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EPIPHANY Sunday

January 6, 2008

Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church

Sioux Falls, SD

Rev. Norman F. Seeger

Matthew 2:1-12

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”

³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. ⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

⁶ ”‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’”

⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Matthew 2:1-12

"WILL A STAR SHOW US OUR SAVIOR?”

1. God Guides the Wisemen to Worship Jesus

2. God Would Use Us to Lead Our Friends to See Our Savior

Dear saints…“wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ,”

We do not know the magi’s names nor do we know their number. Caspar, Balthazar & Melchior are traditional but mythical names. Gold, incense & myrrh are their three gifts, but not necessarily offered by one person apiece. We do not know exactly where the commonly called “kings of Orient” came from nor do we know the precise time they arrived in Bethlehem. Their arrival “from the east” turns our eyes to Babylon where Israelites like Daniel were captives several centuries before Jesus’ birth. Coming to “the house” where they “see Jesus with his mother Mary,” we know they are not coming with shepherds to that stable where a newborn baby Jesus is lying in a manger, no matter how many modern manger scenes might try to mislead us. Joseph quickly fleeing to Egypt with the family tells us baby Jesus has already been presented in the temple the 40^th day of his life.

A lot of details are unknown, but what is important is the fact God led these men from the east to wisely worship Jesus. Speculating in uncertainties or asking questions no one will ever be able to answer would bring no benefit as we watch wisemen worshipping Jesus who, as a baby, is being revealed to the world as our Savior. So, to draw truths for our life from the wisemen’s trip, we will focus on Scriptural facts – we will focus on people worshipping Jesus – as we ask, “Will a star show us our Savior?” After first watching God guide wisemen to worship Jesus -- as we worship Jesus -- we wonder, “Will God use us to lead our friends to see our Savior?”

Will a star show us our Savior today? Should we lift our eyes to search the night skies several weeks after Christmas? Will a telescope teach us God’s truth? “After Jesus is born in Bethlehem, Wise Men from the east come to Jerusalem asking, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star (when it rose) in the east; we have come to worship him.’” Astronomers spend a lot of time & effort trying to explain what these wisemen saw without ever coming to a verifiable conclusion. Are a couple planets lined up on the western horizon looking like one large star shining more brightly than usual? Is a spectacular meteor shower or a brilliant, eye-catching comet causing these wisemen to travel west? We will never know. We do know God uses a special star – a star able to be seen during the day – a star which moves precisely enough to identify Jesus’ house – a star which moved these wisemen to make a long journey to worship Jesus.

Why would they come to worship? How would they hear or understand this special star’s message? Had they heard the prophecy Balaam uttered as he was asked to curse Israelites approaching Midian on their way to the promised land, but was only able to utter blessings instead of curses? “A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel,”[NUM 24] Balaam announced hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth, picturing a powerful, conquering king coming instead of the overpowered people his Midianiate employers wanted to see. Had these wisemen heard Daniel, during his exile in Babylon, talk about the offspring of Abraham who would rise like a light in the darkness to bring blessings to all nations?

These wisemen never tell us where their information came from, but we know God used his Word in some way to identify our Savior. In Jerusalem – in this capital of Judah where wisemen would logically ask about a newborn king – “the people’s chief priests & teachers of the law” turn to the Scriptures for an answer as king Herod “asks where the Christ was to be born.” God’s Word is clear: “In Bethlehem, in Judea,” they are able to answer, citing the prophet Micah, “You, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.”

Unfortunately, Israel’s leaders who know God’s Word well enough to quote prophecies about the promised Savior are apparently not interested in searching for their Savior. Unfortunately, king Herod, who asks details about the star’s appearance & pretends he also wants to worship this special child only intends to kill a baby he believes could be a competitor. Fortunately, the wisemen -- as Herod points them to Bethlehem -- “are overjoyed when they see the star going ahead of them; stopping over the house where they find the child with his mother Mary” – wisemen wisely “bow down & worship Jesus.”

They worship him with their presence. The time commitment involved in traveling all the way to Bethlehem from their home in the east – uncertainty about their ultimate destination -- difficulties they will undoubtedly face during their journey do not deter them from coming to worship. Worshipping Jesus with their presence, they also worship him with their presents. “Opening their treasures, they present Jesus with gold, incense & myrrh.” Their special gifts show their love & recognition of this Bethlehem baby being greater than they -- being the special blessing God promised & produced for all nations. Their love & thankfulness for God’s gift is seen again as they obey the Lord’s warning in a dream “not to go back to Herod” to report Jesus’ whereabouts to a king who wants to kill him, but “return to their country by another route.”

