Light For Our Darkness
Sermon
Something's Coming ... Something Great
Sermons For Advent, Christmas And Epiphany
The Feast of Christmas celebrates God's wondrous gift of Jesus Christ to be the Savior of the world. The Feast of Epiphany celebrates our human gifts to God, symbolized by those gifts given by the wise men to the Christ Child. More than any other characters in the Christmas story, the three wise men have been the subject of much good humor. Perhaps you recall the story of the little boy who was setting up a manger scene in the corner of his schoolroom. Puzzled for a moment, he called out to his teacher, "And where shall I put the three wise guys?"
The truth is we know yery little about these ancient astrologers. We have assumed that there were three of them, because Matthew speaks of three different gifts being given to the Christ Child. We can only guess at the fact that they must have been persons of wealth because of the magnificence of their gifts. However, if we are to understand why the magi of old made that long journey to Bethlehem, we must go back to the prophecy of Isaiah.
When Isaiah wrote about caravans of camels bringing gold and frankincense, he was speaking of a time when the Jewish people would return to Jerusalem after their long exile in Babylon. The Persian emperor, Artaxerxes, was allowing Jerusalem to become one of his fortified cities. It was a time when gold, incense, lumber, stone and building materials would come from all parts of the Persian Empire. But for someone like Isaiah who looked at history with the eyes of faith, this was the end of the dark times for Israel, and the sign of new hope and blessing. The Lord God of Israel was breaking away the clouds of doom and the storms of despair, so that a new light of hope would come upon God's people.
When Matthew was writing many hundreds of years later, he remembered the prophecy of Isaiah about the light of God breaking forth in the midst of the earth's darkness. For him and for us, Jesus Christ is the brightest light God would ever send to this earth. So let's ask how the vision of Isaiah is fulfilled in the experience of the wise men. Here are some possibilities:
1. God's Guidance
One of the most significant facts about these ancient astrologers was their openness and willingness to follow God's guidance. Isaiah's opening words call the people of God to be open to God's leading: "Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you." The magi knew that the star which they followed was no ordinary star. These three had apparently been searching the heavens for years for signs of something unique and significant occurring in their world. They were open to new wisdom and truth, and when they perceived a star brighter than any they had ever seen, they sensed in their hearts that this was a sign from God.
How do people receive guidance like that from God? How do you and I know when God is speaking? Clearly, people of faith must be looking for the signs of God's presence, and making full use of the spiritual disciplines they possess. Isn't it amazing that these magi from a foreign land are the first to see this great star in the heavens, while King Herod and his prophetic advisors do not even take a moment to gaze into the Judean heavens! Thomas Edison was right. Genius is 98 percent perspiration and two percent inspiration! The Living God still speaks to women and men whose eyes are open to the signs of God's presence in the world about them, and whose hearts are open and receptive as they read the scriptures and as they pray.
Do you recall the humorous story of the pastor who waited until Saturday night to prepare a message for Sunday? Halford Luccock describes this distraught man going to his bookshelves, taking down one book after another, and mumbling to himself, "Nothing to preach about here." Finally the preacher takes down the Bible. After thumbing through its pages frantically, he says in despair, "Nothing to preach about here, either!" The magi reminded us on this Epiphany that God's guiding light is seen by those who are searching diligently for it.
2. Going Forth In Faith
A second way in which Isaiah's prophecy comes alive in the experience of the magi is their willingness to go forth on their incredible journey of faith. Isaiah speaks of a time when "nations shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising." Faith, by definition, involves us in a journey. That has to be a personal journey. Meaningful faith in the Living God cannot be found by proxy. That was Herod's mistake. He wanted the magi to go in his place and search for the child. Only then would he come and worship the newborn king. By contrast, the magi had to travel from a foreign land in search of wisdom and truth. They presumably could have sent out their servants on this long journey, but instead they made this a personal quest, and the result was an opportunity to worship the one who would be King of kings and Lord of lords.
