Epiphany
Today is the
Second Sunday after Christmas. Next Sunday is the first Sunday after Epiphany. Epiphany
occurs on January 6, 12 days after Christmas Day. What does “epiphany” mean? The
online Encyclopedia Britannica gives this answer: Epiphany is the celebration “commemorating
the first manifestation of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, represented by the
Magi, and the manifestation of his divinity, as it occurred at his baptism in
the Jordan River and at his first miracle, at Cana in Galilee.” We focus today
on the first of these aspects of the Epiphany.
We read the
Scripture from Matthew 2, in which Jesus was manifested (or made known) to the
Gentiles, represented by the magi. These oriental scholars had been studying
the stars, which told them that “the king of the Jews” had been born somewhere
east of where they lived. They followed the star, which led them to Bethlehem
and to the house where Mary and Joseph and Jesus were. There Jesus the Messiah
was revealed to them, and there they worshipped him.
Consider the light
of the star. At one level, Epiphany – indeed, Christmas as a whole – is our
festival of light. Many religions have festivals of light – I checked Wikipedia
out of curiosity and found the following (among others):
·
Diwali
in Hinduism, Sikhism, and Jainism.
·
The
Lantern Festival in China, originating in Buddhism.
·
Hanukkah,
a Jewish holiday.
·
Not
to mention festivals held in various countries and cultures – from Canada to
the United States to various countries in Europe and Asia.
And, of course,
Christmas. Light is a basic theme throughout the Christmas season, and it comes
to a glorious climax with the light of the star over the house in Bethlehem. We
use this theme of light, then, to look at the Scriptures we read this morning.
Isaiah 60: 1 to 6
The passage from
Isaiah forms one of the best known and moving parts of Handel’s Messiah: “For
behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the
Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee.” (vv 2 and
3)
Consider what
Isaiah has to say:
Verses 1-3: The
light of God’s glory has risen on God’s people. They were lost in the darkness
of exile from their homeland, refugees trapped in Babylon. There, in their
darkness, God appears with a salvation so great, so wonderful, that the rulers
of the world come to see what is happening.
Verses 4-6: God’s
people are called to look up and see how God has set them free, as even their
enemies bring good things to them. They have been scattered, but now they are
being gathered together and brought back home to live in peace and light.
You can see how
the theme of light speaks to us today. Like God’s People in Isaiah, we live in
darkness. We struggle with personal and public problems. A cloud of Covid-19
hangs over our heads, so that we wonder if there is any hope in life. The
darkness of failed relationships drifts between us, isolating us from other
people. Imaginary fears and all too real problems threaten us, and we wonder
how we can make it.
Into our darkness
comes light. God’s light. The light of God’s salvation. We find that God can
restore relationships that we have given up on. We discover that God heal
diseases of the body and of the soul – through medical science and therapists
and directly through the touch of God’s Spirit. Light sparks and grows around
us and drives away the darkness!
Matthew 2: 1-12
The book of Matthew
has several basic themes. One of them is the way that the gospel appeals to
Gentiles as well as Jews, to the ultimate outsiders as well as the complete
insiders. The Great Commission (as we call it) at the end of Matthew’s book
states it clearly: “Go into all the world and make disciples of all people” –
Jews and Gentiles, men and women, rulers and peasants, the most woke generation
ever and their boomer grandparents. The light Isaiah describes is not just for
the Chosen Few. God’s light shines on the whole world.
Another basic
theme in Matthew’s Gospel is the rule of Jesus as the king of the universe. In
chapter one, Jesus is identified as the son of David, the king of Israel.
Again, at the end of the book, Jesus begins the Great Commission with the
words, “All authority in heaven and on earth is given to me.” Jesus is the
supreme ruler, the creator of all that is.
Both themes are in
Matthew 2. The conflict between Herod King and Jesus King is clear. The magi
come looking for Jesus. They ask King Herod the way. He directs them to
Bethlehem and tries to enlist them as his spies to help him get rid of the
competition. Then they meet Jesus, and they worship him. After they worship
King Jesus, they do not return to Herod. In fact, they never call Herod “King”
again. Herod has been dethroned. Jesus is the King of the Universe.
The theme of
inclusion is clear in the identity of the magi. They came “from the East” – not
Ontario, but what we would call Iran today. They were not Jews. They did not
know the Torah. They were not part of the Chosen People, but God called them
and brought them by the star to worship Jesus. Jesus is their saviour as well
as the saviour of the Jews. The gospel is for everyone. God includes everyone
who responds to God’s call on their lives.
These themes are
presented through the star – the festival of light. There is plenty of light
throughout the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke – especially the bright
angels coming to the shepherds in Luke 2. The star that led the magi was
quieter and steadier than the angels of Luke 2. It was also a source of the
light that showed them the King of the Jews and the Saviour of the world. The
festival of light.
Light in our World
The basic idea is clear enough. We live
in difficult dark times. God comes into our darkness with light. The way that
John puts it is this,
4 In him was life, and
that life was the light of all humankind. 5 The light shines in
the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. … 9 The
true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He
was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not
recognise him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his
own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to
those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of
God – 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of
human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. (NIV)
Isaiah and Matthew
invite us to “believe in his name” and become God’s children. They invite us to
shine the light of God’s salvation into the darkness of our lives. What does
that look like? Let me tell you two stories that illustrate light shining in
the darkness and bringing new life where we might think it is impossible.
The Axe and the
Tree
In June 1978, a
group of missionaries were holding on at a school named “Emmanuel Secondary
School”, just outside the city of Mutare in Zimbabwe. The Liberation War was
going strong. Government forces brutalized people in the countryside, and the
men and women fighting for majority rule in Zimbabwe also committed their own
atrocities.
