“God-In-Man Made Manifest” – Matthew 2:1-12 – Epiphany of Our Lord
Vicar Darren Harbaugh
Today we celebrate the Epiphany of our Lord. We focus on God’s revelation of himself to the entire world through Christ, “God in man made manifest,” as we sing in one of our hymns. However, to us Christians to whom God has revealed himself, it seems that our God is more hidden and mysterious in this world than ever.
For example, it was not a Happy New Year for Christians in Egypt. There was a bombing at a church in Alexandria that killed 21and injured 90. This is the most recent in a number attacks on Christians throughout the Middle East. Because of this violence there has been a mass exodus of Christians from the area. Is this God in man made manifest? He appears more hidden and mysterious than ever.
Perhaps the idea of a mass exodus of Christians sounds familiar. We do not need to travel to the Middle East to see the evidence of this. Without threat of violence, the church in America has been on a steady decline. If you are in the mood to be depressed, get on your computer and read a few of the recent polls or surveys about Christianity in America. The findings are, well, not so promising. The broad theme is that we are apart of the incredible shrinking church. By the millions, people are electing to declare themselves not bound to Christianity.
I have not crunched the numbers but I do not believe that San Francisco is posed to become a shining beacon for the Christian faith anytime soon.
Is this God in Man made manifest? He appears more hidden and mysterious than ever.
Personally, for each one of us, things don’t appear to get much better. Despite all we’ve been taught, certain questions and mysteries plague us; “Why am I here?,” “Why do I even exist?,” “What is life all about?” No matter who you are, questions and doubts linger.
We desire to know God’s secret will. We want to unmask the mystery. This is the universal human condition. We are aware that there is something bigger than us out there and it makes us feel…insignificant.
I remember the first time that I really felt insignificant. I was just a little kid and I imagined that there was a video camera above me and that I could see myself lying in bed. Then the camera zoomed out to show my entire room, then my house, then my neighborhood, then my town, then the state, then the country, then the world, then the universe and my mind almost exploded! I felt like a tiny nothing speck in the grand scheme of things. I imagine that most of us have felt this way at one time or another. We want meaning and purpose and significance. Otherwise we can feel very troubled, like our head is going to explode. We want the mysteries of life to be revealed.
Some people go on great spiritual quests to Tibet or India. They climb mountains and talk to gurus to solve the mysteries of life as they search for meaning. But you don’t have to climb a mountain to see this, go to a bookstore and check out the self-help and spiritual section. This can even get to us as Christians. Look at the Christian section in a bookstore and you will find book after book about “finding yourself”,” discovering your purpose in life”, tips to help you on your own “personal spiritual journey”.
Spiritual journeys aren’t all that bad, I suppose, depending on what you mean. Our Gospel reading tells about a spiritual journey of sorts involving some pretty mysterious characters who follow a pretty mysterious star which leads them to a pretty mysterious child who they worship as King.
At first glance this appears to be kind of an odd reading for Epiphany, which as I said is when we focus on God’s revelation of himself to the entire world through Christ - God in man made manifest. The God-Man in this story still seems mysterious and hidden in a small child. This King seems hidden to everyone but the Magi.
So we ask ourselves on this celebration of the Epiphany of Our Lord: “Is our God hidden and mysterious or manifest and revealed?”
Look at the gifts that the wise men bring to the Christ Child. Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. Hidden in these gifts was the revelation of who this child was. -Gold is a fitting gift for a king. Jesus is the king of the universe. He is the Lord of heaven and earth. He is the King of Kings
-Frankincense is a fitting gift for God. It was burned as a fragrant offering to God in Temple worship. Jesus is indeed God, the Word made flesh.
-Myrrh is a fitting gift for a dead man. It was used to embalm dead bodies. Jesus was born to die. He died so that we may live.
This boy was the King of the Jews, but was born in a stable. This boy was God, but revealed in flesh. This boy was a priest who would not only offer, but would become the sacrifice for all mankind. But he was hidden in plain sight to most people.
Herod and the religious leaders did not recognize what was right in front of them. Can you imagine God in the flesh appearing, yet failing to honor and worship him? It should not be too difficult to imagine because we do it all the time. We have had Christ revealed to us. But we, like Herod, do not like when this King interrupts our plans. We want to rule our own lives. We, like Herod, and the chief priests and scribes know that God reveals himself in his Word, but we prefer to ignore it. We want to reveal the hiddenness of God for our own purposes, yet ignore the mystery that God has revealed in Christ.
It is true; sometimes God appears hidden and mysterious. Why does God allow tragedy? I don’t know. Why is there violence against God’s people? Why is the Church in the Western World shrinking? What is going to happen in each one of our lives? We experience pain and suffering and sorrow. There are lots of questions that we do not have the answers to. And that one question remains: “Is our God hidden and mysterious or manifest and revealed? The answer is: Yes.
Our God is hidden where he needs to be hidden but our God is indeed manifest and revealed where he needs to be revealed. He is revealed in Christ. When God seems hidden and mysterious, look to Christ. When you are plagued by doubts and insignificance, look to the manifest and revealed Son of God.
In the midst of doubts and questions and the mysteries of life, God’s promises are still true. We have THE answer. God-in-man was made manifest in Christ, revealed to the world at the first Epiphany. As St Paul says, the plan of the mystery that was hidden for ages was revealed in Christ.
In Christ, God is revealed to the entire World. The cat has been let out of the bag. God is not found in your personal spiritual quest high on a mountain or within your own consciousness. God is found in the person of Jesus. That God who the Wise men fell down and worshiped is found hanging on a cross for you. That God is found in the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper for you, in the water of Baptism for you, in the ink and paper of Holy Scripture for you, in the sound waves of the gospel proclaimed in the absolution and in the sermon for you. Right now, you receive forgiveness
The hidden and mysterious God is revealed and made manifest to you today. Here the greatest mystery of the universe is not just revealed to you but is delivered to you. In the midst of your questions and struggles, the Holy Spirit has enlightened you and guided you like the star that guided the Wise Men. The Spirit has guided you on a spiritual journey from your house to this church to join your brothers and sisters in Christ in life together worshiping our God, the suffering King, just as the Wise men did, and receiving from him amazing gifts: true life, true peace, and true salvation. Have a blessed Epiphany! Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment