The Magi and the Meaning of the Epiphany

The Epiphany C     January 6, 2019

Is.60:1-6,9      Ps. 72:1-2,10-17

Eph. 3:1-12   Matt. 2:1-12

Lectionary Link

The Christmas Pageant director always encounters a dilemma when it comes to the Magi or the Three Wise-men or the Three Kings.

Directorial decisions have to be made and usually directors depart from the Gospel text when it comes to the three Wise-men.  Most Christmas Pageant and creche scene place the Three Kings at the manger even though in the Gospel story the three Wise-men were never at the manger.

One only has so much room for scenery in the chancel and so one takes license with the placement of the Three Kings.

By calling them Kings, we are already taking license with the text, because they were Magi, the plural of magus, the same word from which we get magician.  So, they were probably sages associated with the wisdom schools of the time in foreign countries including astrology as a prominent "science" of their time.  The Psalmist wrote, "the heavens declared the glory of God," and the Gospel writers believed the birth of Jesus to be an event of the glory of God to which the heavens and all creation responded.  The magi were also regarded to be kings because of references in the Hebrew Scriptures about Kings coming to pay homage to some exalted figure.  And the Hebrew Scriptures provided the template for telling the story of Jesus.

Beyond the pomp and pageantry of the Kings and Magi which they do add to any pageant, is the function of the Magi story in the Infancy Narratives that arose late in the development of the Jesus Movement.

The Magi Story is the theology of St. Paul placed in a story to emphasize that the Gentile mission was God's priority from the beginning.

Is God available to everyone?  Is the God of the Hebrew Scriptures available to everyone?  The very notion of God would imply that God is universal?  How could God be truly a God if God was only for one tribe or nation or group of people?

It is more important to say that we are God's people than to say that God is my God or our God, the God who specifically belongs to the Episcopal Church, or to any religion or religious group.  For God to truly be "catholic," God must be universally accessible to all.  

Are water, air and food necessary to human life?  Yes, indeed.  God must be regarded to be as necessary and as accessible to human life as water, air and food, to be worthy of the designation of God.

So what's the problem?  The problem is when people become such exclusive gatekeepers of God, that they make God in the image of their own small rituals and practices rather than let God be God.  Members of all religious group can be guilty of over-associating the Great God with their petty practices and they can end up misrepresenting God.

St. Paul, a Jew and a Pharisee, wrote a theology of Gentile Christians in his letter to the Roman churches.  Paul wrote that through Jesus Christ his Lord he had: "received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name."

To bring about the obedience of faith among the Gentiles.  This sums up the meaning of The Epiphany, which means the manifestation of Christ to the nations.

Jesus in his own time and place was much more limited within specific religious parties of Judaism even though the control of the Romans of Palestine brought Gentiles into his life. 

How did the leaders of the early church present the Gentile mission in a teaching narrative of Jesus of Nazareth?  They understood that the Gentile mission was a message about the universal accessibility of God's love to everyone.  The magi story represents that the meaning of the birth of Jesus is that God is available to everyone because God took identity with a specific person Jesus, to indicate that God takes identity with us all as our heavenly parent.

The early Christian leaders who were Jews, searched the Hebrew Scriptures for the universal themes.  They read that the Temple was to be a house of prayer for all peoples.  They believed that Abraham was a father of all faith before Israel and Moses and the Law even existed.  They noted that Jonah preached to the foreigners of Nineveh.  They noted that Elijah healed a foreign general Naaman.  They quoted Isaiah about God's salvation being brought to the ends of the earth.

Peter and Paul had to accept the fact that such a mission of universal salvation was not going to be quickly implemented within the existing religious parties of Judaism.  These parties had a universal message but their invitation was more limited; "you have to come to us to receive a proselyte baptism and begin a life of ritual conformity."  What Peter and Paul learned is that people were having spiritual experience without ritual conformity;  Peter and Paul adopted their theology to what was happening in the spiritual lives of Jews and Gentiles.  A person could receive the birth of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and still be a ritually conforming Jew or they could be a Gentile who did not observe all of the ritual practices of the synagogue.

The Season of the Epiphany is about the program of the universal salvation that was offered in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The story of the Magi is a story for the Epiphany because they are placed at the birth of Jesus signifying that it was God's intention to expand the universal message of creation, the promise of Abraham and the messianic meanings of the Hebrew Scriptures to all of the peoples on the earth.

And we are the recipients of this expanded message of universal salvation.  It has given us a bit different mission than Judaism but what it means is that we believe that God is actively coaxing people to accept their belonging in God's family.

Let us rejoice in the message of the Epiphany.  God is manifest to all.  And God is love.  Jesus is an expression of God's love to us.  And it is our epiphany to experience God's love through the birth of Christ within us, and be received into the company of Magi, made wise by having an Epiphany of Christ.  Amen.

Sunday School, January 6, 2019 The Epiphany C

Sunday School, January 6, 2019  The Epiphany C

The Wise-men and the Epiphany

The Epiphany ends the Christmas Season and begins the Epiphany Season in the Church Year

What does Epiphany mean?

