Preached by Gregory W. Lee
7 January 2007
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Matthew 2
1. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
2. and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."
3. When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
4. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.
5. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:
6. "`But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.' "
7. Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
8. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."
9. After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
10. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
11. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.
12. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
-- today we have gathered to celebrate the start of Epiphany, which began yesterday -- this means that the Christmas season is officially over and it's time, if you haven't done so already, to take down the tree and to put up all the decorations until next December
-- it's time for us in the Christian church to move past the baby in the manger and to start the journey leading to the upper room, the Garden of Gethsemene, the Via Dolorosa, the path to the cross, and to the empty tomb
-- as you're putting up your Christmas decorations, though, there are a couple things that you might consider leaving up through the Epiphany season, which runs from January 6th until Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday -- your nativity set and your Christmas lights
-- let me explain
-- the word "epiphany" means "to show" or "to make known" or "to reveal" -- when someone says that they've had an "epiphany" in their life, what they are saying is that they've had some revelation in their life -- some new idea or some new realization that is going to change the way they've been living or the way they've been doing things
-- our epiphany -- the Epiphany that we celebrate in the church -- recognizes the revealing of the Christ to the world -- the time when Jesus was recognized for who He was and why He came
-- the Day of Epiphany remembers the coming of the wise men -- the Magi from the East -- who revealed Jesus as the Christ when they brought their gifts to lay before Him -- this was the first time that the Christ was made known to the world
-- if you think about it, the nativity -- the birth of Christ -- was really a quiet affair -- it happened in the humblest of circumstances and was attended by just a few people -- Mary and Joseph, of course -- and the few shepherds who were told by the angels that the Christ had come -- but no one else was there -- no one else knew -- while the Christ was being born in a manger in the back streets of Bethlehem, the rest of the town slept in silence
-- it was only with the coming of the Magi that news of the birth of Jesus was made public and the world informed that they had a new King -- so, it is perfectly acceptable to leave up your nativity set through the Epiphany season as a reminder of the revealing of Jesus to the world by the Magi
-- along the same lines, the birth of Christ marked the end of darkness on the earth -- ever since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the earth had been covered with a pall of darkness -- with a curse brought on by the sin of man
-- but with the birth of Christ, a new light had dawned that would push the darkness away forever -- when Jesus was born, God said, "Let there be Light" -- and the Light of Christ was brought into the world to reveal the path back to the Father -- as John put it in John 1:4-5, "In Him was life, and that life was the light of men -- the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it"
-- as Christians, we are called to bear witness to Christ Jesus -- to shine His light out to the world hungry for hope -- so, leave your lights up and your nativity sets out -- let your candles burn brightly -- to proclaim the coming of our Lord and Savior
II. Scripture Lesson
-- so, as we begin reflecting this morning on the Epiphany and on how we might continue to reveal and proclaim the coming of Jesus in this new year, please look back with me once again at Matthew 2
1. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
2. and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."
-- the Magi were wise men from the east -- most likely, these men were the learned men of their day, trained in a variety of disciplines of science and spirituality -- we know they were trained in astronomy, because they had seen the star of Christmas in the western sky -- and we know they had some understanding of spiritual issues and of prophecy, since they recognized the importance of the star and made the journey to Jerusalem to find the Christ child
-- the Magi probably came from Persia -- from the area that is currently Iraq -- the region where the great Babylonian Empire had been -- this means that they were Gentiles -- they were not Jews -- they were not of God's Chosen People
-- still, God had revealed to them the coming of the Christ through the revelation of the star of Christmas -- so, Matthew tells us that they traveled west to Jerusalem looking for the newborn King so they might worship Him
-- when we think of the Magi, we usually only think about them coming to lay their gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh at the feet of Jesus -- but, in doing so, they did so much more
-- by coming to Israel looking for the Christ, the Magi were the first to show or reveal Jesus to the wider world as the Messiah -- as God incarnate -- as God made man in the presence of Christ Jesus
-- as Simeon said in Luke 2:32, Jesus was to be "a light of revelation to the Gentiles" -- when the Magi made their journey from Persia, God was letting the Jews know that Jesus had come not only for the Jews, but for the whole world -- Jew and Gentile -- man and woman -- slave and free -- all people -- all races -- all nations
-- the Magi revealed Jesus to the world in two main ways -- first, they made Him known through evangelism -- through telling others about Him
-- when the Magi made their way into Jerusalem, they immediately sought out the ruler of Israel -- King Herod -- and they shared with him the good news of the birth of Christ -- Herod called for his chief priests and the teachers of the law -- and they were told that the Christ had been born
-- as Christians, we are called to do the same as the Magi -- to evangelize others -- to tell them the good news of Christ -- to make His presence known to them by sharing with them the story of Jesus
-- there is no better way to make Christ known to someone than by simply doing what the Magi did -- telling them about the moment you became aware of Jesus and what His presence in your life means to you -- how knowing Jesus has changed you and set you on a journey unlike any that you have ever taken before
-- the second way the Magi revealed Jesus to the world was through worship -- look over at verse 9
9. After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
10. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
11. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.
