The appointed Old Testament lesson for Epiphany is Isaiah 60:1-6:
"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.
Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm.
Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come.
Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD."
Verse six is the obvious connection to the story of Epiphany. The Magi, according to Matthew, brought gifts of gold, incense and myrrh to Jesus. Jesus is the light of the world, and Isaiah's message is to all people in regards to the birth of Christ: Arise! Your light has come. The glory of the LORD rises upon you.
Despite the darkness in the world, God's glory is brighter and overcomes the darkness of sin and Satan. When Christ comes again, everyone will see the light of his glory, and all will assemble and come to him.
The way I can apply this to me personally has to do with the fact that Christ has come, his light has dawned, and I am living in the reality of Christ's reign in me and power on this earth. He has come, so I can arise and shine, and be his light in this world. In a way, I as a Christian am kind of like a mirror, or the moon: I am not the source of light, but I can reflect it and shine in the darkness. I have the privilege of showing Christ to those around me.
My nickname that I used at camp is Sonshine. It fits with my sunny personality, but also my desire as a daughter of God to shine the light of his Son. I chose a verse to go with my name, which is Matthew 5:14 and 16: "You are the light of the world...let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
Today, I am going to arise, and shine!
Showing posts with label Epiphany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Epiphany. Show all posts
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
All Kings Will Bow to Him: The Prophecy of Psalm 72
Psalm 72:1-11 is the assigned psalm for Epiphany. I had never read it before today, and once again I am amazed at the prophetic nature of the psalms in terms of how they describe the Messiah, Christ Jesus. I'll just quote some selected verses from this passage:
"He [the king] will judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice...
He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor.
He will endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations...
He will rule from sea to sea and from the River [the Euphrates] to the ends of the earth...
The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts.
All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him."
This psalm was has the subtitle "Of Solomon;" whether that means it was written by Solomon or for him, or both, we don't know. It may also have been used at the coronation of multiple kings, and it can be read and applied in that context. But, according to my study notes, it was also recognized by later Jews and by the early Christian church as being prophetic of the Messiah. Jesus Christ, as the ruler of heaven and earth and the Son of the Great King, God, would judge his people with righteousness and justice, defend the afflicted and needy, and crush the oppressor: Satan. He is eternal, enduring as long as the sun and moon- even longer!- and through all generations. His rule extends over the whole earth.
The last two verses are the tie-in with Epiphany. The Magi were most likely from Persia or southern Arabia, and Sheba and Seba are in those regions. These kings, the psalmist writes, would present the king with gifts and "all kings will bow down to him." In our world today we can see that not all rulers of the earth worship and revere the one true God. But we know that when Christ comes again, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is Lord.
"He [the king] will judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice...
He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor.
He will endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations...
He will rule from sea to sea and from the River [the Euphrates] to the ends of the earth...
The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts.
All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him."
This psalm was has the subtitle "Of Solomon;" whether that means it was written by Solomon or for him, or both, we don't know. It may also have been used at the coronation of multiple kings, and it can be read and applied in that context. But, according to my study notes, it was also recognized by later Jews and by the early Christian church as being prophetic of the Messiah. Jesus Christ, as the ruler of heaven and earth and the Son of the Great King, God, would judge his people with righteousness and justice, defend the afflicted and needy, and crush the oppressor: Satan. He is eternal, enduring as long as the sun and moon- even longer!- and through all generations. His rule extends over the whole earth.
The last two verses are the tie-in with Epiphany. The Magi were most likely from Persia or southern Arabia, and Sheba and Seba are in those regions. These kings, the psalmist writes, would present the king with gifts and "all kings will bow down to him." In our world today we can see that not all rulers of the earth worship and revere the one true God. But we know that when Christ comes again, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is Lord.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Epiphany: A Light to the Gentiles
I haven't blogged since before Christmas, which means I haven't been doing regular Scripture reading since then, earlier.
That changes today. With the help and by the grace of God, I'm going to start reading Scripture daily, using the pericopes: an assigned series of readings for each week of the church year, covering the Old Testament, Psalms, Gospels and Epistles.
Today, January 6, is Epiphany: the day we celebrate when the Magi, or the Wise Men, went to visit Jesus. The star they followed was visible in the sky beginning the night of Jesus' birth, and because they were from probably either Persia or southern Arabia, it would have been several months to a couple of years after Jesus' birth that they arrived at the place where Jesus was. Joseph, Mary and Jesus were evidently still in Bethlehem (see Matthew 2:8), for King Herod sent the Magi there to search for Jesus. And the boy Jesus would have been under the age of two, by Herod's calculations, because to try to eliminate Jesus he ordered the murder of every boy in Bethlehem two years old or younger (2:16).
