“On the 12^th Day of Christmas”

Second Sunday after Christmas/Epiphany ~ January 4, 2009

Matthew 2:1-12

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Today we gather to celebrate Epiphany, the twelfth day of Christmas – ok the real date is January 6^th but since we won’t be meeting for worship on Tuesday, let’s celebrate today! In America we may have been premature in our celebration as we seem to put all our festivities before Christmas. Were as for many centuries and in many cultures the celebration of Christmas begins on the 25^th and continues until January 6^th. In fact in some Eastern Orthodox churches January 6^th is more of the Christmas celebration than December 25^th.

The 12 days of Christmas has been celebrated for many centuries. It is a time of festival celebration beginning the 25^th of December and extending 12 days till January 6^th. Over the centuries a variety of ways of celebrating have come out of these 12 days, from keeping the Yule log burning, to sharing gifts each day to even the evergreen wreath that would be assembled on the 25^th and hung until the 6^th. We even have from our Southern European and South American tradition the King cake eaten as part of the Epiphany celebration.

Another tradition from this festival is the 12 days of Christmas song. Now I need to apologize for mis-information I gave either in a sermon or in Bible Study about the origins of this song. It has been told that this song was written as coded language for Roman Catholic catechism study in England when they were persecuted by the Protestants. But this has been proven false and the song may even have found its origin in France. Whatever its origin or meaning it is a festive song to be used in the celebration of the 12 days of Christmas.

Today, let’s focus our attention on the culmination of these festivities with Epiphany which literally means “make manifest or reveal”. Epiphany focuses on the last part of our Christmas story with the wise men coming to see the Christ child. The focus of Epiphany is the revelation of Jesus to the world captured in the story of these “foreigners” coming to see Jesus. What we also can see in this story is how God leads and guides people through His revelation to Jesus Christ, the source of all Truth and Salvation.

Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus is very brief but it is the only Gospel to include this story about the wise men or magi from the East that came and worshipped Jesus. So what do we know about the wise men? Not much. The text says they came from the East. Our best guess is that they came from the region of Babylon or modern day Iraq. Why this place? Well it was the place in which the Jews were held in captivity for 70 years. It is where Daniel and Esther lived and in which their stories take place. And it probably had some Jewish settlements even at the time of Jesus birth. So, people would have heard about the Old Testament and probably have taken some of these writings into their history possible religions as well. The Old Testament makes reference to a star or heavenly appearance in connection with a new king – this was probably known to the wise men.

The wise men were not kings but probably had high stature in their society. They were most likely stargazers and probably fulfilled a priestly role in their culture. They were learned men who saw the significance of the star, placed by God, and followed it to Jerusalem. And there was more than likely more than 3 wise men, there was probably a whole entourage traveling from the East to Jerusalem. And because it was such a far away place (if it truly is the area of Babylon) the wise men were not at the stable and the birth of Jesus. If they are coming from what is modern day Iraq, coming mainly on foot or by camel it is guessed that it would have taken 40-60 days so at a minimum Jesus would be about 2 months old, and many guess he was older. We also know from later on in the story that Herod, in trying to kill Jesus, targeted 2 years old and younger so Jesus is in this age range at the time of the wise men’s visit. The text also says that they came to a house which could have been one Joseph and Mary are now living in, but more than likely they had taken up residence with relatives in their home.

As the wise men come to Jerusalem and to Herod’s palace (which makes sense if they are looking for a new born king) we hear that Herod is trouble and all Jerusalem with him. Herod, or Herod the great as know by historians, was a unique man. He is credited with great building projects including the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, even though he was not a Jew by lineage. Many of his building projects are seen today as marvels of great engineering. But Herod was also paranoid about his power and authority. He was placed by Rome to rule of much of Judea, but not being a “true” Jew, the people often didn’t like him reigning as a king. In fact he got so paranoid about keeping power that it is believe he had killed his wife and several sons. So, to have these wise men, these foreigners, come into Jerusalem looking for a new king I am sure made Herod more than a little nervous. And Jerusalem is troubled because they don’t want this “tyrant” of a king to go crazy and bring the wrath of Rome on them.

Finally, with the help of Old Testament scholars (the chief priests and scribes) the wise men find there way to Bethlehem. Many people have tried to explain the star seen by the wise men. Some say it was a unique conjunction of planets. Or maybe it was super nova or other fantastic star event. It may have taken place in the constellation Leo which has been know to make Kings and even Judah’s symbol was a lion. While all of these are possibilities our text makes an interesting observation – the star led the wise men directly to the house of Mary, Joseph and Jesus. While it is true that stars are used for navigation, I don’t know of any that can lead directly to a home. This is where we let God guide us and realize that He is the one controlling the situation and making sure His plan of salvation is revealed.

And that is the point of Epiphany and this text – God is making know Jesus, His Son, and savior of not only the Jews but of the whole world. Epiphany is a time to reflect on the question – Who is Jesus? In the text we see the wise men, upon entering the home and seeing Jesus, bowing down and worshiping Him. Not in palace, not in a situation that would be perceived as kingly, yet they worshiped Him as a king. The offer Him kingly gifts and they remind us that it is God who reveals Himself to us. These wise men were not Jews, may not have know much about the True God and yet God revealed to them a piece of His plan of salvation to be fulfilled when Christ dies on the cross and rises again to new life.

Epiphany reminds us that while we seek a deeper relationship with God that He has already revealed Himself to us. Our guiding star is His word. We grow deeper in our faith as we allow God to reveal Himself to us in His Word. The Word is the only true source of God’s revelation to us and it is on which we base all we know about Him. But sometimes God uses other things to gently remind us that we should follow His leading. Today I wear one of two crosses I received at my ordination over 11 years ago. It was given to me by my Grandmother and it is called a Bethlehem Star Cross because it bears a resemblance to a star in the shape of a cross. Now my Grandmother had never seen the first church I served in Anderson, Indiana before my ordination but in this church, Christ Lutheran, the cross at the front was a Bethlehem Star Cross. Just a gentle reminder that God was with me on my trek to become a Pastor and continues to guide and lead my life.

May we follow the star-like leading of God in His Word and continue to ask the question “Who is Jesus?” May we seek to follow Jesus in all our life until finally we find out true home in eternal life. And may we rejoice, celebrate this Epiphany, as a reminder of our Immanuel, our God with us in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen.