Royalty Recognizes the Richness of our Redeemer

Festival of the Epiphany

January 6, 2013

Preached at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Moline

Royalty Recognizes the Richness of our Redeemer

1 Kings 10:1-9

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

They had heard amazing reports about a son and successor of King David. Because of these good reports, they traveled from a great distance to see the son for themselves. And when they arrived, they rejoiced in the presence of the King of Israel and gave him gifts.

This description applies to the Magi who came to the home of the infant Jesus and it also applies to the Queen who came to the palace of the grown-up Solomon. Their visits to David's sons were separated by 1,000 years, but they mirror each other. And the Queen's visit is a tremor that prepares the world for the earth-quaking truth that all the kings of the earth must bow to Christ the King.

Solomon was David's son. He ruled Israel in its golden age. Jesus showered glory and honor on him—his fame was world-wide. But this wasn't the main thing that impressed Solomon's visitor, the Queen of Sheba. She wasn't impressed by his wealth; she was very wealthy, too. She was stunned by his wisdom. She asked many hard questions and Solomon answered them all to her satisfaction. He understood people and the world and could explain complicated things in simple ways. By our sinful nature people love the world and we try to give life meaning apart from Jesus. Solomon cuts right to the point and cries out,

“Meaningless! Meaningless!

Utterly meaningless!

Everything is meaningless.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2)

If you lust after the world and try to marry it, then your life will be like running after the wind and trying to catch it. In a word, meaningless.

Jesus gave Solomon the wisdom to see the big picture. He also gave him wisdom on how to solve specific problems. When two women claim the same baby boy, King Solomon knew how to cut right to the truth. He summed up the situation,

“This one says, ‘My son is alive and your son is dead,’ while that one says, ‘No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.’” Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king. He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.” The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!” But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!”

Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.” When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice. (1 Kings 3:23-28)

But a thousand years later, it wasn't the king, but the Baby Himself who was held in awe.

After [the Magi] had heard [Herod] the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of frankincense and of myrrh. (Matthew 2:9-11)

The royalty from afar brought gifts. In both encounters it might seem like a bit of waste. Why did Solomon need more gold? What could a baby do with myrrh? But the gifts themselves weren't the point. The point was that these expensive treasures demonstrated their relationship with Jesus.

Spices, gold, jewels, frankincense, and myrrh couldn't exist without Jesus. We confess in the Creed that through Him all things were made. Logic states that the maker of something is the ultimate owner of it. So when the Queen and the Magi offer treasurers to God's chosen ruler, King Solomon, and then to God's Son Himself, Jesus Christ, they are confessing that above all things they fear, love, and trust in Christ alone.

As we begin this Season of Light that we call Epiphany, we will confess our right relationship to God by our words and our gifts. We will give God's money back to Him cheerfully because in this giving, we express our total dependence on Jesus. Then we will use the leftover money to care for ourselves and our families, which pleases our King.

Like the Queen of Sheba and the Magi, we are on a long journey to see the King of kings with our own eyes. But instead of a journey through strange lands, we journey through our own strange hearts. Our times are filled with our own world-loving hearts; we love to waste money on ourselves.

But because Jesus has given us gifts that are better than Solomon's, we stand before Him without shame. Because Jesus has created and now sustains faith in our hearts by means of Baptism, Absolution, Preaching, and the Holy Supper, He sees us as though we had returned to Him all our gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and every single dollar and cent, even down to our last widow's mite.

Let us now bow down before the King who has given us a perfect standing before Him. And His gifts to you continue now as you come and receive His very body and blood. The amazing reports about Jesus are all true. All glory, honor, wisdom, and power belong to Him, and He gives them to you.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son

and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.