Friday, January 4, 2013

The Feast of the Epiphany

Star Struck!

Readings: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12

Light is a central theme for the Christmas season. It is a wonderful image for God’s ability to change humankind. Light is God’s great gift to us. It transforms the world into a society of peace and justice if even for a short time. It brings joy in the midst of despair, and hope to a world that knows darkness all too well. The light of God blazes and draws others to it. As Christmas comes to a close, that sense of light’s transforming presence continues to be the focus as we celebrate the Epiphany. It is a reminder that God’s light is not just for us as Christians but also for the whole world. Jesus is the light of the world.

Does that knowledge open up new possibilities, new directions, new insights as we enter the New Year? Does it help us to communicate our hopes and dreams to others? That is what the birth of Christ communicated to the world; it is what we as Christians are still called to share.

The passage from Isaiah filtered through our Christian faith is a wonderful reminder to us of exactly that. The people of Israel had returned after a long exile. The Israel they came back to was a pale shadow of its former greatness. Isaiah reminds the people that God has not abandoned them. He reminds them that new blessings will transform the darkness into light. For Isaiah, Israel possessed such light that others could not help but be drawn to it. As Christians we know that the light has come. The glory of the Lord has risen upon the world. The light stands out distinctly in the darkness. It shines. It beckons. It draws.

That surely is the point of the story of the visitation of the magi. They followed the light of a particular star through the dark nights and at the end of their long journey, they met Christ. They knelt before the child, offering rare gifts, gifts full of meaning and hope. But the drama of the story does not stop there, for it has a dark side.

The journey of the magi is interrupted. They are looking for a child who has been born as a king, and so they find themselves in Jerusalem seeking out King Herod, the King of the Jews. Actually Herod, the King of the Jews, was not a Jew at all. He was Idumean. They had been conquered by the Jews, forced to convert to Judaism but then treated as second-class citizens. Herod had no love for the Jews. Furthermore, he was a ruthless leader, even by the standards of his own day. To say that he found the visit of the magi disturbing is an understatement. He had real reason to be concerned. A king born of David’s lineage would have more religious support than Herod could have dreamed of.

He calls the chief priests and scribes together and asks them where the king is to be born. “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they tell him. He asks the magi to bring him word when they have found the child.

The magi, warned by God in a dream, return another way to their own country. And Herod, not to be outdone, has all of the children under two put to death. But the child Jesus and his family, also warned by God in a dream, flee to Egypt, returning only when Herod dies.

On so many levels, it is a story that provides an amazing statement about Jesus’ ministry and the Christian faith. It breaks the pattern of the past. God is God, not only to the people of Israel, but to the Gentiles as well. The Epiphany is a wonderful celebration of inclusivity. We who stand in Israel’s tradition are to kneel alongside the magi in acknowledgment that the divine meets us here. It is a celebration of who Christ is. It links Jesus to Israel’s past and to the world’s hopes. It becomes a story, not of a baby in a manger, but of a Saviour who will die on the cross to save humankind.

How does the story speak to us? Where do we fit into it? For in a real way, it is a universal story. There are few details, yet storytellers throughout the ages have added to the lore. That is because there is deep truth at the heart of the story. It is the story of the people of Bethlehem, both past and present. It is the story of the children for whom Rachel weeps, of refugees who must flee from the security of their homes, and of rulers who are anxious and fearful of change. It is the story of people like most of us who are simply willing and able to offer ourselves and our gifts.

What does it mean to us that Christ is the light of the world? What does it mean in practical terms? How do we live it out in our daily lives? How do we become beacons of light that draw others to Christ? Don’t we all know such people? I think of a family whose three children I baptised many years ago. They were a loving and caring family, community minded and very active in the church. They decided to have another child. She was born with Downs Syndrome. Someone remarked to me that they could not understand how God could allow that to happen to such a wonderful family. I couldn’t help but think that God knew exactly what family to give that special child to. She has grown up loved and nurtured in that home. She has received total acceptance from her parents and her siblings. She has lived up to her full potential. What’s more, she has brought great joy into their lives.

Think in your own life of those who have brought you the light of faith. If you are like me there are many faces that come to mind. My grandmother’s face smiling with pure joy as she sang “All Through the Night” in Welsh, her voice beautiful and clear even in her eighties! A beloved teacher opening yet another bottle of Lily of the Valley cologne and making me feel as if it was the bestnChristmas gift ever! A Sunday School teacher who is still, after all these years, my good friend and mentor! A parish priest who recognized my call to ordination!

The Christmas season is coming to an end. The excitement is over. All that remains is the aftermath. But it should not be a time of depression, apathy, or inactivity in the church. Something so significant happened on that first Christmas. A light so bright that it cannot be extinguished entered the world. A connection was made between God and us that changed all of history.

Those connections continue to be made through us. We carry the light of Christ out into the darkness of our world. As we enter this New Year, we reflect on the changes that we wish to make in our lives. It is a time to make resolutions that we will try to keep throughout the year. Let us think about the gifts we bring to Jesus. What loving actions can we offer to help spread God’s realm? What can we do to help transform our own lives and the lives of those we touch? Let your loving actions be a part of your prayers for them and for everyone in need.

Jesus comes to us as a little baby, drawing us closer to God. As the wise men bring gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, so we bring our gifts of love to God. And in so doing we reach out into a needy world with the light of Christ, a light that transforms all of creation.

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