2301AFC010623 – I dreamed a dream …
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Isaiah 60:2 – 2 For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
Psalm 72:11 –
11 May all kings fall down before him,
all nations give him service.
Ephesians 3:5-6 – 5 In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: 6 that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Matthew 2:12 – 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. Today is the Feast of the Epiphany. It is also called the Feast of the Theophany, Three Kings Day, and the Twelfth Day of Christmas. It commemorates the manifestation – the arrival, the coming, the showing forth, the discovery – of Jesus by and for the Gentiles. In this showing forth – especially in the term Theophany – The Magi represent the Gentiles, all the non-Hebraic nations of the world. That word in Greek is Θεοφάνεια – Theo for God and phaneia for shown forth.
In the biblical account found only in the Gospel of Matthew, the number of visitors from the east is not given. We assume it was three because of the gifts mentioned – gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Because of the expensiveness of the gifts, readers of Matthew’s Gospel thought perhaps the visitors must have “kingly wealth,” hence, “we Three Kings.” Isaiah and David had both predicted that the Messiah would be worshiped by kings from across the world (Isaiah 60:3 and Psalm 68:29 for example), and so even though there was no evidence for the visitors to be kings –they are referred to only as Magi which is the plural for the Greek word magos μάγος, who were priests of Zoroaster (a/k/a “Zarathustra” as in “Thus Spake Zarathustra”). Zoroastrianism was an ancient religion associated with astrology, magic, and fortune telling – a sorcerer. One such famous sorcerer was the Samaritan, Simon Magus – “Simon the Sorcerer” – who was a convert to Christianity thanks to the ministrations of the Apostle Philip, even though he tried to “buy” the Anointing of the Holy Spirit (Read the eighth chapter of Acts). A further bit of information we often overlook in the Nativity Scene is that Matthew says the magi followed the star to a house, but says nothing about a stable, shepherds, a manger, or even of Joseph. (Matthew 2:9-11).
An epiphany is a showing forth, or shining forth. It modern times it has come to mean a sudden realization that puts everything into perspective – a paradigm shift where our understanding is “suddenly” brighter and clearer. I put that “suddenly” in quotes, because generally an epiphany comes about after much laborious thinking and working. Those “A-HA” moments are rare, but they are usually preceded by intense effort even if the moment of understanding seems to come effortlessly. Famous “epiphanies” in recent history might include Isaac Newton and Arthur Fry (he invented Post-It Notes), and there have been a few in politics recently which we will not mention today. The basic idea is that genuine innovation comes through inspired thinking based on hard work. They are wonderful experiences whether we feel them ourselves, or watch others “see the light go on.” That experience is the Central Joy of Teaching! I think about that when I read our Key Verse passage from Isaiah – the entire world in darkness, then suddenly A GREAT LIGHT – the Hope of Israel, and now the Hope of all earthlings.
For Christians, Epiphany is the commemoration not so much of the visit by the magi, but the fact that Jesus is revealed to the whole world – Jew and gentile, rich and poor, righteous and sinner, young and old, and whatever other earthling set of opposites you can think up. He came here for every single soul on earth before or after his birth so we can be sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. All of us can turn our eyes toward Jesus and see God with us – Emanuel. That always gives me goose-bumps. God. With. Us. The Manifestation of The Christ. Born of a virgin in abject poverty in a tiny village outside Jerusalem, he grew up in obscure places in Egypt and Galilee, and was anointed with the Holy Spirit at about age 30 (we assume). A few years later he died a horrible death as a criminal falsely accused of sedition against Rome.
When Jesus entered into the world as that tiny baby on a cold night in a tiny village a few miles away from the capital of a nation once again under foreign domination, he carried with him a power of Grace so immense that it could actually redeem every soul that has now, has ever had, or will ever have been born of a woman and still there would be an immeasurable amount of that grace left over. The magi demonstrated that God sent that child for all the world to know and to love. It doesn’t really matter if they rode camels or donkeys, if there were three or two or even thirty of them. It doesn’t matter if they didn’t kneel around the manger. It doesn’t matter if we named them Caspar, Balthasar, Melchior. It might matter a little bit that the gifts were highly symbolic. Myrrh is an aromatic resin. It was used in preparing the dead for burial. Gold reveals that the baby born to a virgin and at someone’s house under a special star is actually a king. The frankincense tells us that the King the magi came to honor was none other than God incarnate. And the capper is that the myrrh tells us that he has come to die.
