Epiphany Means: Christ Appeared For All People
Sermon on Colossians 1:24-29
Weekend of January 4, 1998
Saint Mark's, Watertown
Pastor Karl Walther
The Scriptures encourage you: Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you! Amen.
The Word of the Lord for our celebration of Epiphany is Colossians chapter one, verses twenty-four through twenty-nine. There the Apostle Paul writes:
Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness -- the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.
This is God's Spirit-inspired Word of Jesus Christ.
Introduction: Jewish Christmas Account Applies To All People
Dear fellow Christians-- for whom also Christ appeared:
The account of Christmas Day is very much a Jewish story. Bethlehem was a Jewish town. Mary was a Jewish mom. Joseph was a Jewish stepfather. The shepherds were Jewish. I bet the angels sang in the Jewish language. In fact, I bet the cattle were lowing, the donkeys were braying, and the sheep were baa-ing in Jewish Aramaic!
All of this should not surprise us. For two millennia, God -- the true Lord -- had been God of the Jews. Two thousand years earlier, God had given his special promise of the Savior's birth to Abraham: the first Jewish person. Fifteen hundred years earlier, God had formed his chosen nation, the Jewish nation, under Moses. A thousand years earlier, God had reiterated his special promise of the Savior's birth to David: the first great Jewish king. And five hundred years earlier, God had rescued his chosen nation, the Jewish nation, from exile.
But all of this does bring up a question. We are not Jewish people; so two thousand years ago now, when Christ appeared: did he appear for us, also? Well, a person needs only to look as far as the non-Jewish Magi (whose visit we commemorate on Epiphany) -- a person needs only to look as far as Jesus' miracles on behalf of the non-Jewish centurion or the non-Jewish Canaanite woman -- to know that Christ appeared for us, too....
Theme: Epiphany Means Christ Appeared For All People
...Or a person needs only to look as far as our sermon text today. In it the Apostle Paul announces: EPIPHANY MEANS CHRIST APPEARED FOR ALL PEOPLE. You see, Epiphany Means Christ Appeared For All People: first of all, TO RECONCILE US to the Lord, and secondly, TO ENERGIZE US for service toward the Lord.
Part One: Epiphany Means
Christ Appeared To Reconcile All People To The Lord
Now at the time of our text, it was getting to be some sixty years after Jesus' birth. That made it thirty-some years after Jesus' death and resurrection. The Apostle Paul had spent many of those years spreading the message of Christ to Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) and to Greece. Now he was in Rome, where the Jews had send Paul to prison on account of his missionary work.
So, Paul is writing from prison in Rome to one of the congregations to which his mission work had given birth. It was the congregation at Colosse, back in Asia Minor. And here is what he said to them....
Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you. Paul is looking back on the work that Jesus had done: his lowly life, his bitter suffering, his hellish death-- and Paul was thanking God.
But Paul goes on to say: Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.
That might give us cause to pause. Did we hear Paul rightly? Has he just said something was lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions? ...Well, yes and no!
On the one hand, Paul knows Christ suffered all there was to suffer to accomplish the world's reconciliation to God. Just verses before this he wrote: God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Christ, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, making peace through his blood shed on the cross.
On the other hand, Paul also knows his own role in proclaiming this reconciliation. If he had to be whipped, if he had to be beaten, if he had to be stoned and left for dead -- or if he had to be in prison -- to proclaim the reconciliation Christ had won, Paul would do it.
Why the willingness to go to all that trouble? Well, Paul answers: I have become the church's servant by the commission God gave me to present to you -- you non-Jews, you Gentiles -- the word of God in its fullness. Paul calls this word of God in its fullness a mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations in the Old Testament, but is now in the New Testament disclosed to the saints.
And what's so mysterious about all of this? It's that God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you non-Jews, you Gentiles, the hope of glory for you Gentiles.
Application One:
Christ Appeared To Reconcile Us To The Lord
Now all of this: that Christ would enter our Gentile hearts, that Christ would be hope for glory for us Gentiles-- all of this probably doesn't sound so radical to you and to me. But really, it is....
Remember for fifteen hundred years, from the time of Moses to the time of Jesus, God said: "To be my people, you must -- essentially -- become Jewish. I want you to be circumcised. I want you to slaughter a passover lamb every year. I want you to attend three festivals a year in Jerusalem. I want you to find me at my temple in Jerusalem. I want you to reach me by way of my priests in Jerusalem. I want you to stop doing what you're doing: every Sabbath. I never want you eating what I call unclean. And I never want you being what I call unclean."
