Worship, Prayers and Bible Resources

Epiphany

Liturgical Colour - White

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Introduction

Christmas is nearly over, the celebrations, the awe and wonder and for most of us the break in the routine of work life. Holidays must end, the baubles and fairy lights have to go back in the box, we have to get back to reality. So it is with our lectionary as we move on to Epiphany, the revelation of who Jesus is.

Epiphany means 'manifestation' and this time in the church year celebrates the manifestation by God of himself to the world in Jesus. Jesus is the epiphany of God's love!

The reading from Isaiah prophesies that God will show forth his glory in a concrete way, and in the reading from Matthew the Christ child is seen by the Magi. These star gazers see a star and come to offer to Jesus royal gifts and worship - because they see the divinity present in him. With this revelation there comes the reality check, that not everybody is happy with our Jesus. There are those like Herod who recognise in Jesus a threat to their own power and authority.

But there is a challenge for us also. Whilst Epiphany is about God revealing himself to the world in Jesus, we also are challenged to be a part of God's manifestation. This is part of what being a Christian is all about, revealing the love of God to the world by living out the example of Jesus in our own lives. 

 

Opening Verses of Scripture  Isaiah 60:1-2

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 

Collect Prayer for the Day — Before we read we pray

O God, who by the leading of a star manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: mercifully grant that we, who know you now by faith, may at last behold your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. CW

Creator of the heavens, who led the Magi by a star to worship the Christ-child: guide and sustain us, that we may find our journey's end in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Common Worship Shorter Collect

O God, who by the leading of a star manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: mercifully grant that we who know you now by faith, may at last behold your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen. Common Worship

First Bible Reading  Isaiah 60:1 - 6

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you.Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD. NRSV

Second Reading   Ephesians 3:1-12

I, Paul, am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles - for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow-heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him. NRSV

Gospel Reading Matthew 2:1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

“And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.”’ Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. NRSV

Post Communion Sentence

Lord God, the bright splendour whom the nations seek: may we who with the wise men have been drawn by your light discern the glory of your presence in your Son, the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord.  

Commentary

It has started off a rather cold and dark January and lots of people have colds, so things are a bit depressing. Most if us have taken down the coloured lights which brightened our spirits over Christmas and the glitz of Christmas is giving way to reality, just as surely as the post box so full of cards will soon be replaced by envelopes full of credit card statements and the financial cost of Christmas. 

I remember when I was on my selection conference, which decided whether I would be asked to train for ordination, I was asked in an interview what season came after Christmas. Looking back it is a mystery that they didn’t send me home there and then because I answered Easter. I suppose I belonged to a church which didn’t bother too much with the lectionary and the seasons of the year and nobody had ever explained it all to me. This is such a pity because Epiphany is a really important time when we remember the revelation of who Jesus was to the whole world.

Epiphany is surrounded by strange stories, there is a beautiful old tradition about the star in the East. The story says that when the star had finished its task of directing the wise men to the baby, it fell from the sky and dropped down into the city well of Bethlehem. According to some legend, that star is there to this day, and can sometimes still be seen by those whose hearts are pure and clean. Of course it is all complete nonsense. But it is just one of many traditions which have crept up around the visit of the Magi. 

You may know the carol, ‘I saw three ships come sailing in on Christmas Day on Christmas day’? One for each King? We do not know whether the wise men were wise, or whether there were three of them, or whether they were men at all, let alone the glorious names given them by tradition. Melchior, Balthasar and Casper. Yet another legend goes on to tell us that after seeing the baby, the three continued travelling (back on their ships no doubt) as far as Spain, telling the world the good news about what they had seen. These stories bring the wise men a little more to life, and add some colour to the story, but they hold little more historic value than the visit of the little drummer boy. 

Of course there is no need for embellishment because the story we know from the Bible is perfect on its own. With the birth of Jesus a huge change was about to take place in world history. In Rome Caesar Augustus was at the height of his power, he had turned the great Roman Republic into an Empire, with himself at the head. He proclaimed that he had brought peace and justice to the world. He declared his dead adoptive father to be divine, and by implication he was the son of God. Poets wrote about the new era which had begun. Historians told about the rise of Augustus, he was king, lord and increasingly people worshipped him as a god. It was at this time that a boy was born, who would within a generation be hailed as ‘Son of God.’ His followers would call him Lord and his life and death brought true justice and peace. The birth of this boy is the beginning of a confrontation between the kingdom of God in all its apparent frailty, weakness and insignificance, with the mighty power of Rome. 

