The
First Sunday after The Epiphany.
The
Collect.
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O
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LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to
receive the prayers of thy people who call upon thee; and grant that they may
both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace
and power faithfully to fulfil the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epiphany, or the Manifestation of Christ
to the Gentiles.
[January 6.]
The Collect.
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O
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GOD, who by the leading of a star
didst manifest thy only-begotten Son to the Gentiles; Mercifully grant that we,
who know thee now by faith, may after this life have the fruition of thy
glorious Godhead; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
¶ This Collect is to be said daily throughout the Octave
The Epistle
Romans xii.1
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I
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BESEECH you therefore, brethren, by
the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to
this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may
prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say,
through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think
of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according
as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many
members in one body, and all members have not the same office: so we, being
many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
Holy Gospel
Saint Luke ii.xli
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N
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OW his
parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And when he
was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried
behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they,
supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they
sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not,
they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that
after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the
doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him
were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they
were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with
us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them,
How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s
business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he
went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his
mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and
stature, and in favour with God and man.
The Star to which the Prayer of Collect for Epiphany refers is none other than
the Bright and Morning Star which leads all, both believing Jew and Gentile, to
God. There are no people of God apart from those who have placed their trust in
God, the kingdom as a national edifice having been torn from the rulers of the
Jews. Jesus told the Jewish rulers: “Therefore
say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a
nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.” (Matt 21:43) Now is
that Faith of Abraham joined together into one Church of both Gentiles and Jews
who believe. Neither the Muslim, the unbelieving Jew, Buddhist, or Hindu will
be received into that Church – the Door is Christ.
Paul is preaching in the Epistle not only to the Gentiles of Rome, but to the
believing Jew as well. Instead of the dead sacrifices of the Jewish Temple, God
requires our LIVING sacrifice of love, compassion, and obedience. When we
come to the Lord Jesus Christ, we are made new creatures in mind and soul. The
process is not only abrupt, but continuing. We are to renew our minds daily to
conform to the mind and will of Christ.
Before addressing the particular details of the Gospel found in Luke today, let
us first examine what constitutes the nature of the saints of God as
demonstrated in Mary, the mother of Jesus, John the Baptist, and others.
Mary inherited a special blessing in being privileged to carry in her womb the
Son of God. Jesus is the only Man born to woman who had no earthly father. He
was the only Man ever to be born who was also God. He came preaching the will
of His Father, and representing His Father in all truth and purpose. No other
can ever stand in the place of God because no man is God. The Roman Church pays
much reverence to saints and exalts them to a pinnacle of divinity in praying
for their intercessions; but the saints are not above the common level of
mankind even if they led exemplary Christian lives. They still had shortcomings
and sinned. Mary, too, was God’s perfect virgin Lady in a mortal and carnal
body that was subject to sin and error. Yes, she was highly favored and blessed
of god, yet she was imperfect in nature.
Though those who are saints (all who are loyal and obedient to God) are blessed
with many graces by God, they are also put through many harsh and painful
trials. Consider with me the plight of poor Mary. Being young lass at the time
of Gabriel’s visitation, she had hopes and dreams like all young ladies have.
She wanted a loving home, a loving husband, healthy children, and parents that
would always love her. She desired to be socially accepted in the community as
well, and the Jewish community at Nazareth was small in number of souls, but
the number of gossiping tongues and prying eyes were as the constellations of
heaven. So when Mary became pregnant out of season, though Joseph was obedient
to God in taking Mary as his wife, the tongues doubtless waged and expressed
unmentionable conjectures. The Christian saint of our day must suffer
much libel and disapproval, too. The world labels us as freaks and malcontents.
So we suffer in smaller scale the same degradations as did the precious young
lady, Mary, and too often without justification. But the fruit of Mary’s womb
would be a blessing to all peoples and men from the east, west, north, and
south would come and sit at the feet of her Son and be blessed equally.
Look at the ordeal young Mary had to suffer when the Child was ready to be
born. Circumstances, under the Providence of God, caused Mary to travel a three
days journey to Bethlehem riding on a donkey. Mothers can scarcely imagine that
discomfort she experienced, and men can never even slightly grasp it. Once
arrived at Bethlehem, I am sure Mary was anxious to find suitable lodging at
which she could rest her head and weary body; but no such lodging was
available. Mary must have pondered God’s will in allowing her Child (and His)
to be born in a stable among the beasts of the field. What utter degradation in
her mind. It is true that those who give their lives as a living sacrifice to
God often experience circumstances that always seem contrary to their purpose.
