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INJ
'What Great Fools'
St Matthew 2:1-12
Divine Service
Epiphany
January 6th, 2006
Hope Lutheran Church, Aurora, CO
Dear Saints,
Merry Christmas. This is our last day this year to offer this blessing. Today marks the twelfth day after Christmas, and so the last day of this year's Christmas season. The Church marks the closing of the twelve days of Christmas with a celebration, the day we call Epiphany. Epiphany, January 6th, is the second oldest celebration in the church, second only to Easter. It perhaps has its origin in Egypt and Asia Minor in the second century, and was, from the beginning, a celebration of the manifestation of God in the flesh in the person of Jesus, and so it is sometimes called “old Christmas” or “Twelfth Day.”
I understand that in Spain, Epiphany is the day that gifts are exchanged, and in stead of being brought by Saint Clause, the gifts are brought by the three wise men. In Spain, as in many countries in the east, Epiphany still plays a major role, not just in the church, but in the society as well. But this is not true in the United States. Few in the church remember the celebration of Epiphany, much less out side of the church. This is why, dear saints, Epiphany is such a wonderful holiday and holy day to celebrate, we have a chance to remember together all the wonderful things that this day signifies.
'Epiphany' means to appear or to manifest. At Christmas we celebrate the tremendous gift of God's grace in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. On Epiphany and the Sundays after we see that gift of God unwrapped for all the world to see. Jesus is made manifest in all of His glory. And so, for the next eight Sundays we will hear about Jesus' life, and the manifestation of His Divine Nature through His Human Nature. It begins this Sunday with Jesus' baptism in the Jordan, and will end, the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, with the text about the Transfiguration, when His glory shines through His humanity in blinding light.
But the first text that we take up on the day of Epiphany is the visit of the Magi, or wise men, to the child Jesus. The Gospel is St Matthew 2:1-12, especially verse 11:
“And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
We shall consider this text under the theme, “What Great Fools.” This is a familiar scene, in almost every nativity, the three wise men, kneeling at the manger with gifts for the King of Kings, our dear Lord Jesus. But I hope to push through the familiarity and impress upon you the strangeness of this verse. For these wise men, these Magi, a brilliant examples of true faith, faith that looks not with the eyes, but with the ears, and believes the words and promises of the Scriptures.
Luther, in an Epiphany sermon from 1522, talks about the trials that their faith must have faced, and that they overcame. Here's how Luther gives it to us:
When the wise men had overcome their temptation [to doubt] and were born again by the great joy they were strong and took no offense at Christ, they had overcome in the trial. For although they enter a lowly hut and find a poor young wife with a poor little child, and find less of royal appearance than the homes of their own servants presented, they are not led astray. But in a great strong, living faith they remove from their eyes and their minds whatever might attract and influence human nature with its pretense, follow the word of the prophet and the sign of the star in all simplicity, treat the Child as a King, fall down before Him, worship Him, and offer gifts. This is a strong faith indeed, for it casts aside many things which impress human nature. Perhaps there were some people present who thought: What great fools are these men to worship such a poor child. They must indeed be in a trance to make of Him a king. [Martin Luther, Complete Sermons of Martin Luther. I.I.363]
“What great fools,” so Luther says the people walking past this scene must have thought. “Some 'wise men,' I thought they were looking for a king, but here they are, falling down before a Child.” By all appearances this baby Jesus is not a king, is not royalty. Eyes see that Jesus is the exact opposite, born in poverty, in weakness, in humility; born in a manger. But faith pushes through, pushes through what looks like nothing, and sees that this is everything. And so the wise men find the Child, and kneel before Him to worship Him.
So it is, dear saints, for us. We must, to the unbelieving world, look like great fools. Worshiping Jesus, “who is alive,” we say, “risen from the dead, and ruling and reigning with the Father in heaven.” But eyes see no such thing. Our eyes do not see Jesus, do not see Him kingdom. But faith pushes through, hearing the word and promises of God, faith knows and believes that Jesus is alive, sitting at the right hand of God the Father, interceding and praying for us.
So the world must think that we are great fools, coming, on a Friday night, or a Sunday morning, and falling down before bread and wine, and taking, and eating, and drinking, and believing, and rejoicing. What utter foolishness to the eyes. But faith sees, faith pushes through, it sees, not with the eyes, but the ears, “This is My body, this is My blood.” Faith hears and believes, and comes and kneels before Jesus, our King, and receives from Him the heavenly treasures of life, salvation, and the forgiveness of all of our sins, and rejoices. Dear saints, when you kneel here, before Jesus, you kneel as the wise men knelt, over two thousand years ago, you kneel before Jesus, your promised Lord and King.
And so rejoice, this Epiphany night, rejoice that Jesus is manifest to you. Not in the shining star or the dark manger, but in this bread and wine. He is here for you; for your salvation. Amen.
And now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
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Pastor Wolfmueller
For more about Epiphany, please check our Church Year page.