Epiphany of Our Lord
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series IX, Cycle B
Object:
Theme of the Day
The light of grace shows the way.
Collect of the Day
All three of the prayer options refer to the leading of the star to the Son. In the first option, we petition God by faith to know God's presence, bringing us to the full vision of glory. Christology and Eschatology are emphasized. In the second option, we pray that the light of the stars shine justice over all lands and that our lives be accepted as the treasure we offer in praise. Sanctification and Social Ethics are stressed in this prayer. The third option refers to the brightness of Christ's Resurrection on Easter. We pray that God fills the world with His glory. Providence is emphasized.
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
* One of the Elohistic Psalms of David; this one attributed to Solomon. A prayer for God's blessing of the king.
* Prayer that the ruler would defend the poor and needy, pitying the weak (vv. 2, 4, 12-14).
* At some points the supernatural aura surrounding ancient Near Eastern royalty is evident (vv. 5-6). Followed by prayer that king's empire would be universal (vv. 8-11). These verses might be interpreted as referring to the Messiah.
Sermon Text and Title
"Great Things Happen in the Spirit's Light"
Isaiah 60:1-6
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To help the congregation experience the new realities in life that Christ and the Holy Spirit reveal in the gospel. The faithful are lit up and their realities changed.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* Another prophecy Trito-Isaiah, probably offered after the Babylonian Captivity had ended.
* Reference to the light coming to Jerusalem, reflecting the Lord's glory in the midst of darkness (vv. 1-2), foreshadows the Epiphany star.
* The Exiles are said to return or are returning (v. 4).
* Nations will see Jerusalem's revival (v. 4).
* Noticed by the nations, Arab traders will come with their camels, bringing gold and frankincense (v. 6). This is most suggestive of the wise men's travels first to Jerusalem (Matthew 2:1-2; Luther's Works, Vol. 17, pp. 314-315).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* A prophecy pointing to what Christ brings also includes by implication the Holy Spirit's work in bringing the gospel to all.
* Martin Luther claimed, "The gospel is God's glory and light [revealing God to us]" (Complete Sermons, Vol. 3/2, p. 275).
* "To be illumined means to believe and receive the Holy Spirit," Luther wrote (Luther's Works, Vol. 17, p. 312).
* Commenting on this text, Luther also contended:
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.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 17, p. 311)
* John Wesley wrote that the lesson implies "the coming in of all nations to Christ…" (Commentary on the Bible, p. 337).
* John Calvin believes the brightness referred to in the text (v. 1) refers to salvation (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. VIII/2, p. 275). But he added, "… this life-giving light proceeds from God alone" (Ibid.).
* Luther notes that the new reality the gospel creates renders all the works of the faithful holy:
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)
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* Find statistics indicating how the American economy has not really bounced back from the recession, how it is worse for the American middle class since the 1960s. Salaries have not kept pace with what it costs to raise a child ($22,000 per year spent on the average up to the child's eighteenth birthday) and the cost of college and an automobile has soared by nearly ten times from the 1960s price tag.
5. Gimmick
Help parishioners appreciate (in story form) how hard things looked for the Judean exiles after their return from Babylon. Things were not bouncing back to religious and political realities known prior to the exile. The circumstances of life seemed dark, like we here in post-recession America experience.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Darkness is how we experience life. Seventeenth-century French scientist and Christian intellectual Blaise Pascal had it right: "I look around in every direction and all I see is darkness. Nature has nothing to offer me that does not give rise to doubt and anxiety" (Pensees, p. 162).
* Darkness even clouds the ways of God. Martin Luther noted how it can lead us to miss great things of God because they seem lowly and ordinary. He reminded us that only the Holy Spirit can get us to see the treasure that is the gospel. (See Theological Insights for the quote.)
* If we are going to see in the midst of our darkness, God has to give it to us. The author of our lesson says that in verse 1. So do Martin Luther and John Calvin (see Theological Insights).
* The writer of the lesson also refers to how the light will come to Jerusalem (v. 1). The light will also attract all the nations (vv. 3, 5-6).
* Note John Wesley's claim that this lesson promises that the gospel and its light attract all nations, bringing them to Christ (Commentary on the Bible, p. 337).
* Light never stops shining; this point is made by well-known Jewish rabbi Michael Strassfeld: "Light gives itself freely, filling all available space. It does not seek anything in return; it asks not whether you are friend or foe. It gives itself and is not thereby diminished."
* Martin Luther notes that the new reality of the gospel shines a new light on ordinary work, makes us see it as holy. (Use the final quote in Theological Insights.)
7. Wrap-Up
Note to the congregation that Christmas, which ends with Epiphany, is a time of light. The Christmas lights are on. Today on Epiphany, when Christmas is still celebrated in many churches (of the East), we are reminded that the gospel light, the light of salvation, still shines. Urge hearers to keep this in mind the next time they suffer or find their tasks stifling. Remind them that great things happen in the light, in the Spirit of God's light that never burns out. All doubt and anxiety are gone, and the world may see this testimony in us!
