How do you receive an Epiphany? A Meditation on Matthew 2

 

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea

in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men

from the east to Jerusalem, Saying,

Where is he that is born King of the Jews?

for we have seen his star in the east,

and are come to worship him.  

When Herod the king had heard these things,

he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

The season of Epiphany which begins this Sunday, marks a season when the church celebrates God making Himself known, specifically as He is revealed in the Incarnation of His Son.  What St. Paul describes in Ephesians as a mystery withheld from the beginning of the world, is now revealed in Jesus who is the Lamb of God, born to take away the sins of the whole world.  In every conceivable way, Jesus demonstrates Himself as God and King:  He is the Word by which the Father created the universe, the Word by which it continues to exist, and the Word by which the whole of creation shall be judged on the Last Day; according to His humanity, He is descended from David the great king of Israel, fulfills all the Old Testament prophesies about how He would come into the world, and what He would accomplish during His time here; in His victory over sin, death, hell, and the devil through His own life, death, and resurrection, His Vicarious Atonement ushers in the New Creation, and builds His eternal Kingdom by uniting His people to Himself by grace through faith in Him alone.  He reveals Himself as God with us, as well as God for us:  He is the One who spoke the Law among His people at Mt. Sinai, and the One who satisfied the curse of the Law among His people on Mt. Calvary; the One who in His own Person is the entirety of the holiness of the Law, and the entirety of the grace of the Gospel; the One who is the Word of God made flesh, and who continues to abide among His people by His Word.

This is quite a revelation.  It shatters every pompous presumption of man’s own devising, and every mark of man’s own prestige.  It declares that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  It calls man to faith and repentance, pointing him to the only hope of his salvation:  Jesus Christ.  It casts into stark contrast the paltry systems of government, beauracracy, politics, and business we create in our own sinful image, by the all revealing light of His eternal Kingdom shining forth from its only rightful King of the Universe.  Such an Epiphany makes clear what was shrouded from view after the Fall of man into sin:  that God alone is holy, and God alone is the hope of salvation for every man, woman, and child who shall ever enter this world.  This is the light of truth which Jesus brings into the world, which the demonically influenced world neither comprehends nor overcomes.  This truth made known is the great Epiphany, and it stands before our eyes whether we want it to, or not.

And therein lies the crux of mankind’s conundrum.  God has made Himself known together with His salvation, by the power of His Holy Spirit working through His Word to create faith in those who hear Him proclaimed in the words of His own Law and Gospel.  But He leaves all men free to reject Him, His Word, and His salvation.  In a mystery beyond all fathoming, the infinite and all-powerful King of the Universe condescends not only to make Himself known, but also to allow Himself to be repudiated.

Contrast the response to God’s great Epiphany of the Wise Men versus King Herod and his court.  The Wise Men, not of any obvious relationship to the Hebrew nation, received God’s Word of grace and truth, went forth in repentance and faith, and beheld the gift of God to all mankind.  King Herod heard the Epiphany of God’s Word, rejected it, and slaughtered an entire village’s children trying in vain to stamp it out.  Captured in the icons of these two great responses to God’s Word, we see the freedom of man exercised in every generation:  those who receive God’s free gift of grace with joy and faith, turning from their lives of sin to embrace His new life offered in Jesus; and those who rebel against God and His grace, choosing their own evils over salvation in Jesus, and by doing so embrace an eternal death destined only for the fires of hell.

Such freedom remains for all the people of the world in every time and place, and exists within your own heart, as well.  The Word of God’s Law and Gospel are revealed to you this day in the very Person and work of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit working through that Word to give you the supernatural ability to repent and believe the Gospel of your salvation.  But the Lord coerces no one, for true and divine love is not a matter of coercion.  Only true freedom can bring forth true love, and it is the immeasurable depths of God’s great and abiding love for you, that He brings to you this freedom in His Gospel.  Here He stands before you, the King of the Universe, pierced for your transgressions, crucified for your sins, and risen from the dead for your eternal life.  Here the great Epiphany shines forth despite all the evils and treacheries of wicked men and devils, to enliven your cold and dying heart with His warmth, His life, and His love.

Let go your hold upon empty and despicable things.  Turn from the shadows of darkness, pain, and evil.  See the light of God’s Epiphany brought forth to you by His Holy Word, and the love of God made manifest to you in Jesus Christ. Feel the Spirit of Truth breathe life into your dying soul, that your every breath may be a joyous and free response of love to God.  Hear the saving Word of the Lord.  Turn, believe, and live in this great and eternal Epiphany.  Amen.