Let me pray for us. We thank you, Father, for the
gift of your Word and for the fact that it's open before us,
and we pray that we will see Jesus in it today for the glory
of your name, Amen. We say Happy Birthday to 2026
and Happy New Year to everybody. If you are new, my name is
Somane Megati. I'm one of the pastors here at
the church. Before I became part of a
liturgical tradition, I actually did not know that there was such
a thing as Christmas tide. I thought it was Christmas on
December 25th and that was it. And when I found out that there
were actually 12 days of Christmas that had nothing to do
with just geese and Lords and leaping, I was overjoyed.
And that's a good idea. Let's celebrate for 12 days.
And so just in case you're not aware, we are still in Christmas
tide. Yes.
So the liturgical, you have liturgical permission to keep
your tree and light up at least until tomorrow evening.
Maybe. But I also didn't know about
Epiphany, the feast of Epiphany, which is always on January 6th.
So that's this Tuesday. This is a feast that is based on
the word Epiphany. That word is from a Greek word
meaning manifestation or revelation.
The feast of Epiphany celebrates the moment Christ was revealed
to the Gentiles, and it's represented by the Magi in our
Gospel reading from Matthew chapter 2.
It's found on page 757. If you want to follow along,
that's our passage for this morning.
Now, as we look at that passage together, I want to suggest that
Epiphany offers at least I'm going to mention five
resolutions. You can add those to your many
New Year's resolutions, New Year resolutions, if you like, to
shape and guide the way that we walk with Jesus this year.
So I'm going to offer at least 5 resolutions to guide us as
disciples of Jesus in this coming year.
Now, this Christmas time, we've celebrated and heard about how
Jesus was born to Mary and to Joseph in Bethlehem.
While everybody else was asleep, heaven was very busy.
An angelic warrior appears to some shepherds at night.
They're tending their flock. And he and a host of angels
basically announced the birth of Jesus Christ.
And outside of Jesus's close nuclear family, the shepherds
might have been the first to actually meet the Savior of the
world. And then Luke tells us that
eight days after that, Mary and Joseph presents Jesus of the
temple to be circumcised. And there's this devout and
righteous man who is in the temple.
He's been praying and, and, and longing for the redemption of
Israel. His name is Simeon and the Holy
Spirit leads him into the temple and he sees the baby Jesus and
he just bursts out in Thanksgiving.
And the song that he sings we have in our BCP, he sings, Lord,
let your servant go. And I'm not sure those were the
exact notes that he used, but he sang that song and we sing it in
our BCP as well. We use it in our BCP.
Then as he is blessing Mary and Joseph, and he turns to Mary and
talks to her about how a sword is going to Pierce her heart,
the Holy Spirit sends another person to Jesus, a prophetess
named Anna, 7 years, a widow. She stayed in the temple fasting
and praying because she's also looking for the hope of Israel
and she sees Jesus. She's overjoyed and Jesus stays
on her lips for the rest of her life.
Everybody that she meets, she tells about Jesus, the
redemption of Israel. So up to this point every single
person that has encountered Jesus has been an Israelite.
This has kind of been a family affair until Matthew chapter 2
or we meet the Magi. Around Jesus time of birth there
was an astronomical occurrence and it was prominent and really
huge enough that it alerted magi who were in the east.
And these magi were philosophers that were probably living in
modern day Iran or as far away as Arabia.
They specialized in astronomy and astrology and the natural
sciences. And if you are paying attention
to scripture, astrology is actually forbidden in the Bible.
Yet somehow these magi and we are not told how these magi were
expecting the birth of the Messiah and they were waiting
for his star to appear in the heavens.
And the general consensus is that star appeared before Jesus
was born, and when these men saw it, they set off for Jerusalem.
That journey from wherever they were to Jerusalem would have
taken at least two months, maybe up to six months, depending on
where they were coming from. And they arrive when Jesus is no
longer referred to as a babe or an infant, but as a child who
now lives in a house with his mom and dad in Bethlehem.
They are the fulfillment of Isaiah 60 and Psalm 72, where
kings and foreigners come bearing gifts to Israel's king.
Matthew's main point here is clear, though.
Jesus came through David's line, He is for all people, for
Israel, and for all the nations. And these magi represent the
nation's foreigners, perhaps idolaters, maybe even
astrologers practicing something that Scripture forbade.
