Epiphany (6 January, 2018)

Seek Him

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.  For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.  And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.  Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.  Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.  A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD.  Isaiah 60:1-6

(A Psalm of David.) The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.  Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.  He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation.  Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah  Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.  Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!  Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.  Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah  Psalm 24:1-10

For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles-- assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.  When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.  This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.  Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power.  To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.  This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.  Ephesians 3:1-12

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."  When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.  They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: "'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"  Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him."  After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.  And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.  And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.  Matthew 2:1-12

Where ever He was, Jesus drew people to Himself.  That was a part of the plan.  The people had been scattered after the Fall, and were lost without a shepherd.  He wasn't sent just to bring the people descended from Abraham back.  No, He was sent to call all people back.

Including a handful of shaman-ish researchers from somewhere east of the Roman Empire's frontiers.

We aren't told where they were from, or even who they were.  Just that they were wise men from "the east."  But they knew about the Messianic prophecies, so its extremely likely that they were from somewhere formerly Babylon or Persia.

Did they understand who the child was?  Probably not.  But these Gentile "witchdoctors" saw what the Jewish religious leadership either missed or ignored: the King promised to David was born.

Yet they knew He was someone worthy of their admiration.  Even and especially in a world dominated by the Romans.  And so they brought offerings to give as part of worship.  They may not have known Jesus was the Son of God, but they understood the idea that the King was divine.  And so they came, bearing gifts.  Gifts worthy of a King, the gold, and worthy of a priest, the frankincense.  But the myrrh?

Myrrh was used by the Jewish people in burials.  It is a resin, and the linen strips the body is wrapped in were soaked in this resin, creating a cast.  The wise men brought materials in preparation for Christ's ultimate purpose: to die as a sacrifice.  Perhaps they did know.

Like the meeting of Simeon, this epiphany is pointing us forward, to Jerusalem and the Cross.  Until then, we marvel at this moment, when even the Gentiles were led by light to the Light.