Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:1-12; St Matthew 2:1-12
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
“O let the harps break forth in sound! Our joy be all with music crowned, our voices gladly blending!” (LSB 395:5).
For we who have celebrated with high delight the great Feast of the Nativity of our Lord, the Twelve Days of Christmas, rejoice at the birth of the Messiah, who comes not only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but is born, Savior of the nations, that is, the Gentiles, the pagans, the far off and dwelling in darkness. He was born for us who dwelt in darkness and the shadow of death. On you, His light has dawned, and His glory is seen. Epiphany, dear children of Abraham, not by blood, but by faith, is your Christmas.
As it was for the announcement to the Jews, so also for the Gentiles. Our Lord calls and gathers to Himself the low and outcast, the degenerate and dejected. He reveals His glory to dirty shepherds by an angelic host and to unclean foreigners by a miraculous star. The heavens proclaim this wonder for by the coming of the Messiah heaven and earth are reconciled. The beginning of the end of the war has arrived. Heaven welcomes you home.
But if we are honest, it is a strange and unusual homecoming for these foreign travelers who arrive, in ignorance, in Jerusalem. The story of the wise men captures the hearts and minds of Christians, if only out of nostalgic romance, but in reality very little is known of these men. We do not know from exactly where they travel, nor how they came to believe that this unusual star led them Judea to worship a foreign child king.
Some speculate that they are Persian Babylonians who had fragments of the Old Testament from the during the captivity of Israel during the time of Daniel. St Matthew calls them, magi, as in magicians. Not the Harry Potter kind. Rather more like the Egyptians dark arts and witchcraft, Pharaoh kind. Remember when Aaron threw down his staff and it became a snake? And the magi of Pharaoh could perform the same sign by their dark arts? But Aaron’s snake-staff ate up all their snake staffs? That’s the kind of magicians these “wise men” are. They’re not Muslim, though that part of the world is heavily Islamic today, at the birth of Jesus that particular heresy hadn’t been invented yet.
At any rate they are astrologers, they watch the heavens and chart the stars. The unusual sight of a strange astrological phenomenon to the west, from Judea, sets them on their exceptionally long journey; possibly two years or more. And if they have parts of the Old Testament they don’t have or understand Micah, the prophet from whom the chief priests and scribe quote. But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me One who is to be Ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days (Micah 5:2).
We can’t discount the natural knowledge of God and the wisdom of the poets and scientists, philosophers and logicians. Even the pagan Greeks came close to understanding the nature of man as St Paul admits.
But natural knowledge, human reason and wisdom, can only go so far. It doesn’t get one to God, certainly not the God-in-the-flesh, born of a Virgin, true God. As Joseph was originally prepared to put Mary away quietly, until it was revealed from above that she carried the Son of God, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, so these magi ultimately end up lost in following their own reason and intellect. They go to where anyone who sought a king would go. To the capital, to the palace, to the earthly throne.
And this is where the reason and religion of man always leads. Earthly power. Outward strength. Pomp and grandeur. I believe that I cannot, by my own reason or strength, believe. But what does St Paul say to the Ephesians? The mystery was made known by revelation which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
What St Paul means by revelation we understand to be the special revelation of the Sacred Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (2 Tim 3:15). This is the means graciously employed by God the Holy Spirit to call, gather, and enlighten you: the Word of Christ, read and preached. God not only condescends to become Man, the Word made flesh, but also condescends to reveal Himself in the words of the prophets and apostles, men who spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Pt 1:21).
So what does all this mean? The magi arrive in Jerusalem by their own reason and intellect. But by careful study of the Word they know that the One born the King of the Jews, was not in Jerusalem, but rather was born in Bethlehem. And so Herod sends them to Bethlehem, but under false pretenses. They went on their way. And behold! The star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
Now here is a bit more pious speculation, but it is based in Scripture. The magi did not journey from Jerusalem and find the Child and the Holy Family in Bethlehem. Rather, as they journeyed from Jerusalem, traveling toward Bethlehem, the birth place of the Christ Child, the star that they had seen went before them, that is, the star turned them around and led them north to Nazareth, until it came to rest over the place where the child was. You don’t need a star to get to Bethlehem from Jerusalem; its like going from Monument Circle to Tech High School.