And yet God made provision for them to find Jesus.
He gave them a star and they followed it.
It's always in God's nature to make provision for us, to make a
way where there seems to be no way.
There's so many songs about that, but like the Magi, we must
resolve to follow His lead and go where He tells us to.
The invitation that was given to the Magi and that star in the
heavens extends to you and to me.
It doesn't matter what where you've come from, what you've
done, or what you've neglected to do.
Jesus is not just for insiders. He is for all people, and that
includes you. It includes me.
He bids us to follow him. And that road might be
difficult. Imagine with me for just a
moment the road that the Magi must have taken through the
desert. They would have faced hundreds
of miles of rugged terrain. They would have faced exhaustion
and fatigue and and uncertainty, Certainly danger.
You know, there were no rest stops, no hotels, no guarantee
they'd found what they were looking for at the very end of
this. Just a star.
But day after day, step after step, they followed that light
because they knew the destination was worth it.
Maybe you don't know who Jesus is and you don't understand what
all the fuss is about. Maybe you do know Jesus.
But you're slowly drifting from the faith.
For one reason or the other. The state of the world has made
you asked questions about God's love.
Maybe your encounter with the priests and scribes of our day
have left you disillusioned. You have good questions, but you
don't have any good answers. You've experienced a lot of
hurt, and you're just disillusioned about life.
If that's you, God invites you to take the path of the Magi.
Can you make that journey to Jesus this year?
And I'm not talking about reading a book or two or
watching a YouTube video. Those are all important.
What you believe about Jesus and what you do with him is the most
important question that you will ever have to answer.
And it requires humility, honesty, a humble, deep search.
Following what Jesus has put out there as signs that point to
Jesus. When you do this with the intent
to discover the truth, then it means that you will go to where
the conclusion leads, even if it makes you feel uncomfortable.
But the invitation is also for those of you who are faithfully
following Jesus. You're not sure where the road
ahead leads. God doesn't give us a map.
We wish he did, but he doesn't. You've prayed prayers that
haven't been answered in the way that you've hoped.
You've waited for a long time for things, and you're
wondering, does this waiting even matter at all?
Loneliness, spiritual dryness, all sorts of problems left,
right and center. Again, God always makes a
provision, especially through His, through his Son Jesus
Christ. So he invites you to walk the
path of the Magi. So this year will you resolve to
follow his lead and go wherever he sends you.
The Magi arrive in Jerusalem and they go to the place where kings
are born to the palace. They tell Herod about the birth
of the King of the Jews. Where is he?
We want to go and worship him and he is troubled.
He is agitated, panicked. He was the so-called King of the
Jews. He wasn't even Jewish.
He was an Edomite and it was the Roman Senate that had put him on
the throne of the King of the Jews, not God.
He was not God's chosen for his people and he had extreme
paranoia, especially about rival claimants for his throne.
This is why he murdered his wife, her mother, and three of
his sons. He was so prone to extreme
violence that Caesar Augustus is reported to have said it is
better to be Herod's pig than his son.
So when Herod hears that a rival king is born, he panics.
He does not rejoice. He calls the chief priests and
scribes, asking where the Messiahs to be born, and they
quote Micah. And knew, O Bethlehem in the
land of Judah are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,
for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people
Israel. And then Herod secretly summons
the Magi, and like a wily snake he says to them, Go, please
search carefully for the child, and when you find him, come back
and tell me where he where he is, so that I too may worship
him. Lies, of course.
I want you to notice that the Magi did not have Micah's
prophecy. If they did, they would have
just gone to Bethlehem. They had only a star.
But the priests and the scribes had something better than a
star. They had the Word of God, a
clear, specific prophecy about where the Messiah would be born,
and yet they missed it. While Simeon and Anna were
praying and longing for the redemption of Israel, these
ones, the ones entrusted with teaching and interpreting
Scripture, did They completely were oblivious to this.
These were the most biblically literate people of their time.
But their hearts were asleep. And I know that it grieves God's
heart that those most familiar with His Word often fail to
recognize when He acts. Because being close to Scripture
does not guarantee that you're close to God and Herod.
Notice he doesn't doubt the prophecy, he actually believes
it. He's convinced that the Christ
has been born. But rather than rejoicing than
rejoice, he plots. He hears God's word and
immediately opposes it. Like the serpent in Eden.
He says, did God really say that?
