Sermon Illustrations for Epiphany of the Lord (2025)
Illustration
Isaiah 60:1-6
We all know about the middle-class squeeze (the completed Presidential election was in some ways a debate over that matter). The average household debt in 2023 was $104,215. And the average credit card debt was $6,501. Not surprisingly, a Gallup poll taken a year earlier revealed that 85% of us don't like our jobs. This lesson offers a word of hope, first to the Babylonian exiles and now to us in the New Year. It calls us to see the good things around us, and we will see them if we get illumined. Martin Luther put it this way while commenting on the text: to be illumined, he claimed, is to "believe and receive the Holy Spirit." (Luther's Works, Vol. 17, p. 312) And prior to that, he noted:
This is our plague and wretchedness, that we are unable to recognize the exceeding greatness of the treasure because of its lowly appearance. Even though it bears this treasure, our foolish reason judges it on the basis of its lowly appearance and can be perceived only through the Holy Spirit. (Ibid., p. 311)
We fail to see the good things around us and in our lives unless the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to them. In a sermon, the first reformer even helps us to see the good and spiritual character of the work we are doing, even in those jobs we say we hate. As he put it:
Having faith, well may we serve God in erecting buildings, in planting and threshing, in performing any sort of external works. These things are the proper expression of faith, of divine right. God regards them as service to Him, as devotional conduct. (Complete Sermons, Vol. 3/2, p. 322)
Mark E.
* * *
Isaiah 60:1-6
Isaiah proclaims that the light is coming — a light that overcomes all our darkness is coming. The call for us is to lift up our eyes and see the light, recognize the light offered to us from God, and not turn away from the light. In our challenges and sadness, it is sometimes difficult to look into the light. It’s like looking into the bright sunshine; it can almost blind us in its power and warmth. Isaiah reminds us that when we truly see the light, our hearts will rejoice.
Lighting a candle in the darkness dispels the darkness; one candle can do that. How much more powerful is the light that comes from the love and grace of God? The abundance that is the love of God can light up our lives, and we must accept the love in order for that light to fill us. That is my prayer for you this year — accept the love and live in the light.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Ephesians 3:1-12
Why is it we remember bits of song and poetry from our youth and struggle with the events of the present? For instance, I can remember the lyrics to the theme song for Gilligan’s Island, a rather silly show, which I’m ashamed to say I never missed when I was very young. One line stands out regarding the “seven stranded castaways”: “They’ll have to make the best of things. It’s an uphill climb.”
The apostle Paul, writing to the Ephesians, is a prisoner, perhaps awaiting trial for his life. It’s possible the Christians of Ephesus feel at least partly responsible for where his ministry has put him. It is because of his concern for all people having the opportunity to become part of the family of God that he’s writing from prison. But for Paul, the big picture concerns the mystery of grace, which is calling all people into one family. Once this aspect of God’s plan was hidden, but now in the life of Jesus, it is clear that we are meant to become one in Christ, and that includes everyone, even Paul “the very least of all the saints…” Therefore, he writes, “I pray therefore that you may not lose heart over my sufferings for you; they are your glory.”
Notice that it is Paul who is making the best of this uphill climb, speaking about his hope that even the danger he finds himself in may prove to be good for many. I don’t think it’s necessarily our place to put a band-aid on someone’s pain and get ourselves off the hook by saying, “Well, it’s God’s will. Someday maybe we’ll understand it.” That’s a copout. But in our own lives, it may be possible to see that although what has happened to us may not be God’s first choice, any circumstances we may find ourselves in may, through the grace of God, result in benefit for others.
Frank R.
* * *
Ephesians 3:1-12
The “Wasp.” It sounds like a late-night scary movie, but if you are an NFL fan, especially a Kansas City Chiefs fan, the “Wasp” is a memorable and game-saving play that helped win Super Bowl LIV for the Chiefs against the 49ers. For those who may not remember or never knew, “Wasp” was a play in which three Kansas City receivers went on different routes. Watkins was to run a square-in route. Kelce was to run a short route to the middle; Tyreek Hill was the one the play was to go through. He was the “wasp.” He had to run a deep route, first to the middle and then cut to the sidelines. If it worked, it would be a huge play. To get the most out of the play, it had to go through Hill.
As we see in Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus, God had a plan, too. It was hidden for a long time to be revealed at the proper time. God’s plan had one primary person through whom it had to go. “This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord” (vs. 11). God’s plan ran through Jesus. Jesus is at the heart of the gospel. His death, burial, and resurrection are the single most important things to ever happen in human history. For God’s plan to work, bringing all humanity back to him, it had to go through Jesus. There was no other alternative.
Bill T.
* * *
Matthew 2:1-12
I wonder if years later the Magi, after their return home from visiting the newborn king and offering gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, might have heard about what happened to the infants in Bethlehem. If so, did they consider it partly their fault? I could understand if they did. If I were there, would I have said something like I’d want to say to myself – “There was nothing you could have done. It’s not your fault.”
There are unintended consequences, good, bad, and indifferent, to everything we say and do. Our desire to travel further and faster opens up the possibility that people, totally unconnected to us, on the same roads that facilitate our holiday gathering, will die as a result of accidents that may or may not be another’s fault. Our desire to eat the fruit we enjoy in all seasons, rather than just in our local growing seasons, may result in someone’s death or injury during the course of harvesting our favorite fruit during our offseason. You can think of scenarios of your own.
My purpose is not to either accuse or excuse us from being part of a shared world where cause and effect are not always clear or apparent, yet woven through our existence. And yes, I want to say to my Magi friends, “It was NOT YOUR FAULT! King Herod commissioned the murders because of his paranoia and insanity. And if you had ignored the signs in the sky, you’d have never knelt before Jesus, the Savior of the World.”
But all of this is imagining. And applying a bandage is not necessarily going to do the trick. Listen. Walk together. Pray. Live.
“For we do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves.” (Romans 14:7) We are all connected in various and sometimes frightening ways. We live a life in which we have to count upon the grace of God. In the end, we have to confess that we are not sinless and require God’s grace, not our own strength, smarts, or talents, to get by.
Frank R.
* * *
Matthew 2:1-12
Rick Warren, in his book The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life, shares a story about the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City and Tanzanian runner John Stephen Akhwari. Akhwari was an Olympic-caliber runner who had won marathon races in Africa. However, in Mexico City, Akhwari encountered an obstacle he had never faced before: the altitude, which caused his legs to cramp severely. Still, he kept running. Then, about halfway through the race, he tangled with some other runners and fell. He dislocated his knee, scraped up his leg, and hurt his shoulder. This did not deter him. With painful injuries and cramped muscles slowing him, he labored on and finished the race. He was one of seventy-five people who started the race and the last of fifty-seven to finish it. When he finally entered the arena for the final lap, only a couple thousand people were there to see him complete the race. He finished dead last, more than an hour behind the winner. A cheer went up for him as he circled the now darkened track. Although it seemed that Akhwari had lost the race, everyone who saw him finish knew he was a winner. In an interview later on, a reporter asked, “Why didn’t you quit when you were hurt and bruised, bloody, and discouraged? Why didn’t you quit?” His answer: “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race; they sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.”
The wise men came from the East to see the new king of the Jews. They studied the prophecies and saw the star. They traveled about nine hundred miles and a long time (maybe two years) to see Jesus. The Bible doesn’t tell us much about their journey, so we are left to wonder. They may have faced tough times. They may have considered turning back. We really don’t know. What we do know is they completed the journey. They saw Jesus.
As we begin this new year, will we go the distance in what God calls us to do? Will we finish the race? Will we see Jesus?
Bill T.
* * *
Matthew 2:1-12
We have some things in common with The Wise Men. Like them, we are skilled at our jobs and insightful (for such insight led them to observe the constellation of stars which they would follow to find the Messiah). But there is more to us than that, unfortunately. As Martin Luther once put it: We "stink of pure self-esteem and self-conceit." (Luther's Works, Vol. 52, p. 213) It is as 19th-century English author William Hazlitt once observed: "We can bear to be deprived of everything but our self-esteem." We are so hung up on ourselves that a day's attention to the Christ Child (if that long) is about all we can stand. Yet it is precisely for those like us that the star leading to the Messiah was and still is given. It really is as Martin Luther concluded in an Epiphany sermon on this text:
Thus God pours Himself out upon us in all friendliness and grace, especially so the Father, Whom we hear speaking in great kindness. (Complete Sermons, Vol. 5, p. 223)
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 2:1-12
Today we celebrate in worship the arrival of the Magi. We acknowledge the length of time they traveled to see, pay homage to, and offer gifts to the Christ. In our usual Children’s Christmas Pageants, we combine all the stories together to tell the whole story on one Sunday — the traveling of Mary and Joseph, the birth of Jesus, the announcement to the shepherds, the shepherds coming to Bethlehem and returning to their fields praising God, and the arrival of the wise men, the Magi. It’s easy to forget the challenge of a two-year journey to find Jesus.
Imagine traveling for two years, not even sure where you are going, following a star in the sky, carrying gifts for a child you believe will save the world. Imagine being told by the ruler that he also wants to pay homage. Imagine, just for a moment, the surprise and awe that Mary, Joseph, and Jesus have at the arrival of these Magi with their gifts. Imagine.
