Rev’d Elizabeth McWhae

Feast of the Epiphany Sunday – Isaiah 60 1-6, Psalm 72 1-16, Ephesian 3 1-12, Matthew 2 1-12

Today is the feast of Epiphany. How many of you I wonder are thinking to yourselves what does epiphany mean? It is derived from the Greek and means manifestation or appearance. Since the Sth century the feast of Epiphany has been celebrated in the church as the feast which marks the manifestation of Jesus to the non-Jewish world, signified by the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem. Contrary to popular opinion the Magi were not kings but rather astrologers, dream interpreters, magicians and priests from a tribe of Medes in Persia. Bidden by their astrological findings they set out on a journey of faith to find the king who had been born king of the Jews. They did not come empty-handed but bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Let’s look a bit more closely at their gifts.

POINT 1

Christian tradition would have it that these 3 gifts are symbolic. The first gift of gold is a gift for a king. It thus symbolizes Christ’s kingship. He is king of the Jews. The second gift of frankincense is a gift for a deity. It thus symbolizes Christ’s divinity as the Son of God. The third gift of myrrh is a gift for one who will die. Thus it symbolizes the redemptive suffering of Jesus on the cross. To my way of thinking there should have been one more gift given, a gift that symbolized Jesus’ humanity, but I suppose that was obvious to the Magi as they worshipped the baby who was born of Mary.

POINT 2

What are we to make of the Magi’s visit? Surely they must have been a bit taken aback, finding this baby with his parents not in a palace, but in a humble dwelling, not born of wealthy and prominent parents but from peasant stock. I can’t help thinking that they must have had second thoughts. Maybe they thought they had followed the wrong star. But this doesn’t appear to be the case. We are told that when they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house they saw the child with Nary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Now this was an act of faith of great magnitude. How did they know that this baby was the king of the Jews? Where there any Jews there celebrating his arrival, apart from his parents? No. Was everyone flocking to see him? No. Where were the scribes and the pharisees who were expecting their long awaited Messiah? Nowhere in sight. It must have been a peculiar scene when you stop to think about it. Apparently these Magi could see with the eyes of faith what the Jewish religious elite could not see. That the Son of God had come into the world as a powerless, dependent baby who would in time grow and mature in wisdom and favour with God and with men and women.

POINT 3

And isn’t life often like that. Just when we are not expecting it, God pops up in the most unlikely of places. Where do we encounter these moments of God’s epiphany in our lives? Are we like the Magi who are able to correctly interpret God’s manifestation to us? Or are we blind to the many and varied manifestations of God in our midst, like the scribes and pharisees? Is there any room for the mystic in us or are we cold hard skeptics who will only believe something if we see it for ourselves. The scribes and pharisees saw what the Magi saw and yet they did not see. Why? Because faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. The Magi had this sort of faith. Is this the sort of faith that we have?

POINT 4

You see, the Bible is not just a book of stories about events that happened long ago. It is much more than that. The story of the Magi is meant to do much more than remind us of a time in the past, it reminds us of the present as well. We live in what people are now calling a post-christian civilization in the West. Increasing numbers of people do not know Christ or live as though he ever existed. Religion is of little interest to them. So the West has become alot like Herod in our story, it wants to pretend interest in the newborn king, but really it wants to eradicate him. Those of us who maintain faith in this Jesus are in the minority, we are like the Magi who go to worship him and hopefully bring what gifts we have to offer, our lives, our time, our resources. But there are only a few of us. Meanwhile the rest of society is busy going about its own business. They probably think that we’re a bit odd at times, and no doubt we are, taking this God stuff far too seriously, they say. Well, somebody has to, don’t they. That’s what the Magi were on about. And that is what we are on about. God did not manifest Godself to the world two thousand years ago in the baby born at Bethlehem and then exit this world. No, God made an epiphany, a manifestation, an appearance then, and God is still making manifestations now, in this day and age. Like the Magi who were on a journey of faith, so too are we. And like the Magi, we too should not be all that surprised if God does the unexpected. God is in the habit of doing the unexpected, whoever expected the incarnation. And like the Magi, we too are called to worship the very same king of the Jews that they worshipped. Only we are more fortunate than them, in that we know much more about this king than they probably ever did. We know that this king is still alive. That crucifixion and death could not put an end to him. That he offers us life in all its fullness. That he teaches us about reconciliation and hope and justice and peace and that he will never leave or forsake us.

CONCLUSION:

So the story of the feast of Epiphany is that the story never ends, instead it goes on and on. Two thousand years after the event wise men and women still come to offer their worship and their gifts to this Jesus. And this Jesus is still made manifest in our lives, and the communities we live in, and in our world. With the eyes of faith, given to us by the Christ child, we too can have an epiphany.