Sermon Text and Title
"Grace Changes Things"
Ephesians 3:1-12
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim the new circumstances (the inclusiveness of God) that transpired through Christ, fully realizing the Christmas dream.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* A prayer for wisdom, though most of the lesson is an extended parenthetical remark by Paul about his mission to the Gentiles (vv. 2-12).
* Speaks of the mystery made known to Paul by revelation, which was not previously known (vv. 2, 4).
* The revealed mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow members with Jesus of the same body and sharers in the promises of Christ (vv. 5-6).
* Paul proceeds to note that God's grace has been given to him, though he is the least of the saints, in order to bring Christ to the Gentiles (v. 8).
* Speaks of an eternal purpose of God carried out in Christ and that through the church God's wisdom might be displayed to angels (vv. 10-11).
* In confidence and boldness we have access to God through faith (v. 12).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* By the Holy Spirit we learn that in Christ a new order, including all, has been established.
* John Wesley, commenting on this text, claims that we are now as children addressing an indulgent father (God) with no fear of offending. Thus we may disclose all our needs to Him (Commentary on the Bible, p. 536).
* John Calvin speaks of the glory of God (grace) changing circumstances: "So highly ought the name of Christ to be revered by us, that what men consider to be the greatest reproach, ought to be viewed as the greatest honour" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XXI/1, p. 247).
* Christ gives confidence in what God does: "To trust in Christ as mediator, and to entertain a firm conviction of our heavenly Father's love… is… a holy presumption" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XXI/1, p. 257).
* Regarding the Pauline reference to the one body in Christ that all the faithful become (v. 6), Martin Luther wrote:
Thus we too have been joined with Christ into One body and Being, so that the good or the evil that happens to me also happens to Him. When I strike you or harm you, or when I show you honor, I strike Christ, I do Him harm, I show Him honor; for whatever happens to a Christian happens also to Christ Himself; He has a stake in it.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 23, p. 149)
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America wrote: "I think too often Christians have found their comfort zone in acts of charity, compassion, and love, rather than the struggle for justice and the full inclusion of marginalized people."
* A 2000 best-seller by Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone, showed that since 1970 there has been a notable decline in Americans' civic engagement and participation in community organizations.
5. Gimmick
Ask the congregation if they have ever wondered where the stars, where life, was leading. Note that the lesson tells us that God has an eternal purpose in mind (v. 11), one that gives us confidence and boldness (v. 12).
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Ever feel alone and isolated?
* Several years ago Robert Putnam wrote a book titled Bowling Alone that showed that since 1970 there has been a notable decline in Americans' civic engagement and participation in community organizations. We need a change in that way of living.
* Jenny Johnson had moved around a lot, but her neighborhoods were pretty much like she was ethnically and economically. She made few ties in these neighborhoods. Never politically active. Lost track of childhood friends. Rarely socialized anymore. Not involved in any organizations. Not much contact with family anymore. Know her? Probably not. And except for her nuclear family, she won't be missed much when she dies. Living like her? We need a change in that way of living.
* Things need to change in American life, in your way of living. But we can't do it alone. We need God; His grace changes things.
* Family can overcome loneliness and isolation. John Calvin, commenting on our text, noted that trusting in Christ gives you a firm conviction of our heavenly Father's love. John Wesley echoes this point, contending that Paul teaches in this text that now we have an indulgent Father whom we need have no fear of offending (see Theological Insights). Grace changes things. We are no longer alone or fearful with the indulgent heavenly Father we now know we have.
* Grace changes things, overcomes our loneliness in ways we could never have imagined. It gives us the confidence to reach out beyond our territory, because grace has made us one with others. These Gentile seers of the East came to seek, find, and worship a Jew!
* Saint Paul said it all in our lesson. The Spirit has revealed the unity of Jew and Gentile in the One body of Christ (vv. 5-6). We are all united! "Grace changes things." (Continue to echo this refrain at each point in the rest of the sermon.)
* Martin Luther explained the mystery of our oneness in Christ, how all are united in Him. What we do to and for each other is for and with Jesus. (Use last quotation in Theological Insights.)
* What church leader Garry Warren has said is true. Life is better in the all-inclusive body of Christ: "When we include, we break down fear." Grace ends the anxiety and loneliness. Grace changes things.
7. Wrap-Up
Ask the congregation if the loneliness of modern American life ever gets to them. Remind them that our lesson says that they are not alone, that they are being led and confronted by God no less than the star led the wise men. Grace changes things. Proclaim the belongingness, the inclusivity with the other people that grace and the Coming of Jesus provided. Grace changes things.
Sermon Text and Title
"The Light That Leads Us Away From Ourselves"
Matthew 2:1-12
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim God's providential ways (illustrated in Christology) of working through lowly things. This word calls us away from pride in ourselves and our accomplishments and also proclaims forgiveness.
2. Exegesis
* One the Synoptic Gospels.
