Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12

The Twelve Days of our Christmas celebration have come to an end. But the miraculous birth of the Son of God is only the beginning of the story. For though Jesus came as the fulfillment of all the promises to God’s chosen people Israel, the promise to Abraham was clear that by his seed “all the families of the earth” would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). This is the mystery Paul speaks of in Ephesians 3, how “the Gentiles are fellow heirs . . . of the promise in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 3:6). Anything hidden remains a mystery until it is revealed. No one, Jew or Gentile, can come to faith in Christ without the Gospel being revealed. Another word for “reveal” is “epiphany.” So today Matthew uses the word “behold,” showing what may seem a surprise to some. “Behold, wise men from the east” (Matthew 2:1). “Behold, the star that they had seen” (Matthew 2:9). Today we say, behold, Christmas is a much bigger thing than many have thought. It encompasses nothing less than all our Lord’s earthly ministry culminating in His suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit. It is nothing less than the gift of salvation to all who believe. This epiphany has invaded your darkness through the water and the Word of your Holy Baptism, through the Word of God preached in your hearing, and through the receiving of our Lord’s very body and blood in the Sacrament of the Altar to sustain that gift, that epiphany of faith to the end of days. By faith you have made a very good beginning.