Thoughts for the Day

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

“And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”’

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

I love the Feast of Epiphany and the story of the three wise men, for it brings all sorts of things to my mind:

• The number of time I have spelt 'Epiphany' wrong.
• The meaning of the word 'Epiphany' which is 'showing forth', that is the good news of Jesus is spread to the Gentiles (that is us).
• The hundreds of nativity plays with children as the wise men, who lost their head-gear, or dropped their presents, but who re-told the story with wide-eyed looks of expectation.
• The emphasis on the Twelve days of Christmas by our ancestors, which only started their Christmas on Christmas Eve night, and continued for twelve days.
• The young boy with golden hair who held up grapes to King Herod, when we told the Christmas story by creating' static pictures in the 'arches' of the chancel screen at East Bergholt.
• The telling of T.S. Eliot's poem 'The coming of the Magi', with a superb reader, and adult men dressed in sumptuous clothing who silently processed around the church during the service at Manorbier.
• Above all it is the fact that God's Son, the Saviour of the world, came to invite us to re-align ourselves with God, allowing Him to work within us to mould us as His people.

So let us boldly celebrate this the twelfth day of Christmas and remember it's meaning and perhaps say a prayer for Orthodox Christians, of whom there are approximately 200 million in the world, and who celebrate their Christmas on this day, the 6th, or else the 7th January.

Collect for Epiphany

O God,
who by the leading of a star
manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth:
mercifully grant that we,
who know you now by faith,
may at last behold your glory face to face;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.