car keys and then all of the sudden a
thought comes to mind of where they are. We may be reading scripture and all of
the sudden we have that “ah ha” moment and it all makes perfect sense. We may
see or be in a situation and all of the sudden it is like “light dawning on the
horizon” we understand why it is all happening…we see it through the eyes of God
instead of our own eyes. Whatever our epiphany may be at times it may rock our
world…kind of what happened to Herod…with a sudden realization of something.
My prayer for us as individuals and as a
church is that we all will have that epiphany that will bring us ever closer to
our Lord Jesus Christ this year…That we will have a revelation of who Christ is
to us and who we are to Him…That we will embark on new journeys that will lead
us to a new and exciting place where we will encounter our Redeemer in new
ways. Let us go into the new year with our eyes wide open looking for and
following the Star. As the saying goes “Wise
men and women still seek Him.” Let us seek Him in all that we say and do and
rejoicing as Simeon and Anna did when we find Him in the world in which we
live. Let us lead others to their own Epiphany of our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ.
Let
us pray…
We
have seen your star, O God, shining brightly over us and all the peoples of the
earth. Teach us to trust your light. Help us take risks that we might step out
in faith into the unknown. Guide us to the place where you abide, that we may
be overwhelmed with joy like the magi before us. Guide us to the stable of your
love, that we may offer you the gifts of our lives. Give us that Epiphany
moment that draws us closer to you.
(Abingdon Worship 2010)
Amen.
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