But, if Jesus was in Nazareth, which our Gospel text from last Sunday indicates - when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth (Lk 2:39) - then the miraculous star would have led them to Nazareth. Perhaps they intended to go to Bethlehem, but behold, the star rose and went before them until it came to rest over the place [in Nazareth] that the child was. When they saw the star they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house (not a stable or an inn), they fell down and worshiped Him.
The truly interesting thing is though, regardless of pious speculation and hypotheses, and not knowing much about the Magi, their presence and arrival are actually in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. Did you hear them in the propers of the day?
From the Introit: May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render Him triubte; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! May all kings bow down before Him, all nations serve Him!
From Isaiah: And nations shall come to Your light, and kings to the brightness of Your rising. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord (Is 60:3, 6).
Even the Psalm, which points back to the First Sunday in Advent while it simultaneously points forward to the Triumphal entry and Passion of our Lord, hints at the inclusion of the Gentiles.
And St Paul spells it out in the Epistle, the divine mystery of reconciliation and fellowship in Jesus Christ, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.
This is your star, you Gentiles. The Light of the Lord which shines upon you, the radiance of His Gospel and the proclamation of the full and free forgiveness of all your sins to you who were sitting in darkness and the shadow of death.
By the birth, life, death, and resurrection of this Babe from Bethlehem, the One born King of the Jews, you are ingrafted into the people of God and made co-heirs. Not only with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but co-heirs with Christ Himself. For not only is He the Son of God, the King, and recipient of the true kingdom, His reign of grace and mercy, He is also the One who unites Jew and Gentile as one in Himself.
So it is written by the Apostle: Remember that you were at one time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility (Eph 2:12-14).
He is our peace. Jesus is the forgiveness of sins. He has come to reconcile man to God and to one another. Which is why the whole mystery surrounding the Magi receives its “yes” and “amen” in Him.
And why the travesty resulting from Herod’s persistent unbelief is so heartbreaking. All the more so if the Magi actually traveled to Nazareth. For Herod is kind of a murdering psychopath. When he realizes he’s been tricked he sends his troops to commit infanticide and post-birth abortion upon all the baby boys in Bethlehem. This is a horrendous tragedy, one which is remembered on the 27th of December. It is the Feast of the Holy Innocents; who confessed the saving Name of Jesus not by speaking, but by dying. All the more innocently if Jesus was actually in Nazareth, not Bethlehem. In any case, St Joseph, warned by our Lord in a dream, safely whisks the Holy Family away to Egypt.
But out of Egypt the Father calls His Son, to die under another murderous Herod, at the hands of Jews and Gentiles alike who reject and kill Him.
But fear not, dear Christians. This was according to the eternal purpose that He has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord; as even these three gifts intimate. Gold, fit for a king. Frankincense, in confession of His divinity, the incense rising to heaven. A myrrh, that’s the oddest one. Myrrh was used for embalming bodies, preparing them for burial.
This little toddler, seated on the lap of His Mother came to die. And these pagan magi acknowledge this in their gifts given, and in worshipping Him. That is, they kneel before Him and bow their foreheads to the ground. For God has revealed Himself by a star, in His Scriptures, and in the Word-made-Flesh, this little boy is the King of kings.
And behold the Lord, the ruler had come, and the kingdom and the power and the glory are in His hand. And today, once more, He gathers you to Himself, by the Star of His Holy Word, to the Bethlehem of His Altar. Here, in His house, you bring your gifts, to be sure, but He sets before you the gifts of divine gifts His Body and Blood, of life and salvation, forgiveness and love. In His Epiphany, God has come to serve you.
