Thursday 28 January 2010 Cheddington

Reading 2 Samuel 7

David's Prayer

¹⁸ Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said:

    "Who am I, Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? ¹⁹ And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign LORD, is for a human being!

²⁴ You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, LORD, have become their God.

²⁵ "And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, ²⁶ so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, 'The LORD Almighty is God over Israel!' And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.

²⁷ "LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, 'I will build a house for you.' So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. ²⁸ Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. ²⁹ Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever."

Gospel Mark 4

The Parable of the Sower

¹ Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge. ² He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: ³ "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times."

⁹ Then Jesus said, "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear."

¹⁰ When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. ¹¹ He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables ¹² so that,
       " 'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
       and ever hearing but never understanding;
       otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!' "

¹³ Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? ¹⁴ The farmer sows the word. ¹⁵ Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. ¹⁶ Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. ¹⁷ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. ¹⁸ Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; ¹⁹ but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. ²⁰ Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown."

A Lamp on a Stand

²¹ He said to them, "Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand? ²² For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. ²³ If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear."

²⁴ "Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. ²⁵ Those who have will be given more; as for those who do not have, even what they have will be taken from them."

Sermon

A word about parables. Familiar device used by Jesus. But how did he use them and why?

Collections of parables in gospels give impression parables were main content of Jesus’s teaching. Unlikely to be the case. More likely they were illustrations of his teaching. Memorable because they are stories we can repeat. Also, the details are exaggerated for effect and so unexpected.

Christians have interpreted them as allegories. Some have found meaning in every single detail and every word. Jeffrey John for example. Most scholars nowadays think they were not originally allegories in which every detail of the story has significance.

Truth may be something between the two. Certainly the story is not a recommendation of good farming practice. Hard not to interpret Parable of Sower as allegorical. Jesus even unusually explains the parable himself that way. But not down to smallest detail.

For example, would sower sow seed on path? Would yield of 100 fold be conceivable?

Main message of parable is about teaching and preaching. Seed is the word of God. It’s normal for it to fall on good ground and grow normally. Seed on path or rocks is abnormal. Harvest will come normally. These things are normal, even if they remain miraculous to us.

Maybe even to interpret parable in this way is too much detail. Main point is hearers of the word must be productive. Must not be shallow and accepting, but be prepared to study and deepen faith. Must not be distracted and fall away through pull of worldly pleasures.

Parable is not so much example to the good who are productive, but warning to those that are not. Those whose faith is rootless, or abandoned. Message is that all will not necessarily be well without our free and open acceptance of the word and willingness to nurture it and let it grow.

Follow on parable is Light under a Bushel. Lamp on a Stand. Those who receive the light then hide it under a chamber pot are concealing the light. Faith not meant to be like that. Light is meant to shine out. Hiding the light is as bad as letting seed fall on rocky ground or on path. Seed is the Word – it will not germinate without being looked after. In same way, light will not shine out if it is concealed.

Let those who have ears hear. A stark warning. Amen

Prayer for Christian Unity

WING – Sunday 24 January 2010

Reading 1 Corinthians 12.12-31a [TNIV]

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptised by one Spirit into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honourable we treat with special honour. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honour to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts.

Gospel Luke 4.14-21 [TNIV]

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Sermon

Riding in Underground – eHarmony advert.

In 1997, after 35 years practising as a clinical psychologist and counselling thousands of married couples, Dr. Neil Clark Warren had come to believe that there was a better way to find love than leaving it up to chance. Dr. Warren sought to identify the characteristics between spouses that were consistently associated with the most successful relationships. After three years of research and development, he successfully identified the key dimensions of personality that predicted compatibility and the potential for long-term relationship success. He patented the Compatibility Matching System. Now 236 American couples who met through eHarmony marry every day.

What if success comes through incompatibility? Don’t opposites attract and like poles repel? In marriage couples become one flesh. Unity. eHarmony aims to match like characteristics. Finding you have a lot in common is very attractive from the outset, but will a relationship based on likeness work in long term? Many successful marriages are based on unpredictability, surprise, different skills and gifts that complement each other rather than overlap or match. Unity through diversity.

Jan 18 – 25 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Readings not chosen specially but work well. I Corinthians 12 is all about unity, but not through everyone agreeing or performing same roles.

Paul starts by saying why we should be unified. First, because we are all part of one church. Second we are all baptised with one and same Spirit. We might be very different – Jews, Greek, Slave, Free – Paul gives contemporary examples of diversity – but even though we are members one of another we are not all the same and we do not necessarily all agree.

Paul uses his favourite analogy - the human body. He makes three points – firstly, each of us is different – foot does not see and eye does not walk – all the parts are very diverse yet that does not make them any the less part of the body.

Second point he makes – no part can be dispensed with or opt out. One part – eye for example – cannot say You are a hand, we don’t need you or you are a foot, we can do without you.

Thirdly, not all parts of the body are of equal worth – some have greater status and honour – others we hide and don’t talk about – but all are needed regardless of how we view them, so all are equal in sight of God our maker.

