First Lutheran Corner: The Epiphany of Our Lord

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The story of the wise men visiting the Christ child is an intriguing one.

These men began a long trip to Israel simply because a particular star was in the sky, alerting them to the birth of the king of the Jews.

They traveled for several months perhaps even as many as two years to finally meet the Christ child in person.

I believe it is more than just a story meant to entertain us, it is meant to teach us something today, about seeking the Christ child. For God will reach to the end of the earth to call all people to worship Jesus.

Unbeknownst to many, the Wise Men from the east weren’t there in the stable. They hadn’t even left their homes yet.

But because of the lingering myths that exist about these men of gentile origin, it’s hard to find a nativity scene anywhere in the world that doesn’t have these three visitors from the East huddling by Jesus’ bedside, giving their gifts and proper worship to this One who was born King of the Jews.

As we ponder the view of the nativity scene, rather than say it is wrong, let’s instead marvel at the way in which Jesus’ birth took the whole world captive in its meaning and purpose. The people close by like the lowly shepherds and to those at the edges of the known world, the prominent and wise men.

On that first Christmas night, God announced His Son’s birth, not to top-level dignitaries or theologians, but to lowly shepherds – men who were completely undeserving of receiving such a splendid Divine revelation as this one.

The presence of the shepherds on Christmas Eve, then, is a wonderful sign of God’s grace to those who are near Him, a sign which says that it really doesn’t matter who you are, how important you are, or how respected you are in the eyes of the world.

No matter what your standing is in this world, the Good News is that God has sent His Son into the world for you and me – sent His Son to save us from His wrath and condemnation – sent His Son to take away the guilt of our sin, and to love us with an everlasting love.

In comparison, as we look at the coming of the Wise Men from the East, what we see is that the Gospel not only extends itself to those who are nearby, but also to those who are far away. We might even say that this Gospel comes especially to those who are least likely to hear and receive it.

The Wise Men, weren’t notable kings from the East who had come to visit another noble from the West, rather these men were scientists, perhaps very well off, but for all intents and purposes, pagans who’d been touched by the universal outreach of the Gospel of this King who was born beneath the Star in Bethlehem.

This is how God works His miracle of communicating the Gospel of grace in outreach to all people near and far.

Join us this Sunday to hear more about the Epiphany event where Jesus’ Divinity was made manifest to the gentile nations.

This week we have a guest speaker, Bob Hamilton, who will lead worship.

Service begins at 11 a.m. with lunch immediately following worship.

Please come as you are – all people are welcome.

Chris DelCol is pastor of First Lutheran Church in Lucerne, Calif. The church is located at 3863 Country Club Drive, telephone 707-274-5572. Email Pastor Chris at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..