The story of a baby in a crib, being visited by Magi is poignant. It is about a change taking place in the balance of power and it based in fact not fiction. We know for fact that the Jewish Messiah, the King of kings, is visited by three gentiles, not just any old gentiles, but star gazers.  We don’t know much about the Magi (Greek magoi) from the East. We call them kings, but Matthew calls them magoi -- or Magi. The word, kings, might come from Psalm 72:10, which speaks of the kings of Tarshish rendering tribute and the kings of Sheba and Seba bringing gifts. See also Isaiah 60:6, which speaks of the people of Sheba bringing gold and frankincense. We think of them as astrologers because they are observing stars (v. 2), and astrology was considered a learned occupation. The word, magoi, is also found in Acts 8:9-24 and 13:6-11, where it is translated magician or sorcerer. From the perspective of the Jewish people, magoi look to the stars for answers that legitimately come only from God -- or work magic using demonic powers. 

They are far from the kingdom of God, but that is entirely the point because it shows how Jesus brings salvation to those considered beyond the scope of God’s interest. These were not the expected beneficiaries of the birth of the one who would be king of the Jews. Yet we see that the birth of Jesus is going to bring about change and that change will involve an inclusivity which would trouble those who expected a traditional Jewish King. 

The Good news had come in Jesus, but it was not just good news for those who were the good people of God. Jesus was God’s good news for bad people too! This is what Epiphany is really all about. It is us understanding who Jesus is and what he is about. What the Magi saw was hardly impressive; a poor family in a nondescript village and an infant. However, the Magi had been led by the light of the star. Was it really a huge star in the heavens like the Christmas show, or a small brightness of Jupiter or even as some Christians believe, an interior light that kept them looking and then shone brightly for them revealing the truth at the end of their quest? We will never know, but God was present among the obscure; hidden in an out-of-the-way place. 

Today we like the Magi, ask God to stir up a hunger in us. For the courage to let go of the comfortable and familiar and request the energy to once again go looking for God. To be open to finding the holy in unfamiliar and "unholy" places. May we also have a sense of wonder and awe, the spirit of a searcher, one willing to look up and follow a star beyond familiar borders. May we recognize the revelation of God, despite all appearances to the contrary. Charles Royden

Meditation

On July 20, 1969, the human race accomplished perhaps its single greatest technological achievement of all time. The goal was to land men on the Moon and return them to earth safely. The Lunar Module ‘Eagle’ landed in the Sea of Tranquillity, with less than 30 seconds of fuel remaining. After dinner on the Moon, six hours later Neil A. Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the Moon, and proclaimed, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." He was shortly joined by Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, and the two astronauts spent 21 hours on the lunar surface and returned 46 pounds of lunar rocks.

When the three Apollo 11 astronauts returned to Earth after their moon landing, many nations wanted to welcome them. They visited Pope Paul VI and in the papal library at St Peter’s Cathedral in the Vatican, he presented them with Lladro porcelain statue of the wise men who had followed the star to find Jesus in Bethlehem. Buzz Aldrin later said that this had been a very moving event, as Pope Paul had compared them with the Three Wise Men who visited Jesus at his birth, saying that the three astronauts, too, had reached their destination by following the stars that they could see. For the astronauts, it was only by focusing on certain stars that the computer’s navigation system and the gyroscopes could lead them to their destiny.

Aldrin later said "When Pope Paul VI presented us with Lladró's "The Three Kings", he spoke of a mission that had taken place two thousand years before. It was a mission undertaken by three men who were guided by the stars so that they might deliver a message to all humanity. Such a beautiful comparison with our mission moved us all very deeply indeed." Vision and purpose characterised both missions.  

Hymns

1. Thou didst leave thy throne.
2. See him lying on a bed of straw  
3. We three kings of orient are
4. All earth was dark
5. As with gladness men of old

Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead

Prayer is a plant, the seed of which is sown in the heart of every Christian,
if it is well cultivated and nourished it will produce fruit, but if it is neglected, it will wither and die.

 

O God who by the shining of a star didst guide the Magi to behold they Son, our Lord; show us they heavenly light, and give us grace to follow until we find him and finding him rejoice. And grant that as they presented gold, frankincense and myrrh, we now may bring him the offering of a loving heart, an adoring spirit and an obedient will, for his honour and for thy glory, O God most high. Prayers for the Christian year

Grant O Lord, that as we go forth once more to our daily labour we may remember the truths that we learnt, and may carry out the resolutions we made on thy holy day. Keep us from sin and strengthen us to do thy holy will, that we may never forget that we are yours and serve you through Jesus Christ our Lord.

When, good Lord, will you manifest yourself to us in bright sunshine? Yes, we are slow to understand and slow to see. But we are quick to believe that if you chose to reveal yourself to us, you could do so this very day. Dear Lord, please appear to us, at dawn or at dusk or at the height of the day. Come to our table at mealtimes, that we may share our meals with you. Come to our bed, that we may share our rest with you. Come to our prayers, that we may rejoice and be glad. Gilbert of Hoyland (d. c. 1170)

O Source and Centre of all being, grant us the gifts of your grace, that walking in your way and strengthened by your life, we may journey through this world in your peace, and rest in heaven with your saints; and this we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen Gerhard Tersteegen, 1697-1769

What is this jewel that so precious? I can see it has been quarried not by men, but by God. It is you, dear Jesus. You have been dug from the rocks of heaven itself to be offered to me as a gift beyond price. You shine in the darkness. Every colour of the rainbow can be seen within you. The whole earth is bathed in your light. Infant Jesus, by being born as man you have taken upon yourself the pain of death. But such a jewel can never be destroyed. You are immortal. And by defying your own death, you shall deliver me from death.

