Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Epiphany of the Lord Sunday - 01/01/17 Sermon - “It happens that quick"

Sunday 01/01/17 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title: “It happens that quick”

Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 63:7-9

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 2:10-18

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 2:13-23

          My friends, my brothers and sisters, welcome again on this Epiphany of the Lord Sunday, and Happy New Year!

          On this our Epiphany of the Lord Sunday, many Western Christian Churches celebrate the Wise Men or the Magi coming to visit Christ, and bringing him the gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. While some scholars think that Wise Men or Magi came to Christ on the night of his birth, and while others scholars think that the Wise Men or Magi may have come when Christ was a toddler, we have a special Sunday in the life of the church to celebrate Jesus, and the Wise Men, or the Magi coming to him.

On this day, we also remain in the season of Christmas, and we will be in the season of Christmas through this Friday January 6^th. So this Sunday is not actually the holiday of the Epiphany of Lord, as the Epiphany is celebrated formally in many Western churches this Sunday January 8^th. Since many churches don’t have Friday worship services though, many churches like ours celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord today in worship. Many Western churches on this day then, will sing that great hymn “We Three Kings,” which is one of the only Epiphany hymns that I know of.

Sometimes some folks have remarked to me that the church has odd names for holidays or even seasons. These names are for example, Advent, Lent, and today “Epiphany”. Why don’t we just call today “Wise Men Sunday?” Further, what does the word “Epiphany” mean anyway?

According to www.dictionary.com the word “Epiphany” is defined as:

1. (Initial capital letter) a Christian festival, observed on January 6, commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the gentiles in the persons of the Magi; Twelfth-day.

2. An appearance or manifestation, especially of a deity.

3. A sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

4. A literary work or section of a work presenting, usually symbolically, such a moment of revelation and insight (http://www.dictionary.com/browse/epiphany?s=t).

          Sometimes when people have an “ah ha” moment or a light bulb above the head idea, they might say that they had an “Epiphany”. The appearance of God in the flesh, Jesus Christ was an “Epiphany”. The Wise Men or Magi having their own “ah ha” or light bulb above the head moment to take the long journey to see the Christ-Child, God in the flesh, was an “Epiphany”. For all of these reasons then, that is why the event of the Wise Men or the Magi going to and visiting the Christ Child is called the “Epiphany of the Lord”. The holiday of the “Epiphany” is also always the last day of the twelve days of the Christmas Seasons. The last day of the season of Christmas is again this Friday January 6^th, and thus this Friday is the Epiphany. Again, we celebrate this today, as we generally don’t have church services on Friday.

          The other thing that I wanted to mention as well, is that gospels don’t specifically say that there were three Wise Men or Magi came to see baby Jesus. Since there were three gifts however, of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh, many people throughout history have just assumed that there were three Wise Men or Magi. It could have been more, as we just don’t know for sure. Church tradition also claims that the names of the Three Wise Men or Magi, were “Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar” (https://www.gotquestions.org/three-wise-men.html).

          The gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh, have important meanings to. They are: “gold as a symbol of kingship on earth, frankincense (an incense) as a symbol of deity, and myrrh (an embalming oil) as a symbol of death” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Magi#Gifts). So Gold for a king, frankincense, an incense for a God, and Myrrh to anoint the crucified body of Christ. All these gift are significant, and important.

          So the Wise Men or Magi came, whether it was three or more, and whether it was on the night of Christ’s birth, or when he was a small Child. They had names, whether the ones that we have are accurate or not, and the gospel of Matthew tells us they came with Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.

The Gospel of Matthew also tells us that they left a different way that they came, as King Herod lied to the Wise Men or Magi telling them that he was excited about Christ’s birth. King Herod told them that when they have found the Christ Child to let him know, so that he may come and worship Christ.

          It seems clear that Wise Men or Magi were changed by the “Epiphany of the Lord,” by being in the presence of the Christ Child, and Joseph and Mary. After being warned in dream, the Wise Men or Magi left a different way, as to avoid King Herod altogether. This is the story of the scripture for this Friday January 6^th, on the actual day of “The Epiphany of the Lord”.

          I could have picked those scriptures for this morning, as it is “Epiphany of the Lord Sunday”, but instead I picked the scriptures with today’s reading from the gospel of Matthew discussing what happened after the Wise Men or Magi left.

          You see whether the Wise Men of Magi came on the actual day Christ was born or not, we celebrate them generally speaking as part of the Christmas story. For us, our Christmas story, our Christmas seasons are drawing to close this Friday January 6^th.

          For many of us the preparations for Advent, then Christmas can be huge, and sometimes it seems like that it is over in an instant. That the excitement of Christmas, the trees, the lights, the gifts, the birth of Christ, is over in an instant.

          On this “Epiphany of the Lord Sunday”, we have Friday’s gospel reading of the Wise Men or the Magi coming to visit the Christ Child that I just discussed.

