Monday, January 26, 2009
Matthew 2:2 "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."
THE LUTHERAN ADVANTAGE: THE MEANS OF GRACE - Introduction
Isaiah through the Spirit prophesied concerning the coming of Christ, "Arise, shine for your light has come." And again, "the glory of the Lord has risen upon you." And again Zacharias agrees "the Dayspring from on high has visited us." And so it is that the Star of the Child of Bethlehem has risen upon the face of the earth and no corner has escaped its rays. In India, for example, only 2% of the population is Christian and yet at least in Tamil Nadu Christmas is celebrated just as energetically as it is here in the United States. These are just a few examples of the many ways in which the star of that child remains bright in the sky to this day.
However, seeing the star is not the same as finding the child. How many were there who saw the glory of the Lord manifested in the sky, perhaps stopped to wonder at it even, then turned away returning to their own lives. The unavoidable question of the epiphany season remains, "Where is He who was born king of the Jews?"
If any wish to find Him, the star is not enough. It MIGHT get you moving. It may send you in the right direction. But it wasn't enough to get the wise men to the Child and neither is it enough for us. They needed more. They needed the word of God (Micah 5:2).
So it is for us too. The shining star is not enough. We need more. We need the means of Grace if we are to find our way to the child. This is a truth you will not find fully understood (if at all) in any other church. The full meaning of the GOSPEL in word and sacrament, as the one and only road that brings us to the Child, is a teaching unique to the Lutheran Church despite the fact that it is so clearly taught in Scripture. Thus it is only the Lutheran Church that can give a FULL and accurate answer to the Magi.
Where is He who is born King of the Jews? He comes to you in grace through Word and water and bread and wine!