Grant merciful Father, that we may be strengthened in your service. That we might show forth the wonder of your love for us in giving to us yourself in the form of Jesus, the child of Bethlehem. May our lives so reflect your glorious life of sacrifice, that others may come with us to worship. We offer to you our gifts of loving hearts, obedient service and joyful lives, that your glory might be known among all people.  Amen.

Holy Jesus, before your infant form sages bowed the knee and acknowledged your Lordship over all power and wisdom. Grant us also clear vision and courage, that in the light of your light, we may devote our power and potential to your service even when that requires us to go home by another way.  Amen. Church of Scotland

Almighty and everlasting God, you have revealed the incarnation of your son by the bright shining of a star, which the wise men saw, and offered costly gifts in adoration; let the star of your justice always shine in our hearts; that we may give as our treasure all that we are and all that we possess, to your service; through Jesus Christ our lord.  Amen. Gelasian Sacramentary

Additional Material

Commentary

I do love the sound of the Authorised King James, version of the Bible being read out aloud in church. Especially perhaps at Christmas, those old familiar words have a special resonance. Sadly it does not serve us well in the episode from Matthew Chapter 2 which we read today in our lectionary for Epiphany. It recalls,

'Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, behold there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem.'

The Feast of the Epiphany, on the 6th January, remembers and celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the Magi from the East. However the original greek text  just calls them 'Magi'. The story of these 'Magi' is shrouded in much legend and the description used in the Authorised King James does not help us, as the words 'wise men' are without justification. Since there were three gifts we have often thought that there were three Magi . Often we think of them as three wise men, surely their actions do show them to be wise, but there is nothing to suggest that there were only three or that they were only men. We might just as easily assume that since they brought rich gifts, they were also kings and have them wearing crowns, and we could also imagine that they travelled by ship, (I saw three ships.!) Legend has gone so far as to name them Melchior, Caspar and Balthasar.

What we do know is that pagan astrologers existed whose divinatory skills were widely respected in the Graeco-Roman world. Astrology had become popular as the 'science' of the East, and everybody agreed that the best astrologers lived in the East. The Old Testament was not kind to this interpretation of signs (Deut 18:11, Is 2:6), so it is perhaps surprising in some ways that Matthew includes the story. However the fact remains that many people are firm adherents to the notion that we can consult with astrologers to best determine our path in life. Throughout the ages we can remember famous people and world leaders such as Queen Elizabeth or the Reagan's who would not take important decisions without first being advised by astrologers.    

The story of the Magi has provided material not only for countless school plays but also for centuries of prolific Christian art and paintings. The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is said to have been saved from destruction by invading Persians because they saw representations of the Magi on the walls and recognised them as fellow countrymen in the portrayal of them.

What we do know is that these Magi recognise Jesus for who he is, and give him their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Their learning leads them to the destination of their searching into the presence of the infant Christ.

Christians have understood these gifts to be profoundly symbolic and prophetic.

1. Gold represents the kingship of Jesus.

2. Frankincense is a fragrant resin which is burned as incense to symbolize the presence of God, it therefore acknowledges the divinity of Jesus.

3. Myrrh is a precious oil used for anointing the body, which serves to foretell the death of Jesus.

Perhaps that gift of gold would be used to help pay for the subsequent flight of Jesus and the holy family to Egypt.

The Greek word ‘epiphany’ is about 'manifestation', 'making known', and it has been used for the last two thousand years to describe God coming closer to the people, revealing himself in his Son, Jesus. At Christmas the light is born, at Epiphany that light is made known to all people. Such universalism is enshrined in the story of the Magi, Jesus is for all people not just one religious group. No longer will salvation be seen in terms of the hereditary principle 'we are children of Abraham.'

Epiphany Eve is twelfth night and we are encouraged to make sure that we have removed the Christmas decorations. As Jesus, the light, has been born into the world, so that light is surrounded by darkness. In a sense this is a time for getting back to reality. If they haven’t already, then now the tinsel and the glitter must give way to real life. 

The gifts remind us of the wonder of who Jesus is, but they also proclaim that his life is one of suffering and death. Soon the holy family must flee an attempt on the life of the child and innocent babies will be slaughtered by Herod, jealous of the one born to be King of the Jews.

At Epiphany the light of the world is made manifest in Christ, visible to good and bad alike, to the wise men and to Herod. Each of these reacts differently one with joy and one with confrontation. Each of us must measure our own reaction and the gifts which we bring.

