Sermon - 2019-01-06 - Epiphany Sunday

Today is Epiphany Sunday.  The day in which we as a church recognize that there were three magi from the East who came and paid homage to Jesus as a child.  These three brought the gift of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. Now these three gifts speak to the kind of Messiah, the Chosen One of God, that people were expecting to find come to them.  The gold was the kingly nature. That God would send a king to rule and hold power over all so that God could truly be present in all of their lives. Frankincense is a perfume that is often used in the time of prayer and meant that he would be connected to God.  The Myrrh was for embalming. This would be used as a priest and preparing the people to be with God. All of these gifts could be used by one person or several people and represent the way the Messiah would bring people back to God.

For many, our focus is on what kind of Messiah that God is sending for us.  However, as believers and followers of the Messiah in Jesus. Perhaps our greatest lesson from this Scripture today is that the Chosen People of God did not recognize the signs and presence of the Messiah among them.  It was these men from the East who recognized that God was doing something in the world and had fulfilled the Sacred Texts that had been given to the Jewish People.

Now please understand, there were people who knew the texts and that God was going to send the Messiah.  However, they did not see what God was doing in the world. They were not open to the possibilities or on the look out for what God was doing in their life.  

Yet I wonder, how many of us take time to realize what God is doing among us.  Do we hear the words that God speaks to us and the words that are given to those who follow him as Disciples?  For many of us here today have been born into this faith. It was something that was expected of us and yet do we understand and realize what God himself has done, is doing and will do for us through the Messiah.  

Epiphany is the end of the Christmas season.  Yes the twelve days of Christmas are over but now, we awake from our celebration and get to work to share the good news with the whole world.