WEBVTT 00:00.300 --> 00:01.400 Grace, mercy and peace 00:01.400 --> 00:04.500 be to you from God, our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus 00:04.500 --> 00:05.200 Christ. 00:05.300 --> 00:05.700 Amen. 00:07.100 --> 00:10.300 Growing up and getting older is a fascinating process. 00:10.400 --> 00:15.900 I can remember being a kid and trying to hurry up the arrival into 00:15.900 --> 00:20.500 adulthood. And thinking as a child of all of those things that I could 00:20.500 --> 00:24.900 finally do when I grew up but I couldn't do in that moment of 00:24.900 --> 00:29.300 childhood. I could drive and go wherever I wanted to. 00:29.300 --> 00:29.800 Whenever I 00:30.100 --> 00:31.100 wanted to do it. 00:31.900 --> 00:35.400 I could go and buy whatever I wanted to from the store without anybody 00:35.500 --> 00:36.000 telling me, 00:36.000 --> 00:42.000 no. I could stay up as late as I wanted to and there'd be no bedtime. 00:42.800 --> 00:43.500 It'd be great 00:43.500 --> 00:44.100 I thought. 00:45.900 --> 00:48.900 I probably don't have to tell you that as a child, I was a little 00:48.900 --> 00:53.300 naive and short-sighted about what it actually meant to be an adult. 00:53.800 --> 00:57.600 Certainly, there's more freedom that comes along with being an adult, 00:57.600 --> 01:02.900 but there's far more responsibility too. Not only do you have the 01:02.900 --> 01:06.500 freedom to go wherever you want to go and buy what you want to do and 01:07.000 --> 01:10.600 basically live or do the things that you want to do. 01:11.800 --> 01:16.400 But you also have to find a suitable place to live. A job that can pay 01:16.400 --> 01:22.300 the bills so that you can pay the bills. Food to buy, to keep you healthy 01:22.300 --> 01:26.700 and an endless list of other adult tasks that you have to take care 01:26.700 --> 01:27.000 of. 01:29.100 --> 01:33.700 Now this morning, I'm not so much focused on those tasks or those 01:33.700 --> 01:37.800 parts of becoming an adult, but something else that comes with 01:37.900 --> 01:41.500 adulthood, that I think is a little bit more striking As We join 01:41.500 --> 01:44.100 together to observe Epiphany today. 01:45.200 --> 01:49.300 This other thing that I noticed about reaching adulthood is a little 01:49.300 --> 01:51.100 bit more disheartening to me. 01:52.300 --> 01:54.700 That is the loss of wonder. 01:55.800 --> 01:59.300 Now, maybe you've been better than I have at maintaining your sense of 01:59.300 --> 02:04.900 wonder as you've gotten older. But I found in my own development that 02:04.900 --> 02:09.800 in many cases have lost the sense of wonder. And one of the most 02:09.800 --> 02:12.900 apparent times out of the whole year for me for that 02:12.900 --> 02:14.000 is at Christmas. 02:15.300 --> 02:19.700 Now Christmas as a season, is one of my favorite times in the entire 02:19.700 --> 02:21.800 year. I can vividly 02:21.800 --> 02:25.700 remember, from my childhood, the wonder that came with this time of 02:25.700 --> 02:30.300 the year. How it's full of anticipation and excitement. 02:31.200 --> 02:34.600 From the moment that we cut down our Christmas tree and put up the 02:34.600 --> 02:39.500 first decorations all the way until that last present was open on 02:39.500 --> 02:43.600 Christmas morning, there was all sorts of wonder. 02:45.400 --> 02:48.700 There was wonder with the lighting of each Candle on the Advent 02:48.700 --> 02:49.000 wreath 02:49.000 --> 02:53.000 as it showed us how much closer we were getting to Christmas. 02:54.100 --> 02:57.800 It was the wonder to find out what exactly was wrapped under the 02:57.800 --> 02:58.700 Christmas tree. 03:00.500 --> 03:04.800 The wonder of the Christmas story itself is remembered Mary and Joseph 03:04.800 --> 03:08.700 traveling to Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus and the singing of the 03:08.700 --> 03:09.600 Angels. 03:12.100 --> 03:16.000 The problem is now as an adult, I know exactly how much time there is 03:16.000 --> 03:20.700 between Thanksgiving and Christmas and what has to be done in order to 03:20.700 --> 03:22.600 prepare for Christmas to come. 03:23.600 --> 03:26.800 Sometimes the lighting of the candles on the Advent wreath cause more 03:26.800 --> 03:29.500 stress than wonder. As they stand 03:29.500 --> 03:33.600 as that ominous, reminder, that Christmas is getting closer and closer 03:34.100 --> 03:36.100 and there's still so much to do. 03:37.900 --> 03:41.400 Now, I know nearly everything that's wrapped under the Christmas tree 03:42.000 --> 03:45.300 and all the effort and the expense that got went into getting those 03:45.300 --> 03:46.000 gifts. 