* The author is anonymous, though tradition attributes it to Matthew, one of Jesus' disciples (9:9). This is unlikely in view of the gospel being written in Greek, though it betrays some Hebraic and Aramaic influences. Among Hebraic influences include use of poetic parallelism and emphasis on law, practice, and quotation of Hebrew scripture. Likely, then, written in the last third of the first century.
* Perhaps written in Palestine, but more likely written in Antioch, as its Bishop Ignatius seems to quote it as early as 110 AD. The polemic with the Pharisees suggests that the audience was Jewish Christians no longer in full communion with Judaism (see 21:25; 23:39). This is also evident insofar as these Christians still practiced Sabbath observance (24:20).
* Main Sections (generally arranged in biographical order): (1) Birth of Jesus (chs. 1-2); (2) Activity of John the Baptist (3:1-12); (3) Baptism and temptation of Jesus (3:13--4:11); (4) Jesus' preaching and teaching in Galilee (4:13--18:35), a section broken into various discourses (see below); (5) Journey to Jerusalem (chs. 19-20); (6) Jesus' last week (chs. 21-27); and the Resurrection (ch. 28). Chapters 3-4 and 12-28 are almost identical to Mark, with some elaborations. The additional material in Matthew parallels what Luke added to Mark.
* There are five major discourses of Jesus reported in the gospel, the first four emerging in the gospel's fourth section. Each is marked with a terminating phrase like "When Jesus had finished saying these things": (1) The Sermon on the Mount (chs. 5-7); (2) Instructions for missionary disciples (ch. 10); (3) The parables of the kingdom of heaven (ch. 13); and (4) On sincere discipleship (ch. 18); and (5) On the end of the present age (chs. 24-25).
* Central Themes and Emphases (a number of which indicate the document's Jewish roots): (1) Jesus as Messianic fulfillment of Torah; this preoccupation is evidenced not just in frequent quotations of the Hebrew Bible (1:22-23; 2:6, 15, 17-18, 23; 4:14-16; 12:17-21; 21:4-5; 27:9-10), but also in the genealogy provided which traces him back to Abrahamic roots (1:11-17); (2) Anti-Pharisaic along with a moral stringency; (3) Law of Moses not presented as a temporary measure superseded in the kingdom of heaven, but remains the measure of entrance into the kingdom; (4) Jesus' preaching stresses the Law as the way of righteousness as He offers a new Torah (13:52); (5) Unique among the gospels in speaking of the church (16:17-19; 18:17) that receives the kingdom once the possession of Israel; (6) Sense of eschatological time: The lines between the earthly Jesus and the period of the church (His exaltation) are blurred (see 28:16-20, and the authority of Jesus while on the Cross, see 26:63ff); and (7) With the distinction between the time of the earthly Jesus and the risen Christ, the disciples are made representatives of the future church, examples of the faith. They show a measure of understanding (13:51), but often have little faith (6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8), just as the church contains both good and bad (13:24-30, 47-50; 22:10-14).
* The story of the wise men. (Magi, also translated "astrologers," seem to have belonged to the learned class in Persia.) The idea that there were three of them derives from reading the story in light of Psalm 72:10, 15 and Isaiah 49:7; 60:3, 6, 10.
* They are said to come from the East (v. 1), where Jewish settlements existed. They were seeking a child born king of the Jews, whose coming had been revealed by a rising star (v. 2). The messiah is associated with stars by Numbers 24:17.
* They came to Jerusalem where it made sense to expect to find the child king of the capital.
* Herod is frightened by the news, finally learning from chief priests and scribes (based on Micah 5:2) that the baby king is likely to come from Bethlehem (vv. 3-6).
* He sends the wise men to Bethlehem wanting to learn the child's location (vv. 7-8).
* The star leads the wise men to the Babe, where they bring their gifts, worship, but do not inform Herod, as per instructions in their dream (vv. 9-12). The idea that the king wants a savior killed in infancy is reminiscent of Pharaoh's efforts to kill Moses and other Hebrew children in infancy (Exodus 1:15-16). Matthew may be trying to draw parallels between Moses and Jesus at this point.
* We can calculate that a special constellation of stars like the one reported in the Matthean account appeared in 7 BC. Luke's version of the Birth Narrative that is said to transpire during a tax enrollment in the governorship of Quirinius entails a birth date in 6 or 7 AD.
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* An examination of the implications of Providence and Christology (God's working through lowly things) on the Christian life (Sanctification). Attention is also given to how sin (concupiscence) is chastised.
* Preaching on this text, Martin Luther stressed the tension between what we naturally perceive and the light of grace:
The natural light of man and the light of grace cannot be friends. Human nature wants perception and certitude as a condition of faith. Grace wants faith prior to perception; that is why human nature will not proceed beyond its own light. Grace happily steps out into the darkness and follows nothing but the word…
(Luther's Works, Vol. 52, p. 196)
* The Reformer offers a good example of this tension in the Epiphany and Christmas story: "It is contradictory and shocking that a poor beggar, born in a lowly, poor place should be a ruler and Lord of the people of Israel" (Complete Sermons, Vol. 5, p. 205). "It follows, therefore, that this king Christ is not a secular king… but a spiritual Lord who is kind and gracious…" (Ibid., p. 207).
