52. Epiphany (January 6). I.
O, praise the Lord, all ye nations,
praise him, all ye people!
For his merciful kindness
is great toward us;
and the truth of the Lord
endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord.
Gospel Lesson, Matthew 2, 1-12. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judæa: for thus it is written by the prophet; And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem; and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed: and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
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The wise men are servants and worshippers of Christ, do his errands, and spread abroad the perfume of his name; while in Herod and the scribes we have his enemies. The true people of Christ’s kingdom look upward, and see what others do not see, their hearts belong to the invisible world, and they follow other laws than those followed by the children of unbelief. Jesus Christ is their king, and their effort is in all things to promote his honor. When they understand that it is his will, they leave home and country, and journey to strange peoples. For him they willingly sacrifice gold and treasure and all that they have. Him they worship, and to him they seek to gather souls from far and near. The countenance of God in Christ, the sun over our earth, has burst upon their sight. The things of eternity and heaven have become real and present to their hearts; and hence they no longer live unto themselves, but unto him, who died for us, and gave himself for us. In other words, they believe without seeing; they follow the star; that is, the light of God in his works; and they follow the word; that is, the holy scriptures. The wise men followed the star, and it led them to that which was written by the prophet. The prophecy pointed to Bethlehem; they accepted its guidance, and the star again attended them on their way to Christ. — The case of Herod and the scribes is entirely different. They have the word; but they see only its letter, and care nothing for Christ as the king of the souls. The world is their all. They live only for that which is of the earth. The eternal and divine things are nothing to them. Therefore they will not give themselves the trouble of going to Bethlehem. Herod reasons in this wise: “Should it prove that there is some truth in what these men say, I will in good time adopt the measures necessary for my own safety.” For this reason he asks the wise men to return to him. — This is the exact position taken by the children of the world among us. They know the word, and most of them do not deny its truth; but Christ, the heavenly and living substance of the word, has no real existence in their hearts. Therefore they do not worship him in truth, do not give themselves to him, do not sacrifice their treasures in his honor. Some of them may support the work of mission societies and the charities of the church, but their heart is not in it; and when it comes to a real test, they prefer to deny their Savior.
However, our gospel lesson also teaches that all must serve the Lord’s cause whether or no, and that he saves his own from the snares of the wicked. The stars of heaven and the highways of earth, astronomy and natural science, the railroads and waterways, the gold and frankincense, Herod and the scribes; all things and all men are made use of by the Lord for the extension of his kingdom. Who was victorious, Herod or Christ? Who accomplished their purpose, the wise men from the east or the scribes of Jerusalem? Thou humble child of Bethlehem, who afterward didst become the despised and crucified Nazarene, and now art the glorified king of heaven; thou sun and magnet of my soul, draw us to thee; make us feel assured of this that thy right hand shall obtain the victory; and show us as much of thy glory as we can bear to see, that we may walk with joy on the paths which thou hast appointed. Draw us, Lord, after thee, make us thy servants, extend thy kingdom, let the forces of the gentiles and the abundance of the sea make haste to come unto thee. Amen.*
As with gladness men of old
Did the guiding star behold;
As with joy they hailed its light,
Leading onward, beaming bright:
So, most gracious God may we
Evermore be led to thee.
As with joyful steps they sped
To that lowly manger-bed,
There to bend the knee before
Him whom heaven and earth adore:
So may we with willing feet
Ever seek thy mercy-seat.
[TLH 127, LSB 397, ELH 168; listen here]
53. Epiphany. II.
Lord, speak; and grant that we
give ear to thy voice. Amen.
Isaiah 60, 1-6. Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord.
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Was Isaiah an over-sanguine fanatic, do you think; full of foolish dreams and vain expectations, so that his words are not to be relied on? Not at all. Read his book entire, and you will see that he takes a sober view of the situation, and sees its dark as well as its bright features. He prophesies of punishment as well as of salvation and glory. His speech is not fable; he speaks moved by the Holy Ghost. But this being so, the people of God have great things awaiting them, in spite of the troublous times now at the door. Do let the word of the Lord govern our thought, and decide what we are to expect; — the word of the Lord, and not our own gloomy forebodings. If we have begun to open our eyes, do we not see that the scripture is being fulfilled? Is not the light come, and the glory of the Lord risen upon Israel? And, again: Does not darkness cover the earth, and gross darkness the people? Yes, it is as Isaiah has said. But then the remainder of what he says shall come to pass, also: The gentiles and kings shall come to the light of Israel; the Jews shall return, and the multitude of the gentiles shall be converted and become the Lord’s people. In accord herewith is the royal command of Christ: “I have all power in heaven and in earth; go ye therefore, and make all nations my disciples.” This does not mean that every individual of the heathen shall be saved; but that the light shall travel around the earth, and all nations be saved, so that there shall be a complete human family, including all races and generations of men, on the new earth. You, also, shall see it, my Christian reader. Your hearts, Christian people, shall beat and tremble in joyous astonishment; shall be enlarged, become spacious as the heavens, and hold an everlasting fullness of love and joy. Make yourselves ready; the light, our Lord Jesus Christ, is come to you, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. Lord Jesus, anoint our eyes, that we may walk in thy light; give us grace to believe thy word, to hold thy standard aloft, and to hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope, firm to the end. Amen.*
O Christ, our true and only light,
Enlighten those who sit in night;
Let those afar now hear thy voice
And in thy fold with us rejoice.
Fill with the radiance of thy grace
The souls now lost in error’s maze,
And all whom in their secret minds
Some dark delusion haunts and blinds.
[TLH 512, LSB 839, ELH 198; listen here]
* Here the head of the family says a short morning or evening prayer in his own words, and closes with the Lord’s Prayer and the Benediction. This is to be done every day. If the stanzas are not sung, they may be read in their proper place before the impromptu petition and the Lord’s Prayer.