03:47.400 --> 03:51.700 And even the Christmas story is so familiar that sometimes it's easy, 03:51.700 --> 03:52.900 to breeze through it. 03:55.600 --> 03:57.800 Maybe you felt that way too. 03:59.600 --> 04:03.700 It's easy for us to breeze through this Epiphany story that we recount 04:03.700 --> 04:04.500 today as well. 04:05.800 --> 04:08.700 Even though we get the 12 Days of Christmas between Christmas and 04:08.700 --> 04:11.800 Epiphany, which should be enough time for us to kind of recharge and 04:11.800 --> 04:12.900 refocus. 04:14.000 --> 04:18.300 It's often that we take the Epiphany story and just roll it in to 04:18.300 --> 04:19.100 Christmas. 04:20.000 --> 04:22.800 We put the Magi in, our kids, Christmas services. 04:23.000 --> 04:27.100 We see them in our Nativity decorations, maybe in our Christmas cards 04:27.100 --> 04:29.000 and our favorite Christmas carols. 04:30.300 --> 04:33.100 And so sometimes they just get packed right back up with Christmas 04:33.100 --> 04:34.400 decorations, right 04:34.400 --> 04:35.400 after Christmas. 04:36.100 --> 04:40.600 And we lose the significance of this Epiphany accounts and why it was 04:40.600 --> 04:42.700 included in scripture for us. 04:45.000 --> 04:48.000 But I have to tell you something else that I've learned about growing 04:48.000 --> 04:48.400 up. 04:49.000 --> 04:53.800 I learned this kind of a Christmas this year. Is the fact that having 04:53.800 --> 04:57.700 children can help bring back some of that sense of wonder. 04:59.200 --> 05:01.300 Now, I certainly don't want to make it sound like you have to have 05:01.300 --> 05:04.400 kids in order to bring back some of your sense of wonder. 05:04.700 --> 05:08.400 But I developed or I discovered this year that it certainly helped me. 05:09.600 --> 05:13.200 My daughters are 5 and 3 and they're just kind of hitting that sweet 05:13.200 --> 05:17.600 spot of wonder, as there, looking around and taking everything in and 05:17.600 --> 05:18.900 seeing so many things 05:18.900 --> 05:23.200 for the first time. I'm trying to put all the pieces together of 05:23.200 --> 05:25.400 things that they're seeing and hearing. 05:26.700 --> 05:28.500 And honestly it's a lot of fun. 05:30.200 --> 05:34.000 This year, we're talking a lot about the Christmas story and one night 05:34.000 --> 05:38.500 we were watching the animated movie The Star and as we were watching 05:38.500 --> 05:43.900 this, it it struck me about what it would have been like for all of 05:43.900 --> 05:46.900 these people from Christmas to Epiphany. 05:46.900 --> 05:51.100 What it would have been like for them to experience this story. 05:52.300 --> 05:54.900 You see, I think we're so spoiled because we know the beginning the 05:54.900 --> 05:56.400 middle of end, the end of it. 05:56.900 --> 05:59.700 And so we get to see this all as one big picture and we kind of look 06:00.000 --> 06:00.400 across and 06:00.400 --> 06:04.800 see all the details and know exactly how things are going to turn out. 06:07.100 --> 06:09.600 But think about living it in real time. 06:11.400 --> 06:15.600 Even with the angels promise to Mary and Joseph, there was still a lot 06:15.600 --> 06:18.500 that was unknown as they journeyed along the way. 06:20.400 --> 06:23.500 Same goes for the Magi that we remember on Epiphany. 06:24.800 --> 06:26.700 Just think about how little detail 06:26.700 --> 06:30.900 we have. We have this account in Matthew's gospel. Matthew tells us 06:30.900 --> 06:34.400 that they came from the East that they first showed up in Jerusalem, 06:35.300 --> 06:38.800 they needed guidance from the scripture to, finally, find Jesus. 06:39.800 --> 06:43.400 They bring him gifts and finally that they're warned in a dream, not 06:43.400 --> 06:46.500 to go back to Herod but to go home a different way. 06:47.900 --> 06:48.600 And that's it. 06:49.500 --> 06:50.400 That's what we've got. 06:52.400 --> 06:53.600 But think about it here 06:54.100 --> 06:59.000 these people who studied the skies, they studied the stars and the 06:59.200 --> 07:01.400 planets and everything that was up there and they had enough 07:01.400 --> 07:05.300 familiarity with the Jewish scriptures to make a connection back to 07:05.300 --> 07:08.400 this promise of a new king. 07:09.900 --> 07:12.900 Then they set out journeying to Jerusalem. 