But in one fell swoop -- in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus -- God changed all that for you. Jesus' blood, not the blood of circumcision, made you a member of God's family. Jesus was your passover lamb, slaughtered once and for all to rescue you from the destroying angel of death. Jesus, not the temple, is where you can find God. Jesus is your priest who is always there to connect you to God. Jesus is your clean food-- especially in Lord's Supper. It's Jesus who cleaned you up-- especially in baptism.
And aren't you glad? Aren't you glad that the God against whom you were born an enemy -- aren't you glad that the God against whom our ancestors for thousands of years were born enemies -- aren't you glad: that God now considers you his friend, for the sake of Christ? He has reconciled you to be his friend in this life-- which is very good! And he has reconciled you to be his friend in the life to come-- which is all the better! It's just the way Paul wrote it some verses before this: Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.
Part Two: Epiphany Means
Christ Appeared To Energize All People For Service Toward The Lord
So, you see that in today's festival: Epiphany Means Christ Appeared For All People-- first of all, to reconcile us to the Lord. Under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul also insists: Epiphany Means Christ Appeared For All People-- secondly, to energize us for service toward the Lord.
You got that impression earlier, didn't you? Paul gave himself as an example of service. In response to the great good things God had done for him, Paul said: now I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant. Paul is as much as saying, "Come bruises, come wounds, come imprisonment, come death-- I have to serve Christ by proclaiming him to people."
Along those lines, Paul now goes on: We proclaim Christ, admonishing every person and teaching every person with all wisdom, so that we may present every person perfect in Christ. Paul's aim is to bring news of Jesus to every person.
And so Paul concludes: To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me-- literally, it so powerfully energizes me.
Application Two:
Christ Appeared To Energize Us For Service Toward The Lord
Brothers and sisters, I suggest to you that this is the way we need to labor, this is the way we need to struggle, energetically and powerfully, to bring news of Christ to every person.
You have the motivation, don't you? After this tiny speck of time we call "life" is over, you will dwell with God-- always in his presence, never again a doubt; always surrounded by his love, never again an unkindness; always uplifted by his power, never again a pain. And in the meantime, within this tiny speck of time we call "life", you may struggle a bit and you may suffer a bit, but your friendly Heavenly Father will always give you what you need to manage.
So, don't you want to share that with others?
Don't you want to share that with your family? Don't you want to sit down with your mom or dad, your brother or sister, your son or daughter, and say: "I'm concerned you're not getting to church very regularly. I know that without church I wouldn't be realizing my sins very regularly. I wouldn't remember my Savior. I wouldn't have the comfort of knowing that heaven is my home. And I wouldn't have the comfort of knowing that God is my Father. So, can I pick you up for church this coming Sunday?"
Furthermore, don't you want to share your comfort with our children here at church? Don't you want to share that with our sick and shut-in members? Don't you want to re-examine your priorities in such a way that you generously volunteer your time to support the work we do together? Maybe that will mean talking to Mr. Needham to see if there's anything you can do for the school. Or maybe that will mean talking to one of us pastors to see what you can do at church.
And don't you want to share your comfort in Christ with every person in the world? Very probably that will mean re-examining your priorities in such a way that you generously volunteer your money -- and very probably more than last year -- to support the work we do together in this world.
But because the world is at our doorstep these days, there are many things you can do in a face-to-face way to share your comfort in Christ. We can use as many people as we can get for a pool of volunteers to transport Spanish-speaking folks to and from Bible Class on Sunday nights. Simply volunteer to me. We can use as many people as we can get particularly to read English-language Bible stories to Spanish-speaking people an hour a week. Simply volunteer to me. We can use as many people as we can get and then some to visit English-speaking prospects of our congregation, especially new residents to Watertown. Again: simply volunteer to me.
Conclusion: Epiphany (The Thirteenth Day Of Christmas)
Applies The Christmas Account To All People
Well, to close: let me say this. During Christmas time, we often sing about "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Did you ever wonder to what that refers? Well, in the Christian Church Year, there really are twelve days to the Christmas Season-- from December twenty-fifth up until January fifth, right before we celebrate Epiphany. That makes Epiphany, January sixth (when we celebrate the Magi's visit), the thirteenth day of Christmas, so to speak-- and it's that day especially that applies the Christmas account to all people.
My prayer for you, though, is that Christmas becomes not a one-day holiday or a two-day holiday -- and not even twelve or thirteen days' worth -- but rather, my prayer for you is that Christmas becomes a three-hundred-sixty-five-day-per-year holiday in your life. My prayer for you is that Christ's birth reconciles you to the Lord and energizes you for his service all the days and years of your life. And my friend: if that happens, I know -- I know! -- that you will rejoice, in a very full Christian life. Amen.
The Scriptures remind you: Though darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Amen.