Epiphany
(observed)/Baptism of Our Lord (January 7, 2018)
“An Epiphany Mashup” (Isaiah
60:1-6; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12)
INI
Do you
know what a “mashup” is? A “mashup” is
where two different songs or music videos are combined into one new piece. It’s kind of a recent pop culture phenomenon
although there are examples from the past, too.
For example, I found one on YouTube that combined the disco song
“Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees with the rock song “The Wall” by Pink
Floyd. It was called “Stayin’ Alive in
the Wall.” There’s another one called
“Billie Jean on the Storm” which combines Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” from
the 1980’s with “Riders on the Storm” by The Doors from the 1960’s. Surprisingly, they all work quite well
together. You’ll have to take the time to
give them a listen, if you’re so inclined.
Well,
today is a “liturgical mashup,” if you will.
We are observing Epiphany, which always falls on January 6. Typically, this is the day we remember when the
Wise Men visited the Holy Family. Then,
the following Sunday on the church year calendar we commemorate The Baptism of
Our Lord. So, today, I thought we would
commemorate both Epiphany and the Baptism of Our Lord on the same day. Really, this is not unlike what Eastern
Orthodox Christians do. For them,
Epiphany is Christmas, Wise Men, and Baptism of Jesus all wrapped up into one …
a “mashup.”
Epiphany
means a “manifestation” or a “showing forth” or a “shining forth.” For Eastern Christians, the feast is often
called “Theophania.” That may remind you
of our recent Advent sermons. During
Advent, we learned about “theophanies,” or manifestations of God in the Old
Testament prior to the Son of God becoming Man.
Epiphany celebrates the manifestation of God in the person of Jesus
Christ, but not just to Mary and Joseph and those who met him in
Bethlehem. Epiphany celebrates the
manifestation of God to the whole world in the person of Jesus Christ. It shines the spotlight on Jesus, then God through
his Word shines the light on us. Through
the preaching of Jesus, God’s favor rests upon us. The Holy Spirit enlightens our hearts with
the light of faith in our Savior Jesus.
God
shines his light on us. And this is so
necessary, because we are in the dark without God’s revelation. We would all be engaged in a futile grasping
for truth, such as what so much of the world engages in. Trying to make sense of all the things that
happen to us. Attempting to answer the
questions, “What does this all mean? Why
am I here? What is my purpose? Does God really love me and care about
me? Can he forgive me?”
Because we
are all mashed up. Like a mashup song,
we may be singing two songs together, yet they are certainly not in
harmony. There’s a part of us that says
all the right things, all the God things, all the Bible things, but there’s
another tune we sing that doesn’t match up … the tune we sing when we are away
from church or away from our Christian friends.
And our
lives are all mashed up. All the
pressures that weigh heavy upon us. All
the directions in which we are pulled.
All the temptations with their demonic forces behind them that claw at
us and try to drag us down to hell.
And
so, God’s Word today shines the light for us.
It shines the light on the Incarnation, the inclusion of the Gentiles,
the invocation of the Trinity, and the institution of the ministry of
Jesus. That’s a lot to cover today. But here goes.
God’s
Word today shines the light on the Incarnation.
Epiphany is really “Christmas, Part 2.”
When the Wise Men arrived, Jesus was still a baby or at most two years
old. And so we remember once again how
God entered into this world for us in all humility. But we also give thanks that he has not
abandoned us. He came to be obedient to
his own Law and to do so in our place.
He came to suffer all that we endure, our weaknesses, our temptations,
our death, and to overcome it all for us in his death and resurrection.
God’s
Word today shines the light on the inclusion of the Gentiles. In the original Greek, the Wise Men are
called magoi which is a Persian word. Some Bible translations simply call them
“Magi.” This suggests that they were
pagan sages from Persia, which is Iran today.
They were the first Gentiles to worship the Christ Child. This is the mystery of which Paul speaks in
our Epistle lesson from Ephesians 3 … which is no longer a mystery. Paul was called to “bring to light for
everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages” … that the Gentiles –
that means you and me – are fellow heirs, members of the same body, partakers
of the promise in Jesus through the Gospel.
We’re not excluded from God’s promises if we are not Jewish. It’s not by bloodline that we are brought
into God’s family. It’s by faith in the
blood of Jesus. Paul states in Galatians
3 that “It is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham” (Gal. 3:7) and that
“there is neither Jew nor Greek” (Gal. 3:28-29), that is to say, when it comes
to salvation, God makes no ethnic distinctions.
And in Ephesians 2, Paul writes, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once
were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is
our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the
dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and
ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so
making peace, and to reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross”
(Eph. 2:13-16).
God’s
Word today shines the light for us on the invocation of the Trinity. We would not know to call upon the name of
the Triune God were it not for this fuller revelation of the New
Testament. There are hints of the Triune
nature of God in the OT; for example, the threefold benediction that Aaron was
told speak over the people from Numbers 6, and the threefold “Holy, holy, holy”
that the cherubim sang in Isaiah’s vision in Isaiah 6. But then, at the Baptism of Our Lord Jesus,
we see a clear revelation of the Holy Trinity.
Jesus stands in the water. The
Spirit descends as a dove. And the
Father’s voice resounds from heaven, “This is my beloved Son.”
So
what’s the big deal about the Trinity?
Here we learn about God’s personal nature. If God were a single, self-sufficient person,
how could he be eternally love? Love needs
an object. From all eternity, the
members of the Holy Trinity have eternally love each other and are most certainly self-sufficient. They need no
other object to love. Yet the Holy
Trinity, in love, created this world in order to share divine love with us. We are the object of his love. And so we invoke the Name, we call upon the Name. Every time we say, “In the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” we remember this truth … that we are
marked with that Name in Holy Baptism, that we are loved, that we are forgiven. And as the Name of the Lord is spoken over us
at the end of the Divine Service, we go from this place blessed, loved,
forgiven, and empowered to serve our neighbors.
Finally,
God’s Word today shines the light on the institution of the ministry of Jesus. Up to this point, Jesus lived a rather quiet
life. Born in Bethlehem. Escaped to Egypt. Lived in relative obscurity in Nazareth. For a brief moment, we meet the 12-year-old Jesus in the temple, until we meet the 30-something Jesus in the Jordan. This is the first time he publicly acted as
our substitute. How so? He stood in line with sinners waiting to be
baptized. Jesus had no need to repent of
anything. But he acted as he did, as if
he were a sinner, because he came to carry the sins of the world to the cross. From there, he set off on his journey
to the cross to carry out his public ministry … preaching, calling people to
repentance, healing the sick, raising the dead, and casting out demons to prove
his power over the devil and all the forces of evil that are opposed to God and
his beloved creation.
So that’s
Epiphany as many of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world
celebrate it. Another “theophany.” A manifestation. A shining forth. Shining the light on the Incarnation of our
Lord, the inclusion of the Gentiles into God’s plan of salvation, the
invocation of the Holy Trinity, and the institution of the public ministry of
Jesus … his public ministry by which we still benefit today. In this mashed-up, mixed-up world … with our mashed-up,
mixed-up lives … God shines his light upon us in Jesus in Word and Sacrament. Now, with new clarity we can look beyond the
darkness and see, with the eyes of faith, what Jesus is doing for us today
through the ministry of the Church. He still
preaches to us through the preachers he gives to the Church, calling us to
repentance and faith. He heals our souls. He raises us to new life in the waters of
Baptism. He has conquered the powers of darkness
that fight against his Holy Church.
INI
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