07:14.000 --> 07:16.400 They didn't know what they were going to find when they arrived. 07:16.800 --> 07:19.500 The star doesn't seem to be guiding them at this point, they just know 07:19.500 --> 07:22.900 that a new king for Israel is most likely going to be found in 07:22.900 --> 07:23.600 Jerusalem. 07:25.700 --> 07:29.500 So when they finally arrived at the palace, they expect to see this 07:29.500 --> 07:30.300 new king. 07:32.400 --> 07:32.600 Yet 07:32.600 --> 07:37.000 instead they find the current King whose rather perplexed at this idea 07:37.000 --> 07:39.000 that there's a new king that he's unaware of. 07:41.200 --> 07:45.100 Imagine how weird this would have been and confusing for the Magi. 07:46.600 --> 07:47.100 What do you mean 07:47.100 --> 07:49.500 you don't know about the new king? 07:51.100 --> 07:53.900 Maybe it caused them to doubt themselves a little bit. 07:54.600 --> 07:58.300 Maybe we got this wrong, maybe we're in the wrong place, maybe it's 07:58.300 --> 07:59.800 the wrong time. 08:01.100 --> 08:02.800 Maybe it was a wasted trip. 08:04.300 --> 08:07.800 But then after some consultation with the scriptures, they're able to 08:08.000 --> 08:12.200 narrow down God's promise to Bethlehem and be on their journey again 08:14.300 --> 08:18.000 Although after that interaction in Jerusalem, maybe it seemed to them 08:18.000 --> 08:19.900 that they were on a wild goose chase. 08:19.900 --> 08:20.400 Now, 08:22.200 --> 08:23.300 they find the star again. 08:23.300 --> 08:28.000 And it's low enough to guide them to exactly where Jesus is. And 08:28.000 --> 08:31.500 they're able to present him with gifts fit for a King gold and 08:31.500 --> 08:33.400 frankincense and myrrh. 08:36.000 --> 08:38.900 But again, maybe there was some second thoughts. 08:39.600 --> 08:41.700 The current King doesn't know about the new king. 08:42.400 --> 08:47.400 The new king is with some poor parents in a dinky house in a small 08:47.400 --> 08:48.000 town. 08:49.700 --> 08:51.900 Sure doesn't seem very kingly. 08:53.400 --> 08:56.900 And yet, that's exactly where the star led them confusing as it might 08:56.900 --> 08:57.300 be. 09:00.000 --> 09:03.200 Finally, after all of this traveling, they're able to lay down and get 09:03.200 --> 09:04.100 some rest. 09:04.700 --> 09:08.500 Only to have that rest interrupted for them by a message 09:08.500 --> 09:12.900 from God that says, don't go back to Herod, go home a different way. 09:14.900 --> 09:19.300 Imagine what that trip home was like the conversations that they had 09:19.300 --> 09:20.900 the things that they processed through. 09:21.000 --> 09:22.800 What did we just experience? 09:23.800 --> 09:25.500 Who is this, baby? 09:26.600 --> 09:28.200 What's this thing about a new king? 09:29.500 --> 09:32.000 Why didn't we go back to Jerusalem and tell King Herod? 09:32.000 --> 09:34.700 Wouldn't it be good for these two kings to meet each other? 09:37.600 --> 09:41.100 See, I think when we slow down and we take the steps through this 09:41.100 --> 09:45.200 story a little bit more slowly, the wonder starts to return. 09:47.000 --> 09:50.600 It's pretty miraculous that the Magi found Jesus in the first place. 09:52.900 --> 09:55.300 Steal a few words from the catechism. 09:55.300 --> 09:59.200 It wasn't by their own reason or strength that they were able to find 09:59.200 --> 09:59.500 him. 10:00.600 --> 10:05.000 God the Father revealed his Son Jesus to these foreigners so that they 10:05.000 --> 10:06.600 could make it there and see him. 10:08.600 --> 10:12.000 And the fact that they did is good news for you and for me today, 10:14.000 --> 10:17.200 You see I think in our own lives, it's so easy to become familiar with 10:17.200 --> 10:18.300 where we've come from. 10:18.700 --> 10:23.100 We just kind of gloss over our own story of Salvation, our journey to 10:23.100 --> 10:23.700 Faith. 10:24.600 --> 10:25.500 We might think to ourselves 10:25.500 --> 10:28.300 well, my family has been Lutheran for five generations 10:28.300 --> 10:31.600 of course, I believe in Jesus, I'm in the church. 10:33.100 --> 10:36.000 Or if you become Lutheran from another Christian denomination, maybe 10:36.200 --> 10:36.800 the same thing. 