Ep 3:1-13

6 January 2002

Epiphany

“Through the Church”

            Yesterday was the 12th day of Christmas; in case you didn’t know it, today is the Epiphany of the Lord.  Epiphany, as I mentioned last year, celebrates the appearance, or manifestation, of Jesus to the Gentiles—to the world.  It’s all about the shining of light:  the light of Christ.  Our word, “epiphany,” comes from the Greek term epifaneia (epiphaneia), which is a Biblical word; it appears in 2 Thessalonians 2:8, 1 Timothy 6:14, and 2 Timothy 1:10.

            Also, as I mentioned the last time Epiphany rolled around, there are three stories from scripture that illustrate it.  Among them are the baptism of Jesus and his turning water into wine.  But the primary image of Epiphany is that of the Magi’s visit to the Christ child.  Our gospel reading in Matthew talks about that.  I went into some detail about their visit last week while preaching about the Holy Innocents.

            Our Old Testament reading, from Isaiah 60, is used for Epiphany largely because of phrases like, “Arise, shine; for your light has come,” and, “They shall bring gold and frankincense” (vv. 1, 6).  The words just make it a good fit!

            It’s our epistle reading from Ephesians that I want to use as my focus.  In it, Paul’s speaking of his ministry to the Gentiles.  He says that his job is to reveal the mystery of God—to let God’s light shine, so to speak.  Through him, Jesus is again being revealed to the Gentiles, to the world—at least, to the Roman world.

            Chapter 3 begins with these words:  “This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles.”  “This is the reason.”  Well, what exactly is “this”?  Here’s a good example of chapter and verse divisions that don’t make much sense.  To find out what Paul’s talking about, we have to look at the passage beginning with 2:11, where he reminds his Gentile audience that, though they are by nature “the uncircumcision,” Christ has enabled them to become the people of God.  He’s done this, as the apostle says, because “he is our peace…he has made [Jew and Gentile] into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us” (2:14).

            “So then,” Paul tells his Gentile brothers and sisters, “you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God” (2:19).  And that is the reason Paul says he’s a prisoner of Christ for the Gentiles!  He begins and ends today’s reading by reminding the Gentiles how he has sacrificed for them.  Verse 13 tells them “not [to] lose heart over my sufferings for you; they are your glory.”

            Paul finds himself in prison precisely because his message of equality of Jew and Gentile before God isn’t popular among folks who want to hold on to those divisions.  Those who believe that they have privileged positions are reluctant to surrender them, and they feel threatened by those who tell them that they’re no better than anyone else—especially if that “anyone else” includes people that they consider to be inferior!  Paul finds that many of his fellow Jews don’t want to give up their monopoly on God, and consequently, he pays the price for suggesting such a thing.

            To his credit, Paul seems to understand their reasoning.  After all, he was once just like that!  In verse 8, when he calls himself “the very least of all the saints,” he sings a song we’ve heard before.  In September, I preached a sermon on Paul’s claim in 1 Timothy 1:15 that he’s “the foremost” of sinners.  And in another place, in 1 Corinthians 15:9, he refers to himself as “the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because [he] persecuted the church of God.”

I find these statements amazing.  During our final Advent / Christmas retreat two Wednesday nights ago, we meditated on the passage in Acts which describes the martyrdom of Stephen.  Very casually, as if in passing, we find something inserted about Saul, the future Paul.  Concerning the stoning of Stephen, the scripture says very simply:  “And Saul approved of their killing him” (Ac 8:1).

I think we often overlook the impact this event had on Paul.  This was something he obviously later regretted deeply.  To witness the execution of a good and innocent man—an execution that he fully supported—couldn’t help but have a profound influence on him.  As Markus Barth, son of the great theologian Karl Barth, once put it, “Paul never ceases wondering at the charge given to him.”[1]  He knows he doesn’t deserve it—quite the contrary.

Paul realizes that he doesn’t deserve the privilege of the epiphany task of revealing to the Gentiles “the boundless riches of Christ” (v. 8).  He’s not worthy of the honor of bringing to light “the mystery hidden for ages in God” (v. 9).  By our conventional, worldly standards, we might ask, “Well, if the apostle Paul isn’t worthy, then who is?”  “If his credentials aren’t good enough, pray tell, who has better ones?”

The answer, of course, is no one.  No one deserves to be the announcer of such good news.  No one is worthy of being a minister.  (That’s certainly true of the one speaking to you now!)  No one deserves to be a Christian.  But then, that’s what grace is all about!