Jewishness had been the principle upon which salvation rested until Jesus. The children of Abraham were marked by circumcision to show that they belonged the the chosen few. This symbol of exclusiveness set them apart as belonging to God's family. This circumcision was soon to be replaced with a new symbol, baptism would proclaim to the world that a person had died to sin and was alive in the new kingdom which Jesus proclaimed and established. This would no longer be restricted to a certain people by birth, it would be available freely to all people.

The visit of these Magi at Epiphany is the beginning of this new understanding of the wideness of God's revelation of himself. The Magi were gentiles and they would be the first to represent the new inclusion of the many nations of the world. Just as the Magi were guided by a star that was brighter than all of the others, from this time on all the nations would see in Jesus a revealing of God's love which was greater in magnitude than had ever been seen before. The Magi might have been very wise, they might even have been men, we will never know. However in the very mystery of their background lies some of their most enduring attraction, for they have come to symbolise not only the opening of the entire geographic world to the revelation of Jesus, but also the entire intellectual world as their astronomy, science and learning brings them close to Christ. Charles Royden

Commentary

Our reading from Matthew today begins with
Matthew 2:1 ‘After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’ 
The Gospel will finish using the same description of words which were fixed over the dying body of Jesus on the cross.
Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is Jesus, the king of the Jews. Matthew Chapter 27:37
(Note John records 'Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews' John 19)

Matthew does not just throw his Gospel together, he uses the materials carefully and in so constructing his Gospel he makes clear this point, the death of Jesus was all part of God’s plan - Jesus was the man born to die. The birth of Jesus was God’s idea and his death also was not just because of human hate, God gave Jesus to the world. Read the opening chapter of Matthew and this becomes clear
Matthew 1:21 
‘She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us."’ 
We are being led to recognise that in the birth of Jesus God was acting powerfully to save the world from sin.

There is no need to wonder why Herod was so angry at one who was ‘born King of the Jews.’ Herod was king and he liked to call himself the ‘King of the Jews’, but even he was not born a king, he had been made one by Rome. There is with Herod a strange irony, he was the leader of the Jews and he sought the death of the Messiah, whereas pagans come to offer Jesus worship. Matthew is disparaging towards Herod, in John Chapter 7 we see a crowd of ordinary people who are said to know that the Messiah will come from Bethlehem, the town where David lived, but here we have Herod, the King of the Jews, ignorant and having to consult others on scripture.

So what of these Magi, whom only Matthew mentions? The story has led to fascinating stories and hymns such as ‘We three kings of Orient are’, however nowhere does Matthew mention 'Kings' and neither does he say how many there were. There is no indication of where they came from, their racial characteristics, their names or their mode of transport. Some have said they came on ships, others say camels. Some say that there were three, because there were three gifts recorded. Western Tradition has named them as Melkon, Balthasar and Caspar. These names were first used by Origen (d. 254) and became popular from the 6th Century. The term Magi come from the Greek magos, a word which gives us the term ‘Magician.’ These men were sorcerers, readers of the stars. Perhaps the best guess is that they came from Persia or Babylon. In Persia these men were seen as almost a priestly caste of people, they would be consulted by kings because they were known for their magic, their powers of divination and their ability to predict the future. The key point is that they were not Jews. They may have had no knowledge of Judaism, they were visitors from the east and so the birth of Jesus is seen to bring benefits for all people not just the Jews.

A Messiah for the Jews was expected, the descendants of Abraham would be blessed by God. However on this Sunday we are reminded that the birth of Jesus came with very unexpected consequences. Salvation is shown clearly to be inclusive and extends to such an extent that even star gazers without knowledge of the Bible or proper religious background find their way to Jesus and are welcomed. We probably need to remind ourselves just how shocking this would have been. The early Christians themselves struggled over how they could welcome Gentiles into worship of Jesus without them becoming Jews first. Yet right at the time of his birth we find these astrologers among the first to recognise that the baby born in Bethlehem was one to be worshipped. Epiphany is a marvellous moment in the church lectionary when we are reminded that there are no boundaries to who Jesus welcomes, he draws all people to himself.

Matthew’s gospel uses the story of the Magi for drama: the star moves across the sky and takes up station above the place where Jesus was born. The births of Pliny and Alexander the Great had supposedly been attended by astral events. Virgil notes that a star led Aeneas to the place where the city of Rome was to be founded. What is distinctive and interesting about this star is that it leads not to somebody famous, but rather to the child of a peasant couple perhaps living in a cave.

The magi bring gifts, of course gifts would be brought and presented to kings. These gifts have been interpreted in all sort of theologically convenient ways.
Gold represents the kingship of Jesus.
Frankincense is a fragrant resin which is burned as incense to symbolize the presence of God, it has been seen to acknowledges the divinity of Jesus.
Myrrh is a precious oil used for anointing the body, Romans used it to mask the smell of burning corpses. Nero had reportedly burned a massive amount at the funeral of his wife Poppaea. This gift is therefore seen to foretell the death of Jesus.
Who knows if this great theological insight was shared by the Magi, I am not sure that the Magi had such a well developed understanding of who and what Jesus was. I do however see them as not having all of the answers themselves. They were on a journey of discovery and God’s revelation takes different forms and people can discover God in many ways which we might not understand. Perhaps today above all others we need to praise God for the variety and richness of God’s gifts given to so many people in ways which we do not understand

We do not know where Jesus was living, we are even led to believe that Jesus was a child and no longer a baby, indeed the family are no longer living with the animals but in ‘house’ (verse 11). In the second century Justin Martyr (Dial 79) noted that the Holy Family went to live in a cave near the village of Bethlehem, many peasants at the time did live in such caves.