By reading the gospel of Matthew narrative though, it seems that they did not stay for any extended length of time. It seems they came, they saw, they were changed, and then they went on their way.

          For many of us, Christmas, the birth of Christ is a holiday, an event that we anticipate, we plan for, but we often say many Christmases that “it happens that quick”.

          In this same way, after all that Joseph and Mary must have went through to get Bethlehem, because Caeser ordered a census of everyone, they must have been tired. After finally getting to Bethlehem, registering for the census, so that Caesar would have an accurate population count, largely for tax purposes, there was then no room at the inn.

          Then in probably what seemed to Joseph and Mary like an instant, there was a star, Wise Men, Shepherds, the birth, the majesty, the love, and the glory. It probably seemed like it happened in an instant. Like that first Christmas, did any of our Christmas Days of this Christmas Season seem to come and go in an instant?

          It is my hope and prayer that we have a blessed, Christ filled, and prosperous New Year. I can imagine that Joseph and Mary, with their new son Jesus hoped for this, as well.

          Yet remember, I said that the Wise Men or Magi were warned in a dream to not return to King Herod to tell him where Jesus was. The Wise Men or Magi as the term goes, “were on to King Herod”. They knew that he sought to harm Jesus.

          After they left, the gospel of Matthew picks up this morning, telling us that “an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him” (Mt. 2:13, NRSV). Joseph then takes Jesus and Mary to Egypt at night, as to sneak out undetected (Mt. 2:14, NRSV). This is also significant, because the prophet Hosea said in 11:1, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son” (Hos. 11:1, NRSV). So Joseph taking Jesus and Mary to Egypt was also prophesized centuries before by the prophet Hosea.

          King Herod then found out that the Wise Men or Magi had left, and in a fit of anger, ordered all children in and around Bethlehem two and under to be killed. This massacre of innocent children was predicted by the prophet Jeremiah.

          So again, the beautiful Christmas story “happened that quick,” Joseph flees with his family to Egypt, and King Herod has all children in and around Bethlehem two and under massacred.

          We tend to not include these things in the Christmas Story as they are harsh, and occur after the birth. For many of us, Christmas comes and goes like a flash of light. For many of us, “it happens that quick”. What are our after Christmas stories like this year? Are they good stories? Or are we fleeing to Egypt in our lives?

          My guess is, is that as Joseph and Mary were fleeing at night to Egypt they weren’t brainstorming there New Year’s resolutions. I don’t think Joseph inquired of Mary as they were fleeing to Egypt if a new Gym membership would be good for him to tighten up his abs.

          My point is, is that Christmas for some of us can be a beautiful moment, especially in this church. We sing, we light candles, and there is so much love. Yet, “It happens that quick”.

          The gospel of Matthew reading for this morning then says, when King Herod died, an angel of Lord told Joseph in a dream in Egypt that is was safe for him to return to Israel (Mt. 2:19-20, NRSV). Interestingly enough though, according to the gospel of Matthew, King Herod’s successor King Herod Archelaus, was not sympathetic to Jesus either. In another dream, the angel of the Lord told Joseph in a dream back in Israel to leave Judea. This area of Judea included among other places Jerusalem, and Bethlehem. The angel of the Lord told Joseph in a dream that King Herod’s successor King Herod Archelaus was not a friend of Jesus’.

          As a result, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus went back the district of Galilee, to the town of Nazareth. Jesus was then raised to man in the district of Galilee, in the town of Nazareth. This is why some people call Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth. This is also why we have a college in Rochester, NY called Nazareth. It is named after Jesus, the one from Nazareth.

          The gospel reading for this morning ends like this, “There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean” (Mt. 2:23, NRSV). The interesting thing is that no Old Testament or Hebrew Bible prophet actually directly predicted that Jesus Christ would “be called a Nazorean” (Mt. 2:23b, NRSV), as this prediction was taken from oral tradition. This means that this prediction or this prophecy was spoken of and taught for centuries, but never recorded in the Bible. Nevertheless, this is why we have Christian denominations like the “Church of the Nazarene”.

          So Christmas day for us, just like in the Biblical narrative, has come and gone. This Friday the season of Christmas will end. For many of us, “It happens that quick”. Where to we find ourselves as our Christmas season will soon draw to an end? Are sneaking away, avoiding King Herod? Are we fleeing to Egypt? Or are we in a good place as we face this New Year?

          The reality is that the day of Christmas, and soon the season of Christmas will end. What are the next steps we will take in our lives? How are our stories after the day of Christmas going to play out in 2017? Whether we realize it or not Christmas and the Christmas Season every year seems to “happen that quick”.

          I wish you all then a Happy New Year, a continued Merry Christmas, and an early Happy Epiphany. May your post-Christmas Day and post-Christmas season stories be bright, blessed, and filled with the love of Jesus Christ. Amen.