Saturday, 6 January 2018

Sunday Sermon, Matthew 2.1-12: The Epiphany.



 
The Lectionary readings for today include a passage from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Chapter 3.1-12, and because I refer to it throughout this Epiphany homily, I’d like to read it to you:

This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given to me for you, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow-heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.

It may, or may not come as a surprise to you that we’re in the Season of the Epiphany, and you may be a bit vague about what that represents. 

In many British churches the feast of the Epiphany itself is hardly celebrated at all.   In fact, Epiphany is perhaps the only part of the church calendar that is observed more in neglect than in celebration.   While the Feast of The Epiphany is an important holiday in many other countries, particularly those who follow the Eastern Orthodox tradition, but it has simply not really caught on in mainstream British culture because it’s been eclipsed by Christmas itself. It’s on Epiphany Sunday that many continental Christians open their gifts in memory of the gifts offered by the Magi. Personally, for that reason, I think that is the right time to open our presents but I have failed to convince my family of that. My late mother, for instance, would tear into her presents one second into Christmas day if we hadn’t already sedated her with sufficient gin and sent her to bed.

In this season of Epiphany we enter the realm of light which is symbolised by the star of Bethlehem which most here have put well behind us with the Christmas decorations we’ve already taken down. Our minds are now firmly on the New Year ahead and we’ve moved on from stars and cribs and shepherds - and indeed wise men because many of us tend to lump them all in together as part of Christmas.

In fact the Greek Orthodox Church has called this season “the season of lights.” It’s no coincidence that our Old Testament lesson begins: Arise, shine, for your light has come. In the Eastern Church, this season of light is celebrated as fully as the season of Christmas. We’re entering into another world where reality is more than what is seen, where light reveals more than the eye can take in. Epiphany: the light breaking through, the light shining upon, the revelation unfolding, what St. Paul describes to the Ephesians as an insight into the mystery of Christ.

Only Matthew among the four gospel writers tells the wondrous story of the magi. Tradition has three Wise Men or Kings but Matthew doesn’t specify the number. It doesn’t matter that literalists try to discover exactly what happened in the astronomical realm while others try to explain the story with talk of the importance of religious myth and symbol; the wonder of the story remains undiminished. How can we hear it without becoming children again, feeling ourselves drawn in again in the way we were when the story first entered our consciousness? Exotic locations, mysterious visitors, camels, a wicked king and a hint of the other-worldly. What’s not to like? You can imagine Matthew telling his first listeners: "You're not going to believe this, but let me tell you about the time when…" and then going on to tell them about the Eastern kings, dressed in many-coloured robes, the camels moving ponderously over long stretches of sand, the star so bright, with its long glowing tail leading them toward a humble hamlet called Bethlehem and the odd and seemingly inappropriate gifts - these remain in our consciousness.

There is, of course, a feminist commentary on the Epiphany story. It does the rounds on Facebook around this time of year. You may be familiar with it:

Do you know what would have happened if there had been three wise WOMEN instead of three wise MEN? The three wise women would have:

·      asked for directions,

·      therefore arrived on time,

·      helped deliver the baby,

·      cleaned the stable,

·      made a casserole,

·      and given practical gifts


Anyway, this unlikely group of foreign dignitaries with their retinue arrive, seemingly out of nowhere, looking for the one who is born King of the Jews, appearing only once, in the story of Jesus’ birth. For a few minutes, there is a strong hint of the kingdom of God which the grown Jesus would proclaim - peace on earth, mercy to the poor and good will to all people. (All people, as St. Paul reminds the Ephesians.)

Then the Magi disappear from Scripture as suddenly as they first appeared.   But the point of their journey remains forever important.   They are the first to understand what others could not yet see: that Jesus “has been born king of the Jews.”   For the ancient Church, this “epiphany” or acknowledgement of the Christ was worth celebrating.   It still is, but sadly we don’t really celebrate it here. It is, as St. Paul reminds the Ephesians, the eternal purpose which God, has realised in Christ Jesus, in whom we have boldness and confidence of access through our faith in him. But Paul takes it a stage further by reminding us that Jesus is not just King of the Jews, but of the Gentiles also – you and I, non-Jews. The Magi are, of course, Gentiles - they are described as coming from the East, but the symbolism and significance of this is often overlooked. Just picture in your mind for a moment your own image of the Magi; then look at our Magi. Some combination of Black, White, Asian or Oriental in the way they are represented? Certainly not Jewish, which is the point, and which ties in to our Epistle for today: the Magi reveal what St. Paul is stressing – the universality of Jesus, a baby born to die for Jew and Gentile alike. A BBC adaptation of the Nativity from a couple of years ago looked back at the Magi, seekers after truth and astronomers, and how they interpreted the signs, set off from their homes, met up at some point on their journey and were confirmed in their belief that there is a significant birth simply by meeting each other on the same pilgrimage.