Whatever the details, the message is clear, that the created world is being called to bear witness to this momentous event. The heavens declare the glory of God – in yet another way Matthew is making a statement about Jesus’ ministry and the church: the gospel is to be taught to all nations. As in the subtle additions to his genealogy, which break the pattern by naming women who have been under a cloud, with poor reputations, many of them with Gentile connections, so here Matthew wants us to see the deeper significance of the story. This is a celebration of inclusiveness: the Magi prove Jesus is for all people. Matthew shows in the story of the Magi that seekers from all nations will come to recognize Christ and be welcome in his presence. The promise of Israel's being a light for the nations, as the prophets anticipated, is now fulfilled in Christ.

Matthew shows how the Magi behave and encourages us to do the same, they saw the demands of God's gift and so they left and followed. The story of the Magi today is not an encouragement to study the stars or to think God speaks to us in dreams. Rather it is a story of God meeting people where they are and speaking to them powerfully. The Magi were driven to visit Jesus, they did not know all the answers but they were moved to travel to discover more, to find out about Jesus. The Magi remind us that God's grace works through many different means. Charles Royden

Meditation

So what of the story for us ? Embarking upon a journey of discovery, like the Magi, is what we are all about as Christians. We are a pilgrim people, we have set off to follow Christ and learn more about God as we journey. For many this idea is an unsettling and uncomfortable idea, a journey in which we do not know the landmarks; where we will have to keep trusting the voice inside that urges us not to turn back or stop. It is far more preferable for some to have a voice of certainty with all the answers, a voice which has a hotline to God and can speak all the truth all of the time. Sadly such voices are usually conmen (or women) and should not be listened to, no matter how comforting they appear to be.

There will be questions for all of us and we will change direction and move in different ways, this is all a part of the pilgrimage and shows that we are capable of growth towards maturity. It is a frightening thing to place one foot in front of another and trust that we will find the way, yet we walk that path with the hand of God.

What the Magi saw was hardly impressive; a poor family in a nondescript village and an infant. However, the Magi had been led by the light of the star. Was it really a huge star in the heavens like the Christmas show, or a small brightness of Jupiter or even as some Christians believe, an interior light that kept them looking and then shone brightly for them revealing the truth at the end of their quest? We will never know, but God was present among the obscure; hidden in an out-of-the- way place. 

Today we like the Magi, ask God to stir up a hunger in us. For the courage to let go of the comfortable and familiar and request the energy to once again go looking for God. To be open to finding the holy in unfamiliar and "unholy" places. May we also have a sense of wonder and awe, the spirit of a searcher, one willing to look up and follow a star beyond familiar borders. May we recognize the revelation of God, despite all appearances to the contrary.  Charles Royden

Meditation

Many threads and stories from the Old Testament feed into the New Testament account of the wise men visiting Jesus. In the book of Numbers describes an encounter between the Israelites, who by this time after their escape from Egypt had travelled to the plains of Moab and are now camped along the Jordan just across from Jericho where they will enter the Promised Land, and Balak, the king of Moab. Balak asks Balaam to come and put a curse on the Israelites so that he can defeat them in battle. Balaam and his talking donkey reluctantly get involved, but rather than curse the Israelites, Balaam blesses them three times, much to Balek’s annoyance. In their final exchange Balaam prophesies that a star will come out of Jacob, a sceptre will rise out of Israel, and a ruler will come out of Jacob. Jesus, as the Israelites before Him, would travel to Egypt before coming to live in the promised land. Herod’s threat to kill the Hebrew infants has parallels with Pharaoh’s attempts to do the same before him, which led to Moses being put in a basket in the river. History is repeating itself. Only this time it is Jesus Himself who is the true representative of Israel, He is the true child of God, the Messiah Himself, the Star of Israel. As the prophets would foretell, the best of the world’s wise would come to Zion to acknowledge Him and creation itself would proclaim Him by the code which could be read in the sky. God had broken into our world. Curious then that Herod could not find this King of the Jews. Thirty years later others would not fail to find Him, as they nailed this very title to the cross on which He would be crucified. In the birth of Jesus God was acting powerfully to save the world from sin and Christ’s birth was the first step that would lead Him to the cross. The star, the sceptre and the ruler that Balaam had foretold had come and a new chapter in the world’s history had begun to unfold.  Sam Cappleman

Commentary

Matthew 2:1 ‘After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’ 

So starts the Gospel of Matthew. It finishes in a similar way, specifically in Chapter 27 where the phrase ‘King of the Jews' is used, but nowhere more prominently than over the dying body of Jesus, fixed to the cross were the words 
THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS (Note John records 'Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews' John 19)

Matthew does not just throw his Gospel together, he uses the materials carefully and in so constructing his Gospel he makes the clear point, the death of Jesus was all part of God’s plan. The birth of Jesus was God’s idea and his death also was not just because of human hate. God gave Jesus to the world. Read the opening chapter of Matthew and this becomes clear Matthew 1:21 
‘She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us."’ 