* Søren Kierkegaard nicely describes how in the Incarnation God uses lowly ordinary means:
In order the union may be brought about, the God must therefore become the equal of such a one, and so He will appear in the likeness of the humblest. But the humblest is one who must serve others. And the God will appear in the form of a servant… Behold where he stands -- the God! Where? There; so you cannot see Him? He is the God; and yet He has not a resting-place for His head, and He does not lean on any man lest He cause him to be offended… He is the God; and yet His eye rests upon humankind with deep concern…
(Philosophical Fragments, pp. 39-40)
* Luther speaks of our total dependence on God: "God has commanded that we should let Him be God, that is, look to Him and trust Him for all good things" (Luther's Works, Vol. 52, p. 199).
* He contrasts this dependence with the lover of self, marked by characteristics like pride, arrogance, self-conceit, and self-esteem (Ibid., pp. 212-214).
* John Calvin, while commenting on this text, likewise noted the stubborn self-centeredness condemned in the Epiphany story:
In a world, so long as wicked men think that it is taking nothing from themselves, they will yield to God and to scripture some degree of relevance. But when Christ comes into conflict with ambition, covetousness, pride, misplaced confidence, hypocrisy, and deceit, they immediately forget all modesty, and break out into rage.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVI/1, p. 333)
* A similar point is made by Luther in a 1533 sermon:
But God follows this method and chooses poor sinners, such as Saint Paul and we were, to fend off the arrogance and conceit of such wiseacres. For He does not wish to use such self-assured and presumptuous spirits for this work, but people who have been through the mill, have been tested and crushed… No, God must always retain the honor….
(Luther's Works, Vol. 28, pp. 86-87)
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* Luther claimed that one of the wise men was Ethiopian (Luther's Works, Vol. 10, pp. 412-413), an indication of the black presence in the Bible.
5. Gimmick
Wish the congregation Merry Christmas! Explain that today is Christmas for many Christians of Eastern Europe, Asia, and East Africa. Note that we continue spreading the Christmas message today.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Epiphany, Christmas, and Easter belong together. All stand under the Cross and its word that God's divine purpose works through lowly things that crucify our sense of entitlement. And so it is that the (perhaps illegitimate) son of a lowly carpenter is our Savior. The Epiphany story embraces these commitments.
* Note the quotes by Kierkegaard and Luther (second quote) in Theological Insights in order to elaborate on how God became human in order to unite Himself with ordinary people and how Christ's lordship manifest in a beggar is a kind and gracious sovereignty. In Christ, God uses ordinary things to bring us to Himself and to deliver us from ourselves and self-centeredness.
* The Epiphany story embraces these commitments. Like all narratives of the gospels, it is a story of God working through ordinary things and ordinary people. The wise and powerful bow before Christ, a reality which has transpired often in the last twenty centuries.
* Introduce the wise men as astrologers of Eastern (perhaps of Africa [see Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, Scientific Insights]) regions where they were members of the upper class.
* The wise men inform Herod of the child king. And Herod is reported to have feared this newborn child (v. 3)! A king fears the lowly and ordinary.
* Note that Herod was a foreigner ruling Israel. So foreign elements rule our lives -- foreign powers like greed, boredom, lust for power and reputation, as well as a sense of being on a chaotic treadmill.
* Epiphany is a story of these powers shaking in their boots in face of the Baby Jesus. That Babe, not the alien powers, is where the real meaning of life is to be found.
* The star led to the second-rate town of Bethlehem, just the opposite sort of birthplace for our Lord and king than what reason would have expected. (Recall the wise men's original expectation that the birth would transpire in Jerusalem.) The centers of power in America are not typically bearers of God's word. More than likely God's ways are to be found among the poor and outcast, among ordinary people like us.
* The wise men reach the Baby Jesus; the star leads them there. The wealthy and educated pay Him homage. This is the heart of the Christmas message. But most of the time such humility is not our style.
* The theme of humility is evident in the Second Lesson as Paul claims to be "the very least of the saints" (Ephesians 3:8).
* Martin Luther and John Calvin both commented on why we need to be humbled. (Use last quotes in Theological Insights.) We are too often mired in self-righteousness as we gleefully compare our morality, spiritual, and psychological health to our neighbors. As Martin Luther once put it: We "stink of pure self-esteem and self-conceit" (Luther's Works, Vol. 52, p. 213). Or as nineteenth-century English author William Hazlitt put it: "We can bear to be deprived of everything but our self-conceit." 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.
* Sin does not have the final word. The wise men were not perfect. Yet God summoned them to Bethlehem by the star, just as He summons us in the ordinary "Bethlehems" of life.
* The miracle of the Epiphany and of Christmas is that the light of Christ shines even for and on all too ordinary sinners like us.
7. Wrap-Up
Remind parishioners that Epiphany sends a message like the Christmas word. Confronted as we are by the light of Christ, by the compelling love of God in the ordinary, lowly, daily things of life, we will be led away from ourselves as well as all our selfish hang-ups, fall down, and collapse into the arms of our loving God.
