THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD
3 JANUARY 2016
Saint
Paul knew the city of Ephesus well, because he lived there for three years. He knew it as a large prosperous port city
with a diverse population of people coming from many different areas and
cultures and races. The people of
Ephesus worshipped a wide variety of pagan gods. Most of these gods were inventions of “mystery”
religions, inviting people to become fully initiated members by gradually
learning the secrets known only to a select few.
When Saint
Paul writes this letter to the Ephesians from his prison cell in Rome, he is
aware that this notion of secrecy has been creeping into the Christian
community which he had founded in Ephesus.
Gnostics are insisting that Christians have to know the secrets to live
fully initiated lives in Christ. As a
steward of God’s grace (as one who has been called to preach the authentic Good
News of Jesus Christ), Paul acknowledges that there is mystery in Christianity,
in the sense that we can never fully understand what we believe. But, there is no secret! The mystery involves God’s plan that
originated with the Covenant with Abraham and has slowly been revealed to the
people of that Covenant. Now, in the
fullness of time, God has taken on human flesh and dwells in our midst – not
just in the lives of a few chosen people who know some secret, but in the lives
of all who embrace the Good News of Jesus Christ.
That is the
message of Saint Matthew. He writes his
Gospel to Jewish Christians. In telling
the story of the Magi, he proclaims the truth that God had chosen them not to keep
the truth to themselves, but to share it with the world. As Saint Paul insists, all who embrace the
Gospel are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in
Christ Jesus through the Gospel. These
non-Jews from the east are the first to encounter the newborn Christ. In offering him gifts of gold, frankincense,
and myrrh, they express our faith that Jesus Christ is a King, that he is God,
and that he is to win our salvation through suffering and death.
In our own
day, many people continue to search for the truth. Just as the Magi used the science of their
day, many young people are searching to find the truth through science, or
philosophy, or through nature. Many make
a distinction between being spiritual and being religious. There is much which is good about being
spiritual and being a seeker. But, the
star led those ancient mysterious seekers from the east only so far. To find the Word made flesh, they had to
consult those who knew God’s revealed Word through organized religion. Only through the revealed words of the prophet
Micah could they know that the King of the Jews was to be born in
Bethlehem. Only through the words of the
prophet Ezekiel could they know that God would eventually shepherd his flock
through an ideal shepherd who would give his entire life for the flock. Aided by religion, these spiritual seekers
eventually find the truth. Once they find
the child, they become aware that he had been seeking them all along.
On this
Feast of the Epiphany, we reflect on the ultimate gift of Jesus Christ, given
to us, and its implications. We are
aware that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has found its way to every part of the
world, to every culture, and to every race.
Our challenge is to reach out to the spiritual seekers of our own community
and welcome them into the fullness of religion.
As we construct our church of brick and mortar, we commit ourselves to
do whatever we can to engage those who honestly seek to find the truth. Please consider joining one of the book clubs
to discuss the book we gave at Christmas:
Rediscover Jesus. This is the first of many steps to engage
spiritual seekers, to help them find the truth that we worship here, and to let
them know that the Word made flesh has been seeking them all along.
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