We are being led to recognise that in the birth of Jesus God was acting powerfully to save the world from sin.
 

So what of these Magi, whom only Matthew mentions? The story has led to fascinating stories and hymns such as ‘We three kings of Orient are’, however nowhere does Matthew mention 'Kings' and neither does he say how many there were. There is no indication of where they came from, their racial characteristics, their names or their mode of transport. Some have said they came on ships, others say camels. Some say that there were three, because there were three gifts recorded. Western Tradition has named them as Melkon, Balthasar and Caspar. These names were first used by Origen (d. 254) and became popular from the 6th Century. We are even led to believe that Jesus was a child and no longer a baby (verse 9)

Matthew’s gospel uses the story of the Magi (or magicians) for drama: the star moves across the sky and takes up station above the place where Jesus was born. The created world is being called to bear witness to this momentous event. The heavens declare the glory of God – in yet another way Matthew is making a statement about Jesus’ ministry and the church: the gospel is to be taught to all nations. As in the subtle additions to his genealogy, which break the pattern by naming women who have been under a cloud, with poor reputations, many of them with Gentile connections, so here Matthew wants us to see the deeper significance of the story. This is a celebration of inclusiveness: the Magi prove Jesus is for all people. Matthew shows in the story of the Magi that seekers from all nations will come to recognize Christ and be welcome in his presence. And, that the promise of Israel's being a light for the nations, as the prophets anticipated, is now fulfilled in Christ.

Matthew shows how the Magi behave and encourages us to do the same, they saw the demands of God's gift and so they left and followed. The story of the Magi today is not an encouragement to study the stars or to think God speaks to us in dreams. Rather it is a story of God meeting people where they are and speaking to them powerfully. The Magi were driven to visit Jesus, they did not know all the answers but they were moved to travel to discover more, to find out about Jesus. The Magi remind us that God's grace works through many different means.   Charles Royden

Commentary

The story of the wise men has been widely reported in the media this year following the remarks of the Archbishop of Canterbury when he said that we should be careful and not read into scripture what is not there, whether it be about the number and nature of the wise men or the weather conditions in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth. The story of the wise men, he went on to say, seemed to work well as a legend, certainly with the accretion of the stories and traditions which have built up around it. Indeed, the Greek historian Herodotus (500 BC) says that the Magi were a caste of priests from Persia who could interpret dreams – and interestingly there are five dreams in Matthew's birth narrative, with four of them warning of the murderous intentions of King Herod and his son Archelaeus who succeeded him.

Whoever the Magi were, and we may never know for certain, we should follow the Archbishop’s guidance and not over emphasise details of which we are not sure and have little basis in scripture. Equally importantly neither should we under-estimate the truth of what is contained in scripture and, in particular, the Christian message of Christmas; the message that when Christ was born, God himself came down and dwelt among us. And it was to that Christ that the wise men travelled, guided by the star. However they travelled, however long it took, it must have been quite a surprise when they found the Messiah in surroundings that they would not normally associate with a Messiah King. But in the story of the kings and in their response to the infant Jesus we begin to see the changes that were occurring on earth through God’s cosmic intervention. Whilst we know relatively little about the wise men it is unlikely that they were Jews. The coming of the wise men to Jesus was symbolic of the fact that this Messiah Christ was for all people, not just the Jews. This Christ would be Lord of all who acknowledge Him and respond to His love and grace. The wise men visibly demonstrate that all who are looking for Christ can find Him and recognise Him, whatever the surprising surroundings they find Him in. And once they had found and recognised the Christ, their immediate response was to kneel before Him in silence and worship Him.

Sometimes when we enter the presence of God we feel that we need to say something, to start praying or singing a hymn. The wise men remind us that sometimes all we are called to do is to come before God and be silent. Sometimes it will be the silence of awe and majesty, as it probably was with the wise men. Other times it may be more like the companiable silence that breaks out between two friends who have no need of constant conversation to sustain their friendship. In all the noise and activity of the Christmas and New Year celebrations, all the hubris of a new birth, there was a silence as the wise men knelt and worshiped Emmanuel, God with us on our earth, the Messiah, Peace on earth, the redeemer of the world. It was only after the wise men had worshiped that they brought out their highly precious and valuable gifts to offer to the infant child. Gifts that were at the same time so rare and yet so inadequate. Gifts that would foretell the destiny that the baby Jesus would have in the years ahead. The destiny of a Prophet, the destiny of a Priest and ultimately the destiny of the Suffering Servant, crucified as King of the Jews nailed to His cross. Their response to an encounter with the living God was to willingly offer gifts of great value to Christ from generous hearts. After they had seen Him, recognised Him, worshipped Him and offered Him their gifts they then journeyed on, taking the experience of that meeting with them for the rest of their lives. As we journey through our lives we too take the experience of our daily encounter with God with us. Like the wise men we need to see Him, recognise Him, worship Him and offer our gifts to Him, that the world may be changed by the God who is with us and continues to intervene in His cosmic manner. A God who continues to be Lord and Saviour for all who kneel, worship and acknowledge Him.  Sam Cappleman