Bonnie B.
We all know about the middle-class squeeze (the completed Presidential election was in some ways a debate over that matter). The average household debt in 2023 was $104,215. And the average credit card debt was $6,501. Not surprisingly, a Gallup poll taken a year earlier revealed that 85% of us don't like our jobs. This lesson offers a word of hope, first to the Babylonian exiles and now to us in the New Year. It calls us to see the good things around us, and we will see them if we get illumined. Martin Luther put it this way while commenting on the text: to be illumined, he claimed, is to "believe and receive the Holy Spirit." (Luther's Works, Vol. 17, p. 312) And prior to that, he noted:
This is our plague and wretchedness, that we are unable to recognize the exceeding greatness of the treasure because of its lowly appearance. Even though it bears this treasure, our foolish reason judges it on the basis of its lowly appearance and can be perceived only through the Holy Spirit. (Ibid., p. 311)
We fail to see the good things around us and in our lives unless the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to them. In a sermon, the first reformer even helps us to see the good and spiritual character of the work we are doing, even in those jobs we say we hate. As he put it:
Having faith, well may we serve God in erecting buildings, in planting and threshing, in performing any sort of external works. These things are the proper expression of faith, of divine right. God regards them as service to Him, as devotional conduct. (Complete Sermons, Vol. 3/2, p. 322)
Mark E.
* * *
Isaiah 60:1-6
Isaiah proclaims that the light is coming — a light that overcomes all our darkness is coming. The call for us is to lift up our eyes and see the light, recognize the light offered to us from God, and not turn away from the light. In our challenges and sadness, it is sometimes difficult to look into the light. It’s like looking into the bright sunshine; it can almost blind us in its power and warmth. Isaiah reminds us that when we truly see the light, our hearts will rejoice.
Lighting a candle in the darkness dispels the darkness; one candle can do that. How much more powerful is the light that comes from the love and grace of God? The abundance that is the love of God can light up our lives, and we must accept the love in order for that light to fill us. That is my prayer for you this year — accept the love and live in the light.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Ephesians 3:1-12
Why is it we remember bits of song and poetry from our youth and struggle with the events of the present? For instance, I can remember the lyrics to the theme song for Gilligan’s Island, a rather silly show, which I’m ashamed to say I never missed when I was very young. One line stands out regarding the “seven stranded castaways”: “They’ll have to make the best of things. It’s an uphill climb.”
The apostle Paul, writing to the Ephesians, is a prisoner, perhaps awaiting trial for his life. It’s possible the Christians of Ephesus feel at least partly responsible for where his ministry has put him. It is because of his concern for all people having the opportunity to become part of the family of God that he’s writing from prison. But for Paul, the big picture concerns the mystery of grace, which is calling all people into one family. Once this aspect of God’s plan was hidden, but now in the life of Jesus, it is clear that we are meant to become one in Christ, and that includes everyone, even Paul “the very least of all the saints…” Therefore, he writes, “I pray therefore that you may not lose heart over my sufferings for you; they are your glory.”
Notice that it is Paul who is making the best of this uphill climb, speaking about his hope that even the danger he finds himself in may prove to be good for many. I don’t think it’s necessarily our place to put a band-aid on someone’s pain and get ourselves off the hook by saying, “Well, it’s God’s will. Someday maybe we’ll understand it.” That’s a copout. But in our own lives, it may be possible to see that although what has happened to us may not be God’s first choice, any circumstances we may find ourselves in may, through the grace of God, result in benefit for others.
Frank R.
* * *
Ephesians 3:1-12
The “Wasp.” It sounds like a late-night scary movie, but if you are an NFL fan, especially a Kansas City Chiefs fan, the “Wasp” is a memorable and game-saving play that helped win Super Bowl LIV for the Chiefs against the 49ers. For those who may not remember or never knew, “Wasp” was a play in which three Kansas City receivers went on different routes. Watkins was to run a square-in route. Kelce was to run a short route to the middle; Tyreek Hill was the one the play was to go through. He was the “wasp.” He had to run a deep route, first to the middle and then cut to the sidelines. If it worked, it would be a huge play. To get the most out of the play, it had to go through Hill.
As we see in Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus, God had a plan, too. It was hidden for a long time to be revealed at the proper time. God’s plan had one primary person through whom it had to go. “This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord” (vs. 11). God’s plan ran through Jesus. Jesus is at the heart of the gospel. His death, burial, and resurrection are the single most important things to ever happen in human history. For God’s plan to work, bringing all humanity back to him, it had to go through Jesus. There was no other alternative.
Bill T.