It is a great discovery.  Think about the time that you have found something special and said, “Wow!”  Or you read something and learned how to do something new and it changed your life.  When little baby learn how to speak or walk it is a great Epiphany.  Why?  When a baby learns how to walk they no longer want to be held as much and they want their freedom to go wherever they want to go.

When you discover something really wonderful, it can change your life because it gives you new ability to do new things and act differently.

The story about the Wise-men coming to visit the baby Jesus is the story about foreigners who were not born in the country of Jesus but who came to honor the birth of someone who was to be the king of their hearts.  The foreigners in the early church were called Gentiles, this means they were not born into Jewish families.  Many Gentiles were excited to have the birth of Christ happen inside of their hearts and the story of the three Wise-men celebrates the fact that many Gentiles came to know the birth of Christ.

The birth of Christ into the lives of anyone who wants to know it is the meaning of The Epiphany and the Season of Epiphany.

Sermon:

Once upon a time in a desert area, people came to live.  It is hard to live in a desert because of the lack of water.

One day, a certain tribe of people discovered a cave and when they went deep into the cave, they found a great underground river of water.  They were so excited to find such a great source of water, but they wanted to keep the water a secret.  So, they carried buckets of water out for themselves and they put guards at the entrance of the cave to stop other people from discovering their secret.  When the tribe met, they told everyone to keep their cave water a secret or it would be stolen by others.

The members of the tribe watched the other tribes around them suffer because they did not have enough water, but they kept their secret. 

One day the children of the tribe began to talk with each other.  They played with children in the other tribes and they saw how they suffered because they did not have enough water.  The children from the other tribes asked them, “How come you are so healthy and get enough to drink?  How do you water all of your plants to grow such big gardens?”  But the children who had the water had to keep the secret, but they soon began to feel guilty when they saw the other children suffer.   They decided to do something.

At the next tribal meeting, the children ask the oldest child to speak for them.  He said, “Members of the tribe, we children have seen the suffering of the other children and their parents because they don’t have enough water.  And we’ve seen the endless source of water in the cave.  And we know that they only right thing to do is to share it with others and find a way to bring it to others to help them.  Water is so necessary that it should be available to everyone.”

The older members of the family were embarrassed by their hoarding the water.  On that day they voted to share the water with everyone.  They found a way to bring the water to the surface in great amounts and build adquaducts to share it far and wide.

When you have something good and necessary, you have to share it with everyone.

This is the meaning of the Epiphany.  The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and the birth of Christ into our hearts does not just belong to us; it belongs to anyone who wants to know the joy of God living close in their hearts.

The Epiphany means the birth of Christ must be shared not only to the foreign wisemen but to everyone..  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

January 6, 2019:  The Epiphany

Gathering Songs: We Three Kings, The King of Glory, The Lord Is My Light, When the Saints Go Marching In

Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

People: And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and for ever.  Amen.

Liturgist:  Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.

And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.

Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: We Three Kings, (Blue Hymnal, # 128)

We three kings of Orient are, bearing gifts we traverse afar, field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star. Refrain: O star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright; westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.

Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain, gold I bring to crown him again, King for ever, ceasing never over us all to reign.  Refrain

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

A reading from the Prophet Isaiah

Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come.  They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 72

All kings shall bow down before him, * and all the nations do him service.

For he shall deliver the poor who cries out in distress, * and the oppressed who has no helper.

He shall have pity on the lowly and poor; * he shall preserve the lives of the needy.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

   Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:  `And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"  Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all our sins. Christ, have mercy.

Youth Liturgist:          The Peace of the Lord be always with you.

People:                        And also with you.

Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering

The King of Glory  (Renew! # 267)

Refrain: The King of Glory comes the nation rejoices.  Open the gates before him, lift up your voices.

Who is the king of glory, how shall we call him?  He is Emmanuel, the promised of ages.  Refrain

In all of Galilee, in city or village, he goes among his people curing their illness. Refrain

Sing then of David’s son, our savior and brother; in all of Galilee was never another. Refrain

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of God.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.  Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

All may gather around the altar

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;

You have made us in your image

And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:

Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.

And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph

And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat

  the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as  

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

 And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbor.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, "Drink this, all of you. This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death and resurrection of Christ and that his presence will be with us in our future.

Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.  May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.

By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory

 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,

Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Alleluia! Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Hymn: The Lord Is My Light (Renew! # 102)

The Lord is my light, my light and salvation: in Him I trust, in Him I trust. 

Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: When the Saints Go Marching In (Christian Children’s Songbook # 248)

Oh when the saints, go marching in.  O when the saints go marching in.  Lord I want to be in that number, when the saints go marching in.

O when the boys go marching in…

O when the girls go marching in…

Dismissal:   

Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ. 

People: Thanks be to God! 