The Magi (not necessarily three of them) were probably astronomers, because they noticed a new star appearing in the night sky on the night of Jesus' birth. Not many ordinary people are familiar enough with the stars to notice when a new one would appear. These men were also Gentiles (which means they weren't Jewish), but they had heard enough about the Jewish faith to know that a new King was to be born (2:1-2). Not only that, but they realized that this newborn King was important enough for them to travel far to worship him.
That's why Epiphany is also sometimes known as the Gentiles' Christmas. Simeon was a man that Joseph and Mary met in the temple at Jesus' circumcision. He sang a prophetic song (Luke 2:29-32), part of which reads, "For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel" (emphasis mine).
The word epiphany means a revelation, a mystery made known. In the assigned Epistle reading for Epiphany, Paul writes to the Ephesians, "Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation... This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2-6). This was a huge deal for the Israelites back then, who up until this time had believed that the Messiah, or the Christ (Jesus) was only for the children of Abraham: those direct descendants of Jacob, or Israel. But God revealed to his prophets and apostles the astonishing fact that Jesus had come to save all people, Jews and Gentiles alike. It must have amazed Mary and Joseph when the Magi arrived: strangers from a strange land, who realized that their son was the Son of God and the King of Israel.
This is why Epiphany is so special for Christians who don't have a Jewish background. We are like those Magi: not of Jewish blood, not direct descendants of Abraham, but through the gospel we are heirs of God just as the Israelites are. We are sharers in the saving grace of God, and through that grace we have faith, redemption and forgiveness.
Today, I'm going to remember and thank God for those brave men who traveled to see the baby Jesus, and I'm going to thank him that through his grace I am counted as one of his children.
That changes today. With the help and by the grace of God, I'm going to start reading Scripture daily, using the pericopes: an assigned series of readings for each week of the church year, covering the Old Testament, Psalms, Gospels and Epistles.
Today, January 6, is Epiphany: the day we celebrate when the Magi, or the Wise Men, went to visit Jesus. The star they followed was visible in the sky beginning the night of Jesus' birth, and because they were from probably either Persia or southern Arabia, it would have been several months to a couple of years after Jesus' birth that they arrived at the place where Jesus was. Joseph, Mary and Jesus were evidently still in Bethlehem (see Matthew 2:8), for King Herod sent the Magi there to search for Jesus. And the boy Jesus would have been under the age of two, by Herod's calculations, because to try to eliminate Jesus he ordered the murder of every boy in Bethlehem two years old or younger (2:16).
The Magi (not necessarily three of them) were probably astronomers, because they noticed a new star appearing in the night sky on the night of Jesus' birth. Not many ordinary people are familiar enough with the stars to notice when a new one would appear. These men were also Gentiles (which means they weren't Jewish), but they had heard enough about the Jewish faith to know that a new King was to be born (2:1-2). Not only that, but they realized that this newborn King was important enough for them to travel far to worship him.
That's why Epiphany is also sometimes known as the Gentiles' Christmas. Simeon was a man that Joseph and Mary met in the temple at Jesus' circumcision. He sang a prophetic song (Luke 2:29-32), part of which reads, "For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel" (emphasis mine).
The word epiphany means a revelation, a mystery made known. In the assigned Epistle reading for Epiphany, Paul writes to the Ephesians, "Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation... This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2-6). This was a huge deal for the Israelites back then, who up until this time had believed that the Messiah, or the Christ (Jesus) was only for the children of Abraham: those direct descendants of Jacob, or Israel. But God revealed to his prophets and apostles the astonishing fact that Jesus had come to save all people, Jews and Gentiles alike. It must have amazed Mary and Joseph when the Magi arrived: strangers from a strange land, who realized that their son was the Son of God and the King of Israel.
This is why Epiphany is so special for Christians who don't have a Jewish background. We are like those Magi: not of Jewish blood, not direct descendants of Abraham, but through the gospel we are heirs of God just as the Israelites are. We are sharers in the saving grace of God, and through that grace we have faith, redemption and forgiveness.
Today, I'm going to remember and thank God for those brave men who traveled to see the baby Jesus, and I'm going to thank him that through his grace I am counted as one of his children.
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