The Feast of the Epiphany, 01/06/2011

Sermon on Matthew 2:1-12, by Samuel Zumwalt

1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2saying, "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." 3When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 "'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.'" 7Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8And 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." 9After 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. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11And 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. 12And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

ADORING

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The wise men were likely Persian astrologers, Gentiles who did not know Israel's God. Some cosmic sign drew their attention whether it was, as some have conjectured, a comet, a planetary conjunction, or a nova or supernova (R.T. France, NICNT: The Gospel of Matthew). This sign in the stars was, for these priestly magi, evidence of the birth of a great king in the West. They traveled a great distance to bring their worship and gifts fit for a king. One of God's witnesses in nature drew them to first to Jerusalem where they got the information about King David's birth city Bethlehem, but one of God's angels warned them not to speak again of this child to the wicked King Herod.

Three things can be said about the wise men. They heeded the message of the Messiah's birth that came to them through the study of the stars. They traveled great distances searching for the newborn King and were thrilled to find Him. They brought gifts fit for a King and offered up the adoration of their lives by lying down before Him.

They Heeded the Message

One of the greatest differences about this age in which we live is that we are awash in information. Anyone with access to the internet can call up in seconds more information than she or he can assimilate at any one sitting. One doesn't need to have a large stereo or even a large collection of albums or CDs in order to have access to more music than one can possibly listen to on any given day. Seconds after something happens on the other side of the world, if not even as something is happening, we know all about it. There is no shortage of information. There is no shortage of people telling us what we ought to think about that information. But what is often missing is the knowledge of what is true and what is not!

Anyone that knows something about Attention Deficit Disorder knows that a person with ADD has difficulty filtering through all the stimuli, all the information coming at her or him, and so life can often be bewildering. Drugs prescribed for ADD are meant to help the person tune out most of the information that is coming at her or him in order that she or he may be attentive in class or stay focused on the job.

In as sense, the sheer volume of information coming at all of us today could easily create a kind of ADD response. Who can we trust? Who should we listen to? How can we make up our minds about what we think when there are so many competing voices?

The story of the magi, then, can easily sound like a fairy tale or a mere literary construction. Today who could imagine that intelligent people would actually stop what they are doing on the basis of some kind of cosmic occurrence? Who could imagine someone actually reordering their calendar and their bank account to heed a star? Who could imagine someone actually believing that a bright light in the night sky was worth reordering your life and your values in order to investigate this event?

Again, in our culture, we are awash in messages. Ignore one and ten more will take its place in an eye blink. With so much information, who's to know what to do?

Was it that the wise men lived in such boring times in Persia that a bright star could change their lives? Or was it more the case that the wise men had, like us, been bombarded with information and messages all their lives - although obviously from quite different media - and yet they had learned to tune out those messages that they had come to know were simply false? Had perhaps these wise men chased after all the usual false gods that beguile our world? Had they learned that the stacking up of fame, and riches, and even knowledge could leave you feeling emptier than before? Were they wiser men for having lived long enough to know real treasure from fool's gold?

It's fascinating to note that they listened to a message they discerned in the stars, but, having found the baby, they then began to listen to God's messengers, the angels.

Today St. Matthew is asking you and me what messages get our attention, and, more than that, what will it take for us to hear and to share God's message of salvation!

They Traveled Great Distances and Were Thrilled to Find Him

Our past congregational president, John, said to me recently that any weekend when he is tempted not to come to worship, he always thinks of our brother Wayne. If you don't know Wayne, he is the fellow that lost both of his legs on a Navy Carrier when a pilot failed to see Wayne and rolled his jet over Wayne's body. Each Sunday, Wayne gets himself in his wheelchair and then in his car and drives to St. Matthew's to be present for the 11 a.m. service.

I think of another family, a retired couple, who drive two hours every other Sunday morning to be here for the 11 a.m. service.

Last weekend, as is the custom at St. Matthew's on the last weekend of the year among others, Wayne and the retired couple both were at worship. There were a mere 79 worshipers at 11 a.m. and only 271 the entire weekend. Some told me they were ill. Some told me they would be out of town and worshiping elsewhere. But some chose to go nowhere near the celebration of Jesus' birth, for the Christmas thrill was long gone!

Unlike the magi, we know the name of the great King born in Bethlehem. We know that He was no threat to Herod's throne much less Caesar Augustus'. God's only begotten Son born to the Virgin Mary came into this world in a place reserved for domestic animals and had a feeding trough for his first bed. In His years spent on this earth in a human body, He was neither rich nor famous. Most of His best friends betrayed and abandoned Him. He was executed as the worst kind of criminal on a cross in the Jerusalem garbage dump. He was Emmanuel, God in human flesh with us to save us from sin, death, and evil. We know what the magi did not know long before they traveled great distances and were thrilled to find Him.