The light of grace shows the way.
Collect of the Day
All three of the prayer options refer to the leading of the star to the Son. In the first option, we petition God by faith to know God's presence, bringing us to the full vision of glory. Christology and Eschatology are emphasized. In the second option, we pray that the light of the stars shine justice over all lands and that our lives be accepted as the treasure we offer in praise. Sanctification and Social Ethics are stressed in this prayer. The third option refers to the brightness of Christ's Resurrection on Easter. We pray that God fills the world with His glory. Providence is emphasized.
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
* One of the Elohistic Psalms of David; this one attributed to Solomon. A prayer for God's blessing of the king.
* Prayer that the ruler would defend the poor and needy, pitying the weak (vv. 2, 4, 12-14).
* At some points the supernatural aura surrounding ancient Near Eastern royalty is evident (vv. 5-6). Followed by prayer that king's empire would be universal (vv. 8-11). These verses might be interpreted as referring to the Messiah.
Sermon Text and Title
"Great Things Happen in the Spirit's Light"
Isaiah 60:1-6
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To help the congregation experience the new realities in life that Christ and the Holy Spirit reveal in the gospel. The faithful are lit up and their realities changed.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* Another prophecy Trito-Isaiah, probably offered after the Babylonian Captivity had ended.
* Reference to the light coming to Jerusalem, reflecting the Lord's glory in the midst of darkness (vv. 1-2), foreshadows the Epiphany star.
* The Exiles are said to return or are returning (v. 4).
* Nations will see Jerusalem's revival (v. 4).
* Noticed by the nations, Arab traders will come with their camels, bringing gold and frankincense (v. 6). This is most suggestive of the wise men's travels first to Jerusalem (Matthew 2:1-2; Luther's Works, Vol. 17, pp. 314-315).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* A prophecy pointing to what Christ brings also includes by implication the Holy Spirit's work in bringing the gospel to all.
* Martin Luther claimed, "The gospel is God's glory and light [revealing God to us]" (Complete Sermons, Vol. 3/2, p. 275).
* "To be illumined means to believe and receive the Holy Spirit," Luther wrote (Luther's Works, Vol. 17, p. 312).
* Commenting on this text, Luther also contended:
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.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 17, p. 311)
* John Wesley wrote that the lesson implies "the coming in of all nations to Christ…" (Commentary on the Bible, p. 337).
* John Calvin believes the brightness referred to in the text (v. 1) refers to salvation (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. VIII/2, p. 275). But he added, "… this life-giving light proceeds from God alone" (Ibid.).
* Luther notes that the new reality the gospel creates renders all the works of the faithful holy:
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)
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* Find statistics indicating how the American economy has not really bounced back from the recession, how it is worse for the American middle class since the 1960s. Salaries have not kept pace with what it costs to raise a child ($22,000 per year spent on the average up to the child's eighteenth birthday) and the cost of college and an automobile has soared by nearly ten times from the 1960s price tag.
5. Gimmick
Help parishioners appreciate (in story form) how hard things looked for the Judean exiles after their return from Babylon. Things were not bouncing back to religious and political realities known prior to the exile. The circumstances of life seemed dark, like we here in post-recession America experience.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Darkness is how we experience life. Seventeenth-century French scientist and Christian intellectual Blaise Pascal had it right: "I look around in every direction and all I see is darkness. Nature has nothing to offer me that does not give rise to doubt and anxiety" (Pensees, p. 162).
* Darkness even clouds the ways of God. Martin Luther noted how it can lead us to miss great things of God because they seem lowly and ordinary. He reminded us that only the Holy Spirit can get us to see the treasure that is the gospel. (See Theological Insights for the quote.)
* If we are going to see in the midst of our darkness, God has to give it to us. The author of our lesson says that in verse 1. So do Martin Luther and John Calvin (see Theological Insights).
* The writer of the lesson also refers to how the light will come to Jerusalem (v. 1). The light will also attract all the nations (vv. 3, 5-6).
* Note John Wesley's claim that this lesson promises that the gospel and its light attract all nations, bringing them to Christ (Commentary on the Bible, p. 337).
* Light never stops shining; this point is made by well-known Jewish rabbi Michael Strassfeld: "Light gives itself freely, filling all available space. It does not seek anything in return; it asks not whether you are friend or foe. It gives itself and is not thereby diminished."
* Martin Luther notes that the new reality of the gospel shines a new light on ordinary work, makes us see it as holy. (Use the final quote in Theological Insights.)
7. Wrap-Up
Note to the congregation that Christmas, which ends with Epiphany, is a time of light. The Christmas lights are on. Today on Epiphany, when Christmas is still celebrated in many churches (of the East), we are reminded that the gospel light, the light of salvation, still shines. Urge hearers to keep this in mind the next time they suffer or find their tasks stifling. Remind them that great things happen in the light, in the Spirit of God's light that never burns out. All doubt and anxiety are gone, and the world may see this testimony in us!
