The Dark Side of Epiphany Matthew 2:1-8

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1 The Dark Side of Epiphany Matthew 2:1-8 Rev. Michael D. Halley January 6, 2019 Suffolk Christian Church Suffolk, Virginia The Epiphany ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Today is Epiphany. This is the day, January 6, that we celebrate the visit of the Wise Men, or Magi. 1 This is the day we celebrate the appearance or manifestation of Jesus to the Gentile world. On this day we move from the narratives in the Gospel of Luke -- the stable, the shepherds, and such -- to the Gospel of Matthew. If you notice, all the Christmas decorations we put up each year come from the Gospel of Luke. Check it out for yourself. It s all there in Luke. But in Matthew we are introduced to a little different view of the birth of Jesus. For one thing, we have to come to grips with the fact that the Good News of the birth of Messiah ( Chosen One ) has enemies. Herod, the King in that region, called in the experts to inquire about this messiah. But he wasn t sincere. He was pretending he wanted to go and worship this new arrival, but then he issued death warrants against all baby boys born in the last couple of years. The Good News surely did have enemies, and Herod was the top enemy. It s hard to believe, isn t it. It s hard to accept that the Good News has enemies. Use your imagination for a moment. Here is Joseph, suddenly awaking. Mary, Mary! Get ready! Wrap the baby! What s going on? she says. 1

2 Page 2 We ve got to go! What do you mean? I had a dream, Joseph says. They re coming for the boy. Get ready! We've got to go! And off they go to Egypt, to hide from his enemies. What else was there to do? Here is how Matthew relates that part of the story: When they [the Magi] had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Get up, he said, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him. So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: Out of Egypt I called my son. When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more. (Matthew 2:13-18) Because Jesus was born, he who came to bear the sins of the world, became the reason for all this hate and murder. It s hard to accept. It s hard to accept that good news has such enemies.

3 The wise men, the Magi, were the innocent pawns in this story. All they said was, Where is he? All we want to do is worship him. They weren't revolutionaries. All they said was, We want to worship Jesus. But then trouble broke out. Page 3 Matthew is not alone in pointing all of this out. Even Luke says it. When Jesus was six-weeks-old, they took him to the temple. Mary was nervous. It was the first time there with her first baby. She probably had a lot of questions: Where do I stand? What do they do? Do I have to say anything, Joseph? No, he would reply, you just stand there and hold the baby. They ll have this little ceremony, then you ll be purified, and the baby is dedicated. There s nothing to it. Well, I m nervous, she would say. When Mary and Joseph get to the temple, they encounter the old man named Simeon. He s very old. He was there, probably on a daily basis, because God had said to him, You will not die until you see the consolation of Israel. So there he is each day, probably frightening all the mothers. When he sees Mary, he comes to her and says, Let me hold him. No doubt Mary was scared that he might drop the baby. But her fear that he would drop the baby does not match the fear created by his words to her: Because of this child, a sword will pierce your heart. It s hard to believe that good news creates pain, violence, and opposition. This is the dark side of Epiphany. The good news of salvation in Jesus arouses the ugliness of sin and violence in the world. But we must stand up for this truth. In the Garden of Gethsemane two men approached Jesus. One had a

4 sword in his hand, and the other, a kiss. Which is the friend, and which is the enemy? As it turned out, the one with the kiss was the enemy. The one with the sword was a friend. Today is Epiphany, the coming out for Messiah, the appearance of the Son of God in our world. What does that mean to you? Doesn t it mean For God so loved the world that God gave his only begotten Son? Page 4 There is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- that is more important than your relationship with God. Nothing. Everything in your life is secondary, even temporary, to how you relate to your Creator and Saviour. On this first Sunday of the new year, I urge you to think about where your spiritual life is and where it will be going in the new year. In just a few moments you will have the opportunity to renew your baptismal vows. Please do so in sincerity and humility. May the Lord bless you and keep you. We come to this table today seeking Jesus. He is the one worthy of the long journey. He is the one that satisfies the hunch you might have about the meaning of life. He is the one who lights and makes alive the truth that you know. He s the one worthy of all the gifts you might give him; gold, incense, whatever precious thing you ve got, give it. He s worthy of it. He s the one that if it calls for it, [you should] defy a king for his sake, which is what these [wise] men do. He s the one for whose sake it s worth taking the long way home, which is what they [the Magi] do.... Because this is Christ the Lord. Unto you a Saviour has been born, unto you a king has been given. 2 Let us pray: King Jesus, we come to this table not because we are in any sense worthy. We come because we are not worthy and because we are desperately in need of your saving presence. When we partake of the bread and the cup,

5 Page 5 may they be tangible reminders of your body and your blood, which were sacrificed for us, that our sins would be forgiven and that we can have eternal life. Thank you, Lord, thank you. Amen The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, sat at table with his disciples and took bread. When he had given thanks for it, he broke it and said, This is my body, given for you. Eat this in remembrance of me. In like manner, after supper, he took the cup, and after he had given thanks, he passed it to his disciples and said, This cup is my blood, shed for you and for others for the forgiveness of sins. Drink all of it in remembrance of me. In our church we practice the gracious custom of open communion, and all are invited to participate in the Lord s Supper. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lord Jesus, we hold in our hands bread which symbolizes your precious body, given for us. We thank you for giving yourself for us. The body of Christ, bread from heaven. O Christ, your precious blood was shed so that our sins can be forgiven. We thank you for giving yourself for us. The blood of Christ, the cup of salvation. Let us pray: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ O gracious Lord, how humbly we thank you for the gift of Jesus, our King and Saviour. May we go forth and live with compassion, kindness,

6 humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, and forgiveness. We pray this in the sacred name of Jesus our Saviour. Amen. Page 6 +==+==+==+==+==+==+ I wish to acknowledge and thank the late Dr. Fred B. Craddock ( ) for his inspirational thoughts on this passage. Dr. Craddock was the Bandy Distinguished Professor of Preaching and New Testament Emeritus at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He was a Christian Church minister from rural Tennessee and the author of many books. His material may be found at +==+==+==+==+==+==+ All Scripture references are from New International Version, NIV, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc., unless otherwise indicated. +==+==+==+==+==+==+ Sunday Sermons from Suffolk Christian Church are intended for the private devotional use of members and friends of the church. Please do not print or publish. Thank you. Suggestions for sermon topics are always welcome! 1. Magi were Eastern wise men, priests, and astrologers expert in interpreting dreams and other magic arts. From Magi, Holman Bible Dictionary, Edited by Trent C. Butler, Holman Bible Dictionary. Copyright Quoted from Story Behind the Sermon, by Mark Buchanan, Mark Buchanan is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at the Ambrose Seminary in Calgary, Alberta, and is the author of numerous books, including Your Church is Too Safe: Why

7 Following Christ Turns the World Upside-Down (Zondervan, 2012). Page 7