Pretty good analogy – which Paul applied to early church. Not everyone can be a leader. Not everyone wants to be. Some people are administrators, teachers, prophets, some have gift of healing and reconciliation – all are different and each of us has a part to play.

Likewise we don’t all agree. We can still agree to differ in love, yet still happily worship alongside each other. That’s the idea, anyway – but it doesn’t seem to be working, not only between different churches but even within the Church of England and Anglican Communion.

There have been many promising times in our search for unity, but each have come to nothing. We now seem farther from consensus than we have ever been. Churches Together in Britain and Ireland say the ecumenical movement is becalmed. Some might say the ship is on the rocks and threatening to break up.

The trouble is that word consensus. Why do we need to agree on everything? Surely only if we feel we have to combine in one and the same structure and follow the same rules. Perhaps one day the Roman Catholic church might be reconciled to the priesthood of women or married men? Perhaps one day the Anglican church might accept some form of authority by the Pope? Maybe the Anglican communion might focus on unity in Christ and fall out less over the authority of Scripture, the ordination of women, or the appointment of gay people to the episcopate.

Whenever we disagree on anything however profound, we all know we should focus on areas of consensus rather than division. Consensus is important, not as a precondition for unity but to oil the works. Often we find we can agree on 95% and only argue over small areas of doctrine or practice. Is this not sufficient? Unity does not need to be more than that.

In Paul’s version of the church, we are all different and we all use our various gifts. Some are more valued and honoured than others, but all are of equal importance to the whole.

In today’s gospel reading from Luke, there could hardly be a more divisive and potent mix than Jesus who broke every rule addressing the Jews in a Palestinian synagogue. In speaking to them, Jesus did not argue doctrine but read from the Hebrew scriptures. He claimed to fulfil the prophecy of Isaiah – preaching good news to the poor and setting the prisoners free. All eyes were fastened on him. There was no obvious consensus or agreement, but Jesus claimed unity through his own person. Today, he said, this scripture is fulfilled in your own hearing.

That’s where Christian unity comes from – the authority of Christ and not doctrinal consensus. That’s what we should pray for today:

Take us from where we are,
to where you want us to be;
make us not merely guardians of a heritage,
but living signs of your coming Kingdom;
fire us with passion for justice and peace
between all people;

fill us with that faith, hope and love which
embody the Gospel;
and through the power of the Holy Spirit make us one.
That the world may believe,
that your name may be enthroned in our nation,
that your church may more effectively be your body,
we commit ourselves to love you, serve you,
and follow you as pilgrims not strangers. Amen.

Baptism of Christ

Reading Acts 8.14-17

When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptised into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Gospel Luke 3.15-17,21-22

The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. John answered them all, “I baptise you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

When all the people were being baptised, Jesus was baptised too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Sermon

Today we commemorate the baptism of Christ, but these readings are as much about our own baptism as they are about an event that occurred early in Jesus’s ministry when he came to be baptized by John. More particularly what links them is that baptism is by the Holy Spirit.

The background to the passage from Acts is the period when the fledgling church moved from its concentration on Jerusalem and all things Jewish to the Gentile regions beyond. Philip went to Samaria, and preached the gospel there. The book of Acts says there were signs and great miracles performed. This was a momentous departure for the early church. The Samaritans had been traditional enemies of the Jews for centuries. There would have been deep seated resentment on the part of the more traditional Jewish early Christians and very real doubts that the people of Samaria had heard the gospel, accepted the testimony of Philip, and been baptized.

This explains why Peter and John were sent by the Jerusalem church to Samaria on a reconnaissance mission. There they found the report to be true. But the report goes on to say that the Samaritans had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus and had not received the Holy Spirit? What does that mean? Surely one can only be baptized once, with water and the Holy Spirit? Why was the most important element of the sacrament missing? How was it the Holy Spirit was not received by the first Samaritan Christians, and anyway how did they know the laying on of hands by Peter and John proved more effective?

These are indeed very tricky questions – but we have to pursue them because they impinge on our own understanding of our own baptism in our own church. Think about it – if the Holy Spirit can be missing from the baptism by Philip the apostle in Samaria, what if the same is the case today, and would it matter?

Let’s get one thing out of the way at the outset. Baptism is important, not only as a means of receiving new members into the church – the body of Christ. After all, if Jesus was prepared to be baptized himself by John, and the Holy Spirit was clearly manifest to him through the sign of the dove and a voice from heaven, how could we believe baptism is not important for us?

As we know from the miracle of Pentecost, the early church was used to a noisy and visible sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit. We do not often experience that today – and certainly the experience of ‘speaking in tongues’ is unscriptural, in that the disciples at Pentecost were understood when they suddenly spoke in foreign languages which is not the same at all.