This may well be the most important truth for us in the Epiphany story. A story of faith with Jesus Christ has to be a personal quest. It is not enough to know about Jesus Christ. One must encounter the wonder of God's grace for sinners, and then make a personal decision to receive Christ into our hearts as Lord. No one else can do that for you. Faith is not inherited like the family jewels, and yet hundreds of people have never made a personal faith commitment like that of the ancient wise men. I had an experience not long ago that I suspect is not unlike one many of us have. I was cleaning out a file of old college term papers. The one which struck a chord in me was a 16-page wonder on the "Contributions Of Pope Leo The Great" which I had written in one night for a course in Medieval History. It was outwardly impressive: I had two pages of footnotes, and a long bibliography of books I had barely scanned. The fact that I got a B on that paper was a triumph of generosity over good judgment on the part of my professor. But what caught my attention was the fact that I managed to tell the professor everything anyone had ever said about Pope Leo, but never once in 16 pages did I say a thing about what the study of that great Christian saint's life had meant to me.
In like manner, you and I can have a term paper relationship with Jesus Christ. We can know about Jesus, we can sing about Jesus, we can even use the name of Jesus when we pray, but our faith journey is not a personal one until like the magi of old, we involve ourselves, heart, mind and soul, in discovering what it means to know Christ personally.
3. Giving Generous Gifts
Yet a third place where the wise men light up the prophecy of Isaiah is in the bringing of generous gifts to the Christ. Isaiah pictures camels bringing costly gifts of gold and frankincense in celebration of Israel's return to the glory of Jerusalem. At Epiphany I almost always recall the cartoon which showed the three wise men riding across the desert. One turns to the others and says, "Why didn't you guys tell me you were getting such expensive gifts?" They were expensive gifts as were the ones described by Isaiah, and they symbolize a response of the heart to God's wondrous gift of the light and love of Christ.
Material substance and how we use it has always been an indication of the true loyalty of the human heart. In a world where if you lined up the hungry and the homeless in a single file line, that line would stretch 25 times around the globe, it is amazing to consider how we use our material resources. UNICEF has calculated that 100 million children will die in the decades of the 1990s. At least half of those children could be saved by simple measures such as immunization and medication. The estimated cost is $2.5 billion. That is about the same amount the American cigarette companies spend on advertising each year, or that Soviet citizens spend in a month on vodka. How painfully those statistics speak of what is truly important in the human heart! Isaiah on the other hand saw the precious gifts of material wealth being used to restore the radiance and glory of God's people in Jerusalem, and the wise men present their gifts to the holy family as outward tokens of their devotion and love for God.
One can only think of Henry Van Dyke's famous story of The Other Wise Man. Artaban was a king who started out to join the other three in following the great light of the Bethlehem Star. But all along the way, he encountered people in such desperate human need, that he uses up all the treasures he had brought for the Christ Child. It took him more than 30 years to find Jesus, and when he does, Jesus is dying on a cross. Artaban says, "Three and 30 years have I looked for you, but I have never seen your face." And the voice of Jesus says, "Inasmuch as you did it unto one of the least of these, you did it unto me." Artaban's face became suddenly radiant. His quest was ended. His generous giving had brought him face to face with Jesus Christ.
4. Glory Of God Revealed
One final truth that Isaiah lights up for us in the Epiphany Story is the glory of God being revealed in the midst of the world's darkness. Wrote the prophet, "Darkness shall cover the earth, but the Lord will rise upon you and God's glory will be seen upon you." Many people like Herod and his court missed the coming of the Messiah, because they could not imagine the glory of God being revealed in a stable! J. B. Phillips reminded us many years ago in his little book, Your God Is Too Small. So many of us limit our glimpses of God's glory in everyday life because we simply do not expect the living God to break into our lives while we work in the office, sit in our classrooms, or do dishes at the kitchen sink. But the glory of God is still breaking into the world's darkness for all who look with the eyes of faith.
One of my favorite Christmas stories is about the man who hated Christmas. It was Christmas Eve, but in spite of his wife's pleas, he would not accompany her to church. The whole crazy idea of God becoming a human being made no sense to his logical mind. He stood watching the heavy snow from his picture window. He thought of the birds and wondered if they would find the seeds he had put out for them. It was snowing so hard that the seed holders were quickly covered. He turned on the backyard lights, but both the birds and the seed were lost in the swirling snow. Putting on his heavy coat, he went outside and opened his big barn door. Then he spread birdseed just inside the barn, hoping that the birds would see it. They did not! Still hoping to help these little starving creatures, the man tried desperately to shoo the little birds toward the light of his open barn, but theywere too frightened. Here they were inches away from the food and water they desperately needed, and he was helpless. "If only I were a bird, I would show them the way to that life-giving food," he thought to himself. Just then the church bells began to ring announcing Christmas morning. Suddenly the man understood why God's Son came to show us the way to life eternal. That is God's glorious light for our darkened world! Arise, shine, for your light has come!
