Homily for Epiphany 2013

My sisters & brothers, let us put Christ in the first place in our lives and keep all else in balance under his grace. 

Our first reading today we see Isaiah’s prophecy of the Epiphany story.  As familiar as it is, there are a few details that are worth noting.  Darius, King of Persia, has permitted the people of Israel to return to Jerusalem.  Isaiah is basically telling the people to enjoy this event as a blessing from God.  God is with them; their life in the city will reflect the presence and power and glory of God.

Most importantly for us today is the promise that many nations will seek the wisdom of God and come to pay homage to God in Jerusalem.  We see this in the symbolic language “thus the wealth of Arabia will come to the city.” 

One of the key elements of Matthew’s gospel is the demonstration that Jesus fulfills prophecies and is, undoubtedly, “the one.”  In the Gospel story we just heard, Matthew illustrates his point about Jesus by relating how stories of his birth fulfill the prophecies of the anticipated Messiah.

When Matthew states, In the time of King Herod, he sets a time for Jesus’ birth in or before the year 4 B. C. E.  We know this because The King Herod Matthew refers to (Herod the Great) died in 4 BC.  I spoke of this last week also. 

The Wise Men Matthew speaks of would have been members of a Persian caste of astrologers and interpreters of dreams.  Astrology was widely accepted then.  A star was commonly associated with each person, the way the star rose told the astrologers that a king had been born.  The book of Numbers 24:17-24 prophesies that “A . . .  a star shall come out of Jacob, a scepter shall rise out of Israel,” and that this ruler will conquer surrounding nations.  Once again, Matthew demonstrates that Jesus is the one who truly fulfils prophecy. 

As I mentioned one of the key points of this prophecy and fulfillment is that foreigners came to recognize God’s presence in Israel and travel there seeking God out.  The Gentiles are meant to receive the blessings of the messiah just as the Jewish people. 

In our second lesson today, Paul is talking about how he dedicated his entire life to this mission.  Paul sees the non-Jewish Christians, Gentiles, as equal in every way to the Jewish Christians.  Paul calls them co-heirs and co-members and copartners in Christ. 

This is a very important piece of our story today.  It’s not enough that we recognize that Jesus fulfills the prophecies of Isaiah and Numbers; we must also recognize that in him the prophecy about foreigners seeking God and worshiping God is fulfilled.  It was this awareness that led the early Christians to share the gospel with non-Jews.  Paul ran hard with this idea and gave his life to the mission. 

In our day and age we need to take to heart this call and remind ourselves that any prejudice is out of place in a Christian community.  We are not of higher status because of our color, language, education, citizenship or ethnic heritage.  It’s not about Republican or Democrat; it’s not about view points or perspectives, insider knowledge or anything else that makes us different from one another.  God has made us all in God’s image and holds a place at the table in heaven for each of us.  The early Jewish Christians were not elitists, and did not hold the gospel to themselves, neither can we.  It is our responsibility to lay out the welcome mat for all who seek Christ in an authentic way and wish to share in God’s Word and Sacraments with us.  In this way we put Christ first and keep all else in his graced balance.  It is in this way that we follow the example of our ancestors in faith.