Let's let's change the outcome. Let's make it different.
Herod feared disruption. And in a sense, he was right to
fear disruption because the coming of Jesus does disrupt.
The world is not as it should be.
And the only one who could put it right is the Messiah.
And the way that Jesus does this is by confronting what's wrong.
This means he's going to upend injustice, he's going to tear
down idols, and he's going to dethrone anything that rivals
God. Jesus does not come to decorate
our lives, He actually comes to reorder them entirely.
The tragedy is that when we become so comfortable in our
brokenness, so accustomed to the status quo, that when Jesus
shows up, his healing becomes something we resist.
We've built lives around our dysfunction.
We've normalized sin. We've called darkness lights and
so when grace comes up, it shows up.
It doesn't feel like a gift at all.
It feels like a threat. May we not be like Herod who sat
in judgement of the Word rather than submit to it.
May we not be like the priests who's and scribes who were
asleep at the wheel this year. Will you resolve not only to
know God's word, but to be surrendered to its holy
disruption, trusting that what Jesus dismantles, he will heal?
Will you resolve this year never to hear His word and respond
with Did God really say so? The Magi continue their journey
to Bethlehem and they're following the star, and when
they see the star settle over the house, Matthew tells us that
they rejoiced exceedingly, with great joy.
It's like layered, overflowing, uncontainable delight that just
spills over. Sometime I think before 2020, I
can't remember when, when it was I was driving my wife to an
acapella rehearsal and I saw, we both saw this woman at AT
junction, a red light T junction.
And she's standing at the corner.
She has earphones, Airpods in her ear and she's listening to
music and she is dancing like there's no tomorrow.
Her arms are flailing. She's twirling around and nobody
can hear this music for her and she doesn't care.
And my wife and I just sat watching her until the light
turned green. It was fascinating to watch, and
I've convinced myself she was listening to gospel music
because what else can bring that kind of reaction?
It was so good to see. And so when I read this passage
about how they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy, I
thought about this from when I thought about myself.
When was the last time I rejoiced like that over Jesus,
if ever? And now I don't think that this
is the constant, steady joy that Paul says that every believer
should have at all times. This is something more
explosive, something more woo. And there are places in
Scripture where that happens. Jesus himself experiences that.
We all know what joy feels like. I have rejoiced exceedingly with
great joy before over other things, over many things.
And I imagine that we all have, in one way or the other.
We rejoice when our team wins the championship, when the baby
is born healthy, when the offer letter arrives, when the
surprise party is actually a surprise.
I threw my wife a birthday party in May when her birthday is
actually in August. It was great.
I got points for that. We know how to cultivate joy.
We set reminders. We talk about it with our
friends. We countdown the days we visit,
the memories. We look at the highlight reels.
We share the images. We invest time and money and
plan and protect what brings us joy.
And when we don't protect what brings us joy, we know that life
can be so hard and becomes depressing.
There's no outlet for goodness. How often do we do that with
Jesus? Do we set reminders around Him?
Do we talk to our friends about Him?
Do we countdown the days and the hours and the minutes before we
come to church on Sunday to worship, hear His Word, and
feast at the table? Do we long for His appearing, so
much so that we revisit the good things that He has done for us
and give Him thanks and rehearse His goodness and celebrate Him?
The Magi rejoiced with great joy because they had arrived at
Jesus this year. Will you resolve to do the same,
To take every opportunity to rejoice over Jesus?
We need joy in our lives, y'all we really do.
So come for the Epiphany party. When the Magi enter the house
and see Jesus, they don't hesitate.
They fall down and they worship him.
In the ancient world, it's customary for envoys from
foreign nations to travel long distances to honor the birth of
a new king, and they would have lavish gifts as part of that
journey. These were diplomatic acts of
respect. They were acknowledging the
legitimacy of this king and aligning themselves with that,
with the king. But the magi do more than pay
tribute. They worship the king By falling
before the child Jesus. These wise men make a bold and
dangerous declaration. Their highest allegiance is no
longer with the kings of their own land, but with the one born
king of the Jews. This act of worship, it's a
reorientation of their loyalty. They recognize that they will
still continue to work under earthly rulers, but their
ultimate obedience now belongs to a greater sovereign.