Worship Him. That is, receive His Word and promises in faith as He opens the treasures of heaven to you. Merry Gentile Christmas, dear friends.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
“O let the harps break forth in sound! Our joy be all with music crowned, our voices gladly blending!” (LSB 395:5).
For we who have celebrated with high delight the great Feast of the Nativity of our Lord, the Twelve Days of Christmas, rejoice at the birth of the Messiah, who comes not only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but is born, Savior of the nations, that is, the Gentiles, the pagans, the far off and dwelling in darkness. He was born for us who dwelt in darkness and the shadow of death. On you, His light has dawned, and His glory is seen. Epiphany, dear children of Abraham, not by blood, but by faith, is your Christmas.
As it was for the announcement to the Jews, so also for the Gentiles. Our Lord calls and gathers to Himself the low and outcast, the degenerate and dejected. He reveals His glory to dirty shepherds by an angelic host and to unclean foreigners by a miraculous star. The heavens proclaim this wonder for by the coming of the Messiah heaven and earth are reconciled. The beginning of the end of the war has arrived. Heaven welcomes you home.
But if we are honest, it is a strange and unusual homecoming for these foreign travelers who arrive, in ignorance, in Jerusalem. The story of the wise men captures the hearts and minds of Christians, if only out of nostalgic romance, but in reality very little is known of these men. We do not know from exactly where they travel, nor how they came to believe that this unusual star led them Judea to worship a foreign child king.
Some speculate that they are Persian Babylonians who had fragments of the Old Testament from the during the captivity of Israel during the time of Daniel. St Matthew calls them, magi, as in magicians. Not the Harry Potter kind. Rather more like the Egyptians dark arts and witchcraft, Pharaoh kind. Remember when Aaron threw down his staff and it became a snake? And the magi of Pharaoh could perform the same sign by their dark arts? But Aaron’s snake-staff ate up all their snake staffs? That’s the kind of magicians these “wise men” are. They’re not Muslim, though that part of the world is heavily Islamic today, at the birth of Jesus that particular heresy hadn’t been invented yet.
At any rate they are astrologers, they watch the heavens and chart the stars. The unusual sight of a strange astrological phenomenon to the west, from Judea, sets them on their exceptionally long journey; possibly two years or more. And if they have parts of the Old Testament they don’t have or understand Micah, the prophet from whom the chief priests and scribe quote. But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me One who is to be Ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days (Micah 5:2).
We can’t discount the natural knowledge of God and the wisdom of the poets and scientists, philosophers and logicians. Even the pagan Greeks came close to understanding the nature of man as St Paul admits.
But natural knowledge, human reason and wisdom, can only go so far. It doesn’t get one to God, certainly not the God-in-the-flesh, born of a Virgin, true God. As Joseph was originally prepared to put Mary away quietly, until it was revealed from above that she carried the Son of God, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, so these magi ultimately end up lost in following their own reason and intellect. They go to where anyone who sought a king would go. To the capital, to the palace, to the earthly throne.
And this is where the reason and religion of man always leads. Earthly power. Outward strength. Pomp and grandeur. I believe that I cannot, by my own reason or strength, believe. But what does St Paul say to the Ephesians? The mystery was made known by revelation which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
What St Paul means by revelation we understand to be the special revelation of the Sacred Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (2 Tim 3:15). This is the means graciously employed by God the Holy Spirit to call, gather, and enlighten you: the Word of Christ, read and preached. God not only condescends to become Man, the Word made flesh, but also condescends to reveal Himself in the words of the prophets and apostles, men who spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Pt 1:21).
So what does all this mean? The magi arrive in Jerusalem by their own reason and intellect. But by careful study of the Word they know that the One born the King of the Jews, was not in Jerusalem, but rather was born in Bethlehem. And so Herod sends them to Bethlehem, but under false pretenses. They went on their way. And behold! The star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
Now here is a bit more pious speculation, but it is based in Scripture. The magi did not journey from Jerusalem and find the Child and the Holy Family in Bethlehem. Rather, as they journeyed from Jerusalem, traveling toward Bethlehem, the birth place of the Christ Child, the star that they had seen went before them, that is, the star turned them around and led them north to Nazareth, until it came to rest over the place where the child was. You don’t need a star to get to Bethlehem from Jerusalem; its like going from Monument Circle to Tech High School.
But, if Jesus was in Nazareth, which our Gospel text from last Sunday indicates - when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth (Lk 2:39) - then the miraculous star would have led them to Nazareth. Perhaps they intended to go to Bethlehem, but behold, the star rose and went before them until it came to rest over the place [in Nazareth] that the child was. When they saw the star they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house (not a stable or an inn), they fell down and worshiped Him.
The truly interesting thing is though, regardless of pious speculation and hypotheses, and not knowing much about the Magi, their presence and arrival are actually in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. Did you hear them in the propers of the day?
From the Introit: May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render Him triubte; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! May all kings bow down before Him, all nations serve Him!
From Isaiah: And nations shall come to Your light, and kings to the brightness of Your rising. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord (Is 60:3, 6).
Even the Psalm, which points back to the First Sunday in Advent while it simultaneously points forward to the Triumphal entry and Passion of our Lord, hints at the inclusion of the Gentiles.
And St Paul spells it out in the Epistle, the divine mystery of reconciliation and fellowship in Jesus Christ, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.
This is your star, you Gentiles. The Light of the Lord which shines upon you, the radiance of His Gospel and the proclamation of the full and free forgiveness of all your sins to you who were sitting in darkness and the shadow of death.
By the birth, life, death, and resurrection of this Babe from Bethlehem, the One born King of the Jews, you are ingrafted into the people of God and made co-heirs. Not only with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but co-heirs with Christ Himself. For not only is He the Son of God, the King, and recipient of the true kingdom, His reign of grace and mercy, He is also the One who unites Jew and Gentile as one in Himself.
So it is written by the Apostle: Remember that you were at one time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility (Eph 2:12-14).
He is our peace. Jesus is the forgiveness of sins. He has come to reconcile man to God and to one another. Which is why the whole mystery surrounding the Magi receives its “yes” and “amen” in Him.
And why the travesty resulting from Herod’s persistent unbelief is so heartbreaking. All the more so if the Magi actually traveled to Nazareth. For Herod is kind of a murdering psychopath. When he realizes he’s been tricked he sends his troops to commit infanticide and post-birth abortion upon all the baby boys in Bethlehem. This is a horrendous tragedy, one which is remembered on the 27th of December. It is the Feast of the Holy Innocents; who confessed the saving Name of Jesus not by speaking, but by dying. All the more innocently if Jesus was actually in Nazareth, not Bethlehem. In any case, St Joseph, warned by our Lord in a dream, safely whisks the Holy Family away to Egypt.
But out of Egypt the Father calls His Son, to die under another murderous Herod, at the hands of Jews and Gentiles alike who reject and kill Him.
But fear not, dear Christians. This was according to the eternal purpose that He has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord; as even these three gifts intimate. Gold, fit for a king. Frankincense, in confession of His divinity, the incense rising to heaven. A myrrh, that’s the oddest one. Myrrh was used for embalming bodies, preparing them for burial.
This little toddler, seated on the lap of His Mother came to die. And these pagan magi acknowledge this in their gifts given, and in worshipping Him. That is, they kneel before Him and bow their foreheads to the ground. For God has revealed Himself by a star, in His Scriptures, and in the Word-made-Flesh, this little boy is the King of kings.
And behold the Lord, the ruler had come, and the kingdom and the power and the glory are in His hand. And today, once more, He gathers you to Himself, by the Star of His Holy Word, to the Bethlehem of His Altar. Here, in His house, you bring your gifts, to be sure, but He sets before you the gifts of divine gifts His Body and Blood, of life and salvation, forgiveness and love. In His Epiphany, God has come to serve you.
Worship Him. That is, receive His Word and promises in faith as He opens the treasures of heaven to you. Merry Gentile Christmas, dear friends.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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