The Epiphany Of Our Lord
Devotional
Pause Before The Pulpit
Personal Reflections For Pastors On The Lectionary Readings
Matthew 2:1-12
These men, who came looking for Christ, have always impressed me. They had to have been working with rather sketchy information, and yet they pursued their mission with great determination. And what amazes me is that no one in the land of Judea seemed to have a clue! It reminds me of how we can be looking for our car keys, but just can't find them. Then somebody comes into the room and finds them right away, only to point out that they were "right under our nose" all the time! So, too, the child for whom the Wise Men were looking was "right under the nose" of the Jewish people and yet they never noticed him.
We see in our text that the chief priests and scribes knew something about the potential birth of Christ, for they quoted out of their own prophet's writings and were able to steer these travelers, from the East, to Bethlehem. This scene (in vv. 1-8) amazes me, for if the chief priests and scribes knew where the Christ was to be born, why weren't they out looking for him? Why didn't this peculiar situation cause them to go and make a diligent search for the child?
I wonder if we, in ministry, can become as careless and filled with apathy as the religious leaders of that day? In other words, is it possible that people might come to us, filled with curiosity about the claims of Christ and the truths of scripture, and we simply brush them off or tell them to look for answers on their own? Is it possible for us to be too familiar with the truths of God's Word that we lose our interest and curiosity, and no longer pursue these truths with those who are searching? I fear it is. And that ought to grieve us deeply!
The chief priests and scribes, if they had been on the ball and doing their job, should have not only told the Wise Men what their prophets had written and where they believed the Christ Child to be born, but they should have gone with them and looked for him also. They should have had the same faith and passion that these Gentile travelers had. But they didn't, and as a result, they missed out on an awesome discovery.
Notice the emotion that the Wise Men felt when they realized that they were being divinely led to this wonderful discovery: 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.
When was the last time you were overwhelmed with joy over a rich discovery in God's Word? When was the last time you were overwhelmed with joy, realizing that God's Spirit had just opened your eyes to something you had never seen in his word before, or enabled you to understand a passage that you had never understood before?
I have noticed, over the years, that often someone who has not grown up in the church is more excited about coming to faith in Christ, or discovering some new truth from the Bible, than most people who grew up in the church and have been reading their Bible all their life. Should we not be just as overwhelmed with joy at the message of a Savior for all who believe? Is it not still good news for us, too, and not just the unbelieving sinner? Is not the story of Christ's birth just as good news today as it was then? The answer to all those questions is, "Yes!"
Perhaps one way to renew and recapture that joy once again, is to do as the Wise Men did: to worship Christ once they found him. Jesus is, as we sometimes say, "only a prayer away." Therefore he is not hard to find. When we find him, may we be quick to worship him, whether privately or publicly. As we do so, and others see the joy that is ours as a result of having found him and worshiped him, it will be contagious. Others will want to look for Jesus, too, and hopefully we will not only steer them in the right direction, but actually "go there" with them and make the discovery with them all over again, no matter how many times we've done this.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Please fill me with an overwhelming joy over your birth and arrival here on earth. May I never take lightly the significance of your birth for me, but be quick to worship and praise you for who you are and for what you have done for me. Thank you! Amen.
Ephesians 3:1-12
The season of Epiphany is all about revelation, and specifically the revelation of Christ Jesus to the world as the Son of God. In this Epistle Lesson, the Apostle Paul pointed out that God had commissioned him to be a servant in this revelation process. Paul had an Epiphany experience on the road to Damascus and since then God's Holy Spirit had been revealing more and more of Christ to Paul. Paul clearly understood his calling to be one through whom the Holy Spirit would reveal Christ to the world.
We too have been called to help with this process. As we proclaim the Word of God, the Holy Spirit is speaking through us to those who either have never heard, or who have, but never understood what they heard.
What we proclaim has its share of mystery to it, but not to the extent that it held for those who lived before Christ. There had been an understanding that the Messiah would one day come, but exactly when, no one knew. In addition to that, a major element of this mystery, which had been concealed up to this time, was the revelation of Christ to the Gentiles so they too might become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Although this text was Paul's commentary on what God had been doing in and through him to advance the gospel, it can be (and should be) ours as well. Read with me, verses 7-10, and I think you will agree:
Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God's grace that was given me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles (or we might add the name of our community here) the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
Could we describe our calling any better than this?
You see, my colleagues, we are little more than servants in God's kingdom, no matter what level of ministry degree we have. And Paul identified himself as the very least of all the saints, so what does that make us? Few pastors, if any, are as educated as Paul was, as well versed on the law as Paul was, and as gifted for evangelism, teaching, and writing as Paul was.
But nevertheless, let us understand that we have, by God's doing, become a servant according to the gift of God's grace that was given [us] by the working of his power. We have been chosen to be a member of the "Epiphany team" to help reveal Christ to the world. This grace was given to us so that we might effectively bring the good news of the boundless riches of Christ to everyone we have opportunity to share it with. And the effect of this, according to Paul, is that rulers and authorities in the heavenly places will also have Epiphany experiences, whereby they will better understand the wisdom of God. Our mission and purpose of proclaiming the gospel is not to them, but to the spiritually lost in the world around us. As we do so, it is having a positive effect on heavenly beings to a degree that we will not fully understand until we get to heaven. That is a pretty awesome thought, when you think about it!
Paul then encouraged the Ephesian church with something that can serve to be an encouragement to us as well. What Paul had done by way of being a part of the Epiphany process; what the Ephesians were doing by way of being a part of the Epiphany process; and what we in the church today are doing by being involved with the ongoing Epiphany process of revealing Christ to the world, is in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord. How exciting it is to be a part of something so huge and life changing!
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for making me your servant and blessing me with your grace that I may be so privileged to be a part of this great Epiphany movement of revealing Christ, not only to Gentiles, but to all who do not know you. Amen.
These men, who came looking for Christ, have always impressed me. They had to have been working with rather sketchy information, and yet they pursued their mission with great determination. And what amazes me is that no one in the land of Judea seemed to have a clue! It reminds me of how we can be looking for our car keys, but just can't find them. Then somebody comes into the room and finds them right away, only to point out that they were "right under our nose" all the time! So, too, the child for whom the Wise Men were looking was "right under the nose" of the Jewish people and yet they never noticed him.
We see in our text that the chief priests and scribes knew something about the potential birth of Christ, for they quoted out of their own prophet's writings and were able to steer these travelers, from the East, to Bethlehem. This scene (in vv. 1-8) amazes me, for if the chief priests and scribes knew where the Christ was to be born, why weren't they out looking for him? Why didn't this peculiar situation cause them to go and make a diligent search for the child?
I wonder if we, in ministry, can become as careless and filled with apathy as the religious leaders of that day? In other words, is it possible that people might come to us, filled with curiosity about the claims of Christ and the truths of scripture, and we simply brush them off or tell them to look for answers on their own? Is it possible for us to be too familiar with the truths of God's Word that we lose our interest and curiosity, and no longer pursue these truths with those who are searching? I fear it is. And that ought to grieve us deeply!
The chief priests and scribes, if they had been on the ball and doing their job, should have not only told the Wise Men what their prophets had written and where they believed the Christ Child to be born, but they should have gone with them and looked for him also. They should have had the same faith and passion that these Gentile travelers had. But they didn't, and as a result, they missed out on an awesome discovery.
Notice the emotion that the Wise Men felt when they realized that they were being divinely led to this wonderful discovery: 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.
When was the last time you were overwhelmed with joy over a rich discovery in God's Word? When was the last time you were overwhelmed with joy, realizing that God's Spirit had just opened your eyes to something you had never seen in his word before, or enabled you to understand a passage that you had never understood before?
I have noticed, over the years, that often someone who has not grown up in the church is more excited about coming to faith in Christ, or discovering some new truth from the Bible, than most people who grew up in the church and have been reading their Bible all their life. Should we not be just as overwhelmed with joy at the message of a Savior for all who believe? Is it not still good news for us, too, and not just the unbelieving sinner? Is not the story of Christ's birth just as good news today as it was then? The answer to all those questions is, "Yes!"
Perhaps one way to renew and recapture that joy once again, is to do as the Wise Men did: to worship Christ once they found him. Jesus is, as we sometimes say, "only a prayer away." Therefore he is not hard to find. When we find him, may we be quick to worship him, whether privately or publicly. As we do so, and others see the joy that is ours as a result of having found him and worshiped him, it will be contagious. Others will want to look for Jesus, too, and hopefully we will not only steer them in the right direction, but actually "go there" with them and make the discovery with them all over again, no matter how many times we've done this.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Please fill me with an overwhelming joy over your birth and arrival here on earth. May I never take lightly the significance of your birth for me, but be quick to worship and praise you for who you are and for what you have done for me. Thank you! Amen.
Ephesians 3:1-12
The season of Epiphany is all about revelation, and specifically the revelation of Christ Jesus to the world as the Son of God. In this Epistle Lesson, the Apostle Paul pointed out that God had commissioned him to be a servant in this revelation process. Paul had an Epiphany experience on the road to Damascus and since then God's Holy Spirit had been revealing more and more of Christ to Paul. Paul clearly understood his calling to be one through whom the Holy Spirit would reveal Christ to the world.
We too have been called to help with this process. As we proclaim the Word of God, the Holy Spirit is speaking through us to those who either have never heard, or who have, but never understood what they heard.
What we proclaim has its share of mystery to it, but not to the extent that it held for those who lived before Christ. There had been an understanding that the Messiah would one day come, but exactly when, no one knew. In addition to that, a major element of this mystery, which had been concealed up to this time, was the revelation of Christ to the Gentiles so they too might become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Although this text was Paul's commentary on what God had been doing in and through him to advance the gospel, it can be (and should be) ours as well. Read with me, verses 7-10, and I think you will agree:
Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God's grace that was given me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles (or we might add the name of our community here) the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
Could we describe our calling any better than this?
You see, my colleagues, we are little more than servants in God's kingdom, no matter what level of ministry degree we have. And Paul identified himself as the very least of all the saints, so what does that make us? Few pastors, if any, are as educated as Paul was, as well versed on the law as Paul was, and as gifted for evangelism, teaching, and writing as Paul was.
But nevertheless, let us understand that we have, by God's doing, become a servant according to the gift of God's grace that was given [us] by the working of his power. We have been chosen to be a member of the "Epiphany team" to help reveal Christ to the world. This grace was given to us so that we might effectively bring the good news of the boundless riches of Christ to everyone we have opportunity to share it with. And the effect of this, according to Paul, is that rulers and authorities in the heavenly places will also have Epiphany experiences, whereby they will better understand the wisdom of God. Our mission and purpose of proclaiming the gospel is not to them, but to the spiritually lost in the world around us. As we do so, it is having a positive effect on heavenly beings to a degree that we will not fully understand until we get to heaven. That is a pretty awesome thought, when you think about it!
Paul then encouraged the Ephesian church with something that can serve to be an encouragement to us as well. What Paul had done by way of being a part of the Epiphany process; what the Ephesians were doing by way of being a part of the Epiphany process; and what we in the church today are doing by being involved with the ongoing Epiphany process of revealing Christ to the world, is in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord. How exciting it is to be a part of something so huge and life changing!
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for making me your servant and blessing me with your grace that I may be so privileged to be a part of this great Epiphany movement of revealing Christ, not only to Gentiles, but to all who do not know you. Amen.
