"Why an Epiphany Service Is Worth the Effort" (Sermon for the Epiphany of Our Lord)

Welcome to the Forgotten Festival! If that sentence sounds familiar to you, maybe you were here some months back on a Thursday evening in May. I started the sermon that night with the same sentence, “Welcome to the Forgotten Festival!” Back in May, we were celebrating the Ascension of Our Lord. Tonight we’re celebrating the Epiphany of Our Lord. What they have in common is that Epiphany and Ascension--even though they’re ranked as major festivals in the church year, meaning they ought to be observed--even so, both Epiphany and Ascension have become “forgotten festivals” in the church. Churches that used to hold services on Epiphany and Ascension--including many Lutheran churches, including many Missouri Synod congregations--those same churches in recent decades have let Epiphany and Ascension go by the wayside.

Why? Well, because most years it means having to hold a service on a day other than Sunday. With Ascension that’s always the case, since Ascension Day always falls on a Thursday, forty days after Easter. Epiphany always comes after the twelve days of Christmas, and that means it falls on January 6, regardless of what day of the week it is. Most years, that means not on a Sunday. So it takes a little added effort to hold Epiphany and Ascension services. Ascension at least has the advantage of coming in the spring, in May or early June, when the weather is nice and it’s light out later. But Epiphany always falls on January 6, when it’s dark out early and the weather is usually the coldest. It takes a little special effort to get to Epiphany.

But then that’s the way it was with the first Epiphany! The worshipers who came to the very first Epiphany service had to travel an extremely long way--hundreds of miles! Plus, they didn’t even know where exactly the service would be held till they got there! And to get there, they had to cross paths with a very dangerous and deceitful man. Then there was the offering at the service--man, talk about putting a lot in the plate! Well, even with all those obstacles in their way, the first Epiphany worshipers still thought it was well worth the effort. In fact, they were overjoyed! And so are we. Or will be. For tonight, with the Wise Men, we will discover “Why an Epiphany Service Is Worth the Effort.”

Why is it worth it? For at least three reasons I’ll mention tonight. First, it’s the Gentile Christmas. What do I mean by that, Epiphany is the Gentile Christmas? I mean that Christmas, the first Christmas, was, in a sense, a Jewish holiday. Remember what the angel said to the shepherds? “Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people.” And “all the people” there refers, in the first place, to the people of Israel, the Jews. Christ’s coming at Christmas was first for the Jews, to be their long-promised Messiah. But now at Epiphany that circle definitely gets expanded, to include the non-Jews, the Gentiles. You know, God’s plan all along was to include the Gentiles, ever since he told old Abraham, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” The Old Testament has many passages prophesying that in the messianic age the Gentiles would come running to get in on the blessings bestowed upon Israel. And remember how, when Jesus was forty days old and presented in the temple, old Simeon called the little baby, “a Light to lighten the Gentiles and the Glory of Thy people Israel.” Well, now at Epiphany here he is, that Light to lighten the Gentiles. And to mark the occasion, God has some Gentiles come, led by the light of a guiding star, to behold the true Light, who gives light to every man. Epiphany is the Gentile Christmas.

Now most all of you here tonight--probably all of you, if I’m not mistaken--are Gentiles, not Jews. Your parents and grandparents and great-grandparents do not come from the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Rather, they came from the line of pagans and barbarians, with names like Bjorn and Baldric and Brunhilda. They worshiped trees and stars and bowed down to idols made of wood and stone. But at Epiphany they get included in the act. God brought them the light, the light of the gospel, and you and I today are the beneficiaries of that blessing. And it all began with the first Epiphany, the Gentile Christmas. So that’s the first reason to celebrate.

Second, another reason why an Epiphany service is worth it: It points us to the person of Christ and how and where to find him. Just like that star pointed the Magi to the Christ child, so our Epiphany service tonight points us to the person of Christ. The readings, the hymns, the Word preached and the Sacrament delivered--all point us and lead us to Christ.

The first Epiphany certainly focused on Christ. The star directed the Wise Men, first to the land, and then to the town, and even to the exact house, where they could find him. “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” that’s what they wanted to know. Where is the Messiah, the great deliverer promised by God many centuries ago? The person of Christ is the one they seek, because God was pointing them to him.

Now this raises a couple of interesting questions: How did these Gentiles know about the Messiah promised to Israel? And how did they connect the appearance of the star to the birth of the King of the Jews? The answer here, in both cases, is through the Word, through divine revelation. They would not have known about the Christ and his birth otherwise. These wise men from the east probably served in the court of the king of Babylon. And six hundred years before Christ, remember, the Jews, the Judeans, had been taken captive and deported to Babylon. Among them were Jewish wise men who then served in the courts of Babylon, most famously, Daniel. There the Gentile scholars would have come in contact with the religion of Israel, learning the prophecies of a Messiah to come. Some of those prophecies compare the coming of the Messiah to the rising of a great light that will even attract the nations. You heard one such prophecy tonight from Isaiah: “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. . . . the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” Or the prophecy in the Book of Numbers: “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.” So there was a certain biblical tradition that the coming of the Messiah would be marked by a sign in the heavens, a bright light or a star. The Gentile wise men would have learned of it from the Jewish wise men, and then God connected the dots for these particular wise men by revealing to them that it was this unusual star.

