THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD
I.
Reading:
Isaiah 60:1-6: Above you, the glory of the Lord appears.
II.
Reading: Ephesians 3:2-3.5-6: It has now been revealed that
pagans share the same inheritance.
Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12: We
saw his star and have come to do the king homage.
Jesus’ Acknowledgement as King by Wise Men or Magi:
An Unexpected Worship.
The
Feast of the Epiphany we are celebrating today is the oldest Feast in the
Church after Easter and Pentecost. It has been celebrated long before Christmas was; it took the place of Christmas many years after the birth of
Jesus and was one among the various events remembered on this day by the early
church. The word “Epiphany” in Greek means
“Manifestation” or “revelation”, that
is, the clear appearance of something or of one, unknown to us before.
Today
we celebrate the unknown one (JESUS) who has made us known himself to all of
us.
The
purpose of the Epiphany is: To praise God because Christ has made himself known
to people for what he really is: The Son of God and our Saviour.
The
wise men (magi) are a picture of those who seek Jesus. As they sought him, events totally unexpected
happened time and again. This is usually the case with those who seek Jesus.
But God is faithful. If a person truly
seeking Jesus, God takes the unexpected events and works them out for good (Rom
8:28). God leads the person to Jesus regardless of circumstances and events,
expected or unexpected. The magi did three things- first, they looked up to the heavens with faith and trust with their eyes, second, they walked with hope
and courage and reached the destination guided by his star, and third, they knelt down and adored him as
their God, the Almighty Father, Wonder-Counsellor, Prince of Peace, the Lord of the Lords and the King of the kings. Let us learn from
the wise men from the East the above three ways to start our journey of faith
and seek God and find Him in our hearts of faith, hope, generosity and charity.
1. The unexpected Saviour: Jesus was
born in Bethlehem (v.1)
a.
In
the days of king Herod
b.
Magi
came seeking him- in the NT Jn= the
first words of Jesus to Andrew and John, “What are you seeking or looking for
or searching?” They replied, where do you live? Jesus said, come and see
2. Their unexpected question: Where is
the newborn king? (v.2)
a.
The
unusual journey from the east
b.
Their
purpose: to worship
3. Their unexpected disturbance (v.3-6)
a.
Disturbed
all the people in Jerusalem
b.
Disturbed
Herod: he misconceived a threat
c.
Disturbed
the religionists
i.
Herod
quizzed them
ii.
They
had ignored the Scripture (until now)
4. Their unexpected commission: having
to search for the newborn king (v.7-8)
a.
Their
testimony: the star
b.
Their
commission: to go-search-find
5. Their unexpected sign: the star
guided them again (v.9-10)
6. Their unexpected king: a humbled
child in humble surroundings (v.11)
a.
They
found him in a house
b.
They
gave Jesus worship not to king Herod neither they obey Herod’s command
rather they obeyed God’s command
c.
They
gave him gifts ( gold for the kingship of Jesus, incense for the divinity of
Jesus and myrrh for the humanity of Jesus)
Our whole life is a continuous Epiphany: Jesus goes on
manifesting himself to us at all times.
Thought: God’s
ways are not man’s way (1 Cor 1:26-31). The newborn king is not a humanistic
Saviour. He is God’s Saviour who has come in God’s way (Phil 2:7-8; 2 Cor 8:9).
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