The Epiphany Of Our Lord
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
... and they knelt down and paid him homage....
-- Matthew 2:11
The intellectual elite knelt before the baby Jesus. They offered him their wealth for his use. Here is where the gospel has its epiphany or is revealed to the human soul. The darkness of the world is maintained in our hearts as long as the arrogance of our own wisdom or the seduction of wealth and power take priority over our obedience to the seemingly fragile presence of God's word. King Herod was correct in seeing that the worship of God in Christ undermined his authority in the world. Herod was a pragmatic man and ran his kingdom on what was effective. Each of us is confronted with the choice of what we allow to take priority in our lives. When our values are challenged by the demands of the gospel, do we insist that our wisdom is superior to the gospel? When God asks that we devote our hard-earned money or precious time to the work of God, do we say that God is asking too much? Can our wisdom be in service to Christ rather than the filter through which we determine whether the mandates of faith are reasonable?
Leadership that is shaped by wisdom and power that are subordinated to Christ approaches the world from a whole different perspective. The wise men still paid attention to the ways of the world. "And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road." They neither rejected the benefits of their own wisdom nor dismissed the threats of the world. Yet their world and their decision making were now shaped by a different source. The New Testament or new covenant begins with the Gentile world kneeling before God in Christ Jesus. Much of the Christian church is now made up of Gentiles. The question we have to ask as we begin each year is whether we are still willing to submit all that we have in service to our Lord.
-- Matthew 2:11
The intellectual elite knelt before the baby Jesus. They offered him their wealth for his use. Here is where the gospel has its epiphany or is revealed to the human soul. The darkness of the world is maintained in our hearts as long as the arrogance of our own wisdom or the seduction of wealth and power take priority over our obedience to the seemingly fragile presence of God's word. King Herod was correct in seeing that the worship of God in Christ undermined his authority in the world. Herod was a pragmatic man and ran his kingdom on what was effective. Each of us is confronted with the choice of what we allow to take priority in our lives. When our values are challenged by the demands of the gospel, do we insist that our wisdom is superior to the gospel? When God asks that we devote our hard-earned money or precious time to the work of God, do we say that God is asking too much? Can our wisdom be in service to Christ rather than the filter through which we determine whether the mandates of faith are reasonable?
Leadership that is shaped by wisdom and power that are subordinated to Christ approaches the world from a whole different perspective. The wise men still paid attention to the ways of the world. "And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road." They neither rejected the benefits of their own wisdom nor dismissed the threats of the world. Yet their world and their decision making were now shaped by a different source. The New Testament or new covenant begins with the Gentile world kneeling before God in Christ Jesus. Much of the Christian church is now made up of Gentiles. The question we have to ask as we begin each year is whether we are still willing to submit all that we have in service to our Lord.