One of these
terrible events was the killing of some missionaries who worked under the Elim
Mission from England. A group of combatants, probably from ZANLA, came at night
and killed seven missionaries and their five children. One of their co-workers
who survived was a man named Peter Griffiths, who was on home assignment in
England with his family when the attack came. His son (Steve Griffiths) has
written up the story in a book called The Axe and the Tree.
After the war, Griffiths
returned to Zimbabwe and moved to Harare. One day he heard that one member of
the group who had killed his co-workers had become a Christian and was studying
at a Bible School in Harare. He went to visit the man, who called himself
Garikai. Over time, they became friends, and Garikai told him the full story of
what had happened that night. It was a hard friendship, as they acknowledged
the darkness that made their memories so painful. It was also a good
friendship.
Eventually,
Garikai joined Griffith’s church. As they learned to trust each other and live
in the light of the gospel, Griffiths recommended Garikai to the elders of the
church to become a deacon. The story is much longer than I can tell this
morning, but it illustrates God’s light breaking into human darkness. As the
missionaries were dying, they prayed aloud for God’s salvation to come to their
attackers. Garikai was one of eight members of the attacking party who came to
faith in Christ and learned to love the Prince of Peace.
This same darkness
threatens all of us. There was a former soldier from the Rhodesian Army in their
church. The army and the liberation forces were deadly enemies. One evening, as
they had supper together, he asked Griffiths, “Do you believe this fellow will
be in Heaven?” Griffiths replied, “Yes, I do.” The former soldier said, “Then I
don’t want to be there. I’m not interested in sharing heaven with the likes of
him.” Griffiths replied, “Then you don’t yet fully understand the depths of
your own sin or what Jesus achieved through his death on the cross.”
Christian Aid
Mission
Last October, 16
missionary adults and children, along with their driver, were abducted in Haiti
by a gang called 400 Mazowo. We have followed the story – how the gang
kidnapped the 17 people from Canada and the USA; the demand for US$1,000,000
per person; the initial release of the first five people; and finally the
escape of the remaining 12 missionaries and children.
The story makes
for interesting reading, but I notice especially how the Christian party acted.
The news reports tell how they prayed and sang at regular times, three times a
day. Now that they are finally free, they have spent more time calling for
forgiveness than for revenge. They found themselves in darkness, and they
responded by looking to the light of God’s presence.
They were
conservative Mennonites, and we might find their choices a little over the top.
We don’t adopt a curious form of dress as they do. We don’t avoid the world
around us with the care that they do. But we do share their commitment to peace
and reconciliation. Their example of bringing light into darkness is one we
also share. God’s light shines into the darkness of this world in and through
God’s People, through you and me.
One More Story?
I could tell more
stories, but these stories have a danger. We hear about a massacre in Zimbabwe,
and we may think, “Of course, Africa is a violent continent.” We hear about a
kidnapping in Haiti, and we may think to ourselves, “Of course, Haiti is
corrupt, a failed state.” We may think that we are different, but of course we
are not different. That’s the danger. We may think that the darkness of this
world lies in other people, when in truth darkness is close to all of us.
Canada is no better than Haiti. North America is no better than Africa. The
darkness of human sin and brokenness comes in many forms and covers all of us.
God’s love also comes in many forms and shines “far as the curse is found”.
The last story
that we must tell is our own story. We look inside ourselves and acknowledge
the darkness around us and within us. We discover God’s light shining around us
and within us. The star shining over Bethlehem shines over our own homes as
well, and the Saviour of the world has come to you and to me as well.
Conclusion
Our theme
throughout Advent has been to imagine God bringing peace and hope and joy.
Today the conference theme is “Imagine God dancing.” When we see the darkness,
we may think that God is weeping. Indeed, God does enter the heart of darkness
and weeps there with us. But God does not remain in darkness. God cannot remain
in darkness! God is light! God brings light! And one way to see that light is
to imagine God dancing. Dancing with joy, spreading peace and hope not just as
far as the curse is found, but further, much further.
I danced in the morning when the world was
begun.
And I danced in the moon and the stars and
the sun,
And I came down from heaven and I danced
on the earth.
At Bethlehem I had my birth.
Dance, then, wherever you may be, I am the
Lord of the Dance, said he, And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be, And I’ll
lead you all in the Dance, said he.”
Two final thoughts. What does
this all mean? More than these two thoughts, but at least this much:
1) We cannot make the light that we
need in our darkness; only God is light. Only God can save us.
2) When God shines the light of
salvation in our lives, that does not mean there are no more problems, no more
darkness. We live in mingled shades of light and dark until Jesus returns or we
die. It means that God shines light into our darkness, and the darkness cannot
defeat it.
Steinbach
Mennonite Church
2 January 2022
Focus Statement: Many religions have festivals
of light. "Epiphany" is one such festival with the star over
Bethlehem. The star reminds us that light has come into our darkness and that
darkness can never overcome the light.
Texts: Isaiah 60: 1 to 6; Matthew 2: 1
to 12.
“Thinking Ahead” Questions: We sing “joy to the world” and
say that the joy goes “far as the curse is found.” Which is stronger in your
life – the joy or the curse? And why?
“Going Deeper”
Questions:
·
What do
you think of the different “festivals of light” found in different religions of
the world? How is Epiphany like them? How is it different?
·
“Light”
and “Lordship” are connected in our texts. How do you see the connection
between God’s light in our darkness and God’s reign in our lives?
·
Which is
stronger in your experience – darkness or light? Why do you answer as you do?
How can we let God's light shine in?
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