But even as the Magi move on leaving Jesus to his mission on earth, we know that there is work to be done. There is a Gospel to be proclaimed.   Epiphany experienced becomes Gospel lived. St. Paul reminds the Ephesians of this when he tells them that they, and we, are to make all men see what is the plan of God’s mystery. We are called to seek and serve Christ in those we meet, loving our neighbours as ourselves in order to make the Lord clear and real and known in our world today.  

Christ dwells with us today, is still there to be seen and discovered by those who, like the Magi, are willing to journey far from the commonplace in their quest for understanding and knowledge.   What does that mean in practice? Every time I preach I know I say much the same thing at some point during the sermon: to stop this being just a lovely story we have to make it real for us today and look for the applications. Like the Wise Ones from the East, we must be willing to leave the comfort of the familiar, of our preconceptions and prejudices.   We must be willing to look for the Christ in places others refuse to enter, whether it be the asylum-seekers shelter, the soup-kitchen for the homeless, the drug and alcohol rehabilitation unit, the psychiatric ward, the prison wing …….or the stable. 

 The Magi brought gifts - gold for Kingship, frankincense for Jesus’ priestly divinity, and myrrh for suffering humanity: gifts in a juxtaposition of the Gift of God to humanity in the Christ-child and as with any gift this is not a gift that we have to accept. I can receive it, but I don’t have to accept it. I’m sure many of you here can picture the less than enthusiastic face of someone who didn’t welcome your Christmas gift to them and we know that there are people out there who are unenthusiastic about this gift from God. The Incarnation remains for many an unopened present or maybe a present put away for a future occasion which never comes. “Yes, I can see it needs further thought, but I’m too busy now.”

What are we to make of this Epiphany for ourselves today?   For one thing, it’s a sobering reminder that Jesus is more than simply our brother, more than a friend we can turn to when we are seeking a listening ear, more even than a prophet, helpful as those ways of relating to him are.   Christ is God made present in our day and age.  His divinity spills over into our earthly realm.   As we subsequently read on of Jesus’ journeys throughout Galilee and beyond, as we listen attentively to his stories and parables, we are from time to time reminded emphatically of where all this is coming from and where it leads.  

So what is our response to that precious gift? What do we bring in return? What is our gold, frankincense or myrrh? Well, perhaps we must principally bring the gift of ourselves as we encounter Christ alive and present in the elderly, children, the disabled, the homeless, the alcoholic, the drug abuser, the prisoner and all the vulnerable, defenceless or damaged people of our world – and the ones who have received the gift in their heads but have not received it in their hearts: them too. I’ll give you an example: I’m sure I’ve told you who my particular problem people are. I get on with most people but I struggle with aggressive beggars, and I challenge you to think who your problem people are. It’s the same message again here, isn’t it? As St. Paul tells the Ephesians I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of God’s power. The message of Paul is clear: we are servants of this gospel – we serve those we encounter whoever they are, not just the nice ones.

Christ is also manifest today in the bread and wine of Communion, which we struggle in faith to recognize as his body and blood.   Christ is there when we turn to him in confident prayer and in those times when we find ourselves without words and on the point of despair.   He is with us in the quiet of our hearts and in the noise of our daily lives.  But Christ is not ours to hold or keep.  Paradoxically, he allows us from time to time to experience his absence precisely so that we, as his disciples, might learn the importance of bringing his presence to others.   That’s the Epiphany challenge and the challenge St. Paul gave to the Ephesians as he reminded them of their mission to the Gentiles. We now become in our lives the epiphany to others of Christ’s presence in our world. 

We’ve been incorporated into the story: the Bible's story is our story too. Each of us is the Father's beloved daughter or son; he loves us and he has sent us out to love our enemies, to return good for evil, to bring wholeness to the sick, to stand up and speak out for those ignored and despised by others, the poor, the hungry, and the homeless. And at the end of our quests we will have such stories to tell. A bit like Matthew and Paul: "You're not going to believe this, but let me tell you about the time when…"

Epiphany: the light breaking through, the light shining upon, the revelation unfolding, what St. Paul describes to the Ephesians as an insight into the mystery of Christ. The divine has become clear and real in our midst.  Arise, shine for your light has come.

Amen.

 

  

 

 

 

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