Yet many of us refuse on a weekly basis to travel even short distances to the services of God's house. Many of us refuse on a weekly basis to come thirsting and hungering to hear the story of salvation from God's own holy Word. Many of us refuse to listen and gladly learn God's Holy Word thrilling instead in the things of this world. Sports, Scouts, the beach, other entertainments, and even our own self pity often rank higher on the thrill meter than the Lord who made us, who gave us all we have and are, and who spared not even His own life that we might be bought back from the world.

On the basis of a message in the stars, the magi traveled great distances seeking Jesus and were thrilled to find Him, even though they did not know who He really was or from where He really came. You and I know what they did not, and yet what do we do?

The way of the world is the way of death. The way of the Lord is the way of life. Which way are you traveling most often and which way secretly thrills you most?

They Brought Gifts Fit for a King and Laid Their Lives before Him

Each December many of us look forward to seeing again Frank Capra's classic movie It's a Wonderful Life. Most of us can connect with what the central character George Bailey says to Mr. Potter, the Ebenezer Scrooge of his town: "Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you're talking about... they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community." We can relate with those sentiments, because we know that most of us are never going to be famous or rich.

At low moments, we may not become suicidal like George Bailey in the movie, but we certainly can feel that we're not very important or that the best moments of our lives are in the past. I suspect that more than a few of us have had our opportunities like George Bailey to make a deal with the devil, and we have refused to do so. We have not been willing to sell our souls - to say or do anything in order to be rich or famous.

It's no secret that the deepest faith and the greatest generosity are often found among the poorest and among those of least renown. Like the Lord Jesus' story of the widow's mite, many of the least of these Jesus' sisters and brothers are the first to share food and the first to offer their most precious sacrifices to the Lord. They know where true treasure is found. They know who and whose they are!

One wealthy Christian once said to me, "Giving away 50% of my income each year doesn't change my lifestyle at all." Yes, it is not the amount of the gift that counts as sacrifice, but the amount of what we keep for ourselves that tells the story about who is at the center of our hearts and our lives! Who and what is it that we really need most?

From the time of one of the great martyrs of the early Church, the bishop Irenaeus, it was said that the gifts of the magi were gold for royalty, frankincense for divinity, and myrrh for death and burial (R.T. France, 76). Whatever their meaning to the wise men, they were luxury gifts reminiscent of ones brought by the Queen of Sheba in 1 Kings 10. Psalm 72 speaks of the kings of Arabia and Saba offering gifts to God's king.

More important even than their gifts, the wise men prostrated themselves before the baby Jesus. They gave Him honor by falling down on the ground before Him. What do we bring to Him and how much do we honor Him?

The Miracle of Grace

The miracle of grace is not that the wise men heeded the message of the star, but that the Lord God heeded the cries of His people for salvation. The miracle of grace is not how far the wise men traveled, but how far God in human flesh traveled to be with sinners like us, to seek and save us. The miracle of grace is not what the wise men brought or even that they laid their lives before the baby Jesus, but that God gave us more than life and breath, He became flesh to be nailed to a cross for sinners like us and gave His own innocent suffering and death, and His most precious blood as a sacrifice for our sins!

That's how precious the whole world is to our God. You are more precious, lovable, and valuable to God than His own life. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him may not perish but have everlasting life!

My dear friends, do not mistake grace as some kind of pop psychology that says it doesn't matter what you have done or what you are doing or what you will do with your life! That's not the miracle of grace! Grace is not some kind of positive attitude that you only need to get your hands on, as if any of us could by our own reason or effort. Grace is not some kind of hokey message, amidst all the other messages, that says God really thinks you're one special imperfect person!

God's Grace is that God doesn't give us what we deserve. Instead God gives us what we don't deserve for our sin, for our squandering of this life, and for our embracing of evil, banal and great! In Christ Jesus, God takes our sin and death and gives us His life and righteousness as a gift we cannot merit or earn! In short, in Baptism, our Father sees not us in our imperfection but His own dear faithful Son!

The message of this Feast of the Epiphany is not that we need to get busy trying to grab hold of grace, trying to feel better about us. The message is that God has already in love and mercy come down to earth to purchase us lost and condemned creatures.

And our response to God's grace in Jesus Christ is to be molded by the Holy Spirit into wise men and women who say thank you by: 1) telling others the Good News of a down to earth God who loves this world more than His life; 2) by traveling distances great and small to receive Jesus in Word and Sacrament, gladly spending time with Him and His people; and 3) by keeping less of our time, talent, and treasure for our own comfort and instead offering our whole lives to the Lord of the Church, following Him in the way of humble service.

May each of us die to self this day and every day, and may God make of us wise men and women in this new year!

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

STS Samuel Zumwalt
St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
Wilmington, North Carolina USA
E-Mail: szumwalt@bellsouth.net

Zusätzliche Medien:
www.societyholytrinity.org

Bemerkung:
(I originally preached this sermon on 6 January 2008.]

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