On the Feast of the Epiphany, Sixth Sermon

The day, dearly beloved, on which Christ the Savior of the world first appeared to the nations must be honored by us with holy worship. Today the same joys must be welcomed into our hearts that filled the breasts of the three Magi when, roused by the sign and guidance of a new star, which they believed had been promised, they fell down in the presence of the King of heaven and earth. For that day has not so passed away that the mighty work revealed then has passed away with it, and nothing but the report of the event has come down to us for faith to receive and memory to celebrate, since by God’s gift, given again and again, our own times enjoy every day the fruit of what the first age possessed. And so, although the account read to us from the Gospel properly records those days on which the three men, who had neither been taught by the prophets’ predictions nor instructed by the testimony of the law, came from the farthest parts of the East to acknowledge God, yet we see this same thing carried on now more clearly and abundantly in the enlightening of all who are called. For the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled when he says, “The Lord has laid bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the nations of the earth have seen the salvation that is from the Lord our God”; and again, “Those to whom nothing was announced about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.” So when we see people devoted to worldly wisdom, and far from belief in Jesus Christ, brought up out of the depth of their error and called to acknowledge the true Light, it is without doubt the brightness of divine grace at work. Whatever new light shines into the darkness of their hearts comes from the rays of that same star, so that it both moves with wonder the minds it has visited with its splendor and, going before them, leads them to the worship of God. And if with careful thought we wish to see how their threefold gift is also offered by all who come to Christ on the feet of faith, is not the same offering repeated in the hearts of true believers? For whoever acknowledges Christ as King of the universe brings gold from the treasure of his heart. Whoever believes that the only Son of God united man’s true nature to himself offers myrrh. And whoever confesses that he is in no way inferior to the Father’s majesty worships him, as it were, with incense. [a]

When these comparisons are thoughtfully considered, dearly beloved, we find that Herod’s character is not missing either. The devil himself is now its tireless imitator, just as he was then its secret instigator. For he is tortured by the calling of all the nations and racked by the daily destruction of his power. He grieves that he is everywhere deserted and that the true King is worshiped in every place. He prepares schemes, he hatches plots, he bursts out into murders. And to make use of the remnants of those he still deceives, he burns with envy in the persons of the Jews, lies treacherously in wait in the persons of the heretics, and blazes out into cruelty in the persons of the pagans. For he sees that the power of the eternal King is unconquerable, whose death has put out the power of death itself. So he has armed himself with all his skill at doing harm against those who serve the true King: hardening some with the pride that knowledge of the law breeds, debasing others with the lies of false belief, and driving others to the madness of persecution. Yet the madness of this “Herod” is defeated and brought to nothing by him who has crowned even infants with the glory of martyrdom, and who has given his faithful ones so unconquerable a love that they dare to say, in the apostle’s words, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will distress, or want, or persecution, or hunger, or nakedness, or danger, or the sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.’ But in all these things we overcome because of him who loved us.” [d]

Such courage as this, dearly beloved, we do not believe was needed only in those times when the kings of the world and all the powers of the age were raging against God’s people in an outburst of wickedness. They thought it would bring them the greatest glory if they removed the Christian name from the earth, not knowing that God’s church grows through the frenzy of their cruelty. For in the tortures and deaths of the martyrs, those whose number was thought to be lessened were increased through the force of example. In short, our faith has gained so much strength from the attacks of persecutors that royal rule has no greater ornament than this: that the lords of the world are members of Christ. Their boast is not so much that they were born in the purple as that they have been born again in baptism. But because the force of the former storms has died down, and with the end of the fighting a measure of calm has long seemed to smile on us, we must carefully guard against the departures from the right way that arise from the very reign of peace. For the adversary, proved powerless in open persecution, now uses a hidden skill in doing cruel harm, so as to overthrow by the stumbling block of pleasure those whom he could not strike down with the blow of suffering. And so, seeing the faith of rulers set against him, and the undivided Trinity of the one Godhead worshiped as devoutly in palaces as in churches, he grieves that the shedding of Christian blood is forbidden, and he attacks the way of life of those whose death he cannot bring about. He changes the terror of confiscation into the fire of greed, and corrupts with the desire for more those whose spirit he could not break by losses. For the malicious arrogance that long practice has worked into his very nature has not laid aside its hatred, but has changed its manner, so as to bring the minds of the faithful under his power by flattery. He inflames with greedy desires those he cannot torment with tortures. He sows quarrels, kindles passions, sets tongues wagging, and, so that more cautious hearts may not draw back from his lawless schemes, he makes opportunities for committing crimes easy. For this is the only fruit of all his devices: that he, who is not worshiped with the sacrifice of cattle and goats and the burning of incense, should be paid homage with all kinds of wicked deeds. [f]

Our state of peace, then, dearly beloved, has its dangers, and it is useless for those who do not resist evil desires to feel sure of the freedom that is the privilege of their faith. People’s hearts are shown by the character of their works, and the shape of their minds is betrayed by the nature of their actions. For there are some, as the apostle says, “who profess that they know God, but deny him by their deeds.” The charge of denial is truly incurred when the good that is heard in the sound of the voice is not present in the conscience. Indeed, the frailty of human nature slips easily into faults; and because no sin is without its attraction, deceptive pleasure is quickly given in to. But we should run from the desires of the flesh to spiritual help, and the mind that knows its God should turn away from the evil suggestion of the enemy. Make use of God’s patience, and do not go on cherishing your sin because its punishment is put off. The sinner must not feel sure that he will go unpunished, because if he loses the time for repentance he will find no place for mercy, as the prophet says, “In death no one remembers you; and in the world below who will confess to you?” But let anyone who finds it hard to amend and restore himself take refuge in the mercy of a God who befriends him, and ask that the chains of evil habit be broken off by him “who lifts up those who fall and raises all who are crushed.” The prayer of one who confesses will not be in vain, since the merciful God “will grant the desire of those who fear him,” and will give what is asked, as he gave the source from which to ask; through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen. [i]