Epiphany: A Revelation and a Revolution.

Epiphany Blessings!  

We have moved into a new year and we celebrate this transition by remembering the light of Christ that breaks into the world.  The following is a manuscript from the sermon preached on the celebration of Epiphany.  

This sermon continues the discussion of the powers and principalities from the previous week.  This concept is important as we engage the new testament.  My hope is that we will undertake an in-depth study of this integral concept in the coming months - outside of the pulpit.  Look for more details in the coming weeks. 

"Epiphany: A Revelation and a Revolution"
Based on Ephesians 3:1-12 (ESV)

Ephesians 3:1-12

For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. 8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.


   

    The life of Jesus changes everything.  This is the message we proclaim with the story of Christmas.  In recent days we have remembered the stories that surround the birth of Jesus.  We put together the postcard picture manger scene.  The birth in Bethlehem after a long journey for an imperial census.  The army of angels who bring words of “peace on earth” to startled shepherds keeping watch over their flocks in the hills outside of Bethlehem.  The gathering of those same shepherds around the manger.  The nativity complete - almost
    Today we hear the story that completes our nativity scene.  The shepherds arrive on their own time with dazzling gifts, bearing the story of a star and the search for the new born king of the Jews.  They witnessed a new star in the night sky and discerned that something significant had taken place - that something had changed.  So they journeyed to seek out and celebrate the one who had brought new light into the world. 
    Indeed, the life of Jesus changes things, changes everything.  His epiphany, from the Greek “epiphaneia” - that means “striking appearance” -  is an event that changes the course of our lives.  We celebrate the Epiphany of Jesus by retelling the visit of the wise men, the magi from the east.  This story, so familiar, points to something much deeper about the appearance of Christ in our world, reminding us that everything has indeed changed with the life of Jesus.   
    The writer of Ephesians celebrates this change with their letter, writing with great joy and passion about what the life of Jesus Christ means for the world.  Today we read a part of that letter in which the author (here attributed to Paul) talks about receiving the mystery of Christ and sharing that mystery with those he encounters.  This mystery is quite simple in statement, yet earth shattering in result.  Through Christ the “Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.”  While this might not seem like a momentous statement to us, for the early followers of Jesus and early days of the church, this issue was almost a breaking point. 
    The great debate of the early church in the decades after the resurrection of Jesus was who exactly had a share in the good news of Jesus Christ.  There was a great dividing line between the Jews and the Gentiles.  The jews were the people of God, they were people of the covenant.  Delivered from Egypt and Babylon, redeemed and brought back into relationship with God.  The gentiles, those who were not jewish, were unclean and apart from the gifts of the covenant.  The jews had long expected the Messiah of God, the one who would deliver the people and be a light for the world.  The messiah did come in the form of Jesus, a jew, and his movement began as a jewish movement.  This all changed with Paul and his call to take the good news of Jesus Christ to the gentiles.  Paul’s aggressive evangelism practices did not sit too well with the leaders of the church who did not believe that the gentiles were included in the story of Jesus.  There was a clear dividing line and the debate over who was included in the good news of Jesus almost tore the early church apart.  Acts chapter 15 gives a summary of the council in Jerusalem that settled the matter and allowed for the mission to the Gentiles to continue.  The church has never been the same. 
    Epiphany is about this great mystery, the welcoming of gentiles into the story of Jesus.  Epiphany is about the light of Christ breaking into the world.  It shines new light on a person’s life or even an entire community.  Epiphany shows us how God understands the divine-human relationship.  It’s about the revelation of the good news of Jesus Christ to all peoples - to which the magi are a testament.  The magi, the so called wise men from the east are, simply put, gentiles.  They represent the rest of the world, those outside of the covenant.  They recognize something about Jesus that Jesus’ own people do not see or understand.  They are a foil to King Herod’s rage and fear.  While he seeks the baby Jesus, the king of the Jews, a threat to his thrown, to destroy him, the magi seek out Jesus to honor him and give him gifts, celebrating his life for the whole world.  The magi represent all the peoples of the world, peoples drawn to God through the good news of Jesus Christ.  They represent us who long to discover God at work in our own lives, and who have witnesses the depths of God’s love - or are perhaps in need of a reminder.   
    Epiphany is about revelation - God’s revealing the light of Christ to the world.  Epiphany reminds us that the world is still in need of the light of Christ.  Though God can work through power unimaginable to us, God has chosen to work through us to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.  That’s the message of Ephesians today.  Tucked away in verse ten we get our call -  “so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made know to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.”  We, the church, have been empowered to proclaim the wisdom of God to the world.  And here the writer gets specific, and in an unexpected way.  The flow of the letter would lead us to believe that we are to proclaim God’s wisdom to the Gentiles, but that’s not the case.  In fact, we are the very Gentiles that are drawn to God through Christ.  Our call is to proclaim God’s wisdom to the powers and principalities. 
    Last week I spoke briefly about the powers and principalities.  The last few years of my life have led me into an encounter with the powers language present in the New Testament, and my hope is to share this part of my journey with you some time this spring in a focused study.  For the moment, let us keep the talk of the power simple.  We can understand the powers and principalities as an image. The presidency is an image.  The office of the president is bigger than one person.  The office is bigger than George W. Bush, it’s bigger than Barack Obama.  Once elected, one must play by the rules of the president.  The image of the president is an image of power. 
    Or we can look at the powers as institutions.  Banks are institutions, seats of power.  Churches are institutions, seats of powers. 
    We can look at the powers as ideologies.  The “american dream” is an ideology.  This sense of rugged individualism - we can pull ourselves up by the boot straps - “have gun will travel” - “git’er done”- attitude that seems to permeate our culture.  This attitude is a concept of power. 
    This triad of image, institution, ideology is a glimpse of how we encounter the powers in the world.  If we follow the logic of the New Testament authors, we find that these powers are similar to our own existence.  The powers, just like us, were created by God to serve God and God’s people.  They are fallen from their calling (Vocation) to serve God and serve God’s people.  They can be redeemed and reclaim their calling to serve. 
    Our call is to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to the powers.  In a sense, Epiphany is not just about revelation, it’s about revolution.  It’s about a fundamental change in power.  It’s about God revealing light to the world through Christ.  It’s about God being the ultimate power in this world.  Not kings or rulers or presidents or nations or banks or armies.  God is the one who sets things in motion and holds the ultimate  authority.  The powers, in their fallen state, have forgotten their call to serve God and to serve God’s people.  The light of Epiphany is a bold reminder of whom the powers are to serve, and a call for us to remind the powers of their task.  
    But how?  Here is a humble offering for the new year.  It’s no secret that money has everything to do with power.  How we invest, where we spend, point to the places and things that hold power in our lives.  But money is not evil.  It is a blessing from God that was always meant to serve the good of the community.  How we spent our money can be a way of preaching the power of God in this world.  When we use our gifts to support others, when we poor out our gifts for the benefit of the community, we reclaim God’s power in this world.  This is one way we can reveal Christ to the world.      
    Epiphany is about revelation.  God reveals Christ as good news for the whole world, and through Christ draws all people into a relationship grounded in love and forgiveness.  Christ is the light of the world, and no matter how dark, the world cannot overcome the light and hope of Christ Jesus who changes everything.  
    Epiphany is about revolution.  It’s about being reminded of God’s power and joining into God’s kingdom that is already breaking into our world.  We are called to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to the world and to the powers, claiming God as the ultimate sovereign of the world.  So preach people of God - preach to the world and to the powers with your words, your actions, and your very lives.  Demonstrate God’s power with the way you use your blessings in this new year.  May our lives be the light of Christ in this world.