Sermon

The rooting of our faith in history is important. In our reading today we hear of Herod the great, you can go and see his palace fortress where he is said to have been buried at Herodium.  If you go to Jerusalem you can see Bethlehem about six miles away, it was the place where shepherds kept sheep to be used in sacrifices in the temple. Jesus was really born into a real place in our human history. 

The problem with Christmas is that so much of it we have invented over the years to make it feel the special occasion which it is -  celebrating the birth of Jesus.
We celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25 but we don’t know if that was really his birthday, it is just the day we have chosen. And there is about a 1 in 365 chance we have got it right. Perhaps it came about because of dates already celebrated for other gods like Mithras.

What we do know is that the date and even the year of Christmas is wrong because a sixth century Roman theologian and mathematician called Dennis the Dwarf who calculated what became AD got the years wrong. We know this because King Herod died in 4BC he cannot have spoken to the Magi or ordered the death of the little children if he was already dead himself! 

Today is Epiphany and we celebrate the manifestation or ‘showing off’ of Jesus to the world. The events of the visitors to Jesus has also attracted a whole raft of fable to embellish the story.

These strange visitors come and see Jesus, the Bible tells us that they were magos, in Acts that word is translated as sorcerers.  The word is plural but we don’t know how many there were, we know that there were at least three gifts, Gold Frankincense and Myrrh, there might have been more. It is always good to have some vouchers. Mary could then have got something practical.

We are going to have the hymn ‘We three kings’ in our service but think of that as a theological meditation rather than a historical presentation of events. We don’t know if there were three, they were not kings but rather the sort of people who advised kings, like when the Reagans consulted astrologers and the corresponding stories about the destiny of America being decided by horoscope.

It was very interesting looking at paintings for a picture paints a thousand words this week because tradition has gained a consensus and embellished the whole event and we have the names of the Magi - Melchior, Caspar and Balthasar. They have been painted in three ages to represent youth, middle and old age and they have been shown to represent the known continents with Balthasar often shown as a black man from Africa.

It is not great when we impose tradition to the extent that we change the event itself but there is a well meaning attempt to show what we do know to be true and factual - the event of the magi was a reality which showed that Jesus was there for everybody. That is what we are able to take from the biblical account with certainty. Jesus is the light to the nations - rejected by his own people but worshipped by those who would be considered unworthy gentiles.

The arrival of these visitors from the East who pay tribute to Jesus is shown as a stark contrast to the Jewish convert King Herod. Herod was famously paranoid of those around him suspecting plots on his life. He is threatened by Jesus and when we read that he was troubled and the whole of Jerusalem with him. We know that they had good cause to be worried about unsettling the status quo because Herod killed anybody he suspected of plotting against him. His children and his wife and mother in law all killed because he feared they were scheming to take away his power. Now that this child was being called a king he would have been in a complete frenzy, lashing out at anybody who he perceived as a threat. The story of the killing of children in Bethlehem fits entirely from what we know of Herod. The neighbouring governor of Syria once said that he would rather be Herod’s pig than his son, it would be safer given the fate of his children.

Throughout the whole of his life Jesus showed how open wide were the gates of God’s mercy.  It is difficult to understand how Christian people have managed to miss this message so comprehensively throughout history. How many times over the past 2,000 years would those Magi have been turned away at the door of the house where Jesus was? Turned away because of their appearance or beliefs or lifestyle. I have no need to be specific because we all know how easy it is to find any old reason to reject folks for anything we find to be not pleasing to ourselves.   

Mathew has already shown inclusivity in Chapter 1 where he includes the names of four women who were not usually included in Jewish genealogies.

There has been speculation that Matthew included these women to show how sinners were involved in God plan for salvation, Tamar and Rahab were prostitutes and we all know about Bathsheeba and her adultery with David. But there were already plenty of sinful men without needing to include women. Apart from the fact that these were women they also have in common the fact that they are all foreigners Tamar and Rahab are Canaanite, Ruth is a Moabite and Bathsheeba is the wife of Uriah the Hittite. 

The point about these women is perhaps that they are among the ones that you would least expect to be chosen by God to be included in his work of salvation.