Paul doesn’t pretend that he’s the only one who’s been given this grace of proclaiming the epiphany message of Jesus.  In verse 10, he says that it’s “through the church [that] the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.”  There’s a lot going on in this verse, but I want to start with something Paul says at the beginning.

According to the apostle, it’s “through the church” that the light of Christ is to shine to the world.  Oddly enough, this is the only place in the New Testament where the phrase “through the church” appears.[2]  The point is that each of the Ephesian believers—and each of us in the church—has the same responsibility and privilege of which Paul speaks.  Every person here has the duty and honor of being an epiphany of Jesus Christ, of being a manifestation of his glory.

I continually find it ironic that in the Christian life, we’re repeatedly told that we must do the thing—that we must be the thing—that is best for us!  We’re commanded over and over to choose to live and not to die.  But I guess if we weren’t so insanely self-destructive in the first place, we wouldn’t need those mandates!

Verse 10 identifies not only who’s entrusted with this epiphany message (“the church”), but also to whom it’s directed (“the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places”).  The arena inhabited by the church is truly a cosmic one.  The Roman Empire was home to a multitude of religions, filled with deities and celestial powers at many different levels of existence.  According to Paul, the church’s message applies to all of them as well.  Today we might think of social and political structures as needing the light of Christ.

Again, Markus Barth:  The church “is to be an example to all creation.  Following this verse the church would unduly limit her task if she cared only for the souls of men [and women] or for an increase in membership.”[3]  If we’re allowing ourselves to be transformed by the light of Christ, we can’t help but let that light shine, not only on individuals, but on, for example, unjust cultural practices.

My use of the word “cosmic” a moment ago may have you thinking that I’m off somewhere in the stars, but what I’m talking about isn’t so far-fetched.  The story is told (and I assume that this is a true story!) of a church that had tried everything—new worship styles, bigger ads in the Yellow Pages, evangelism programs—but none of it had worked.[4]  The little church was smaller and less satisfying than it had been before they tried all of that.

Then one day a young woman came to church with her two little girls.  They were dirty.  They smelled bad.  Their hair was matted.  They looked nothing like the kind of folks that went to church there.  Betty was the greeter that morning, and although it wasn’t easy for her, she welcomed the three and offered to help them if they needed anything.  Part way through the worship service, one of the little girls went to use the restroom.  When she came back, she talked to Betty and asked if she’d come sit with them.  Betty wasn’t sure she wanted to, but she couldn’t think of how to say no.  So she went up and sat with the family—difficult though the task was.

As she sat down next to the disheveled family, the little girl snuggled up close and put her head on Betty’s lap.  “I like you,” she said to Betty.  “I like you, too,” Betty replied.  “Can we come back here again?” the little girl asked.  “Of course you can,” said Betty.

Members of the congregation were astounded as they watched this happen.  Even Betty was amazed at what was happening.  But in that event the church was changed, not by a program, but by the mysterious truth that all people are members together of the same body.  They would never be the same again.

This is a congregation that discovered, apparently in a way they’d never known before, what it means to be an epiphany church.  They learned what it means to let the light of Christ shine through them.

Obviously, there are many ways to do that, probably as many ways as there are moments in life.  Again, verse 10 has something to say about that!  What Paul says comes “through the church…to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” is “the wisdom of God in its rich variety.”  The New Jerusalem Bible says that “through the Church, the principalities and ruling forces should learn how many-sided God’s wisdom is.”

If the message of the church seems boring or dull or lacking in spiritual depth, it’s not God’s fault!  People who claim that the gospel of Christ is outdated demonstrate just how poorly they grasp it.  But it’s also likely (I would say that it’s almost certain) that they’ve never had an epiphany experience—the transforming light of Christ has yet to shine on them.  Or to be more precise—they have yet to become aware of the light of Christ that already envelops and embraces them.

And unfortunately, sometimes the church is the last place to find that!  Too often, people in the church speak of “do”s and “don’t”s, of values, of many different things…of everything except what transforms lives—what gives life.  That’s the vision Banu and I have for Westminster.  That’s the kind of mission we would like to see happen:  to be a church that the community recognizes as being a source of life and light in Jamestown and beyond.

         The amazing thing about Jesus Christ is that there’s no limit to how much light he wants to give us.  Some of us who are in the church have experienced far too little of that light—but it’s there for the asking.  May we be people who truly yearn to be epiphany people, who radiate the light and love of Jesus.  Then we will hear in a new way the words of the prophet:  “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you” (Is 60:1).

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