Shepherd of the Springs
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

One of the great religious debates has always been; if there is a God, where can he be found? Most popular thinking in our culture breaks down into three camps on the subject. For the atheists the answer is simple: Nowhere! He cannot be found anywhere because God simply does not exist. For believers in the Deity, however, the most popular answers are rather contradictory. For those with deistic tendencies, God is very majestic and distant. We can’t find him because he really does not want much to do with us and does not want to be found. He is in his distant Heaven and we are here on earth, and that is the end of the matter. For others, however, God is very close and near and He resides in the recesses of our heart. Just look inward and you can find Him. The problem with this stance is that when you look inward it is difficult to distinguish among God, the Devil, yourself, or stomach problems.

For many however, the most absurd answer to the question: Where can you find God - is that He can be found by gazing at the stars. It probably is rather silly think about handing out telescopes and astronomy handbooks to all who are seeking God . . . and yet with the Gospel reading for this day, it seems that at one particular time in history, for a few savvy aristocratic astrologers, a star was chosen as a marker to direct the way for a face to face appearance with the creator of the Universe. A star was used by God to signal the most startling event in human history. He chose to reveal himself by becoming one of us. This was not simply a disguise, but rather a whole new identity. The Son of God not only descended to us but he condescended to us becoming a helpless small babe. John’s Gospel exclaims, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. From Heaven above to earth below, God has come and invaded our space. The stars led some pretty savvy smart guys to find the God who has come among us, packaged as a baby king.

We all are familiar with the sense of destiny that often surrounds kings. Many has been the tail about someone special who was born to be king. From humble beginnings and strange twists of fate, a not-so-common-commoner rises from among the masses to become the king over all the land at a crucial time in which the people are in need of courageous and charismatic leadership during difficult and perilous times. But it was a much more startling event tied to royalty that attended the mission of the magi guided by the star. They were determined to see the epoch event of Christmas - an even stranger set of events. For here with Jesus, was the King of Kings as a babe. He was not born to become a king. He is the sovereign ruler of the universe who has entered the world to become a mere man. Indeed the King of Kings and Lord of lords was born to be a humble suffering servant. With mere kings, you provide fitting honor if you bring your loyalty, your willingness to serve, and perhaps some tribute. But these things are not sufficient for Christ the King, the Lord of the Universe through whom all things were created. The magi come and bow down not as a sign of tribute, for they have met up and come face-to-face with God. They have come to worship Him and present gifts of thanksgiving.

Some consider this to be quite an amusing myth - God in a feed trough, in a stable, ha! What a joke. Others incited by paranoid fear, like Herod, have plotted to do away with him. Still others, like the shepherds and the Magi have come to worship him and brings fitting gifts of thanksgiving. They came in faith, believing the words of the prophets, that this small infant truly was the creator of the universe - Immanuel, God with us. They have found God . . . and so have we.

The Son of David has come to his people. The magi understand this one to be the King of the Jews, the King of Israel. How is it that one who is the rightful king of Israel, the son of David, is also God, himself? We remember that God made a special arrangement with the children of Israel. He would be their Lord, their ruler, their sovereign. He would provide for them and keep them safe from their enemies. And He would give them his holy Law to govern all aspects of life. Israel had a theocracy . . . The Lord God was King. But then, we remember, Israel wanted to be like the nations. They wanted a flesh-and-blood king, like all their neighboring nations. They wanted a ruler whom they could see, and talk to face-to-face.

We know how things turned out. God relented. The people could have there king like the nations. But there would be stipulations. God indicated that the king would be his choice. Indeed, God made it perfectly clear. He would still continue to rule, but now through the words and actions of the man who would be king. And this king would be a messiah - one anointed of the Lord. He would have the Spirit of God resting on him.

The story of those who would be King in Israel, presents a checkered history . . . there was triumph and there was disappointment . . . there was faithfulness and there was idolatry. Between the short span of time between David and David’s grandson, Manassah; we see faithfulness and idolatry, justice and treachery, and the jubilant cries of hail to the King turned into the bitter cries of to your tents O Israel. But now in the days of a pretender to the throne, one who was neither a pure blood Jew, nor of royal lineage . . . now in the Days of Herod, puppet King of Rome, God provides relief to his people. The Lord God of Israel steps into human history personally. This child of David would become a man, to be about a God’s business. David was king, but this Son of David has come to be a Savior. David liberated Israel from the pagan presence of the Philistines and united the tribes of Israel, ruling by the Law of Moses. But this Son of David born in Bethlehem has come to liberate sinners of every nation from the powers of Satan and unite many nations into one tribe known as the Kingdom of God. And He will rule not by the Law of Moses, but rather by grace and truth.

The usual acclamation when one becomes King is: Long live the King! But this King of kings, this son of David, has come to die. He has come to save his people from their sins. David brought the tabernacle of the Lord to Jerusalem. David thought that the city of God should be the place where godly men should worship and offer their sacrifices to God. Jesus will go to Jerusalem, the city of God, but he goes to become the perfect sacrifice for all the ungodly people - for all those dead in their trespasses. We are invited to place your hope and trust in the One who will replace the justice of the Law, with the justice and righteousness of grace. This King comes to you, bearing the gifts of life, forgiveness, and salvation. He comes with a Kingdom of Righteousness to cover all of your frailty, poverty, and lawlessness. Although each of us was born a sinner and publican, Epiphany celebrates the God who stooped to become one of us, so that He might elevate each of us to become sons and daughters of the Lord most high. He came not to enforce the Law, but to fulfill it. He came to have his life cut short, that we might live forever. He came to become a sinner that we might be reckoned righteous.

This evening we marvel at the insight and faith of the Magi who were able to gaze into the stars and find the King of Kings; the mighty God who had come to be with us. He has become the Morning Star that radiates the warmth of God that has relieved Israel and all of us from the cold winter’s chill of our sinful wretchedness. Oh, come let us adore Him!

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. A-men.