There is a famous painting that I have seen in various places and books relating to the Civil War. It depicts a Union general, Philip Sheridan, mounted on his great black horse, Rienzi, in the midst of the chaos of battle.
The horse is literally airborne – charging ahead at full speed, legs outstretched. The general has his sword out pointing skyward toward the enemy, but he is looking back over his left shoulder at a soldier who seems to be a bit confused as to just what direction he will be moving; ahead or to the rear!
This painting commemorates the events of the battle of Cedar Creek on October 19 1864, when the Union army in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia was surprised by a sudden, unexpected and violent morning attack by a Confederate army under the command of General Jubal Early.
The Union forces were caught for the most part surprised and unprepared; defenses were overrun and soldiers began running for the rear. It seemed that this army would again suffer defeat at the hands of the confederates. But…..
About 12 miles away, the short, feisty Union general Phil Sheridan was near Winchester, returning from a meeting in Washington, DC. Upon hearing the sounds of battle he began giving orders leapt upon his horse and galloped to the sound of the guns.
Arriving suddenly on the battlefield he roused his routed and defeated army, turned them around and attacked. His powerful and sudden presence on the battlefield completely changed the situation, and he led his troop to not only win the battle but so defeated Early’s army that they were never again an effective fighting force.
Sheridan’s sudden, unexpected, almost magical appearance on the field immediately changed the situation, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
This captures the meaning of the word Epiphany: The sudden unexpected appearance of someone or something that completely changes the situation.
This is why we celebrate a feast known as Epiphany because Jesus appeared suddenly and unexpectedly in a realm of spiritual warfare and he changed everything ensuring victory to all who would follow him.
At different times and in different places in the Christian church this feast focused on different elements or evidences of Christ’s Epiphany. There has been an emphasis on Jesus’ birth, his baptism, his transfiguration,
but ultimately it has come to rest on the revelation to the Gentiles as the culmination – or better – the beginning of the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy that all nations and all people will come to know the God that revealed himself through his work, in and through the Jewish people, to the entire world.
Isaiah proclaims: “Arise shine for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and a thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”
Words which intimate that Israel will be the locus of a revelation, a light, which will dispel the thick darkness of sin and oppression and to this light nations and kings from outside Israel will come.
Paul’s talks about the mystery of Christ; that which has not been revealed in the past has now been revealed by the spirit, that through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Gentiles – non Jews – have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, partakers in the promise.
The light has indeed come, the Messiah has been born, the word had become flesh and dwelt among us. The
Epiphany of the lord has been realized. But how do we respond?
Like the soldier depicted in the painting, trying to decide -does he continue to run or does he turn around and follow his general – how will we respond to the sudden appearance of Jesus in our midst? Do we follow our base instincts and run our own way? Or, do we turn and follow him?
The Gospel illustrates this very choice: Two very different responses to the birth, the Epiphany of the Son of God.
First there is Herod’s response. Herod was troubled. All Jerusalem was troubled. We later discover that when Herod finally discovered where this king of the Jews was born, he sent out soldiers to kill this child, and since they didn’t know exactly who he was they killed all the male babies two years old and under.
Herod wanted no part of this Epiphany, he was king of the Jews; more significantly he was king of himself, and he would have no rivals to his thrones so he would attempt to eradicate this claimant to what he claimed as his.
On the other hand there are the three Magi. Three men from another culture and another land: Gentiles. As students of the stars they followed a stellar sign that indicated to them a unique birth, the birth of the king of the Jews.
They sought after the truth of this revelation. They followed this star for a good bit of time over a good bit of distance until it led them to a fenced-in cave in which a baby lay in a manger and they worshipped him, presenting him with their treasures: Gold, frankincense, and myrrh, gifts whose meaning were certainly more significant than their value: Gold, that which is most worthy of a king; frankincense, an incense used in the temple to worship God, worthy of God, worthy of a priest, and myrrh, a fragrance used to embalm; a gift worthy of a sacrifice. In their simple act of worship these three gentiles reveal the very nature and mission of this newborn king, this Epiphany, king, priest, and sacrifice.
The Epiphany has happened. There are two ways to respond to that reality.
We are here today in the lineage of those three wise men, gentiles who have responded to the Epiphany of
the Son of God, the king of the Jews, by turning to follow him by coming before him to offer him our treasures not as a one-time event, but by hopefully living a life of continual worship and acknowledgment of he who is our king, our priest, and the sacrifice gaining our forgiveness and life.
But let us also remember the others, those who choose to run or, like the soldier in the painting, are undecided. May we remember to pray for them to pray for their turning around for their coming to worship the King.
May we pray that our lives, lived in the reality of the Epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ in us, with the brightness of his light shining in us, may be like that star that led the Magi, leading others to turn around, to follow their general, to come to Bethlehem, to know the glory of the Lord.