Sermon 5th January 2020 – The
Epiphany
Text: Matthew 2:1-12 – God’s Epiphany
Mission to the Nations
You often hear about difficulties
growing up as a middle child.
As a middle child myself I can affirm
that at times it wasn’t easy.
When my older brother bullied me and
I complained, my parents said to not be so sensitive and to get on with my
brother.
When I used to get into conflicts
with my younger sister I was punished.
My brother, being the first born had
that prestige.
My sister as the baby of the family
got a lot of attention.
Today we celebrate the Epiphany which
I always consider is like the middle child sitting between the 2 major
celebrations in the church of Christmas and Easter.
Epiphany is often missed because it
falls on a particular date – January 6th -
and therefore not always falling on a Sunday.
So that means churches have an option
of recognising the 2nd Sunday after Christmas or the Epiphany.
Epiphany is also sometimes missed
because it gets relegated to the Christmas nativity where the 3 wise men with
their gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh are simply part of the shepherds
and animals gathering around the manger.
Some traditions actually refer to
January 6th as Little Christmas or Old Christmas – a day that some Christian
traditions still celebrate Christmas.
So what is the importance of the
Epiphany?
Why is it written as a central part
of Matthew’s Gospel surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ?
“Epiphany” means manifestation,
revealing or showing.
What is being revealed? –
The revelation is of Christ’s kingdom
coming to people who were previously known as pagans – in other words - to the
entire world – to those previously considered to be rejected in regards to
God’s saving plan.
These rejected people are symbolized
by the “magi from the east” coming in search of the “newborn king of the Jews.”
The Magi were not Jews – they were outsiders.
They represent the work of Jesus
spreading God’s love into a universal kingdom.
And the result of the magi’s coming
has now occurred – people throughout the world have expressed faith in Christ
and become his followers through the Christian Church.
The Epiphany is about God’s outreach
mission to all people.
The magi highlight how God’s
revelation – God’s love - is made known to all people and not just a selected
few.
And what’s interesting is that
Matthew’s Gospel is the only Gospel that records this event.
And what’s further interesting is
that Matthew’s Gospel begins and ends with Jesus being revealed to all the
nations of the world.
The last chapter of Matthew gives us
what is known as the Great Commission – the sending of God’s people into all
the world to complete this work of Epiphany:
“Go therefore and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And know that I am with you always, until the
end of the age.”
The Epiphany highlights God’s
extraordinary mission to reach out to every single person in every single
nation.
In fact Matthew says that this is so
important that Jesus will not return until it has been done:
And this gospel of the kingdom will
be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end
will come (Matthew 24:14).
But it also highlights God’s work in
this in that he does not leave us to do it alone because God is the one who
initiates mission.
This is seen in that the Magi are led
to Jesus.
It was by the bright shining star
that they are led.
And when the star disappeared they
are still led by God as they refer to God’s word through the prophet Micah for
further directions.
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.'"
And once back on track the star
reappears to the magi.
And when they leave they are again
guided by an angel who sends them on a different road home to keep them safe
from Herod.
In all this, God is central in
leading and guiding.
So in our mission work God is central
– God is the initiator and will lead us.
We need to be ready for the signs
like the Magi were.
The signs are all around us but
sometimes we don’t see them clearly because of all the distractions guiding us
in different directions.
That’s where God’s Word comes in to
play as it did for the magi.
They just needed to refocus.
And that’s the direction for us too.
We need to keep near to God’s word
whether it’s through our Bibles, through our prayers, through our worship – to
keep listening to God.
Because life and all its demands can
un-focus us from our mission to go into the world with God’s Gospel of love.
And we also have the assurance of
God’s presence and protection with us.
The Magi were protected from Herod’s
evil plan to destroy the work of Jesus.
They were warned and guided home on a
safe path.
And Jesus repeated that assurance in
the Great Commission when he said – Go to all nations – and I will be with you
always till the end of the age.
In this account of the Epiphany the
central theme is listening to God.
The Magi listened to God when he sent
a star to guide them.
The Magi listened to God when he
spoke to them through his Word in the Prophet Micah.
The Magi listened to God who spoke to
them in a dream to go home via a different route.
Mary and Joseph listened to God when
he warned them to flee to Egypt with their baby Jesus.
And central in all of this is that
God is speaking.
And this is still the case today –
God is speaking.
God is speaking to us constantly but
are we listening?
To listen we need to be aware that
God is speaking – and that’s the difficult part of our mission because there
are so many voices speaking to us.
So many things guiding us on
different directions away from God.
The Epiphany also shows us that our
mission work does not go without opposition.
Herod was frightened and furious and
was prepared to do anything to stop the message of Jesus Christ going out into
the world – even sacrificing innocent children in the hope that one of them
might be Jesus.
Mary and Joseph had to flee – the
Magi had to flee – and sometimes we too are faced with choices that take us
away from our places that have been our places of comfort.
Matthew also reveals Jesus’
understanding of the sacrifices that we sometimes make for the sake of the
Gospel when Peter says:
“We have left everything to follow
you!
Jesus said, “Truly I tell you …
everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife
or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will
inherit eternal life.
January 6th, the Day of the Epiphany
officially ends the Christmas season in the church – the 12 days of Christmas.
The day when God sent his Son to
dwell with us.
And now he sends his children – his
sons and daughters – you and me – to continue the Christmas message – that God
loved the world so much that he sent his one and only Son so that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
He sends us out to be the guiding
star to lead people to Jesus with the promise that he is Immanuel – God with us
– a promise confirmed in our Baptism and in the Great Commission:
Therefore go and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And
surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
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