With the wisemen, will we follow a star to find our Savior today? Yes! Yes, with the wisemen we follow – not some star shining in our sky at night -- we follow God’s special star shining in the Scriptures. Guided by God talking to us in his Word, with the wisemen, we are led to Bethlehem to worship Jesus as the Savior our Lord always said he would send to redeem our sins; to restore us forgiven sinners to God’s family. With the wisemen, we worship Jesus with our presence & with our presents. We praise our Savior when we refuse to let time or distance or any other excuse our sinful nature might easily offer deter us from coming to worship. We praise our Savior when we bring our offerings – opening our treasures as we offer the Lord our financial gifts; offer the Lord our talents & time as well.

Offering our treasures, talents & time as God’s special star leads us to Bethlehem to worship the baby Jesus as our Savior, I ask you to see yourself not only being led by a star but being a star the Lord uses to lead others to see our Savior. Isn’t being a star what I want today? Star Search spotlights people wanting to be the singer, not simply listen to someone else sing. Dancing with the Stars puts people on the floor performing rather than sitting on the sidelines watching. Let me ask, “Do you want to be a star?” I can hear many thinking, “Not me – I cannot sing – I do not dance.”

Of course, in my Christian life, what I want is not important. So, let me ask the question correctly, “Does God want you to be a star?” Understand, we are no longer talking about singing or dancing – I am talking about being used by the Lord as a star who will lead a friend or acquaintance to see Jesus as our Savior. We are talking about being Jesus’ witnesses in our world.

How could the Lord who creates & empowers stars to shine in our sky use us to shine his light on earth? First, the Lord fills us with his truth, telling us how God the Son was born the Son of Mary so Jesus – being God & Man -- could fill us with righteousness we lacked while taking away the eternal death we sinners deserved. Finally, the Lord leads us to talk about Jesus as our King who came to conquer Satan for us, our King who protects our souls from every evil as he rules our hearts in time & for eternity. As we tell a friend or relative about Jesus being born to save every soul, apparently religious people (like the Jewish priests & teachers of the law who know the Scriptures but do not pursue the Lord’s promises) might ignore our witness. Modern king Herods who only aim to acquire earthly power or wealth might actively oppose us as we witness Jesus. As we talk to acquaintances about Jesus producing eternal life for every faithful follower, we will shine like stars in the darkness of our earth’s spiritual ignorance & unbelief – our Scriptural message will be different, will be unique & will be used by the Holy Spirit to lead some souls to wisely worship Jesus.

Does God want you to be a star? Does the Lord want us to be witnesses of Jesus our Savior? Gentile wisemen from the east being led by a star to worship Jesus in a house in Bethlehem signals a new beginning, if you will, a clear indication God’s Son is sent to save every soul, not only in Israel, but in the ends of the earth. I would suggest Pastor Were’s arrival in Sioux Falls & installation next Sunday as our associate pastor emphasizing outreach also signals our Lord’s desire for Good Shepherd to focus not only on Christian education (which we want to emphasize as much, if not more on a Bible study level, than we have in the past) but to also focus on reaching our community & reaching out to our personal contacts as witnesses of Christ, praying the Lord will use us to lead other souls to also see Jesus as their Savior.

Witnessing our Savior – worshipping Jesus – wise souls will bring the Lord our presents & our presence like wisemen from the east. Presents – our offerings of gold, increasing as the Lord increases our personal resources – will help support increasing outreach efforts, for some may need more funding. The Lord who knew Joseph could use some of the wisemen’s gold to move his family to Egypt in the near future also knows & will supply what we will need. Other increasing outreach efforts may require more manpower, which is where I pray we wisely offer our presence. I pray we will be willing to participate in efforts to share Jesus’ truth – to serve as stars the Lord can use to lead other souls to see Jesus our Savior when we witness Christ – always remembering we have called Pastor Were not to reach out with the gospel for us, but we have called him to invite, to train & to encourage us to wisely witness our Savior in our world together.

Amen.