Isaiah 60.1-6; Ephesians 3.1-12; Matthew 2.1-12
Epiphany means to show, to make known, to reveal and today we use the word Epiphany to mean a sudden and great revelation or realisation. In our liturgical use of the word it is the revealing of God’s Son to the world and it is celebrated 12 days after Christmas on the 6th January but as we do not have a service tomorrow we are celebrating it today. The revealing of God’s Son to the world - a sudden and great revelation and is associated with the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus.
Although in our nativity plays and on many Christmas cards and paintings, the visit of the wise men occurs very soon after or even the same night as the visit of the shepherds, it is likely that they visited the holy family between one to two years after the birth of Jesus, with the Holy family presumably staying with relatives of Joseph in Bethlehem. This timescale would tie in with the slaughter of all boys under the age of two that Herod ordered - the massacre of the infants as recorded later in this chapter from Matthew’s gospel. It would also mean that the ensuing flight to Egypt would have been more manageable than with a new born.
I find it extraordinary that these wise men were so convinced that the appearance of a new star presaged an important birth that they up sticks and set off on what seems to have been a long journey. All the time following this star that unusually moves across the sky in a purposeful way. Thinking of that journey fires the imagination. There is something adventurous and bold, spontaneous even impetuous about it that many young boys would want to emulate….I wonder if we are or can be so spontaneous when faced with something that we are so convinced about? Conviction leading to action. In my experience the answer is yes, but It has to be coupled with an assurance of God being in on the action. This time last year, Emma and I saw a house near to where our older son lives and three coincidences or rather God incidences - convinced us that this was the house God had set aside for our retirement and within 4 months we had bought it and it is currently let out to a lovely young family. God’s provision, God’s action working in our lives, and God’s provision, guidance and action working in the lives of these wise men, not only in their decision to follow the star but also in the gifts they gave the infant Jesus.
The gifts which were very unusual gifts for a child - one can only assume again that they received some form of divine guidance as they were hugely symbolic gifts for Jesus, pointing to his status and future ministry and passion: gold for a king, Jesus is King of Kings; incense for worship replicating the incense that was burnt in the temple in Jerusalem as worship to God, pointing to Jesus’s divinity; and myrrh, an ointment used in healing as an anti inflammatory but pointing to Jesus’s death when on the cross Jesus refused the wine mixed with myrrh which would have dulled the pain and senses and the aloes and myrrh which were later used to preserve Jesus’ body after his death. Incidentally myrrh was also as an ingredient in the holy anointing oil used by Moses, to anoint Aaron as priest, reflecting the priestly nature of Jesus as expressed in the book of Hebrews.
The wise men are such mysterious characters that lots of stories have sprung up about them as poets, artists and storytellers have tried to imagine who they were and where they came from. They have been given names, and origins - all without firm evidence. These embellishments set our imagination going and add to the whole drama of the incarnation, the birth of God’s one and only Son. So I invite you to enjoy what others have written and allow your imagination to take flight and go deeper into the mystery of God becoming a human being while I read three of these poems.
Kings came riding by Charles Williams
Kings came riding
One, two and three,
Over the desert
And over the sea.
One in a ship
With a silver mast;
The fisherman wondered
As he went past.
One on a horse
With a saddle of gold;
The children came running.
To behold.
One that came walking,
Over the sand,
With a casket or treasure.
Held in his hand.
All the people.
Said, “where go they?”
But the kings went forward
All through the day.
Night came on
As those kings went by;
They shone like the gleaming
Stars in the sky
The Riding of the Kings by Eleanor Farjeon
In a far land upon a day,
Where never snow did fall,
Three Kings went riding on the way.
Bearing presents all.
And one wore red, and one wore gold,
And one was clad in green,
And one was young, and one was old,
And one was in between.
The middle one had human sense,
The young had loving eyes,
The old had much experience,
All of them were wise.
Choosing no guide by eve and morn
But heaven’s starry drifts,
They rode to find the Newly-Born
For whom they carried gifts.
Oh, far away in time they rode
Upon their wanderings,
And still in story goes abroad
The riding of the Kings;
So wise, that in their chosen hour,
As through the world they filed,
They sought not wealth or place or power,
But rode to find a Child.
Using the traditional names, our third and final poem is named after one of the Kings and makes reference to the other two.
Balthasar
A cold coming we had of it by Gerald Benson
Yes. It was cold. Of course. Specially the nights.
But we had furs and tents, good fires and lights.
The camel men were unruly - but they always are;
You couldn’t really complain. And that fantastic star
Impressed even them. Melchior kept on about the cold,
But he wasn’t well, and face it, he was too old
For such a journey. For Casper and me though, I’d say
It was a true adventure! So exciting! A great day
For astrology too! Just as we’d predicted. Everything!
Time. Place, birth, animals. It’s true. The King
Wasn’t quite what we thought, a bit of a disappointment.
But we left our gifts, the gold, the herbs, the ointment,
Made our speeches. The mother didn’t seem too amazed,
Seemed to have expected us.-And no. It hasn’t raised
The profile of astrology. A good thirty years have passed
And what with these Jerusalem riots, all that has got lost.
But I shan’t forget the absolute delight.
Of that strange journey. And we were all three quite
Certain something world changing had happened that night.
The birth of Jesus was a world changing event. A window into the fullness of God’s love and provision for us. Do not let the familiarity of this story take away the enormity, the wonder and mystery of it all. Ponder it and let it impact you
Two thoughts to end with as we look forward to 2025. Will God reveal something new to you this year? Either of himself or through a new path he calls you on to? Secondly if you were to emulate one of the wise men, what gift would you bring to Jesus? How would you know that it would be the gift that God would like you to give?
Happy New Year
Blessings
Revd Graham Phillips