God Manifests His Power to Save

The Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord (A)
January 5, 2014
Matthew 2:1-11
Preached at Holy Will UMC, Cavite
 

 
Introduction

Today we are celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. The word “epiphany” comes from the Greek word επιφανεια, epifaneia, which means ‘manifestation’. It is used only once in the Greek New Testament but at least 23 times in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, called the Septuagint. Most of the time it means ‘God showing himself to people to save them’.

Originally, the Epiphany is a celebration of the ways of how God “manifested” himself to humankind. Nowadays, the Epiphany marks the end of the Christmas Season, the Twelve Days of Christmas. But in the Early Church, it commemorated the following: Jesus’ Nativity, his Adoration by the Magi, his Baptism, and his Miracle in the Wedding at Cana. We know this because of a sermon of Peter Chrysologus (the ‘golden-worded’), a fifth-century bishop, theologian, and saint. Eventually, these events were commemorated on separate days: the Nativity became Christmas and was moved to December 25; the Adoration of the Magi remained on January 6; the Baptism of the Lord was moved to the second Sunday of January; and the Miracle in Cana on third Sunday of January (in the Revised Common Lectionary, only every Year C).

The Epistle to the Hebrews says that God “…at sundry times and in divers manners spake of old to the father by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken to us by his Son” (1:1 John Wesley New Testament). In these events—the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi, the Baptism, and the Wedding Cana—how did God manifest himself through his Son, Jesus Christ?

 

I. The Nativity: God with Us

The Nativity of the Lord was the first manifestation of God to us through his Son, Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is called עִמָּנוּ אֵל, Immanuel, ‘God with Us’ (literally, With-us-[is]-God) (Matthew 1:24; cf. Isaiah 7:14). In the Gospel of Luke, the angels sang at his birth: “Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace: goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:13-14). And how is the glory of God show? By a “babe, wrapped in swaddling-clothes, lying in a manger” (v. 12). As Peter Chrysologus said in his sermon, the Child was “…heaven on earth, earth in heaven, man in God, God in man, one whom the whole universe cannot contain now enclosed in a tiny body.”

 

Lastly, the Gospel of John calls Jesus the “Word”: “In the beginning existed the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (v. 1). “And the Word as made flesh, and tabernacle among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth” (v. 14). In Jesus Christ, “the Word…made flesh” God has spoken to us!

 

 

II. The Adoration of the Magi

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Judea, as Star rose in the East and it was seen by the Magi, Wise Men from the East. John Wesley wrote in his Notes upon the New Testament:

Wise Men—The first fruits of the Gentiles. Probably they were Gentile philosophers, who, through the Divine assistance, had improved their knowledge of nature, as a means of leading to the knowledge of the one true God. Nor is it unreasonable to suppose, that God had favored them with some extraordinary Revelations of himself, as he did Melchisedek, Job, and several others, who were not of the family of Abraham; to which he never intended absolutely to confine his favors. The title given them in the original was anciently given to all philosophers, or men of learning; those particularly who were curious in examining the works of nature, and observing the motions of the heavenly bodies. From the east—So Arabia is frequently called in Scripture. It lay to the east of Judea, and was famous for gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

The Magi were the first among the Gentiles to be believers of the Lord Jesus Christ (just as the shepherds were the first among the Jews to be believers in him). How did they come to believe in him. God showed them the Star in the East. About this Star, John Wesley wrote in his Notes, “Undoubtedly they had before heard Balaam's prophecy [in Numbers 24:17—G]. And probably when they saw this unusual star, it was revealed to them that this prophecy was fulfilled.”

The Bible is not a story of men struggling to know and reach God; ultimately it is God who stooped down and made himself known to men. The shepherds were not looking for the Child Jesus; it was revealed to them by the angel. The Magi were not in a search for a child who is “born King of the Jews”; it was God who brought them to his Son by the light of his Star.

 

 

III. The Baptism of the Lord

Next Sunday we will be celebrating the Baptism of the Lord in the River Jordan by St. John the Baptist. In his Baptism, God revealed his as his only-begotten Son: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I delight” (Matthew 3:17). Peter Chrysologus said,

Today, as the psalmist prophesied: “The voice of the Lord is heard above the waters” [Psalm 29:3]. What does the voice say? “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” Today the Holy Spirit hovers over the waters in the likeness of a dove. A dove announced to Noah that the flood had disappeared from the earth; so now a dove is to reveal that the world’s shipwreck is at an end forever.

We will talk more about the Baptism of the Lord next Sunday.

 

 

IV. The Miracle at the Wedding in Cana

The Miracle at the Wedding in Cana is when Jesus turned water into wine. Peter Chrysologus compares this to the wine and water in the Holy Eucharist. In Catholic and Orthodox churches, they follow the custom of adding a small amount of water to the wine in the chalice. (Actually, the Orthodox use warm water to symbolize the “fervor of the Holy Spirit”, among other things.)

