The sermon for January 6 was based on Matthew 2:1-12.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The popularity of the song We Three Kings not withstanding, tonight's Gospel centers on the interaction of two kings and an unknown number of scholars in the process of becoming truly wise. No one knows much about the magi and no one needs to. Epiphany isn't about them. It's about you and me and Jesus the Christ. It's about what a king and Christian ruler should be.

The two kings in Matthew 2 are diametrically opposed. They are antitheses. King Herod is the quintessential political animal and Jesus' kingdom is, by His own admission, not of this world. Consider this one fact. Herod had to summon the wise men. Jesus came from heaven to see them.

The only thing more memorable about Herod the Great than his villainy was his passion for erecting buildings. He and his master, Caesar Augustus, believed that the way to greatness lay in the construction of buildings. It was Herod the Great who built the Temple out of which Jesus Himself would eventually drive the moneychangers. That was the very same temple that Jesus promised to destroy and which He did destroy. Herod the Great built buildings and destroyed lives. Jesus destroys buildings and builds lives. Could there be two more different kinds of king?

Herod the Great when He felt insecure made people die for Him. He put to death by both trickery and outright force those whom he thought were threats to his rule. He was a tyrant motivated by fear who used fear to cow his subjects and inevitably inspired nothing in them but resentment and rebellion. Jesus, on the other hand, by his self sacrifice and incomprehensible humility makes people feel so confident of His love and good and of their worth to Him, that they willing die for Him to this very day and will be doing so to the very last day, may be ever so soon.

Herod and Jesus do have something in common, other than the fact that they are both human males. They both inspire fear in those to whom they come. Every angelic herald has to preface his message with "fear not" or "do not be afraid". Jesus, Himself, has to tell people not to be afraid. The difference between the kinds of fear inspired by these two kings is in their objects. People in the presence of King Herod are terrified of the evil in him. People in the presence of Jesus are terrified by the evil in themselves. To see ourselves reflected in the stellar brilliance of Jesus' perfect righteousness inspires a dread in men that not even Herod could hope to achieve.

Within the tiny and insignificant kingdoms of your own lives, what kind of king are you? You are Herod, of course. We are all Herod. Some of us are quite obviously so. Others of us are Herod in ways known only to our most intimate companions. The telltale mark is in the way we deal with people. Herod moves people around like bricks. He shuffles them back and forth between the columns of his complicated royal ledger like so many impersonal numbers. Jesus washes their feet, let's them poke their fingers into His wounds and... sleeps in their stables.

It's not that Jesus can't do the things Herod does. Jesus is, after all, the creator of all that is. Where Herod builds buildings Jesus sustains the universe with a mere thought. It's not that Jesus can't kill people. He's killed everyone that's died. His is the curse put on us in Eden. It's just that these things don't matter to Jesus. He will one day destroy the entire universe and create a new heaven and a new earth for us, it's no particularly great effort for Him to do so. The only thing that matters to Jesus are people, people made in His image, designed to be loved by Him.

These He will not destroy. Even though He kills us He does not destroy us. Even though He damns us He does not destroy us. He created us to live and live we shall. The only question is whether we will live with Him or in agonizing and obvious separation from Him. The option to simply cease to be does not exist. Everything else will pass away. The world and all we've done with it and in it and to it will be burnt to cinders but not people. All that matters to Jesus are the people and that is why He became one. Jesus did not appear as a temple or even in the temple. (If you recall His conversations with King David you'll remember that God didn't even want a temple.) When Jesus appeared it was as a baby boy. And then as always, it was the children who were made to suffer, as the Herods raged.

Joseph was the carpenter in the family, not Jesus. God did not become human to move bits of wood and stone around one of His planets. He gave Himself hands so that they could be pierced for our sins and nailed through for our salvation. Ultimately His hands are for holding ours and for laying on our foreheads the forgiveness of our sins. There are no archeological artifacts of Jesus' existence, no tangible proof that He was ever here. But you can still the basement wall of Herod's temple in Jerusalem.

And do you know what? Right down to this very minute there are people killing each other and ruining each other's lives over that stupid basement wall. We are Herods, each and every one. Jesus' only monuments are His Word and Sacraments, invisible and disturbingly insubstantial. Where Herod left bricks Jesus leaves bread and wine and water and the Word. Where Herod built and filled tombs Jesus empties them. Where Herod wrote his name into the history books Jesus wrote our names in His book of life.

One day we will see Jesus' handiwork with our eyes, when we look upon ne another in Heaven. Until then we must see Him in the Words of Scripture and in the confession of those in whom He rules as king. He proclaims Himself in the gathering of a mere two or three. He manifests Himself in inexpensive bread and in inexpensive wine. He speaks through the mouths of stammering fools and to the ears of those who are by nature His enemies. Those who have been given faith though, have a confidence more durable than stone and more comforting than fame.

Jesus exceed Herod in every way even in matters of death. Herod tried to kill Jesus and failed. Herod's son tried to kill Jesus and failed. Jesus killed Himself and then rose to life for the consolation of the Church. A king like that inspires not only wonder and awe but also courage and daring. The proof of Jesus genuine royalty as far as I'm concerned can be seen in Acts chapter 3.

Jesus' greatness isn't manifested in His ability to attract worshipers and their offerings from far off countries. That isn't what makes Him a success. We find it in His ability to transform two miserable little Herods like Peter and John, one inclined to flee and the other to do violence. And from the mouths of two such unlikely saints come what I find to be the most encouraging words in the Book of Acts (3:2-7). A certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us." So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. There is no person, no contribution, no confession so small or frail that it cannot be used powerfully by Jesus Christ to build another man's life. Sometimes the smaller the better. The widow's mite for example or the unexpectedly potent life of St. Paul who says quite clearly that God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD." May we all become thusly wise men. Amen.

The Peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Last Updated: 7/15/2008