10:36.800 --> 10:38.700 I've been Christian, my whole life. 10:40.500 --> 10:44.900 Or if you come from a place outside of faith and you made it to being 10:45.000 --> 10:48.200 a Christian, you might think I evaluated all the different religions 10:48.200 --> 10:51.900 and denominations and I read books and I studied and I finally landed 10:51.900 --> 10:54.200 in the Lutheran confessions and I made it. 10:56.900 --> 10:58.400 Now each of these cases 10:58.400 --> 11:02.000 while we know that we're saved by grace 100% of the way. 11:03.300 --> 11:06.000 I don't think any of us would argue on that. 11:06.600 --> 11:10.100 It's easy for us to gloss over the story of Salvation. 11:10.900 --> 11:15.200 The fail to realize how big of a deal Epiphany is for us as Gentiles. 11:17.200 --> 11:21.200 See that promise that God made to send a savior wasn't to you 11:21.200 --> 11:21.700 originally. 11:22.900 --> 11:25.300 It's to God's chosen people the Israelites. 11:26.100 --> 11:29.800 We were on the outside and God, very easily would have been within his 11:29.800 --> 11:30.500 rights to say. 11:30.500 --> 11:30.800 Yep. 11:30.800 --> 11:32.600 Sorry it's for my people. 11:33.700 --> 11:36.700 I brought them out of Egypt had been with them through thick and thin, 11:36.700 --> 11:39.800 I've saved their tails for more troubles than they even realize. 11:41.700 --> 11:43.100 Just for them, that's it. 11:43.700 --> 11:44.600 Y'all are on your own. 11:47.600 --> 11:49.800 But that's not our loving and gracious 11:49.800 --> 11:53.900 God. Paul tells us desired all to be saved and to come to the 11:53.900 --> 11:55.000 knowledge of the truth. 11:57.100 --> 11:59.300 You see while it'll take some time for the 12:00.000 --> 12:03.000 Gentiles, and even for God's chosen people. 12:03.000 --> 12:06.800 And Jesus' lifetime to realize that they are a part of the story. 12:07.500 --> 12:11.200 God, wastes no time in, Matthew's account of Jesus's birth, to put 12:11.200 --> 12:14.700 these Gentiles right there at the beginning to see the king. 12:17.200 --> 12:20.700 This means that even if we rush through the Christmas story and lump 12:20.700 --> 12:22.400 the Magi into the same night 12:22.400 --> 12:28.000 as Jesus is born, you're still hearing that wonderful message that the 12:28.000 --> 12:31.300 baby born in the manger was born for you. 12:32.500 --> 12:36.300 The new king of Israel that the Magi come to find is not just simply a 12:36.300 --> 12:41.100 king of some small Middle Eastern country, but he is the king of the 12:41.100 --> 12:42.000 universe. 12:44.200 --> 12:46.900 Let me slow down and pay attention to what's happening here. 12:47.700 --> 12:52.300 Also are reminded that God Reveals His Son to us through means. 12:53.600 --> 12:56.500 Certainly the Magi saw the star, which pique their interest, but it 12:56.500 --> 13:00.700 wasn't until they consulted the scriptures that they knew exactly 13:00.700 --> 13:01.700 where to find him. 13:03.600 --> 13:07.100 The same way, God has come to you through his word. He spoke in the 13:07.100 --> 13:10.800 life-giving message of Salvation found only in Jesus to you. 13:12.200 --> 13:14.400 It's called you to faith in this small baby 13:14.400 --> 13:16.900 born in Bethlehem. Has made 13:16.900 --> 13:21.800 you heirs of the wondrous riches far beyond gold and frankincense and 13:21.800 --> 13:22.100 myrrh. 13:22.100 --> 13:26.300 The, the wondrous riches that come along from being related to the 13:26.300 --> 13:26.800 king, 13:29.900 --> 13:34.100 How as you experience life and Christmases in the future, both in 13:34.100 --> 13:39.300 your own family and in your Ministries among God's people. Slow down, 13:40.400 --> 13:43.800 hear the story, anew. Rediscover 13:43.800 --> 13:48.900 the wonder of God stepping down in creation for you in the way that he 13:48.900 --> 13:54.900 revealed this, wonderful message, the world. Know that he came for you. 13:55.900 --> 13:58.900 And that he loves you beyond your wildest imagination. 14:00.900 --> 14:06.800 That reality is our hope to cling to throughout our entire lives, both 14:06.800 --> 14:09.300 when things are good, and when things are bad. 14:10.400 --> 14:12.900 The savior of the world came from you or for you. 14:13.700 --> 14:16.400 You have hope and life that never ends. 14:17.400 --> 14:17.900 Amen.