If you've been coming to rest for a while now, you will know
that we keep emphasizing Jesus is king, Jesus is king, Jesus is
king. If the book of the books of
first and second kings teach us anything, is that there will be
king after king after king after king, but only one king that
remains seated on the throne all the time.
That is Jesus. And notice for the Magi, their
worship begins with their bodies.
Before they open up their treasures, they fall down.
Worship involves your whole self, everything about you.
It's not enough for your heart to be kneeling if your body
isn't kneeling. It's not enough for your hands
to be lifted up if your heart isn't raised up.
Biblical worship is holistic. It matters what you do with your
body, with your mind, with your emotions and your words, but
oftentimes your body posture leads the rest of you.
This is why in church, we kneel and we stand and we bow because
the shape of our body shapes the rest of us.
And so I encourage you, do this not just while we are gathered
here, but at home too. Worship with your body.
Kneel down, prostate yourself before the Lord, Bow down, bow
low, clap your hands as you sink.
Even if you have no rhythm, the Lord loves it.
It's fine. Dance, dance in your closet, Put
on that worship music and dance to the Lord.
Get your body involved in the worship and let that lead the
rest of you to the correct posture as well.
Now that rejoicing the Magi felt resulted in them falling down in
bodily worship, but then they also opened up their treasures,
and they gave the very best to Jesus.
They offer him gold, and gold in the Bible is associated with
kingship. They offer him frankincense, and
that in the Bible is associated with prayers and offerings to
God. They give him myrrh and that is
associated with consecration and it was often used to prepare a
body for burial, burial. Now, even if the Magi Magi did
not know the the the imports of the symbolism of their gifts,
their gifts actually proclaim that Jesus is king, that he is
God, and that he is the Savior of the world.
So this year will you resolve to worship Jesus with your whole
self and to offer him gifts worthy of him?
Who is God, who is King, and who is Savior?
The last thing that I want to talk about is this * Every time
I preach on this passage, I just get stuck on this star because
it is so strange. It's a very weird start.
It rises, it appears, it leads, it settles over a house, it
guides people to Jesus. A giant ball of gas in the sky
doesn't usually act like that. Matthew does not explain it.
I'm not going to try to, but when I was younger, I wanted to
be a star. Not a, not a ball of gas in the
sky, an actual * I would practice what would happen when
I got my first Oscar, you know, for best actor in a leading
role. Practice the speech.
I first of all, thank God, but then also my awesome talent
because I'm the star. You know, of course, I'm older
now. My tastes have changed, but the
truth of the matter is I am a star.
And so are you, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ.
But we're not stars unto ourselves.
Jesus said, you are the light of the world.
Let your light so shine before others that they might see your
good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Like the star that led the Magi, we are supposed to shine our
light so that others will be guided to King Jesus.
So this year will you resolve to be Jesus light in the world?
We will do our best to provide you with ample opportunities for
you to follow God, for you to surrender to His Word, for you
to rejoice exceedingly with great joy, come to the Epiphany
party, for you to worship Him with your whole life, and to
give generously and shine as a light to the world.
It'll happen through our Christian Formation cohort.
The registration is open, and yes, this is a shameless plug.
Please sign up for this. It'll happen through our Just
Christianity course that starts in February.
It'll happen in our Foundation class, which is open to
everyone, though it's targeted for newcomers.
It'll happen in the many acts of mercy that will invite you into
serving our community in various ways.
It'll happen on Wednesday evening when we come together to
pray and focus on Jesus as we walk together through Lent,
practicing repentance and renewal.
Holy Week is going to draw us to Jesus as Savior of the world.
And then Easter will erupt with joy, like the magi rejoicing
greatly. We'll celebrate the resurrection
hope and the fact that sin is conquered and defeated.
And then Pentecost. We will be reminded the Holy
Spirit has been poured out on us and he empowers us.
He gives us and he guides us and sends us into the world, just as
God guided the magi. And when we enter ordinary time,
we will rediscover that there's nothing ordinary about a life
that is conformed to Jesus In our everyday rhythms of prayer
and community and worship and mission.
We will keep learning to be stars that shine, to lead others
near and far to the King of all nations.
Will you go on this journey this year?
Let's pray. Father, you have set a path of
righteousness be for us, and You have asked us to walk in it.
We pray that You would guide our feet to follow your leading
wherever you take us, so that through your Son Jesus Christ,
you will be worshipped and glorified.
It is in Your name that we pray. Amen.