* * *
Matthew 2:1-12
I wonder if years later the Magi, after their return home from visiting the newborn king and offering gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, might have heard about what happened to the infants in Bethlehem. If so, did they consider it partly their fault? I could understand if they did. If I were there, would I have said something like I’d want to say to myself – “There was nothing you could have done. It’s not your fault.”
There are unintended consequences, good, bad, and indifferent, to everything we say and do. Our desire to travel further and faster opens up the possibility that people, totally unconnected to us, on the same roads that facilitate our holiday gathering, will die as a result of accidents that may or may not be another’s fault. Our desire to eat the fruit we enjoy in all seasons, rather than just in our local growing seasons, may result in someone’s death or injury during the course of harvesting our favorite fruit during our offseason. You can think of scenarios of your own.
My purpose is not to either accuse or excuse us from being part of a shared world where cause and effect are not always clear or apparent, yet woven through our existence. And yes, I want to say to my Magi friends, “It was NOT YOUR FAULT! King Herod commissioned the murders because of his paranoia and insanity. And if you had ignored the signs in the sky, you’d have never knelt before Jesus, the Savior of the World.”
But all of this is imagining. And applying a bandage is not necessarily going to do the trick. Listen. Walk together. Pray. Live.
“For we do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves.” (Romans 14:7) We are all connected in various and sometimes frightening ways. We live a life in which we have to count upon the grace of God. In the end, we have to confess that we are not sinless and require God’s grace, not our own strength, smarts, or talents, to get by.
Frank R.
* * *
Matthew 2:1-12
Rick Warren, in his book The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life, shares a story about the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City and Tanzanian runner John Stephen Akhwari. Akhwari was an Olympic-caliber runner who had won marathon races in Africa. However, in Mexico City, Akhwari encountered an obstacle he had never faced before: the altitude, which caused his legs to cramp severely. Still, he kept running. Then, about halfway through the race, he tangled with some other runners and fell. He dislocated his knee, scraped up his leg, and hurt his shoulder. This did not deter him. With painful injuries and cramped muscles slowing him, he labored on and finished the race. He was one of seventy-five people who started the race and the last of fifty-seven to finish it. When he finally entered the arena for the final lap, only a couple thousand people were there to see him complete the race. He finished dead last, more than an hour behind the winner. A cheer went up for him as he circled the now darkened track. Although it seemed that Akhwari had lost the race, everyone who saw him finish knew he was a winner. In an interview later on, a reporter asked, “Why didn’t you quit when you were hurt and bruised, bloody, and discouraged? Why didn’t you quit?” His answer: “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race; they sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.”
The wise men came from the East to see the new king of the Jews. They studied the prophecies and saw the star. They traveled about nine hundred miles and a long time (maybe two years) to see Jesus. The Bible doesn’t tell us much about their journey, so we are left to wonder. They may have faced tough times. They may have considered turning back. We really don’t know. What we do know is they completed the journey. They saw Jesus.
As we begin this new year, will we go the distance in what God calls us to do? Will we finish the race? Will we see Jesus?
Bill T.
* * *
Matthew 2:1-12
We have some things in common with The Wise Men. Like them, we are skilled at our jobs and insightful (for such insight led them to observe the constellation of stars which they would follow to find the Messiah). But there is more to us than that, unfortunately. As Martin Luther once put it: We "stink of pure self-esteem and self-conceit." (Luther's Works, Vol. 52, p. 213) It is as 19th-century English author William Hazlitt once observed: "We can bear to be deprived of everything but our self-esteem." We are so hung up on ourselves that a day's attention to the Christ Child (if that long) is about all we can stand. Yet it is precisely for those like us that the star leading to the Messiah was and still is given. It really is as Martin Luther concluded in an Epiphany sermon on this text:
Thus God pours Himself out upon us in all friendliness and grace, especially so the Father, Whom we hear speaking in great kindness. (Complete Sermons, Vol. 5, p. 223)
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 2:1-12
Today we celebrate in worship the arrival of the Magi. We acknowledge the length of time they traveled to see, pay homage to, and offer gifts to the Christ. In our usual Children’s Christmas Pageants, we combine all the stories together to tell the whole story on one Sunday — the traveling of Mary and Joseph, the birth of Jesus, the announcement to the shepherds, the shepherds coming to Bethlehem and returning to their fields praising God, and the arrival of the wise men, the Magi. It’s easy to forget the challenge of a two-year journey to find Jesus.
Imagine traveling for two years, not even sure where you are going, following a star in the sky, carrying gifts for a child you believe will save the world. Imagine being told by the ruler that he also wants to pay homage. Imagine, just for a moment, the surprise and awe that Mary, Joseph, and Jesus have at the arrival of these Magi with their gifts. Imagine.
Bonnie B.