Nothing good seems to come without a great struggle and much suffering. We are
suddenly and without notice often required to go places where we desire not to
go, and live in conditions that are not consistent with our expectations.
No sooner had Mary settled in a home with the Child then God ordered Joseph, in
a dream, to flee into a foreign land – Egypt. Mary had never been further from
her home in Nazareth than tiny Bethlehem. Now she must again pick up her scarce
belongings and flee into a land of which she knew nothing. No sooner had Mary
adapted to the new home in Egypt before the Lord ordered their return to
Nazareth. Sometimes, the saint may begin to wonder if the world is right after
all – perhaps we are more than a ‘peculiar people.’ Perhaps we are, as the
world alleges, freaks. But just the opposite is true. No matter the
inconvenience, the pain, the suffering – it is always the very best Way that
leads the Way of Heaven.
I love to read the writings of the great Martin Luther. He is quite serious
but, at the same time, allows his German disposition to evince itself in his
writings. Here is a quote that Luther made about the sufferings of Jesus and
John the Baptist: “Thus God reverses the order and acts in a contrary way,
deals so harshly and offensively, according to human reason and opinion, with
His dearly beloved Son as He would not deal with any man on earth, as if He
were not the Son of God, or of man, but the child of Satan! In the same way He
also dealt with His well-beloved servant, John the Baptist, of whom Christ
says, “Verily I say unto you, Among them that
are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist:
notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
(Matt 11:11), and yet upon him He conferred the honor of being beheaded by a
knave.” A saint, like Mary and John the Baptist, is a good soldier who
obeys orders from God without question – even if those commands make no present
sense to him.
Finally, and this happens at the moment of death of many saints, Mary has her
heart pierced by a spear at the foot of the Cross at Calvary. What agony was
hers as she watched her beloved Son writhe in pain and struggle to breathe
while suspended from the Cross by nails. Had not Gabriel warned the young woman
of years ago, “(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,)” (Luke 2:35) Imagine her great sorrow and anguish when all hope of life seemed to
fade for her Son and, then, at last, a soldier comes along and thrust a spear
into His beloved heart. Jesus was already dead, but Mary was not! That piercing
wound hurt Mary far more than it did her Son. Evil abounds on all sides in our
world. It has never been the will of God that the innocent are violently slain
or abused, but the heart of man is full of wickedness and evil. He gave his
heart over to the wrong Tree at Eden and rejected God. We must endure that
evil, and oppose it always, until we close our eyes in the sleep of death.
Now let us observe some salient points revealed in today’s Gospel. 41 “Now
his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.”
This was a spiritual duty, and the mother of Jesus, and Joseph, were good
examples of a Christian home. They attended the religious services faithfully
of their religion. While many today cannot muster energy to travel two blocks
to church on the Lord’s Day, these traveled over harsh terrain a three day’s
journey for the Passover. Little did Mary and Joseph realize that they carried
the future and final Passover with them – “For even Christ our
passover is sacrificed for us.” (1 Cor 5:7) Many years later, Mary
and Jesus would make that same trip to Jerusalem at Passover, and Christ would
be the Lamb to be sacrificed.
For these past several years, Mary and Joseph had traveled to Jerusalem for the
Passover, and now Jesus was twelve years old – the age, presumed by religion,
to be the age of moral consciousness. Jesus was more than morally conscious. He
taught doctors in the Temple! We have, in this account, the only meager remnants
of the young life of Jesus. 42 And when he was twelve years old,
they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.”
Just as He would do some twenty one years later, Jesus enters the Temple at
Jerusalem and confronts the teachers of the Temple – this time as a Child, the
last with a reed with which he beat the money changers and overturned their
tables.
Since the annual Passover journey to Jerusalem was a Jewish national event,
there were great numbers in the company of travelers from Nazareth – perhaps
all of the village who were able to travel. 43 “And when they had
fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in
Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.” It is very
easy to have Jesus in our hearts, so very close as a beloved Child, yet lose
His constant fellowship through neglect of attention. “44 But
they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they
sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.” How do
you suppose poor Mary felt? She had been entrusted with a Child that was ONLY
hers and that of God the Father – and she has lost Him. She did not lose Him
for a few minutes, or for a few hours, but THREE days! What do you suppose went
through Mary’s mind and heart? When we are separated from Christ owing to our
own neglect to study and love Him, do we not suffer great sorrow? Mary had
taken Jesus for granted. She believed He was among all of the other playful
children on the journey, but she did not make CERTAIN! We must not take our
fellowship with Christ for granted.
