Feast of the Epiphany, 2015

MATTHEW 2:1-12
THE GOSPEL STORY WE'VE JUST HEARD SETS UP AN INTERESTING CONTRAST.  ON THE ONE HAND, THERE ARE SOME PAGANS FROM THE EAST, WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE ARISTOCRACY.  THE MAGI IN PERSIAN SOCIETY WERE WISE MEN, ADVISORS TO THE RULERS; THEY WERE SCIENTISTS, GOOD AT OBSERVING NATURE; AND THEY WERE PROBABLY THE EQUIVALENT OF PRIESTS, OFFICIATING IN THE CEREMONIES OF THEIR RELIGION.  IN OTHER WORDS, LIFE WAS GOOD FOR THEM. YOU WOULD NOT EXPECT THEM TO PACK EVERYTHING UP AND TAKE A JOURNEY OF NEARLY A THOUSAND MILES ONE WAY.  THAT WOULD BE A MAJOR HARDSHIP AND TAKE A GREAT  DEAL OF TIME.  IT WOULD BE DANGEROUS AS WELL.  AND WHY DID THEY DO IT?  THEY HAD OBSERVED A STAR IN THE SKY AND WONDERED WHAT IT MEANT, AND AFTER THINKING ABOUT IT, STUDYING THE HOLY BOOKS THEY HAD AVAILABLE TO THEM, PROBABLY EVEN PRAYED, AND CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THIS ALL POINTED TO AN EVENT OF GREAT IMPORTANCE – THE BIRTH OF THE NEWBORN KING OF THE JEWS.  AND THEY DECIDED THAT THEY WERE BEING CALLED TO HONOR HIM AND BRING HIM GIFTS, PRECISELY, GOLD BECAUSE HE WAS KING; FRANKINCENSE BECAUSE HE WOULD BE THE GREAT HIGH PRIEST; AND MYRHH, BECAUSE HE WOULD ACCOMPLISH HIS DESTINY THROUGH HIS OWN DEATH.  EACH OF THEM HAD A GIFT TO BRING.
HEROD AND ALL JERUSALEM, HOWEVER, WERE TROUBLED.  THEY TOO WERE AWARE THAT SOMETHING BIG WAS HAPPENING.  AFTER ALL, THEIR OWN SCRIPTURES WERE FULL OF REFERENCES TO THE COMING OF THE HEIR OF DAVID, THE SUFFERING SERVANT REFERRED TO BY ISAIAH, THE SON OF MAN THAT DANIEL THE PROPHET TALKED ABOUT.  THE WISE MEN OF THE  JEWS HAD ALL THIS INFORMATION AT HAND, INCLUDING AN IDEA OF ABOUT WHEN ALL THIS WOULD HAPPEN; AFTER ALL, DANIEL HAD MADE THAT PREDICTION.  BUT THEY HAD DONE NOTHING.  YOU WOULD THINK THAT SINCE THE PROPHET MICAH HAD EVEN NAMED THE CITY, THERE WOULD BE PEOPLE IN BETHLEHEM JUST WAITING FOR THIS EVENT TO HAPPEN.  BUT THEY WERE ALL TROUBLED.  THEY WERE TROUBLED BECAUSE IF THE PROPHECIES WERE ABOUT TO BE FULFILLED, THEY WOULD HAVE TO MAKE SOME CHOICES; THEY MIGHT HAVE TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES.  AND HEROD, WHO HAD DEMONSTRATED THAT HE COULD EVEN HAVE HIS OWN SONS EXECUTED ON SUSPICION THAT THEY WERE TRYING TO TAKE OVER HIS THRONE, WAS WILLING TO GO TO GREAT LENGTHS TO KEEP HIS POWER, EVEN IF, AS WE WILL SEE LATER, IT MEANS EXECUTING ALL THE BOYS UNDER TWO YEARS OLD.  HEROD BELIEVED JUST AS STRONGLY AS THE MAGI THAT A SINGULAR MOMENT IN HISTORY HAD COME; BUT HE WANTED NO CHANGE.
DO YOU KNOW HOW GOD WORKS?  WELL, I DON'T EITHER.  BUT SAINT PAUL TELLS US THAT EVERY BAPTIZED CHRISTIAN IS GIVEN A GIFT, NOT FOR HIMSELF, BUT FOR THE CHURCH.  THESE INCLUDE WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE, FAITH, HEALING, PROPHECY … AND SO ON.  I THINK THAT IS FOR THE MOST PART HOW GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS – THROUGH THE GIFTS HE GIVES US TO GIVE TO EACH OTHER.  AND IF WE WANT TO USE THESE GIFTS, WE HAVE TO BECOME DISCIPLES, OTHERWISE, WE WON'T REALLY BE AWARE OF GOD'S WILL FOR US.  AND BECOMING A DISCIPLE DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN; IT TAKES GOD'S GRACE, BUT IT TAKES OUR COOPERATION; AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT TAKES A LIFETIME.  THE MAGI GAVE UP EVERYTHING TO FOLLOW THE STAR, TO DO WHAT THEY HAD DISCERNED WHAT GOD WANTED THEM TO DO.
JESUS HIMSELF TOLD US HOW TO BE DISCIPLES.  FIRST, WE NEED TO LOVE GOD MORE THAN ANYONE OR ANYTHING ELSE.  THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE TURN OUR BACK ON THOSE WE LOVE; IN FACT, IF WE LOVE GOD MORE THAN WE LOVE OUR DEAREST LOVED ONES, WE LOVE THEM MORE THAN IF WE DON'T LOVE GOD THE MOST.  LOVING GOD BLESSES OUR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER.  PUTTING GOD FIRST PURIFIES OUR LOVE FOR OUR SPOUSES, OUR CHILDREN, OUR FRIENDS.   SECOND, JESUS TELLS US THAT HIS DISCIPLES MUST DENY THEMSELVES AND TAKE UP THEIR CROSSES AND FOLLOW HIM.  THIS FOLLOWS FROM STEP ONE; ONCE I'VE DECIDED TO LOVE GOD ABOVE ALL THINGS, I'VE GOT TO DO THE HARDEST THING FOR A HUMAN BEING TO DO – MOVE MYSELF FROM FIRST PLACE TO THIRD.  DENYING MYSELF MEANS EXACTLY THAT – I HAVE TO STOP BEING THE CENTER OF MY UNIVERSE SO THAT GOD CAN FILL THAT SPACE.  AND LIKE THE MAGI, I HAVE TO BEGIN THE PROCESS OF SHAPING MYSELF TO BE MORE LIKE CHRIST; I'VE GOT TO MAKE THE COMMITMENT TO LEARN MORE AND MORE ABOUT CHRIST, AND THEN TO START TO SHAPE MY LIFE IN HIS IMAGE.  THAT IN ITSELF IS A WORK THAT NEVER ENDS, BUT THE SAINTS ARE OUR INSPIRATIONS; THEY SHOW US THAT YOU CAN BE RICH OR POOR, MALE OR FEMALE, SMART OR MENTALLY CHALLENGED, A KING OR A MARTYR, AND IN ALL THESE CIRCUMSTANCES, YOU CAN BE LIKE CHRIST.  ANYONE CAN BE A SAINT, IF HE OR SHE WANTS TO BE.  THE THIRD REQUIREMENT IS TO FORSAKE ALL WE HAVE.  THIS DOESN'T MEAN TO TAKE A VOW OF POVERTY; IT DOES MEAN TO CHANGE THE WAY WE SEE WHAT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO US.  IT ISN'T OURS, IT BELONGS TO GOD; AND ITS TO BE USED TO BUILD UP GOD'S KINGDOM.  FINALLY, JESUS TELLS US THAT IF WE ARE TO BE DISCIPLES, WE MUST COUNT THE COST.  YOU CAN'T BE 50% A DISCIPLE.  YOU HAVE TO GO ALL THE WAY.  BILLY GRAHAM SAID “SALVATION IS FREE, BUT DISCIPLESHIP COSTS EVERYTHING.”  WE HAVE TO GIVE UP EVERYTHING THAT STANDS BETWEEN US AND JESUS, AND IT'S HARDEST TO GIVE UP OUR HABITS, ESPECIALLY THOSE THINGS THAT WE CONFESS WEEK AFTER WEEK, AND NEVER SEEM TO BE ABLE TO GET AHEAD OF.  IT'S EASIER TO STOP COMMITTING MAJOR SINS THAN IT IS TO BREAK THE HABITS THAT REINFORCE OUR SELFISHNESS.
WE ARE BEGINNING A NEW YEAR.  WE SHOULD ASK, HAVE WE MADE REAL PROGRESS IN OUR JOURNEY TO BECOME A TRUE DISCIPLE OF JESUS THIS PAST YEAR?  OR ARE WE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS WE WERE LAST NEW YEARS.  AND IN THE COURSE OF MAKING RESOLUTIONS, PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT RESOLUTION WE CAN MAKE IS THAT THIS YEAR WE WILL TAKE CONCRETE STEPS TO BECOMING NOT JUST GOOD PEOPLE, NOT JUST CHURCH GOERS, BUT TRUE DISCIPLES, WHO WILL BRING OUR GIFTS TO THE SERVICE OF EACH OTHER, SO THAT GOD'S INTENTIONS FOR THE WORLD CAN BE REALIZED THROUGH US.  WHAT A WONDERFUL DESTINY AWAITS US IF WE ACCEPT IT..  HOW SAD IT WILL BE IF NEXT YEAR THIS TIME WE ARE NO CLOSER TO BEING DISCIPLES, BUT ARE A YEAR CLOSER TO RUNNING OUT OF TIME.