On the Liturgical Calendar, that calendar
which provides scriptures to mark the religious
events of the year, today is the second Sunday
of Epiphany, the time when Jesus manifested
himself to the Gentile, or non-Jewish world.
Two thousand plus years of history can cause us
to forget, that Jesus was first and foremost a
Jew, and that his ministry was to reform Judaism
of the excesses that had led them away from God.
The people of Israel had begun to worship the
Temple rather than God. They were inclined more
to hold the laws of Moses sacred than they were
to treat the people the laws protected with
dignity and respect. They allowed tradition and
custom to outweigh prophecy when it came to
their moral and ethical decisions. These were
the realities Jesus came to correct.
However, there was a sub text to the story,
which permits those of us who are non-Jews to
enter the story. Jesus was not just a prophet
and reformer such as Isaiah or Jeremiah. He was
the embodiment of the nation of Israel. He
represented God’s chosen people. A careful
reading of the Gospels shows that Jesus came to
reaffirm for Israel that from the beginning, God
was constantly transforming them from a narrow
parochial people whose inheritance was property
and bloodline, to an expanded nation whose
legacy was beyond borders. This reconstituted
nation was to be based on spirituality and
faith.
We can spend our religious lives and never see
clearly that the visit of the Wise Men was not
just a cute little Christmas story, it was a
glimpse into the meaning of Christ’s coming.
These Wise Men were not Jews, but Gentiles. When
Matthew tells the story of them coming to
worship Jesus, he is giving the account of how
the entire non-Jewish world will recognize this
baby in the manger as the leader of a new
Israel, but more importantly as savior of the
world.
Epiphany Sunday is the day when the church marks
that important event in the theological life of
Christian people. This year’s Lectionary
portrays the universal mission of Jesus through
the story of his baptism. Jesus was not baptized
to wash himself of sin. He was baptized to show
the world that through baptism, Jews and
Gentiles alike were now a new nation.
Reading Through The Bible
January 20:
Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 40:1-11; 1 Corinthians
1:1-9; John 1:29-42
January 27: Isaiah 9:1-4; Psalm 27:1,
4-9; 1 Corinthians 1:10-18; Matthew 4:12-23