Let Us Be Star Light

The Epiphany      January 6, 2013

Is.60:1-6,9      Ps. 72:1-2,10-17

Eph. 3:1-12   Matt. 2:1-12

Lectionary Link

  Imagine for a moment young children watching a Disney cartoon with kings and queens and talking animals.  The children can take immediate delight in this production of the imagination.  As they enjoy the entertainment, the question does not occur to them as to whether the events in the Disney Cartoon are real or accurately depict life.  If you ask them if it were true, they would probably say “yes, it is true,” meaning that it is true that it is a cartoon video so don’t ask such a dumb question.  One might call this immediate appreciation of the cartoon a primary naïveté; a description that was offered by Paul Ricoeur. It is a ridiculous observation to tell children that their Disney Cartoons are not true.  At the same time, when a child is away from the cartoon the child learns to make a contrast between the animal in the cartoon who speaks actual human words and the child’s pet dog that does not speak.  If a child were to demand that the dog speak human words, then one would be concerned.  But the child learns levels of interaction between language and experience.  On another level of discourse one is suspicious about the reality of speaking dogs.   One’s pet dog may not speak and yet that does not deprive one from enjoying depictions of animals speaking.  And then on a third level there is the Disney creator who imagined and created the art of the cartoon for entertainment, artistic and aesthetic enjoyment and does so not only for children but also for adults who have the child-like ability to appreciate the truth of art without demanding that it be a perfect mirror reflection of actual animals.  This third level of understanding is what Ricoeur called the Second Naïveté.

  These three levels of perception are embedded in our human use of language and discourse and we simultaneously apply them all of the time.  We can however sometimes fall into confusion if we misapply the level of discourse which we are operating in.

  Today is the feast of the Epiphany and the story of the day is the story of the magi.  This story has taken on some interesting assumptions in the history of its presentations.  They became kings and not magi because of their association with verses from the ancient Psalms and Prophets.  So the magi had to be these kings with camels and their expensive gifts would give indication of their royalty.  And if they were royalty, it would only enhance the proclamation of Jesus as the King of Kings.  The story has gotten altered because of Christmas Pageants too.  Every Christmas Pageant director has to make editorial choices, not having the time or the budget of Oliver Stone.  According to most Christmas Pageant scripts the magi are three kings and they arrive at the stable in Bethlehem along with the shepherds and angels.  And of course the moving star is always fixed over the stable.  Whereas the actual Gospel account relates that the magi, after consulting Herod in Jerusalem go to Bethlehem and follow a moving star that stands still over the place where they find Jesus.

  Do you see the sort of problem one can have as a modern person?  But it really is not a problem unless one confuses the codes in understanding this story.

  In the mode of the primary naiveté we can appreciate this lovely story as a child would with the simply wonder of a nice story that forms our identity as a worshipping community and that endears us to a God who is presented as being present within the most vulnerable of all human beings, a baby.

  In our adult commonsense we are not going to tie our faith to a belief in an actual moving and hovering star that is so precise that can hover over a particular house in Bethlehem.  Our commonsense minds understand the difference between journalistic eye-witness accounts and the faith literature that is written to promote the adoration of Jesus Christ.  Our adult minds can study the context for how various kinds of literature were written.  Jesus is presented using the story themes from Hebrew Scriptures.  Jesus is presented using the common type of literature that was also used to encourage Roman citizenry to venerate their Emperors.  At the birth of Emperors, there were reports about the appearance of comets, all after the fact when the Emperor had plenty of propaganda writers to promulgate his image in the Empire.  Understanding this too, will help us understand this story of the magi as a political statement, even daring to present a fantastic birth story to compete with the stories about the Emperor’s birth.  On the level of our logical minds and our suspicion about actual hovering stars we understand how the literature functions in its context.

  So we have experienced primary naïveté and moved to adult suspicion of the literal but there is another level that we experience.  We experience a second naïveté when we move beyond a suspicion that would prevent us from having faith.  We experience the orientation into mystery and meaningful faith.  In this phase of interpretation we understand the significance of the early Christ-communities: they in no uncertain terms were beginning the globalization in the presentation of God’s love through the particular person of Jesus Christ.  Heretofore, the actual practice of Judaism tended to be limited to the ethnic community, in spite of the ancient prophets’ call for the universal invitation of God to all.  This universal invitation became more significantly achieved by the early Christ communities.  The magi are foreign pilgrims to the birth of Christ.  This was the story form of the globalization of the meaning of Christ.  The Epiphany or Manifestation or Showing of Christ meant that God was available, always and already to all people.  This is what Jesus Christ made known about God.  And this is what came to distinguish the practice of Christians from the other faith communities of their time.

  Evangelism simply means that God is globalized and no one can control access to God; no one can put limits upon whom God is available to.  Yes, indeed communities with imperfect and biased and small-minded and controlling people can limit access to their communities but they cannot deny access to God.  God is manifest to everyone, God is available and accessible.  And if we understand this we can enter into the second naïveté regarding the story of the three magi.

  So today, on this feast of the Epiphany, please don’t get tied up into a pretzel regarding belief and truth about the magi.  We simultaneously can live in the childlike wonder of the story; we can be true to our scientific suspicion about hovering stars; and we can enter the second naïveté and plumb the meaningful event of faith and spiritual pilgrimage that is affirmed and encouraged in this story.

  Let us be star light today shining the places of our lives to the event of the birth of Christ that is available to all.  It is not forced; it is available.  Let us be star lights as we help others to be wise persons, magi regarding the fact that indeed God is with us, God is with them, God is with all.  There are no foreigners to God.  Amen.