The truth is we know yery little about these ancient astrologers. We have assumed that there were three of them, because Matthew speaks of three different gifts being given to the Christ Child. We can only guess at the fact that they must have been persons of wealth because of the magnificence of their gifts. However, if we are to understand why the magi of old made that long journey to Bethlehem, we must go back to the prophecy of Isaiah.
When Isaiah wrote about caravans of camels bringing gold and frankincense, he was speaking of a time when the Jewish people would return to Jerusalem after their long exile in Babylon. The Persian emperor, Artaxerxes, was allowing Jerusalem to become one of his fortified cities. It was a time when gold, incense, lumber, stone and building materials would come from all parts of the Persian Empire. But for someone like Isaiah who looked at history with the eyes of faith, this was the end of the dark times for Israel, and the sign of new hope and blessing. The Lord God of Israel was breaking away the clouds of doom and the storms of despair, so that a new light of hope would come upon God's people.
When Matthew was writing many hundreds of years later, he remembered the prophecy of Isaiah about the light of God breaking forth in the midst of the earth's darkness. For him and for us, Jesus Christ is the brightest light God would ever send to this earth. So let's ask how the vision of Isaiah is fulfilled in the experience of the wise men. Here are some possibilities:
1. God's Guidance
One of the most significant facts about these ancient astrologers was their openness and willingness to follow God's guidance. Isaiah's opening words call the people of God to be open to God's leading: "Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you." The magi knew that the star which they followed was no ordinary star. These three had apparently been searching the heavens for years for signs of something unique and significant occurring in their world. They were open to new wisdom and truth, and when they perceived a star brighter than any they had ever seen, they sensed in their hearts that this was a sign from God.
How do people receive guidance like that from God? How do you and I know when God is speaking? Clearly, people of faith must be looking for the signs of God's presence, and making full use of the spiritual disciplines they possess. Isn't it amazing that these magi from a foreign land are the first to see this great star in the heavens, while King Herod and his prophetic advisors do not even take a moment to gaze into the Judean heavens! Thomas Edison was right. Genius is 98 percent perspiration and two percent inspiration! The Living God still speaks to women and men whose eyes are open to the signs of God's presence in the world about them, and whose hearts are open and receptive as they read the scriptures and as they pray.
Do you recall the humorous story of the pastor who waited until Saturday night to prepare a message for Sunday? Halford Luccock describes this distraught man going to his bookshelves, taking down one book after another, and mumbling to himself, "Nothing to preach about here." Finally the preacher takes down the Bible. After thumbing through its pages frantically, he says in despair, "Nothing to preach about here, either!" The magi reminded us on this Epiphany that God's guiding light is seen by those who are searching diligently for it.
2. Going Forth In Faith
A second way in which Isaiah's prophecy comes alive in the experience of the magi is their willingness to go forth on their incredible journey of faith. Isaiah speaks of a time when "nations shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising." Faith, by definition, involves us in a journey. That has to be a personal journey. Meaningful faith in the Living God cannot be found by proxy. That was Herod's mistake. He wanted the magi to go in his place and search for the child. Only then would he come and worship the newborn king. By contrast, the magi had to travel from a foreign land in search of wisdom and truth. They presumably could have sent out their servants on this long journey, but instead they made this a personal quest, and the result was an opportunity to worship the one who would be King of kings and Lord of lords.
This may well be the most important truth for us in the Epiphany story. A story of faith with Jesus Christ has to be a personal quest. It is not enough to know about Jesus Christ. One must encounter the wonder of God's grace for sinners, and then make a personal decision to receive Christ into our hearts as Lord. No one else can do that for you. Faith is not inherited like the family jewels, and yet hundreds of people have never made a personal faith commitment like that of the ancient wise men. I had an experience not long ago that I suspect is not unlike one many of us have. I was cleaning out a file of old college term papers. The one which struck a chord in me was a 16-page wonder on the "Contributions Of Pope Leo The Great" which I had written in one night for a course in Medieval History. It was outwardly impressive: I had two pages of footnotes, and a long bibliography of books I had barely scanned. The fact that I got a B on that paper was a triumph of generosity over good judgment on the part of my professor. But what caught my attention was the fact that I managed to tell the professor everything anyone had ever said about Pope Leo, but never once in 16 pages did I say a thing about what the study of that great Christian saint's life had meant to me.