Today Christ works the first of his signs from heaven by turning water into wine. But water has still to be changed into the sacrament of his blood, so that Christ may offer spiritual drink from the chalice of his body, to fulfill the psalmist’s prophecy: How excellent is my chalice, warming my spirit.

The Miracle at the Wedding in Cana is called as σημειον, sēmeion, which means ‘sign’ in Greek. The turning of water into wine is a sign of the power of Jesus to transform. Just as he transformed water into wine, he has the power to change people’s lives: in the next chapter, Jesus talks about a person having the need to be “born again” (3:3) “by water and the Spirit” (v. 5). This “born again experience is not mere intellectual assent (“Accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior”) but through the Sacrament of Baptism: “There we are buried with him in baptism into death, that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4)

(See sermon on turning “Water into Wine” from January 2012 here.)

Conclusion: The power to save

The theme of Epiphany is the manifestation of God to human beings in his power to save.

In his Nativity, the Lord Jesus, who is “God with us”, was born in order that “he might save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

In his Epiphany, when he was adored by the Magi, Jesus was manifested to the Gentiles by the leading of a Star. In the gifts of the Magi, he is shown as “King and God and Sacrifice”.

In his Baptism, Jesus was manifested as the only-begotten Son of God, who baptism is a prefiguring of the washing away of our sins.

In his Miracle at the Wedding in Cana, Jesus showed his power to have things and people transformed.

In Covenant with God

The Feast of the Holy Name (A)
New Year’s Eve Covenant Service
December 31, 2013
Preached at Holy Will UMC and at Noveleta UMC,
both in Cavite
 

An Orthodox icon of the Circumsion of the Lord 

Introduction

It is the practice of Methodists around the world to celebrate January 1 or December 31 with a Covenant Renewal Service. The first Covenant Renewal Service was conducted by John Wesley at the French church in Spitafields, London on August 11, 1755.

Here are some excerpts of from the Journal of John Wesley regarding the Covenant Renewal Service. On January 1, 1773, Father Wesley wrote:

1773. Friday, January 1.--We (as usual) solemnly renewed our covenant with God.

“As usual”. This means that the early Methodists have been regularly celebrating the Covenant Renewal Service for around twenty years now. Three years later, Father Wesley wrote:

1776. January 1.—About eighteen hundred of us met together in London in order to renew our covenant with God; and it was, as usual, a very solemn opportunity.

“As usual” again. Just three years later, 1,800 people attended a Covenant Renewal Service in London! Then in an entry the following year, Father Wesley described the blessings they experienced in during a covenant renewal service:

1777. Wednesday, January 1.--We met, as usual, to renew our covenant with God. It was a solemn season wherein many found His power present to heal and were enabled to urge their way with strength renewed.

 

Finally, we have the following two entries, a few years before Father Wesley died in 1791:

1783. Wednesday, January 1.--May I begin to live today! Sunday, 5. We met to renew our covenant with God. We never meet on this occasion without a blessing; but I do not know that we had ever so large a congregation before.

1785. Saturday, January 1.--Whether this be the last or no, may it be the best year of my lifel Sunday, 2. A larger number of people were present this evening at the renewal of our covenant with God than was ever seen before on the occasion.

The Early Church did not observe January 1 as “New Year’s Day”. January 1 is the Eighth Day of Christmas. According to our Gospel reading today, Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day of his birth (Luke 2:21), hence it was observed as “the Feast of the Circumcision”. It is still observed as such in among the Eastern Orthodox churches.

Nowadays, the Roman Catholic Church observes this day as “the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God”. Meanwhile, the Church of England (from which Methodism came from) observes this day as “the Feast of the Holy Name” because when he was circumcised, he was given the Holy Name of JESUS--‘the LORD saves’, “for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

So on this day, we have the concepts of covenant and of the holy name of Jesus. What implications does this have to us as we renew our covenant with God today?
 
I. The concept of “covenant”

According to the Bible, Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day. According to the Torah, which is Jewish Law every male child shall be circumcised when he is eight days old. The covenant of circumcision was given by God to Abraham as a “token” “in the flesh” of God’s covenant with him (Genesis 17:10-14). In Hebrew, circumcision is called בְּרִית מִילָה‎, brit milah—‘covenant of circumsion’; or simply brit.

Jesus was circumcised in order for him to live and fulfill the Torah: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). John Wesley wrote,

To circumcise the child—That he might visibly be made under the law by a sacred rite, which obliged him to keep the whole law; as also that he might be owned to be the seed of Abraham, and might put an honour on the solemn dedication of children to God. (Notes upon the New Testament)

If circumcision is the “token” “in the flesh” of the Old Covenant, Christian baptism is the token in the flesh of the New Covenant.

