Believing is Seeing - Epiphany of The Lord 2019

Isaiah 60:1-6; Matthew 2:1-12

Often when someone says they’ve had an epiphany, they mean they’ve had a new thought or an idea that had never occurred to them before.  Yet when we think of epiphany in the Church’s liturgical year, we express the reality of Christ made manifest in the flesh.  For the Church, especially in light of the visit of the wise men, the reality is not only for The Lord’s Chosen; He is made manifest to the Gentiles as well.

There is so much packed into this Visit that it’s hard to know where to begin.  Yet we should begin by asking ourselves this question: would we have traveled so far based on a prophecy we did not quite believe?  Would we travel so far on a mere hope?  Especially if we are perfectly content with our lives as they are?

There are extrabiblical sources that specifically name three men who came to visit, but the Bible doesn’t tell us how many there were.  We are only told of three specific gifts.  We sing the popular hymn of three kings, but the Bible does not mention kings; only wise men who could have been priests, scribes, or astrologers.  Astrologers seem likely since the Star was what was being followed.

“Kings” seem most unlikely, however, because legitimate kings would have been more likely to send emissaries to find out more.  And if these “kings” had political or military alliances with Herod, they would likely be prodding the idea of a new born “king” and how this might affect their alliances. 

They came from “the east”, but we have no idea exactly how far east.  They could have been from as near as Jordan as easily as they could have come from Arabia or Persia.  This travel time line is significant only in that the narrative tells us Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger, a feed trough, because there was “no room at the inn” (Luke 2:7).  Yet when the wise men showed up, they went to a “house” and found the Child and Mary.  Where was Joseph? 

This leads into another part of the narrative to help explain why Herod panicked and ordered the slaughter of all male children “two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men” (vs 16); this because the wise men had set out “at the star’s rising” (vs 2).  The Holy Child could have been as old as two years.

The point is not to discredit the story, however.  The point is to set out in search of something as profound as what the wise men had hoped for – the Truth.  The only “fact” we have is that Jesus was born, but is this enough?

I began to wonder if “believing” is enough if we stopped “searching” a long time ago.  That is, if we think we are already in the know about anything at all, do we bother to look further or go deeper?  Can we be “believers” if, by a sense of complacency, we stopped “seeking”, “asking”, or “knocking”?  And if we are no longer on a quest, no longer interested in learning, no longer interested in discovering, no longer open to a new perspective from our Shepherd and Teacher, can we call ourselves disciples?

If we are unwilling to live for The Lord now, what makes us think we will be willing to live for The Lord later?

All this was swirling through my mind yesterday as I was driving home not only because I was trying to finish my sermon in my head but also because of a thought about the upcoming General Conference.  It occurred to me that “this side” and “that” will show up at the Conference with their own agendas, their own ideas, their own “bullet points”, and with their own expectations about how it all needs to play out.

This is in striking contrast to the report of the first Conference of the Wesleyan Covenant Association a year or so ago when it was reported that they all gathered seeking one thing: the Will of The Father in the Presence of the Holy Spirit. 

They gathered to worship, to pray, to learn, to “seek”, to “ask”, to “knock”.  The delegates of the General Conference are not likely open to anything but, instead, will be entirely focused on their own agendas, their own will – gathering for battle rather than for worship.

It is no less than what we do – or don’t do – when we gather for worship.  If we come through those doors with no sense of anticipation, no questions, no open hearts, this gathering will have been reduced to little more than a collection of tithes and offerings so we can pay the utilities and the apportionments. 

The wise men had set out on a quest.  They knew enough of the prophecies to know a Messiah was expected.  They expressed their intent to “pay Him homage” upon their arrival in Jerusalem; and when sent to Bethlehem, they were “overwhelmed with joy” when they arrived at where the Star had led them (vs 10). 

When was the last time we were “overwhelmed” at worship?  At Communion?  At the singing of hymns?  At the reading of The Word?  When was the last time we walked through those doors in search of anything Divine? 

It is no less than the vitality, the sacred measure of our worth as the Body of Christ which is at stake, but it has little to do with the upcoming General Conference.  The outcome of the General Conference, not only for 2019 but for 2020 as well as Conferences past is determined by each of us as we come through these doors. 

The vitality of the Church is measured not only by worship attendance but by Bible study and prayer service participation; determined by whether we are seekers at all.  The measure of our belief is relative, especially when we “believe” gathering for worship is unnecessary, gathering for Bible study is unnecessary, Christian education for our children is unimportant, and gathering for prayers to seek the will of Our Father is futile.

The wise men set out with great expectations and high hopes; and as the narrative indicates, they were not disappointed, having been “overwhelmed with joy” even before they entered into the house to see their joy complete. 

It would be interesting to know what became of these wise men after their search for The Truth had been fulfilled.  They believed they would see, and they did.  They brought gifts to offer, and they did offer them.  Then they went home, never to be heard from again. 

Has merely believing become enough for us?  I dare say there is much more we are overlooking as we seem to be completely underwhelmed by The Truth.  In the next few weeks, we will examine each of the means of grace, those practices offered to us by our Lord in which we will resolve to “ask”, to “seek”, to “knock”.  And we will (hopefully) discover the value of learning more than a mere fact.  We will indeed find Life.  And that in Christ our Lord.  Amen.