But that only gets them as far as the land of Israel, and so they go to Jerusalem, the capital, where they logically think they would find the one born King of the Jews. Here again, they need the Scriptures to take them farther. Where is the Christ to be born? “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet,” quoting the prophet Micah. You see, it wasn’t a star by itself that could tell them about the Christ and where to find him. The sign had to be accompanied by the Word. But with that word, God then directs them even to the very house where they can find the Christ.

So it is for us. We would not know of a divine Savior, born to deliver even us Gentiles, except that God has revealed it to us in his word. But with that word, we have as sure a guide as the Wise Men had. We know who the Christ is and where to find him, even down to the exact house.

We know who Christ is. He is that baby born in Bethlehem, fulfilling the prophecies of long ago. He is the King of the Jews, born to bring salvation also to us Gentiles. He is God come in the flesh, worthy to receive our worship. He is the King of kings, and costly gold befits such a king, even when he comes in humble circumstances. He is God himself, to whom the incense of our prayers will arise. He is the perfect God-sent sacrifice to atone for all of our sins, and so myrrh will anoint him for his burial. Yes, you and I, we know who the Christ is. God’s word has told us.

And so we know where to find him: Wherever his pure gospel is preached and where his Sacraments are administered. God directs us even down to the very house: This house, the Lord’s house. For in this house you will hear that precious gospel. Here your sins will be forgiven. Here the body and blood of your Savior will be given to you, for your eternal life and salvation. God’s word directs you, like a guiding star, and points you to where you can be sure to find your Savior.

Epiphany is worth the effort because, first, it’s the Gentile Christmas, and second, because it points us to the person of Christ and where to find him. And now here’s a third reason: It points us to his saving work. Here that phrase, “the King of the Jews,” comes in again. For at that time there was another king, Herod, and he didn’t want to hear about any upstart “King of the Jews.” Well, actually, he did want to hear about him--he wanted to know his exact location--but not to worship him, rather to destroy him! This is a foreshadowing of all the opposition this Christ child would encounter later on. For years later, other men in authority would become enraged by him and seek his death. In fact, they had him crucified. And what would the sign say, that hung over his head? “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” There’s that phrase again, “the King of the Jews.” The cross looms, even at Epiphany.

But for us, that is reason for joy! Because we know how to read that sign. We know why the King of the Jews would go to the cross: To win salvation for the whole world, Jews and Gentiles alike. For all us poor sinners who need God to deliver us from death and eternal damnation. That is why Christ came. He, the Son of God, came on the longest journey of all, from heaven to earth, from glory to shame. He, Jesus, spared no expense, even to the shedding of his holy precious blood. He did all this, because he knew it would worth the effort: To deliver mankind from the clutches of sin and death, and to save us for all eternity, to the glory of God his Father.

Epiphany is the Gentile Christmas. You and I are included. Epiphany points us to the person of Christ and where to find him. The Word is our guiding star, leading us to the Light of the world. And Epiphany points us to Christ’s saving work: The King of the Jews crucified for us sinners. So, Epiphany, the Forgotten Festival? No, not anymore, not here! Indeed, Epiphany is the Joyous Festival! Like those first Epiphany worshipers, we too “rejoice exceedingly with great joy” when we are led to where Jesus is. Yes, wise men then and now all agree: An Epiphany service is well worth the effort.

Matthew 2:1-12 (ESV)

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’“

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

So is ours, but we, our family, keep a tradition of our own. We don our leftover from Christmas Crackers paper crowns and with lit candles stand on our porch to pray God’s blessing on ourselves, our home and all those we love, family and friends. Afterwards we come inside and feast on the remaining Christmas goodies. If company is present we have a King cake with a baby inside. (Whoever gets the baby supplies the King cake for Fat Tues.)

We live in the midst of Baptists who no doubt shake their heads at the strange goings on of those Anglicans on the block. lol

Journey of the Magi

“A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For the journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.”
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty and charging high prices:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.

Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;
With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness,
And three trees on the low sky,
And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wine-skins,
But there was no information, and so we continued
And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon
Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory

All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death,
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.

— T. S. Eliot

I think our local Kroger had King Cakes in previous years. I blitzed through the store today and didn't take time to notice if they had them this year too. Our church celebrated Epiphany last Sunday and I wondered today if any of our sister congregations had a service today. Perhaps our day school will celebrate it tomorrow at their weekly Chapel service.

Tomorrow I must force myself to take down my Christmas decorations, otherwise they might stay up all year! The trees - I have two - are cooperating this year in encouraging me to take them down. The strings of lights on them are starting to burn out on me. They are looking a little odd.:)

Sometimes I make one, sometimes I order one from New Orleans and sometimes I am lucky enough to find one at a local store, although that is rather more likely to happen closer to Fat Tuesday.

I will take down my tree tomorrow and begin to take everything else down so that I have it all put away by Candlemass. We don’t put anything up until after the 4th Sunday of Advent so I don’t mind having things up for a while in Jan. It all seems so bare and bleak in the stores and at friend’s homes. They have had it up for so long beofre Christmas and then it is all yanked down so quickly after Christmas Day. We have a neighbor who takes their tree down Christmas night! She says it is old and dry by then and Christmas is over.

Good for you!

This was the first non-Sunday Epiphany that we have needed to cancel since 1995. Although we hadn’t been holding a service for all that many years back then, the children had already learned (their “tradition”) that they needed to carry the creche figure Magi and their camels to the creche during the opening hymn. I had a couple of phone calls from parents stating that their children were worried about how the Magi would get to the manger without them!

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