…baptism, now saveth us, (not the putting away the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ… (I Peter 3:21)

Some have the mistaken notion that one has to “believe first” before being baptized. But if we look at circumcision, a Jew does not need to “believe first” in order to get circumcised. He is circumcised first and then he gets nurtured in the faith until he professes it for himself. In the same way, Christian children are baptized first and then they get nurtured in the faith until they are able to confess it for themselves—which we call “Confirmation”.

Thus, “covenant” is a sign of God’s grace. God does not make a covenant with us because we “deserve” it, but because he loved us first: “But God recommendeth his love toward us, in that, whie we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

II. The Holy Name of JESUS

When Christ was circumcised, he was formally given the name JESUS ('YHWH saves'), the name given to him through the message of an angel. In Jewish Law, a boy child was given a “Hebrew name” when he was circumcised, much like a Christian child a “Christian name” during baptism (hence, baptisms are also called “christenings”). (Jewish boys are usually given the name of one of their relatives; Christians used to name their children after the saint whose day they were born on.)

In the Old Testament, the name of God is used to bless God’s people. Our First Lesson is about the Birkat Kohanim, the Priestly Benediction. It is the blessing which the LORD, blessed be he, commanded Aaron and his children to use when blessing the children of Israel.

 

יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהוָה, וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ.

יָאֵר יְהוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ, וִיחֻנֶּךָּ.

יִשָּׂא יְהוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ, וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם.

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee;

The LORD make His face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

What is the Name of God? The Name of God is written as the Tetragrammaton, the four letters YHWH (יהוה). The pronunciation has long been a topic of debate. (One Orthodox Jewish website says that most certainly not pronounced as “Yahweh”.) What is the Name of God, then? I teach Hebrew in a small seminary somewhere; and I only discuss that on the day before final examination! Let’s not talk about that now.  Our second reading says,

And ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Sin into your heats, crying Abba, Father. (Galatians 4:6)

What is the Name of God? One of the names of God that Jesus taught us is “Father”. When his disciples asked him, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1), he taught them what we would call the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father, who art in heaven…”

Conclusion: The Covenant Prayer of John Wesley

Before we pray the Covenant Prayer, let us spend time studying it.

The Covenant Prayer says:  I am no longer my own, but thine. Just as St. Paul wrote in the Epistle to the Galatians, “I am crucified with Christ, and I live no longer, but Christ liveth in me” (2:20).

And since “Christ liveth in me”, Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. God can put us wherever he wants, and put us with the people he wants. The Church is not an exclusive “country club” of the rich which is “for members only”. God will place is wherever and with whomever he wants.

Put me to doing. Our prayer is: Lord, use me. Put me to suffering. Oh, we love praying, “Lord, bless me indeed!” but we loathe to pray, “Put me to suffering”. But since we’ve prayed, “I am not longer my own, but thine,” if it is the Lord’s will that we suffer, so be it!

Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee. Not only we are to pray for God to use us, we are also to pray that we are will to be “laid aside” for him. Exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Oh, we love to be exalted! But now let us pray: Let me be “brought low for thee”.

We love to pray, Let me be full, “pressed down, and shaken together, and running over” (Luke 6:38). But we are afraid of praying, let me be empty. We love to pray, Let me have all things, but we are afraid of praying, let me have nothing. If it is God’s will that we may “have all things”, so be it. But if God says, “I will take away everything from you”, so be it. For, I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.

Come now, brothers and sisters, let us begin the New Year by binding ourselves in covenant with God.

THE COVENANT PRAYER OF JOHN WESLEY

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

 

A FILIPINO/TAGALOG TRANSLATION

Hindi na ako para sa aking sarili, kundi para sa iyo.
Ilagay mo ako kung saan mo nais, ihanay mo sa kung kanino mo nais.
Ilagay mo ako sa paggawa, ilagay mo ako sa pagdurusa.
Ako ay magamit para sa iyo, o maisantabi para sa iyo,
maitaas para sa iyo, o maibaba para sa iyo.
Punuin mo ako, o alisan mo ako ng laman.
Mapasaakin ang lahat ng bagay, o mawala sa akin ang lahat ng bagay.
Malaya at buong-puso kong isinusuko ang lahat ng bagay sa iyong kalooban.
At ngayon, O maluwalhati at pinagpalang Diyos,
Ama, Anak, at Espiritu Santo, ikaw ay akin, at ako ay sa iyo. Siya nawa.
At ang tipan na ginawa ko sa lupa, nawa ay pagtibayin sa langit. Amen.