Let’s pray.
May these words of my mouth and the thoughts of all our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer!
Merry Christmas everyone! Yes, this is the 10th Day of Christmas! Two more to go!
On Christmas Day in 1622 Lancelot Andrewes, the Bishop of Winchester, preached before King James the First. Andrewes’ original text reads:
“A cold coming they had of it at this time of the year, just the worst time of the year to take a journey, and specially a long journey. The ways deep, the weather sharp, the days short, the sun farthest off, in solsitio brumali, the very dead of winter.”
In 1927 T.S. Elliott fashioned his poem, The Journey of the Magi. It drew inspiration from that sermon by Bishop Andrewes. The poem’s focus is on the meaning of the birth of Christ from the perspective one of the wise men or Magi who visited the Christ-child.
Elliott’s lines describe what must have been a difficult journey. He portrays awful weather and cold nights, uncomfortable lodgings, and camel drivers who griped and complained the whole way. It sounds like a miserable and long passage.
The journey, however, leads to a pleasant valley with a stream and trees reminiscent of Psalm 23—you know, the one that reads: “The Lord is my Shepherd. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.” or of Psalm 1 which speaks of “a tree planted by the water which brings for fruit in its season, whose leaf does not whither…”
Next to Easter, Epiphany is the oldest season of the Church year. In Asia Minor and Egypt, the Epiphany was observed as early as the second century. The Feast of the Epiphany fell (and still falls), on January 6th, the date chosen as Epiphany Day because it was the winter solstice, a pagan festival celebrating the birthday of the sun god. In 331 AD the secular solstice was moved back to December 25th, but January the 6th continued to be observed in the Church. Christians substituted Epiphany for the solstice. The emphasis was upon the re-birth of light. In keeping with this time, the First Lesson for Epiphany Day is appropriate: “Arise, shine; for your Light has come.”
Here the Prophet Isaiah consoles a people in exile. They can live with hope, for rescue and restoration will surely come. The glory of Yahweh would again be made visible from Jerusalem, even to the pagan nations. The Divine Light shining from Jerusalem will be manifest. One day, all the nations will acknowledge, enjoy and walk by that Light. As a sign of gratitude to the One enthroned in Jerusalem, the nations will bring wealth by land and sea, especially gold for the Temple and frankincense for the sacrifice.
Psalm 72 (a reading for this day) declares that all the kings of the earth will pay homage to and serve the God of Israel and His Messiah. And so, these two readings express hope for a time when “the people of God” will embrace all nations and all the peoples of the earth will enjoy the blessings promised to Abraham.
In this manifestation of God’s glory—“the epiphany”—St Paul in Ephesians chapter 3 reveals God’s “secret plan” – that the Gentiles also have a part with the Jewish people in receiving Divine blessings.
We are not told how many Magi there were but the three gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh brought by these non-Jewish worshippers of the Christ-child are revelations in themselves.
Gold is truly a gift fit for a king. The Queen of Sheba lavished gifts of gold on King Solomon on her royal visit. The Magi rightly recognize that here lies a king like no other.
Frankincense is a precious resin harvested from a tree in southern Arabia and burned as incense in sacrificial worship in the Temple. The Magi seek to offer true worship.
Myrrh, also harvested from the same region of Arabia, was both an incense and a perfume. It was frequently used to prepare a body for burial. Myrrh and aloes were used by Joseph of Arimathea at the tomb when Christ’s body had been taken down from the cross. This gift points to a sacrificial love beyond comparison.
All three treasures remind us that this Child entered our world with one mission—to rescue a world gone wrong.The Christmas Story of the incarnation of the Son of God becomes a merely sentimental story if we leave out his life-giving mission. How, might you ask? By defeating the Devil, by destroying Sin, Death and Hell. That’s how. The God who sent his son, Jesus, is the God whose star leads along the true path. The long journey of the wise men leads to a realization… that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” (1 Timothy 1.15)
His life and death go together for our redemption. And, somehow in God’s providence, HIS death becomes OUR death and HIS life OUR life. As St. Paul said, “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).
In T.S. Elliott’s poem…one of the Magi says:
“I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.”
Friends, Jesus the Messiah, whose star in the East led the Magi is “The true light that gives light to everyone…” (John 1.9a). Jesus is the revelation of God. By his sacrificial death and his mighty resurrection, He has come to give his life for the world, for you and for me. He is the light that finds you.
Creator of the heavens who led the Magi by a star,
to worship the Christ-child: guide and sustain us
that we may find our journey’s end
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
