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.......

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.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Today is Epiphany, the day we remember the coming of the Wise men, and traditionally the last day of the Christmas period. Only Luke and Matthew's Gospels tell us about the birth of Jesus, and each has a different story. Luke concentrates on Mary and the shepherds, and Matthew on Joseph and the wise men.

Nowhere in our Bible does it say how many wise men came from the east, nor does it give them names, yet traditionally we call them, Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar. Matthew's Gospel just says 'wise men came', but we also call them Kings or Magi. These were men who studied the scriptures and believed that the new star indicated a King had been born, one who would bring peace to the earth. Notice there is also another of those dreams that I mentioned when we looked at Joseph recently. The nativity story is full of dreams and of journeys.

However, the wise men are important for another reason. The Hebrew people had been longing for a Messiah - for someone who would free them from the hated Romans and who would reinstate God's Kingdom. But the coming of the Wise Men also indicated that the Messiah had come to the Gentiles (to non-Jews) as well as to the Jews. He came to offer God's freedom to the whole world. And what does 'Epiphany' mean? We used to say it meant 'showing forth' but perhaps we should say 'a revealing moment' - a scene that teaches us something important - in this case the wise men reveal God has come to the whole world.

Lord Jesus,
we thank You for the insight and knowledge
that brought the Wise Men to Your birth,
and for how they revealed that You
were to be a gift to all people.
May we join with the whole Church
to celebrate this festival of Epiphany,
and continue to look forward to a time
when Your Kingdom will truly come.
Amen.