Sermon Text and Title
"Grace Changes Things"
Ephesians 3:1-12
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim the new circumstances (the inclusiveness of God) that transpired through Christ, fully realizing the Christmas dream.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* A prayer for wisdom, though most of the lesson is an extended parenthetical remark by Paul about his mission to the Gentiles (vv. 2-12).
* Speaks of the mystery made known to Paul by revelation, which was not previously known (vv. 2, 4).
* The revealed mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow members with Jesus of the same body and sharers in the promises of Christ (vv. 5-6).
* Paul proceeds to note that God's grace has been given to him, though he is the least of the saints, in order to bring Christ to the Gentiles (v. 8).
* Speaks of an eternal purpose of God carried out in Christ and that through the church God's wisdom might be displayed to angels (vv. 10-11).
* In confidence and boldness we have access to God through faith (v. 12).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* By the Holy Spirit we learn that in Christ a new order, including all, has been established.
* John Wesley, commenting on this text, claims that we are now as children addressing an indulgent father (God) with no fear of offending. Thus we may disclose all our needs to Him (Commentary on the Bible, p. 536).
* John Calvin speaks of the glory of God (grace) changing circumstances: "So highly ought the name of Christ to be revered by us, that what men consider to be the greatest reproach, ought to be viewed as the greatest honour" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XXI/1, p. 247).
* Christ gives confidence in what God does: "To trust in Christ as mediator, and to entertain a firm conviction of our heavenly Father's love… is… a holy presumption" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XXI/1, p. 257).
* Regarding the Pauline reference to the one body in Christ that all the faithful become (v. 6), Martin Luther wrote:
Thus we too have been joined with Christ into One body and Being, so that the good or the evil that happens to me also happens to Him. When I strike you or harm you, or when I show you honor, I strike Christ, I do Him harm, I show Him honor; for whatever happens to a Christian happens also to Christ Himself; He has a stake in it.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 23, p. 149)
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America wrote: "I think too often Christians have found their comfort zone in acts of charity, compassion, and love, rather than the struggle for justice and the full inclusion of marginalized people."
* A 2000 best-seller by Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone, showed that since 1970 there has been a notable decline in Americans' civic engagement and participation in community organizations.
5. Gimmick
Ask the congregation if they have ever wondered where the stars, where life, was leading. Note that the lesson tells us that God has an eternal purpose in mind (v. 11), one that gives us confidence and boldness (v. 12).
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Ever feel alone and isolated?
* Several years ago Robert Putnam wrote a book titled Bowling Alone that showed that since 1970 there has been a notable decline in Americans' civic engagement and participation in community organizations. We need a change in that way of living.
* Jenny Johnson had moved around a lot, but her neighborhoods were pretty much like she was ethnically and economically. She made few ties in these neighborhoods. Never politically active. Lost track of childhood friends. Rarely socialized anymore. Not involved in any organizations. Not much contact with family anymore. Know her? Probably not. And except for her nuclear family, she won't be missed much when she dies. Living like her? We need a change in that way of living.
* Things need to change in American life, in your way of living. But we can't do it alone. We need God; His grace changes things.
* Family can overcome loneliness and isolation. John Calvin, commenting on our text, noted that trusting in Christ gives you a firm conviction of our heavenly Father's love. John Wesley echoes this point, contending that Paul teaches in this text that now we have an indulgent Father whom we need have no fear of offending (see Theological Insights). Grace changes things. We are no longer alone or fearful with the indulgent heavenly Father we now know we have.
* Grace changes things, overcomes our loneliness in ways we could never have imagined. It gives us the confidence to reach out beyond our territory, because grace has made us one with others. These Gentile seers of the East came to seek, find, and worship a Jew!
* Saint Paul said it all in our lesson. The Spirit has revealed the unity of Jew and Gentile in the One body of Christ (vv. 5-6). We are all united! "Grace changes things." (Continue to echo this refrain at each point in the rest of the sermon.)
* Martin Luther explained the mystery of our oneness in Christ, how all are united in Him. What we do to and for each other is for and with Jesus. (Use last quotation in Theological Insights.)
* What church leader Garry Warren has said is true. Life is better in the all-inclusive body of Christ: "When we include, we break down fear." Grace ends the anxiety and loneliness. Grace changes things.
7. Wrap-Up
Ask the congregation if the loneliness of modern American life ever gets to them. Remind them that our lesson says that they are not alone, that they are being led and confronted by God no less than the star led the wise men. Grace changes things. Proclaim the belongingness, the inclusivity with the other people that grace and the Coming of Jesus provided. Grace changes things.
Sermon Text and Title
"The Light That Leads Us Away From Ourselves"
Matthew 2:1-12
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim God's providential ways (illustrated in Christology) of working through lowly things. This word calls us away from pride in ourselves and our accomplishments and also proclaims forgiveness.
2. Exegesis
* One the Synoptic Gospels.
* The author is anonymous, though tradition attributes it to Matthew, one of Jesus' disciples (9:9). This is unlikely in view of the gospel being written in Greek, though it betrays some Hebraic and Aramaic influences. Among Hebraic influences include use of poetic parallelism and emphasis on law, practice, and quotation of Hebrew scripture. Likely, then, written in the last third of the first century.
