Matthew 2:1-12
Happy New Year! I trust you’ve all had a blessed time over this festive season.
Today is the Feast of Epiphany, celebrated by many churches in the West. At the start of this New Year, it’s an opportunity for us to pause and reflect on the journey of the Magi or Wise Men, the first non-Jewish people to seek out and worship Jesus.
So, lets pray and seek the Lord’s encouragement and help using a prayer from the Lectio 365 Prayer app: Jesus, I approach You with the reverence of the Magi. I come to worship my King. Open my eyes to perceive You, realign my mind to believe You, and reawaken my heart to receive You, now and throughout this day and the year ahead. Amen.
Who knows what Epiphany means? Epiphany means an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being. It is observed as a church festival on the 6th January which marks 12 days after Christmas and the time to take down the Christmas Tree and decorations. Anyone done that?
The Feast of Epiphany is celebrated as the day when Jesus was revealed to the Gentiles. The Gentiles were represented by the Magi, also known as the Wise Men or Kings, when they visited the child Jesus in Jerusalem. In the Bible the term "Gentile" is used to refer to non-Jewish people. And today that includes you and me.
The important thing for us to remember is that Epiphany celebrates God revealing himself to the world in and through his Son Jesus, who became one of us in his incarnation; the Messiah born into a messy world. This is good news of great joy for us today. Why? We'll find out in a moment.
But first, I've got a game for us to play called In or Out. It’s very simple and easy to follow. Basically, if you like what I like, then you can come into the circle with me. So, I’ve got a nice round circle here (make a circle with string/hula hoop). Are you ready? Let’s start.
I love curry. So, anyone who loves to eat curry, please come and stand in the circle (those who don't want to move out of seat can put their hands up). Brilliant. You are my favourites! The rest of you can stand outside the circle. Great. I do like chocolate. If you like chocolate come and stand in my circle. You are all very special. Sorry, if you don't like chocolate, you can't come into the circle. Right - lets have one more. I do like a good sprout! Everyone who loves to eat sprouts come and stand in the circle. You are all extra special! The rest of you can stay where you are, out of the circle.
Well thank you everyone. You can now go back to your seats. We could find out quite a lot about each other if we carried on with this game!
Ok, that was a bit of a silly game. But let me ask you: have you ever been or felt excluded from something? Perhaps you were not picked to be on a team or perhaps your friends didn't include you in a game. Perhaps you didn't get invited to that party, while all your other friends were. I wonder how you felt just now in my game of in or out if you were not in the circle.
Being excluded is not a nice thing. It hurts and separates people. Many people find themselves excluded around the world through no fault of their own. It was no different in Jesus’ time. But this is where the good news of Jesus being born into our messy world comes in. In Jesus' time, the Jews thought they were the special, favourite ones. They considered themselves super spiritual. They looked down on Gentiles. They didn't want to hang out with them. They considered the Gentiles unclean - people to be kept at a distance. There was a big barrier between them and everyone else.
But Jesus came to break down those barriers. He welcomed everyone - Jews and Gentiles alike. Jesus never turns anyone away who seeks him. In fact, anyone who seeks Jesus with all their heart will find him. That's a promise for all of us that you can find in Jeremiah 29:13. Jesus doesn’t have favourites. Everyone is precious to him and he wants all to be part of his family.
And this is beautifully displayed in the Christmas story as we’ve just heard from Matthew 2:1-12. After a long, no doubt costly journey, the Magi are welcomed into Jesus’ presence.
The inclusion of the Magi, non-Jewish people, in the Christmas story declares that Jesus is not only a Messiah for Israel, but for the whole world. And that includes you and me. That is really news.
So, what do we do with this good news? How should we respond to it?
Well, let me draw your attention to the most important response at the heart of the reading from Matthew 2. I wonder if you noticed it. It is a response of worship, mentioned three times.
Worship is at the heart of a relationship with Jesus. We see this in our reading. But there is a contrast. In verse 2 the Magi have come seeking Jesus with the purpose of worshipping him. Again, in verse 11 when they find the infant Jesus, they bow down and worship him, offering their gifts.
In stark contrast, Herod in verse 8 lies about his motive to find Jesus and worship him. He didn't want to recognise Jesus as the one true King. He felt threatened. What he really wanted to do was get rid of Jesus. You can read about it in verses 13 onwards. His heart was hardened and closed to God's love.
Worship is a response to God's extravagant and gracious love towards us. A love that rescues us from sin and separation and draws us back into fellowship with the triune God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit through the redeeming work of Jesus on the cross.
In worship we posture our hearts and lives towards God. We say yes to him. We put Jesus at the centre of our lives - in the driving seat, allowing him to steer our lives on the journey of discipleship.
Worship is not easy. It is costly and it’s a choice. It is something we have to be intentional about. Like the Magi, we need to recognise our need to bow down and worship Jesus our Lord and Saviour.
It was not easy for the Magi. The journey from the East was a long one. We don’t know how long it took. Perhaps weeks, even months. It was costly in terms of their time, energy, effort and money. Who knows what dangers they encountered on their travels. Yet they were committed to finding the new born King.
Wonderfully, God guides them through the star and leads them to Jesus. And after their visit, they are guided to return home via a different route in a dream.
The good news of the Christmas story is that Jesus came as the Saviour of the whole world. Like the Magi, we are called to recognise him as Lord and Saviour of our lives and respond in worship and adoration. Following Jesus is not easy and the journey of discipleship is costly, marked by trial and suffering. But, just as God graciously guided the Magi through the star and in dreams, we too can know his guidance and help today. We find his guidance and help as we read the Bible, through prayer as we listen to his Holy Spirit and through other Christians as we seek their advice.
Let this year be one in which each of us seeks to grow in our walk with Jesus. A big past of this is to make time to read the bible. Start small – perhaps 5 minutes a day. If reading is not your thing, there are some good apps you can use on your smart phone to listen and pray. Here are a few I can recommend: Daily Prayer (Church of England) or the shorter version Time To Pray, Lectio 365, Bible In One Year, Five Psalms and there are many others.
Like the Magi, may our hearts be focussed on seeking and worshipping the one true King, Jesus our Lord and Saviour.
I want to close with a stanza from the poem “God Knows” by Minnie Louise Haskins, written in 1908. It’s also popularly known as “The Gate of the Year” and I feel its quite appropriate to use as a prayer at the start of this New Year.
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’
And he replied:
‘Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.’
So, I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night. And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.
Amen.
Full Poem.
God Knows by Minnie Louise Haskins, written in 1908, also popularly known as “The Gate of the Year”
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
"Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown".
And he replied:
"Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way".
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night.
And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.So, heart be still:
What need our little life
Our human life to know,
If God hath comprehension?
In all the dizzy strife
Of things both high and low,
God hideth His intention.God knows. His will
Is best. The stretch of years
Which wind ahead, so dim
To our imperfect vision,
Are clear to God. Our fears
Are premature; In Him,
All time hath full provision.Then rest: until
God moves to lift the veil
From our impatient eyes,
When, as the sweeter features
Of Life's stern face we hail,
Fair beyond all surmise
God's thought around His creatures
Our mind shall fill.