Text: Ephesians 3:1-12 and Matthew 2:1-6
A group of astrologers looked up into the night sky and saw something that caught their eye.
A new star had appeared.
A king had been born.
Preparations for a journey to the west, towards Jerusalem, began.
Today, we find ourselves on the 12th day of Christmas, the Day of Epiphany.
This day reminds us that some of the first to recognize the good news of the birth of Christ were not religious leaders or rulers, but Gentiles from far off.
That star in the sky, that manifestation of light, drew them from their homes and set them on a journey to find the truth for themselves.
As Pope Leo the Great wrote in the fifth century,
“A start with new brilliance appeared to three wise men in the East” that “was brighter and more beautiful than others” attracting the “eyes and hearts of those looking on.” The determination of the magi to “follow the lead of this heavenly light” expressed a willingness to be “led by the splendor of grace to knowledge of the truth.” (As recounted by William J. Danaher Jr. – Feasting on the Word – Epiphany C)
A star shone in the sky.
Something had changed in the world.
And these magi, these wise men, these astrologers wanted to find out what it meant.
The story that we follow in the gospel of Matthew takes them to the doorstep of Herod in Jerusalem.
He listens intently to their story and his first response is to feel threatened.
He is the King of the Jews and as far as he knows, there is no child that has been born or that is expected within his court.
But there was prophecy about God’s anointed one, the Messiah, and so he calls together the religious experts of his court, the Sanhedrin, and to ask them what this might mean.
In turn, they turn to the scrolls of their faith… to the writings and teachings of their ancestors… to make sense out of this epiphany, this revelation, this new truth in the world.
They return with a few sentences of scripture that appear to speak about the Christ, from the prophet Micah and the history of 2 Samuel.
Herod sends the magi away with this information, to seek this child, but his intent is not worship or homage or truth… rather, he seeks to stop this revelation before it makes an impact on the world… HIS world.
And he will do everything in his power to stop it.
What we know is that while Herod turned his rage and fury upon the region and massacred all of the little ones who were under the age of two, he ultimately was unsuccessful.
The magi find the child, but are warned in a dream not to return and reveal the location.
Mary and Joseph and the Christ Child become aware of the danger posed to them and flee to the land of Egypt.
Jesus is saved, he grows up, and becomes an epiphany all of us:
He is the Truth.
He is the Light.
And because the Word was made flesh among us, everything has changed.
In Christ, in the good news, in this mysterious and awesome collection of texts, something new is happening in the world.
And, Paul writes, we have access to that truth.
God’s great Epiphany was not just something that happened long ago.
No, the mystery of God’s plan, the good news of God, is being revealed right here and right now through you and me, through this household of God, through the church present in the world.
Paul believes, as is evident in this selection from Ephesians, that through the church the wisdom of God is now being made known to the world.
What was begun in the promises to Abraham,
what has been confirmed through the prophets to the people of Israel,
what is now being revealed through the life of Jesus,
is that God has a plan to bless the whole world… and you and me are now part of that blessing.
Like Paul, like the religious scholars in Herod’s temple, like the astrologers from the east, we want to know what it all means.
We want to know how to make sense of the things that are happening all around us.
We want to know what difference it should make in our lives.
We want to know when we are supposed to drop everything and follow.
We want to know what is really and truly important enough that it will turn our world upside down.
Or… maybe we are afraid of precisely those things.
After all, as Flannery O’Conner paraphrased, “You shall know the truth, and the truth will make you odd.”
Or as another put it, “you shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free. But first it will make you miserable.”
I think sometimes we are content with ignorance because we don’t have to change.
We don’t want to dive into the truths of scripture, because we are afraid something we have always relied upon might be inaccurate or wrong.
Or perhaps, we are ashamed after a lifetime of being a part of the church of how little we know of these holy words.
This book…
This wonderful, holy, inspired collection of texts, is itself an Epiphany.
It is a revelation.
Every time we open its pages and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, we discover new truths about who we are supposed to be and how we are supposed to live in this world.
And so as we start a new year, I want to invite you to let go of your fears.
Let go of your shame.
Let go of your hesitation.
Over the next seven weeks of this series, I want to invite us to be like those ancient astrologers.
They did not yet know what that star in the sky meant.
They were unaware of how that child would change the world… would change their world.
But they were curious.
They were interested.
And they opened themselves up to the possibility.
They didn’t stay at home and wonder, “what if?”
No!
They did the work.
They made the journey.
And they discovered something amazing.
That is what I want for each of us in this church over these next two months.
I want us to be curious.
I want us to ask lots of questions.
I want us to be open to new insights.
I want us to do the work of opening up this scripture and allowing it to be a part of our lives.
And here is what I promise you along the way…
Like Paul, who felt called to share the teachings of Christ with others, to help make plain the mystery, I promise to walk with you.
In the coming weeks, we’ll learn together about context and language and interpretation. We’ll dive into words like hermeneutic and exegesis. I’ll give you tools each week that will help you to better understand these texts and how they relate to one another.
And what I promise at the end of this journey is not that we will all be experts, but that we will know that in spite of our questions, in spite of all we have left to learn, in spite of the depths of the mystery that is before us… that God truly is with us and that God is present in these texts.
And… that God is present in this church.
And through you… and through me… God is going to change this world.
May it be so.
Amen.