Epiphany
means unveiling, revealing, letting the light and the glory shine out.
The big
debate is about when Christmas ends, and when Twelfth Night begins. (The custom used to be to mark the beginning
of a day from sundown the previous evening, and so Twelfth Night Officially
began last night.) It is part of a world
of Christmas that is safe, familiar and mainly for the children. Presents are bought and exchanged, food and
drink are consumed, games are played, and we act out the Nativity, with
(mostly) children playing the parts.
But now we
go back to the real world. Back to work,
back to school, back to business and news as normal.
Gays can be
bishops (apparently), women cannot be bishops, the killing continues in
Afghanistan and Syria, there is still unrest in Egypt, there are rapes in India
reportedly every 20 minutes, we have seen the shooting of children in Pakistan
and in elementary schools in America, riots go on in Northern Ireland over the
non-flying of a flag.
The Gospel
claim is that this is precisely the world described in the Christmas
story. Jesus was born into a fractured,
violent world. Famously, some were
hostile to him (like Herod), some were indifferent (like the teachers of the
law), and some worshipped him (like the Magi).
The strangers
who arrived from the East were Magi, the latest in a long line of holy and
learned men who had been the intellectual and spiritual force in Persian
Society for centuries. The prophet Daniel
had become an honorary Magus when he interpreted the dreams of rulers in
Babylonian and Persian times. They
predated Zoroaster, but had become associated with the Zoroastrians, and had
become a powerful force in Parthian politics, charged with choosing the next
king.
The arrival
of these men, however many of them there were (the earliest traditions suggest
there were 12), possibly with a retinue and armed escort, would have been a
shock and an alarm to Herod. He had
ruled in Palestine for 40 years, thanks to the Romans. He ruled a frontier state that had changed
hands frequently in the border wars between the Parthian and Roman empires,
with Rome in charge at present. He
himself was not a Jew, but half Idumean – a race that were ancient enemies of
the Jews, so there was alwaus a question mark over his kingship. He was known as Herod the Great. He built many notable buildings, including starting
the temple of the time of Jesus, and on occasion had been wise and generous,
giving gold to the people at times of famine.
He was also famously suspicious and fearful of any attempts to supplant
him, and murdered many potential rivals and also family members to secure his
position. In 4 BC the Roman emperor was
aging, the Parthian succession unsure, Herod himself was old and infirm and
getting more paranoid – and these strangers from the East with a track-record
of king-making appeared and announced that someone else – a true Jew - has been
born to be the rightful king. Herod was
troubled. As he was famous for his vindictive
ways, it is no wonder that all Jerusalem was troubled with him. It was if Spaniards had arrived at the court
of Elizabeth I to announce that James would be King. Or if Americans had arrived at the
headquarters of President Bashar Assad to announce who would now be in
charge of Syria. This might even be a
complicated attempt to provoke a war with Parthia. How not to make friends and influence people.
Except that
it was all a bit of a mystery. No-one
else seemed to know anything about a new born king. The bible experts could find a reference
tucked away in the prophet Micah, but it hardly seems to have stirred much
interest. The cunning king sends the Magi
to narrow the search and find out precisely where the new king is to be
located.
Much debate
has taken place about exactly what they saw in the sky, how literally to take
the account, whether a star did actually move across the heavens. The record though is that they were led
unerringly to the spot, and they rejoiced as they went. They found the holy family living in a house,
so some time had elapsed since the birth.
It is possible that Jesus was now anything up to two years old, so we
get this picture of a toddler receiving gifts.
And what are
we to think about him? In Matthew 1 we
read that the angel had told Joseph that Jesus would save his people from their
sins. Now the Magi have arrived,
announcing that Jesus is a king, the king of the Jews. Herod and his advisors are in no doubt that
this is a claim to be the promised Messiah.
The first recorded words of Jesus’ public ministry at “Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:17)
What are we
to think about him? That he is a Saviour
and a King. He is the King of the
Jews. But he is not limited just to the
Jews. The readings selected for the
feast of the Epiphany remind us that the kingdom of heaven extends over all the
earth. So we have these star led
chieftains at the beginning of Matthew’s gospel, as part of the Christmas
story, announcing that Jesus is king of the Jews but also that he is king for
every gentile as well. Matthew ends his
account with Jesus commanding us “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the
very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19,20)
Epiphany
means unveiling, revealing, letting the light and the glory shine out. The Church every year celebrates the great
missionary season, when we remember that we have a treasure, we have been
entrusted with something precious, and that it is for sharing. I encountered this when Jane and I attended
an Anglican church to arrange for our banns to be read in January 1980, and
received a call to reach out.
This world
that is so far from perfect, there is so much to distress and alarm us, it
seems to be so dark. It is precisely in
this world that we are called to let our light shine and to make Christ
known. The arrival of these strangers
from the East to worship Christ is a call to each one of us to lift our eyes
above the humdrum and the ordinary, and the negativity and low expectations
that can drag us down. We are called to
share in worship of the king of the universe, and to share him with those we
live amongst.
The Magi
travelled over 1000 miles. There are many
ways that we can respond to the call make Christ known – to manifest or “epiphany”
him. Some travel to Uganda or China, or
to Farnborough. Where is God calling you
to travel to? Next week we start a short
series called “Just Walk Across the Room”, which is designed to help each of us
share our individual story of Jesus with friends and neighbours. Most of the congregations in Camberley will
be doing this over the next month, as a preparation for Camberley Connections
in March, when we will welcome some students from Wycliffe Hall and work with
them for a special week of faith sharing.
God’s “intent
was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be
made known” (Ephesians 3:17), as we work together to share our story of
Christ. Some will be hostile, some will
be indifferent, but there will be some who will be profoundly grateful for the
opportunity to be welcomed in to worship the King of all.
Discussion
Starters
1. Gold for a king, incense for a
priest, myrrh for a sacrifice. If you
were forced to choose only one of these, to represent Jesus, which would it be
and why?
2. Which is more important, the gifts
that the Magi brought, or the fact that they came at all?
3. What do you think is “the mystery of
Christ”? (Ephesians 1:4) How might this
relate to Camberley Connections?
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