-- when the Magi found Jesus, Matthew tells us they were overjoyed and bowed down and worshiped Him, laying their gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh at His feet
-- when you worship Christ -- when you truly give yourself and your gifts to Him -- when you proclaim to the world the worth of Christ and what He has done in your life -- what you are doing is pointing others to Jesus
-- when they see you focused on something other than the world -- on something other than tv or money or power or fame -- they are going to look to see what has captured your attention -- and when they do, the glory of God -- the glory of the newborn King of the Jews -- is going to be made known to them, perhaps for the first time
-- when you worship Christ with your life -- when you tell others about Him -- then you are revealing Him to them and they will be drawn to His presence in their own lives
III. Application
-- Epiphany is the season in the Christian calendar when we should be making an effort --
in our churches -- in our homes -- in our lives -- to reveal Jesus as the Savior of all mankind
-- we make Christ known through evangelism and worship, but these can take many different forms and shapes -- there are many ways that we can show Jesus to our friends and family and to the world as we move from the manger to the cross
-- for instance, Larry Stewart revealed Jesus to the world through his generosity -- for almost 30 years, no one knew who Larry was -- all they knew was that this man would appear on the street in his city and pass out $100 bills to people who looked like they needed help
-- it all started back in 1979 when he was at a drive-through restaurant -- he had just lost his job the week before Christmas -- it seemed like the world and everything else was against him -- as he sat there having his own pity party, he noticed that the car hop serving him was out there in the bitter cold without a heavy jacket -- he said to himself, "I think I've got it bad -- She's out there in the cold making nickels and dimes" -- so, he handed her a twenty to pay for his meal, which cost less than $3.00, and told her to keep the change -- she cried and told him he had no idea what his gift meant
-- through that simple act, Larry had shared the presence of Christ -- the grace of God -- and he enjoyed the feeling so much that he went straight to the bank and took out $200 in fives and twenties and started passing them out to anyone who looked like they needed help -- over the past 25 years, Larry has done more than just give away $1 million dollars a few bills at a time -- he has also given away Christ
-- how can you give away Christ in your life? -- how can you reveal Jesus to someone this year? -- maybe you're not called to drive around and pass out money like Larry Stewart -- but you are called to reveal Christ to others through your gifts and your service
-- little things that you do -- purposeful acts of kindness -- purposeful acts of service -- can do more to reveal Christ than all the sermons of the world
-- one day, St. Francis of Assisi invited a young monk to join him on a trip into town to preach -- the young monk was so honored to get such an invitation from St. Francis that he quickly accepted -- all day long, he and St. Francis walked through the streets and byways, alleys and suburbs, and they rubbed shoulders with hundreds of people
-- at the end of the day, the two headed back home -- however, not even once had St. Francis addressed a crowd or talked to anyone about the gospel -- the young monk was greatly disappointed, and he said to St. Francis -- "I thought we were going into town to preach?" -- St. Francis responded, "My son, we have preached -- we were preaching while we were walking -- we were seen by many and our behavior was closely watched -- it is of no use to walk anywhere to preach unless we preach everywhere as we walk"
IV. Closing
-- that is the heart of Epiphany -- to preach everywhere as we walk, revealing Christ and making Him known to all around us -- I want you to take a moment and think about how you might do that in this new year
-- it might be through evangelism -- through directly sharing with someone about the good news of Jesus and how He has touched your life -- or it might be through your worship -- through your sharing of your gifts and service to someone else in Jesus' name
-- how can you reveal Jesus to someone this year? -- maybe you could do like Larry Stewart and leave a waitress or waiter a bigger than expected tip -- maybe you could give someone a coat to keep them warm this winter -- maybe you could buy lunch for a stranger -- maybe you could make blankets or robes for the elderly -- maybe you could give someone a bottle of water or a cup of coffee
-- the list is endless -- but the impact is eternal
-- my challenge to you this morning is, "Will you do something to reveal Jesus to someone this Epiphany Season?" -- will you share the good news of Christ with someone, either through evangelism or through an act of worship?
-- I want to challenge everyone of you to do one purposeful act of kindness -- one purposeful act of service -- every week from now until the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday, February 21st -- will you commit to doing that this year?
-- if so, then I'm going to ask you to respond to God's word where you are -- to make that commitment to Him -- and I'm going to ask you to leave here with a purpose and mission, just like that of the Magi -- to reveal the presence of Christ to this world
-- let us pray
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