* Perhaps written in Palestine, but more likely written in Antioch, as its Bishop Ignatius seems to quote it as early as 110 AD. The polemic with the Pharisees suggests that the audience was Jewish Christians no longer in full communion with Judaism (see 21:25; 23:39). This is also evident insofar as these Christians still practiced Sabbath observance (24:20).
* Main Sections (generally arranged in biographical order): (1) Birth of Jesus (chs. 1-2); (2) Activity of John the Baptist (3:1-12); (3) Baptism and temptation of Jesus (3:13--4:11); (4) Jesus' preaching and teaching in Galilee (4:13--18:35), a section broken into various discourses (see below); (5) Journey to Jerusalem (chs. 19-20); (6) Jesus' last week (chs. 21-27); and the Resurrection (ch. 28). Chapters 3-4 and 12-28 are almost identical to Mark, with some elaborations. The additional material in Matthew parallels what Luke added to Mark.
* There are five major discourses of Jesus reported in the gospel, the first four emerging in the gospel's fourth section. Each is marked with a terminating phrase like "When Jesus had finished saying these things": (1) The Sermon on the Mount (chs. 5-7); (2) Instructions for missionary disciples (ch. 10); (3) The parables of the kingdom of heaven (ch. 13); and (4) On sincere discipleship (ch. 18); and (5) On the end of the present age (chs. 24-25).
* Central Themes and Emphases (a number of which indicate the document's Jewish roots): (1) Jesus as Messianic fulfillment of Torah; this preoccupation is evidenced not just in frequent quotations of the Hebrew Bible (1:22-23; 2:6, 15, 17-18, 23; 4:14-16; 12:17-21; 21:4-5; 27:9-10), but also in the genealogy provided which traces him back to Abrahamic roots (1:11-17); (2) Anti-Pharisaic along with a moral stringency; (3) Law of Moses not presented as a temporary measure superseded in the kingdom of heaven, but remains the measure of entrance into the kingdom; (4) Jesus' preaching stresses the Law as the way of righteousness as He offers a new Torah (13:52); (5) Unique among the gospels in speaking of the church (16:17-19; 18:17) that receives the kingdom once the possession of Israel; (6) Sense of eschatological time: The lines between the earthly Jesus and the period of the church (His exaltation) are blurred (see 28:16-20, and the authority of Jesus while on the Cross, see 26:63ff); and (7) With the distinction between the time of the earthly Jesus and the risen Christ, the disciples are made representatives of the future church, examples of the faith. They show a measure of understanding (13:51), but often have little faith (6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8), just as the church contains both good and bad (13:24-30, 47-50; 22:10-14).
* The story of the wise men. (Magi, also translated "astrologers," seem to have belonged to the learned class in Persia.) The idea that there were three of them derives from reading the story in light of Psalm 72:10, 15 and Isaiah 49:7; 60:3, 6, 10.
* They are said to come from the East (v. 1), where Jewish settlements existed. They were seeking a child born king of the Jews, whose coming had been revealed by a rising star (v. 2). The messiah is associated with stars by Numbers 24:17.
* They came to Jerusalem where it made sense to expect to find the child king of the capital.
* Herod is frightened by the news, finally learning from chief priests and scribes (based on Micah 5:2) that the baby king is likely to come from Bethlehem (vv. 3-6).
* He sends the wise men to Bethlehem wanting to learn the child's location (vv. 7-8).
* The star leads the wise men to the Babe, where they bring their gifts, worship, but do not inform Herod, as per instructions in their dream (vv. 9-12). The idea that the king wants a savior killed in infancy is reminiscent of Pharaoh's efforts to kill Moses and other Hebrew children in infancy (Exodus 1:15-16). Matthew may be trying to draw parallels between Moses and Jesus at this point.
* We can calculate that a special constellation of stars like the one reported in the Matthean account appeared in 7 BC. Luke's version of the Birth Narrative that is said to transpire during a tax enrollment in the governorship of Quirinius entails a birth date in 6 or 7 AD.
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* An examination of the implications of Providence and Christology (God's working through lowly things) on the Christian life (Sanctification). Attention is also given to how sin (concupiscence) is chastised.
* Preaching on this text, Martin Luther stressed the tension between what we naturally perceive and the light of grace:
The natural light of man and the light of grace cannot be friends. Human nature wants perception and certitude as a condition of faith. Grace wants faith prior to perception; that is why human nature will not proceed beyond its own light. Grace happily steps out into the darkness and follows nothing but the word…
(Luther's Works, Vol. 52, p. 196)
* The Reformer offers a good example of this tension in the Epiphany and Christmas story: "It is contradictory and shocking that a poor beggar, born in a lowly, poor place should be a ruler and Lord of the people of Israel" (Complete Sermons, Vol. 5, p. 205). "It follows, therefore, that this king Christ is not a secular king… but a spiritual Lord who is kind and gracious…" (Ibid., p. 207).