Myrrh means “bitterness.” It was used in perfumes for centuries, but it was also used for embalming a corpse, and as an antiseptic, as well as to reduce pain. Of the three gifts given to Jesus only myrrh is mentioned at the beginning of his Life as a gift from the magi and at the end of his life as a gift from a friend. “Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came [with Joseph of Arimathea], bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews” (John 19:39-40)
He was wrapped in swaddling clothes at birth, in a shroud at death. Never owned a place of his own. Had a simple tunic woven from top to bottom all in one piece, but little else other than the most basic items of clothing. We don’t know what happened to the gifts, but perhaps some of that came in handy on the way to, for a time in, and on the way back from Egypt. Maybe Mary had kept some of the myrrh and gave it to Nicodemus? No one knows what happened to any of the gifts except the True Gift. He came here to show us God (↔ Click Link) his Father. He came here to redeem us from everything that had gone wrong (↔ Click Link) in the world. He did all of this “even for us.” (“etiam pro nobis” in the Latin version of the Credo). Praying the Creed of Faith – The Apostolic Creed or Nicene Creed – is a way to be immersed in Jesus’ epiphany. (See contemporaneous concomitance by following that link)
Take the risk of finding your own epiphany. Make this phrase part of your personal statement of faith – your “this is mine” Credo – to say etiam pro me quoque. “Even for me also.” And you don’t have to bring some fancy treasure. Be like The Little Drummer Boy (↔ Music Link) and bring what you have – you. For your gift-wrap use a smile as the bow and your heart as the box. Jesus will look at your gift, and say something like “Oh, WOW! You brought that for ME?!?!? And you can tell him “Etiam tibi.” Even for you.
I sometimes ask you to use the Moon Beam Network Prayer (↔ Click Link). I do that because we are invited as intercessors to pray for, with, and about each other and the entire world (as in Psalm 72:11) The MBN Invitation reads, in part,
- When we pray FOR each other, we act as intercessors, “in-the-place-of” praying. It’s making a prayer on behalf of someone else rather than on behalf of ourselves.
- When we pray ABOUT each other, we’re making prayers that are intended to be blessings. We ask God for this favor or that outcome for one another. I might pray about your health or you might pray about me to find strength in a trial.
- When we pray WITH each other, ah, there’s a power in that. Usually this is focused on something outside of both of us, like the people who are suffering in Southeast Asia, or a child who has been kidnapped.
One of the goals I set at the inception of the MBN was to “pray without ceasing” for each other. It’s just a short little prayer, maybe 30 seconds or less, but it is a prayer that covers all of us – and many, many more people – with the intentions of Light and Love and Life.
There is a deep spiritual reason for asking our El-Shaddai-Olam to grant all of us that trio of blessings on a daily basis. The reason is that it helps us to follow Christ’s command to “love one another (↔ Music Link) as I have loved (↔ Learning Link) you,” and to “let your light shine before all.” Your day-to-day life is given to you so that you can show the world the Light and Life of the Word. We use a special word for that – MANIFEST: demonstrate, show forth, exhibit, make plain, or reveal. We are to let the Light and Life of the Word become so obvious in us that it allows others access to a Spiritual Epiphany so that they, too, know the Light and Life of the Word.
The Feast of Epiphany is a commemoration of the Epiphany – the showing forth, the revealing – of Christ to the World by recalling the visit of the Magi. Long story short, Jesus was revealed to the lowest and poorest (shepherds), the purest (Anna and Simeon), and the most clearly-defined outsiders (the Magi), before his own nation learned who he was. The “Three Kings“(↔ Music Link) knew Jesus as THE King, the fulfillment of prophecy. The Shepherds were told “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Anna and Simeon knew Jesus to be “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” Both of these prophets were walking in the Holy Spirit because “the Holy Spirit rested” on them.
Beloved, guess what? THE HOLY SPIRIT RESTS ON US, TOO! Not only can we recognize Christ when he is shown to us, others can recognize Christ in us when we show him to them. That is AWESOME!! And I mean “awesome” in the way that it should be defined – overwhelming, amazing, awe-inspiring, wonderful, evoking respect, reverence, esteem, worship, adoration, praise, glory, and veneration. In John 8:12, Jesus says, “I am the light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” He is the Light. That’s the main point of the APP. But remember this: He also says in Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the World … let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” How can HE be the Light and WE be the Light? You know the answer; his is in us and we are in him and the Spirit rests on us in unity with God the Father. If God had a dream, it would be about us because everything he did, he did for us. I dreamed a dream, and in it I saw God’s dream for us. It might look a little like this:
Epiphany me!
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
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Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
