The Epiphany of Our Lord 2023

Matthew 2:1-12

January 6, 2023

In the days of Herod the king, men asked, “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews?”

A dangerous question! Herod was notoriously paranoid, and notoriously ruthless. He eliminated anyone he perceived a threat. This included several sons. To call Herod “troubled” at this news is a masterclass in understatement.

The wise men themselves were troubled. They took the trouble to journey from a far country. They upset the entire flow of their lives. This journey cost them time, money, perhaps reputation — not to mention the expensive gifts.

Are you troubled? Everything about this Child should be troubling to you, i.e., upset the order of your life.

What is king in your life? Who rules?

Herod fears for his throne. We likewise have thrones. They are petty, but we aspire to greater ones.

The Magi show us the way. If they really three kings of orient are, they left their thrones to seek the One whose throne is a crib.

The advent of Jesus overturns their entire world. The Magi are practitioners of sorcery, witchcraft. An astrological sign sent them on a journey, but it was ultimately the Word of God that finished it. Their reason took them only so far: to Jerusalem, where a king would be expected.

But God does not work in the expected things of the world. He turns them upside down. Wealth is poverty, and poverty is wealth; the proud end up the lowest, while the humble are exalted. The ones with lavish tables are sent away hungry, while the wretched in the gutter are welcomed to the heavenly banquet.

So Christ is not found in palace or temple in the capital city. He’s in a small town with an unlikely set of parents.

And seeing Him, they worship. Veiled in flesh the Godhead they see. Would you have seen it? Nothing about Him appears royal, much less incarnate divinity. So do not think that if only you had a greater sign, you would believe more fervently, be more devoted. You have better signs than the Magi did, for you have the testimony of all this Child said and did.

The Magi then leave by a different way. T.S. Eliot’s great poem for Epiphany, The Journey of the Magi, ends with the wise men asking this question: Did we go all that way for a birth, or a death?

They are looking for the king of the Jews. It’s the title given Him on the cross. Not incidental! It’s precisely there, on the cross, where He is enthroned. He is king by dying.

And He sends us out to die. Die to self; die to our own desires; die to the lusts of the flesh; die to the pride of tearing others down. The delight in sharing gossip, or believing you are better than your enemies – these must die in us.

The Child sends us out, with the Magi, by a different way. Life cannot be the same. Everything we have been is troubled, but to our troubled hearts, the Child rises up from the boat and declares, “Peace! Be Still!”

And you come all this way not for a birth, but a death. So this little Child leads you to resurrection.

Who cares, then, if this life leaves you with very little gold, very little sweet-smelling stuff, but difficulty and crosses? This little Child gives you great joy, and your life shall never be the same. +INJ+