Epiphany!

Epiphany, Sunday 8^th January 2012

St Mary’s, Kemptown, Brighton

Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:1-12, Matthew 2:1-12

+ In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

So, Christmas is over.....it’s time to move on! The turkey has been well and truly eaten, the presents unwrapped, the cards have been taken down, and the tinsel around the tree has been packed away for another year! So what now? Is that it? Not quite! In many places the crib is still up awaiting the arrival of the Magi, coming to pay homage to the infant Jesus.

So enmeshed within the whole Christmas narrative is the story of the “Three Wise Men” who travel from the east that it is easy just to think of it as another rather lovely part of the traditional nativity story. I’m sure there are those here this morning who have sat through nativity plays over the years and are familiar with the portrayal of the wise men. It has become such a part of the DNA of the Christmas story that we somehow come to suppose that there were three of them, and even go to the extent of giving them names. Do Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar ring any bells? Yet, the truth is that we simply don’t know how many there were, even less what they were called. Those facts are not given to us. But we are comforted by the familiarity of the story that we have grown to love over generations.

But far from being a cosy tale that nicely wraps up the Christmas season, when we read the gospel account of the visit of the Wise Men, we read a story of intrigue that looks like it might come straight out of an Agatha Christie novel. Intercepted by a violent and brutal king, they are interrogated by Herod and ordered to report back on the child’s whereabouts. Yet, after being warned in a dream not to return to Herod they return home by a different route. So enraged is Herod at being double crossed, in his desperation to track down the infant Jesus he orders what is now known as the Massacre of the Innocents.

The contrast is stark! A mad power-crazed despot who will stop at nothing to remain in power on the one hand, even the murder of children. On the other hand we have a group of men who have travelled a great distance to pay homage to the infant Jesus. The risk they endured during that journey would have been great. Although they were men of great importance, they were also outsiders. They were not part of the Jewish community that had come to expect deliverance from their oppressors. They didn’t belong! Why would they even want to make such a dangerous journey when they weren’t even really certain where it was they were heading? Yet it was a journey they felt compelled to make. There was something that drew them onwards as they made their way towards their unknown destination.

The Israelites had very jealously guarded their close relationship with God. The Old Testament gives us account after account of them being delivered from various scrapes. And, although often quite rebellious at times, they had faith in their covenant with God that one day they would be delivered from all that had gone before them. And when eventually the day comes, amongst the first to recognise the significance of Jesus were these men from a far off country. It is interesting that these strangers were the first to come and pay homage. It is almost as though the Israelites were so caught up in how they thought they would be delivered, that when the moment comes, quite unexpectedly they take their eyes off the ball and miss it. Yet how often do they eyes of a stranger notice things that we often take for granted or don’t even see at all?

One of the things I love about Brighton is its celebration of difference. It is a town which embraces the outsider! Especially here in Kemptown, you only need to step outside for a moment to experience the wonderful diversity that comes with a walk along St James Street or the Sea-Front. People are drawn to this place often because it is somewhere they feel accepted and included. And from time to time hopefully they feel drawn into our churches and find a welcome that perhaps they weren’t really expecting.

The Old Testament reading from Isaiah has that great prophecy “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you..........Nations shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn”. It is of course, a foretelling of the events in our gospel reading as it speaks of other nations being drawn to the light. It’s easy maybe to get so caught up in the beauty and poetry of the words that we lose sight of the radical inclusivity of its message. No longer was the loving embrace of God something to be enjoyed only by the select few......it was for all! Saint Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians speaks of how the great mystery of Christ is now available to all and breaks down any barrier between Jew and Gentile.

The coming of Christ into the world was certainly not an exclusive event. It wasn’t some kind of stage-managed, multi-media, celebrity extravaganza with the rights sold to Hello magazine! It wasn’t God setting himself apart to somehow demonstrate how great he was. Rather it was God entering into the messiness of our everyday humanity. Through his Incarnation he embraced all. Interestingly, there is no account of the wise men converting away from whatever beliefs they hold. Perhaps they did, maybe they didn’t! We are simply told that they come and pay homage and then head back home by a different route.

As we celebrate the great Feast of the Epiphany today we do so in the footsteps of those who were first drawn to the Light. Perhaps we don’t have expensive gifts to bring, maybe we don’t always believe the “right” things, but we bring ourselves, in all our weird and wonderful mixed-up diversity. And through the great mystery of his Incarnation Christ gives himself to us......and that is the greatest gift of all.

In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit +

AMEN