* Søren Kierkegaard nicely describes how in the Incarnation God uses lowly ordinary means:
In order the union may be brought about, the God must therefore become the equal of such a one, and so He will appear in the likeness of the humblest. But the humblest is one who must serve others. And the God will appear in the form of a servant… Behold where he stands -- the God! Where? There; so you cannot see Him? He is the God; and yet He has not a resting-place for His head, and He does not lean on any man lest He cause him to be offended… He is the God; and yet His eye rests upon humankind with deep concern…
(Philosophical Fragments, pp. 39-40)
* Luther speaks of our total dependence on God: "God has commanded that we should let Him be God, that is, look to Him and trust Him for all good things" (Luther's Works, Vol. 52, p. 199).
* He contrasts this dependence with the lover of self, marked by characteristics like pride, arrogance, self-conceit, and self-esteem (Ibid., pp. 212-214).
* John Calvin, while commenting on this text, likewise noted the stubborn self-centeredness condemned in the Epiphany story:
In a world, so long as wicked men think that it is taking nothing from themselves, they will yield to God and to scripture some degree of relevance. But when Christ comes into conflict with ambition, covetousness, pride, misplaced confidence, hypocrisy, and deceit, they immediately forget all modesty, and break out into rage.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVI/1, p. 333)
* A similar point is made by Luther in a 1533 sermon:
But God follows this method and chooses poor sinners, such as Saint Paul and we were, to fend off the arrogance and conceit of such wiseacres. For He does not wish to use such self-assured and presumptuous spirits for this work, but people who have been through the mill, have been tested and crushed… No, God must always retain the honor….
(Luther's Works, Vol. 28, pp. 86-87)
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* Luther claimed that one of the wise men was Ethiopian (Luther's Works, Vol. 10, pp. 412-413), an indication of the black presence in the Bible.
5. Gimmick
Wish the congregation Merry Christmas! Explain that today is Christmas for many Christians of Eastern Europe, Asia, and East Africa. Note that we continue spreading the Christmas message today.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Epiphany, Christmas, and Easter belong together. All stand under the Cross and its word that God's divine purpose works through lowly things that crucify our sense of entitlement. And so it is that the (perhaps illegitimate) son of a lowly carpenter is our Savior. The Epiphany story embraces these commitments.
* Note the quotes by Kierkegaard and Luther (second quote) in Theological Insights in order to elaborate on how God became human in order to unite Himself with ordinary people and how Christ's lordship manifest in a beggar is a kind and gracious sovereignty. In Christ, God uses ordinary things to bring us to Himself and to deliver us from ourselves and self-centeredness.
* The Epiphany story embraces these commitments. Like all narratives of the gospels, it is a story of God working through ordinary things and ordinary people. The wise and powerful bow before Christ, a reality which has transpired often in the last twenty centuries.
* Introduce the wise men as astrologers of Eastern (perhaps of Africa [see Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, Scientific Insights]) regions where they were members of the upper class.
* The wise men inform Herod of the child king. And Herod is reported to have feared this newborn child (v. 3)! A king fears the lowly and ordinary.
* Note that Herod was a foreigner ruling Israel. So foreign elements rule our lives -- foreign powers like greed, boredom, lust for power and reputation, as well as a sense of being on a chaotic treadmill.
* Epiphany is a story of these powers shaking in their boots in face of the Baby Jesus. That Babe, not the alien powers, is where the real meaning of life is to be found.
* The star led to the second-rate town of Bethlehem, just the opposite sort of birthplace for our Lord and king than what reason would have expected. (Recall the wise men's original expectation that the birth would transpire in Jerusalem.) The centers of power in America are not typically bearers of God's word. More than likely God's ways are to be found among the poor and outcast, among ordinary people like us.
* The wise men reach the Baby Jesus; the star leads them there. The wealthy and educated pay Him homage. This is the heart of the Christmas message. But most of the time such humility is not our style.
* The theme of humility is evident in the Second Lesson as Paul claims to be "the very least of the saints" (Ephesians 3:8).
* Martin Luther and John Calvin both commented on why we need to be humbled. (Use last quotes in Theological Insights.) We are too often mired in self-righteousness as we gleefully compare our morality, spiritual, and psychological health to our neighbors. As Martin Luther once put it: We "stink of pure self-esteem and self-conceit" (Luther's Works, Vol. 52, p. 213). Or as nineteenth-century English author William Hazlitt put it: "We can bear to be deprived of everything but our self-conceit." 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.
* Sin does not have the final word. The wise men were not perfect. Yet God summoned them to Bethlehem by the star, just as He summons us in the ordinary "Bethlehems" of life.
* The miracle of the Epiphany and of Christmas is that the light of Christ shines even for and on all too ordinary sinners like us.
7. Wrap-Up
Remind parishioners that Epiphany sends a message like the Christmas word. Confronted as we are by the light of Christ, by the compelling love of God in the ordinary, lowly, daily things of life, we will be led away from ourselves as well as all our selfish hang-ups, fall down, and collapse into the arms of our loving God.
