|
DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?
A sermon preached January 6, 2008, Epiphany Day, at University United
Methodist Church, East Lansing, by John Ross Thompson
Isaiah 60:1-6
60:1 Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has
risen upon you.
60:2 For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but
the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you.
60:3 Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your
dawn.
60:4 Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come
to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried
on their nurses' arms.
60:5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the
nations shall come to you.
60:6 A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and
Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD.
Matthew 2:1-12
2:1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
2:2 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."
2:3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with
him;
2:4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he
inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
2:5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the
prophet:
2:6 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among
the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my
people Israel.'"
2:7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the
exact time when the star had appeared.
2:8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the
child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay
him homage."
2:9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them,
went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place
where the child was.
2:10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with
joy.
2:11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they
knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they
offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
2:12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for
their own country by another road.
September 11, 2001
Most of us here remember that day – a dark day. Depending how old you are,
you might remember other dark days, such as November 22, 1963, and December 7,
1941.
September 11 evokes fearful memories in us. That day, I was sitting in my
office in Grand Rapids doing something which at the time I probably thought was
important. Soon after 9 a.m., however, that was quickly forgotten in the turmoil
and tragedy of the day.
About 10:30 a.m., I resolved that I must do something, but I didn’t know
what. I called the director of the local ecumenical and interfaith agency and
said, “What can we do?” He said, “I don’t know, but we’ll do something.”
By 1 p.m. that day, gathered in my office were representatives from the
Christian, Jewish and Islamic groups of the city. By 7 p.m. that evening,
hundreds of people gathered in St. Andrew’s Cathedral for worship. We cried
together, prayed, heard some words of hope and resolved to make a difference in
our world because of our faith. We gathered again for Thanksgiving worship that
year, and they still meet once a year for worship and prayer.
That day was an epiphany for me. Because of our faith, we knew there was
light even on a dark day.
Today is not only the start of Epiphany season, it is Epiphany Day, the day
we remember the Magi who followed the light to find a new king.
Epiphany is the season that we focus on that light. Ironically, just as we
turn out our Christmas lights, we celebrate the coming of light.
Faith becomes the glasses we use to see in that light.
We are in the darkest season of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
However, the days are slowly lengthening in January and February, a reminder
that light does not come all at once.
Sacraments, such as Holy Communion that we celebrate today, are part of the
light that helps us to see.
We need each other to help answer the question – “Do you see what I see?”
Isaiah 60 is also an appropriate Epiphany passage because of its
descriptions of the effect that light has upon us. Light brings people together
and attracts people from afar. It takes a great deal of effort to remain in
darkness once light has been offered; yet many do. Why? There are several
questions to be asked and answered such as, "Do we bear the light or hide the
light?"
We commonly use the word epiphany to describe a revelation or an "aha"
moment. The word epiphany has Greek origins, and it originally meant
appearance or manifestation. The coming of Christ was first revealed to the
Jewish world through the shepherds who heard the angelic announcement and ran to
the stable to see for themselves. Through the wise men, Christ was revealed to
the Gentile world.
Have you ever thought of the things that the wise men did not know? They were
like Abraham, who set out on a journey, not knowing where it would take them
(Hebrews 11:8). First of all, they did not know how long the trip would be
when they decided to follow the star that appeared in the East. Secondly,
they did not know how they would be received in the faraway foreign land.
They did not know what the king would look like, or perhaps when or if they
would return home. Yet they, like Abraham, chose to make the journey.
Following the light of God is a journey of similar faith. We often feel like we
don't know where our journey will lead us, and we certainly never know what we
will find along the way. We do, however, know that God goes before us, and with
us, and that the journey is not in vain.
-
The wise men, remembered every year at
Epiphany, were priests, possibly from Persia, who specialized in
interpreting the stars. Significantly, they were Gentiles.
- The appearance of a new star would have been worthy of pursuit. It was
widely held that new stars appeared when great rulers were born. Such a
rumor circulated at the birth of Alexander the Great. The fact that Herod
felt threatened when he heard about the star indicates that some of the Jews
may also have held this belief.
The light comes to the influential persons of the world as well as to the
humble. Priests as well as shepherds. And none of them are the same after
that.
I like this quote:
“Christmas proclaimed the presence of the light. Epiphany calls us to spread
the light on the journey. Epiphany means "manifestation." We see the light of
Christ as it is manifest from the crib of Jesus in Bethlehem to all the nations.
"A light for revelation to the Gentiles" (Luke 2:32) is the Bible's shorthand
way of saying that Christ's mission is to the whole world. Epiphany stories
reach out to the world……The welcome mat is set out. The front porch light is
left on to welcome foreigners, local fishermen, city priests, Roman soldiers,
and Greek tourists. There are no limits placed on this love born at
Christmas.” --Nancy Hastings Sehested
The expensive gifts that the wise men offered the child were appropriate for
royalty. Imagine the shock of the young couple that had, days before in the
Temple, offered the poor person's offering of doves, instead of a lamb, for the
birth of their son. Some speculate that the wise men's generous gifts made it
financially possible for Joseph to move the family to Egypt before Herod
slaughtered the innocent male children in an attempt to "eliminate" any possible
rival to his throne. The gifts seem odd for a baby. Gold, frankincense, and
myrrh, however, speak to Jesus' future. Gold is a gift fit for a king.
Frankincense is used in temple worship (Exodus 30:34) –– a gift fit for a
priest. The high priest uses myrrh as an anointing oil (Exodus 30:23). It is
also used to prepare bodies for burial, and Nicodemus will bring a mixture of
aloe and myrrh to prepare Jesus' body for burial (John 19:39-40).
Gold, frankincense, and myrrh are not only expensive gifts, but they are also
portable. It seems possible that they represent God's provision for Joseph's
family when they are forced to flee to Egypt.
We have had two neighbors, Mark and Sandy, who one year put up white lights
on a large tree in their front yard, right out our side window. A week after
Epiphany, I said to Ellen, “Their lights are still shining every night.” One
month later, two months later, into the summer and beyond, their lights still
shine every night.
Someone suggested to me at one point that it is good to leave one Christmas
decoration out all year long as a reminder of the coming of Christ. It might
also be good to leave one special light to remind us that the Christ who comes
also brings light to our dark world.
Do you see what I see? We need each other to share what we see, and to bring
light to all.
|