45 “And when they found him not, they turned back again to
Jerusalem, seeking him.” If we place too great a distance
between our daily living and Christ, we may not so easily find Him again. Our
lives, without Christ, become confused and disorderly and, though Christ is
always accessible to us if we seek Him, the weeds may have grown over the trail
of that access.
Though the Temple was the most likely place to find Jesus, it was perhaps the
last place Joseph and Mary looked for they had been in Jerusalem some hours
before they found Him. 46 And it came to pass, that after three
days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both
hearing them, and asking them questions.” Here is an important
lesson regarding Christ and our prayers. He not only hears us, but also
inquires. So, you want an opulent new home? “Why do you need such when your
neighbor is living in a shanty?” Jesus may ask. It was completely contrary
to reason that a twelve year old would be dialoguing with doctors of religion –
listening to their highfalutin chatter, and then asking of them the meaning.
Jesus will astonish us with His remarkable solutions to our problems if we will
only ask in humility. 47 “And all that heard him were astonished
at his understanding and answers.” These were all lawyers
and doctors of religion – teachers of the law; yet, they were astonished at the
wisdom and understanding of a twelve year old Boy. Should we not be even more
astonished at the Words and Wisdom of the Risen Lord? All that hear (many will
refuse to hear) shall be astonished at Christ. Have you been astonished at His
Words?
The human instincts of the mother in Mary overrode her understanding and memory
of Gabriel’s message. 48 “And when they saw him, they were
amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us?
behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.”
Perhaps Mary’s feeling of personal guilt at losing her Son caused her to shift
the blame to Jesus. But Mary was not unaccustomed to suffering for the Child
that she bore by Heaven’s decree.
It has been argued by many errant theologians that Jesus had no sense of
identity until His baptism, but this verse disqualifies such a supposition: 49 “And
he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be
about my Father's business?” Christ clearly reveals Himself
here to be the Son of God!
How often we fail to grasp the higher meaning of the teachings of the Bible!
Even though we have read, and seemingly understood, just a while later, the
meaning escapes us. Mary had been told by the Angel of Christ and His Life, yet
Mary has long suffered many diversions and forgotten, for the present, the
whole meaning shared by Gabriel. 50 “And they understood not the
saying which he spake unto them.”If we had a perfect
understanding of all of the Words of Christ, how could we ever lose Him. We
read the Scriptures through a lens of deception too often. We read and
interpret the words of the Bible in such a way as to justify our own selfish
notions. How often do ministers and theologians propose and theological
doctrine, and then limit their reading only to those parts of Scripture that
seem to justify that doctrine?
Jesus was an obedient Son. He knew His mother and Joseph did not understand
fully what He was about, so He tarried for the perfect timing of His Father to
continue His ministry. 51 “And he went down with them, and came
to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings
in her heart.” But Mary mulled over these events in her
mind. Perhaps she began to recall the Words of Gabriel and compared them to her
experiences with Jesus at Jerusalem and as He was growing up in Nazareth.
Perhaps she even wondered about the sword that would pierce her own heart, but
not fully knowing. We see now, as Paul says, through a glass darkly, but one
day we shall see face-to-face!
52 “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour
with God and man.” There one thing that God may have not known
before Jesus became man – that is, how does it FEEL to be human? Though He
knows our hearts well, God had never experienced physical pain, want, hunger,
and thirst. But Jesus experienced all of the emotions and sensations of pain
and patience we have experienced while in the flesh. He grew in wisdom, for
wisdom cannot remain idle. The favor of the Father was showered upon Hi Son
more and more as the years passed and the day of His Passion approached. It was
undoubtedly a time of great joy for the Father in seeing His Son fulfill the
measure of love, grace, obedience and trails of life; but it must have also
been and agonizing period for the Father in anticipating the great abuse and
torture that His Son would undergo at the moment of that Passion. The thought
of all that Christ suffered for us should be a constant source of grief mingled
with joy - grief to know that He did all for us, and joy to know that His
sacrifice was sufficient even for our own sins.
Could we withstand the grief and heartache of Mary, of John?
We shall see.