In like manner, you and I can have a term paper relationship with Jesus Christ. We can know about Jesus, we can sing about Jesus, we can even use the name of Jesus when we pray, but our faith journey is not a personal one until like the magi of old, we involve ourselves, heart, mind and soul, in discovering what it means to know Christ personally.
3. Giving Generous Gifts
Yet a third place where the wise men light up the prophecy of Isaiah is in the bringing of generous gifts to the Christ. Isaiah pictures camels bringing costly gifts of gold and frankincense in celebration of Israel's return to the glory of Jerusalem. At Epiphany I almost always recall the cartoon which showed the three wise men riding across the desert. One turns to the others and says, "Why didn't you guys tell me you were getting such expensive gifts?" They were expensive gifts as were the ones described by Isaiah, and they symbolize a response of the heart to God's wondrous gift of the light and love of Christ.
Material substance and how we use it has always been an indication of the true loyalty of the human heart. In a world where if you lined up the hungry and the homeless in a single file line, that line would stretch 25 times around the globe, it is amazing to consider how we use our material resources. UNICEF has calculated that 100 million children will die in the decades of the 1990s. At least half of those children could be saved by simple measures such as immunization and medication. The estimated cost is $2.5 billion. That is about the same amount the American cigarette companies spend on advertising each year, or that Soviet citizens spend in a month on vodka. How painfully those statistics speak of what is truly important in the human heart! Isaiah on the other hand saw the precious gifts of material wealth being used to restore the radiance and glory of God's people in Jerusalem, and the wise men present their gifts to the holy family as outward tokens of their devotion and love for God.
One can only think of Henry Van Dyke's famous story of The Other Wise Man. Artaban was a king who started out to join the other three in following the great light of the Bethlehem Star. But all along the way, he encountered people in such desperate human need, that he uses up all the treasures he had brought for the Christ Child. It took him more than 30 years to find Jesus, and when he does, Jesus is dying on a cross. Artaban says, "Three and 30 years have I looked for you, but I have never seen your face." And the voice of Jesus says, "Inasmuch as you did it unto one of the least of these, you did it unto me." Artaban's face became suddenly radiant. His quest was ended. His generous giving had brought him face to face with Jesus Christ.
4. Glory Of God Revealed
One final truth that Isaiah lights up for us in the Epiphany Story is the glory of God being revealed in the midst of the world's darkness. Wrote the prophet, "Darkness shall cover the earth, but the Lord will rise upon you and God's glory will be seen upon you." Many people like Herod and his court missed the coming of the Messiah, because they could not imagine the glory of God being revealed in a stable! J. B. Phillips reminded us many years ago in his little book, Your God Is Too Small. So many of us limit our glimpses of God's glory in everyday life because we simply do not expect the living God to break into our lives while we work in the office, sit in our classrooms, or do dishes at the kitchen sink. But the glory of God is still breaking into the world's darkness for all who look with the eyes of faith.
One of my favorite Christmas stories is about the man who hated Christmas. It was Christmas Eve, but in spite of his wife's pleas, he would not accompany her to church. The whole crazy idea of God becoming a human being made no sense to his logical mind. He stood watching the heavy snow from his picture window. He thought of the birds and wondered if they would find the seeds he had put out for them. It was snowing so hard that the seed holders were quickly covered. He turned on the backyard lights, but both the birds and the seed were lost in the swirling snow. Putting on his heavy coat, he went outside and opened his big barn door. Then he spread birdseed just inside the barn, hoping that the birds would see it. They did not! Still hoping to help these little starving creatures, the man tried desperately to shoo the little birds toward the light of his open barn, but theywere too frightened. Here they were inches away from the food and water they desperately needed, and he was helpless. "If only I were a bird, I would show them the way to that life-giving food," he thought to himself. Just then the church bells began to ring announcing Christmas morning. Suddenly the man understood why God's Son came to show us the way to life eternal. That is God's glorious light for our darkened world! Arise, shine, for your light has come!