Exactly the same statement is true for the magi, they were probably the ones you would least expect to be called by God to visit the baby Jesus. Remember they did not discover Jesus, they were led there, invited by God to be a part of the plan for salvation, to show that there is no depth to which God will not go to save humanity even to the depths of hell itself. 

 

 

Journey of the Magi - T.S. Eliot

A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times when we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities dirty and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty and charging high prices:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.

Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;
With a running stream and a water mill beating the darkness,
And three trees on the low sky,
And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wineskins.
But there was no information, and so we continued
And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon
Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory.

All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.

Meditation

The Wise Men came from the lands that
are to the East of Palestine. One of the
main routes was called “the Incense
Road” because merchants travelled along
it with expensive incense and myrrh,
sometimes exchanging them for gold.
FRANKINCENSE (often simply called “incense”)
is a gum that comes from a tree.
When added to a flame or very hot charcoal,
sweet-smelling smoke comes off
and rises in the air. One of the psalms in
the Bible talks of “my prayer rising before
you, Lord, like incense.” Sometimes
in church, incense is burned as a sign of
prayer and offering. Incense is often used
at funerals , reminding us in prayer that
the ordinary person is also very special.
If GOLD stands for the special things in
life, and MYRRH represents the sorrow
and difficulties, then INCENSE can stand
for something in-between. The ordinary
things of life can become special (depending
on my attitude and how I go
about them) - such ordinary things as:
- getting up;
- cooking, eating, and clearing up
after meals;
- housework;
- going to school or work;
- helping somebody who doesn’t
seem grateful.
All these “ordinary” things of life I can
transform by a positive attitude.
Let us pray:
Lord, as I offer you all that is ordinary and everyday in my life, I ask you to give me the power of your Spirit

Hieronymus Bosch   c. 1485-1500
Medium          Oil on panel
Dimensions   138 cm × 144 cm (54 in × 57 in)
Museo del Prado, Madrid

At Epiphany we are spoilt for choice when considering which painting to reflect upon. The presence of some finely dressed visitors allowed painters to include extravagant clothes and gifts and bring some fashionable style to the grubby reality of a child laid in the feeding trough of cattle. Here was an opportunity for wealthy patrons to demonstrate that it was not a sin to have enormous wealth whilst the majority suffered in abject poverty. Even the holy family could be shown to welcome the gifts which the rich and entitled were able to bring as a consequence of their pursuit of materialism. For example the Medici family who ruled Florence were the most affluent in Europe in the late middle ages and they would process through the streets dressed in their finery to emulate the Magi. They would commission great artists to paint the scene to demonstrate that the grown up Jesus was wrong when he spoke of the dangers of extraordinary wealth.
I have chosen 'The Adoration of the Magi’ by Hieronymus Bosch. It is a Triptych (three panels) and I would encourage you to go online and see the full version. If you do you will see Joseph in the panel on the left doing the laundry! (See if you can find the upside down frog). What we have here is the major part of the central panel which shows the moment when the Magi arrive and it has taken the traditional, albeit not biblical, format of arrival of Three Kings - Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior. These have been taken to represent the different continents of the known world Europe, Asia and Africa, hence Bosch depicts Balthazars black. They also came to represent the three ages of man, youth, middle and old age.

If the common format is followed, the elderly Melchior kneels before Jesus, his gift is a golden sculpture showing the sacrifice of Isaac, commonly seen as an Old Testament precursor to the sacrifice of Jesus. You might just be able to see beneath it some squashed frogs. Is this a reference to the frogs which the magicians of Pharaoh were able to bring out of the Nile in their last miracle? Melchior has removed his crown and placed it on the ground, could this be a sign of the submission of earthly power to the Christ child?

Behind Melchior is Caspar, on his cloak is shown the Queen of Sheeba visiting Solomon. She symbolizes the Gentiles, or pagan peoples, who voluntarily search for holy wisdom.  His gift is frankincense and he holds it on a plate, rather like a patten for communion. Balthazar and his servant are both shown as black. He is dressed in white and brings a spherical gift containing Myrrh on which is shown people making offerings to King David.

Bosch created cryptic and fantastical paintings and there is always so much going on. However don’t be fooled into thinking that anything is just creative fantasy, it has meaning. Take the fourth king like figure who is shown partly naked inside the hut with ugly companions. The hut represents the crumbling old order and he has been as Satan or the Jewish Antichrist. Frogs are on the cloth hanging between his legs and look carefully and you will see a wound on his leg covered by glass. The best suggestion I have found is that it is meant to be Old Testament Balaam as medieval commentaries saw Balaam as the precursor of the Magi. In Numbers 24 his prophecy was ‘A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.’ In 2 Peter 2 it speaks badly of Balaam and his ass from Numbers 22. On the way to visit Balak, the king of Moab, in order to curse the Israelites, Balaam's path was blocked by an angel bearing a sword. The ass which Balaam was riding could see the angel while Balaam could not. Ballam beat the animal which thrust herself close to the wall, and bruised the foot of Balaam. So much to say about this painting, just not enough room !