So were the Samaritans mistaken when they experienced nothing untoward at their first baptism? We don’t know. One possibility is that the baptism by Philip was a full baptism, but there was a real need for the barriers between Jews and Samaritans to be broken down in a manner that was so clear to everyone that there could be no possible doubt. So when the apostles Peter and John came to Samaria, God’s Spirit was manifest and evident to all. In other words, there was no need for a second more effective baptism, but there was a need for the apostles to believe that God can and does work outside the boundaries set by us, and that God does break them down because the gospel message is for all people and not just for a chosen race.

This is one of the central themes of the Acts of the Apostles, and one of the extraordinary claims made by today’s readings. The love of God, and God’s desire to make every one of us one of his children, is intentionally and thankfully beyond any boundaries or limits we might have in our own imaginations.

What then does this teach us about our own baptism? Well, to my mind the unique perspective of this narrative is that God’s Spirit will fall on whosoever God wills. It’s been called a reckless grace – and no amount of circumvention or limitation will affect the boundless grace of God. That goes for baptism as well as any other event in our lives. Including infant baptism, I suppose – although we know baptism of children is only the start of a Christian life. We make promises made on behalf of someone who, as yet, is unable to form a reasoned judgement on matters of faith. So something else is needed later in life for such a sacrament to be fully one that changes the direction of our lives.

Great expectations are vested in a young life at the time of their baptism, but those who came to be baptized by John had even greater ones. Was John the Baptist the long awaited Messiah they wanted to know. No – John made that clear, and went on to warn about judgement to come for those who bear no fruit.

Preaching about judgement as the flip side to salvation is these days deeply unpopular. We would prefer to hear more about the boundless grace of God, and nothing of the consequences for us if we turn from the light. John does not let his hearers off lightly – he is not a gentle prophet. And we should not lightly skip over all the dark language about sin when we hear the modern baptism liturgy.

To ignore judgement takes away the real need to preach the gospel. It’s not a matter of scaring people, as was certainly the case in Victorian times, but of revealing the need for salvation through Jesus Christ and why it is important. If the road is easy, and not narrow and hard to find, then our life of faith would be one more people would naturally experience.

The gospel of Christ is not all sweetness and light. On the contrary he is the Messiah who lays bare our pretences and false expectations. He reveals our deep seated need for personal and inner transformation. This Son of Man is someone surprising and filled with ultimate and eternal meaning. For preachers to leave out judgement is to let go of the reason for the gospel and thereby cheapen the good news.

So, whatever happened at the baptisms in Samaria, and whatever happened or is to happen in the future at our own baptism or confirmation, let’s bear in mind that the baptism of Jesus is with water and the Holy Spirit, but also with fire. Fire burns but also cleanses. It burns stubble after the wheat has been harvested – but even that is not the end of the story. The wheat is threshed and the chaff blown away. Only the good grain remains to be gathered in.

His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Amen

A test and a testimony

Thursday 7 January 2010 – Holy Communion at St Giles

Reading 1 John 4,5

Faith in the Incarnate Son of God

¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ If we say we love God yet hate a brother or sister, we are liars. For if we do not love a fellow believer, whom we have seen, we cannot love God, whom we have not seen. ²¹ And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love one another.

¹ Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. ² This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. ³ In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, ⁴ for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

Sermon

Remember lawyer in Matthew 22 who asked “...which commandment in the law is greatest?” Jesus answered “Love God with all your soul ... and your neighbour as yourself.” Love God – love others” appears over and over again throughout gospels. Our Christian faith can be summed up in these few words. Faith should be simple not complicated.

In the middle of John’s first letter he takes abiding in God and loving one another a stage further. Love becomes the test of our faith.

We know we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death.” I John 3:14

God is love. That is God’s nature. So anyone who does not love does not know God. This applies also to Jesus, for in Jesus God revealed his love to us. Jesus became the atoning sacrifice for our sins through God’s love. That’s basically what I John 3 is all about.

But in I John 4, the test follows, and we would do well to apply this test to ourselves, as indeed should many of the factions of our church whose arguments about many issues have become increasingly personal.

Those who say ’I love God’ and hate their brothers or sisters are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen cannot love God whom they have not seen.I John 4:20

So the exhortation in the greatest commandments is turned into a test. A test of faith. And not only a test, but a testimony. The test is twofold – a personal test, in that we can examine ourselves: do we love others as well as loving our maker? Secondly, a test we can apply to those we meet. If they claim to love God but appear to hate their fellow Christians, they deceive themselves.

The testimony is that of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is Truth, and has testified to Jesus Christ. Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life: whoever does not have the Son does not have life.

So that’s what these two chapters in I John come down to. A test and a testimony. The first is a test of faith through love, and the second leads to life through the love and grace of God. Amen

Epiphany

Reading Ephesians 3.1-12

I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles –

Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Gospel Matthew 2.1-12

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’”

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Sermon

We all love a mystery. We love to try and discover the truth, or reveal what is hidden. We love a good story with strange and powerful characters. There are few more fascinating narratives in scripture than the Magi travelling from the East led by a star which points them to the birth of a baby foretold long ago by prophets.

Mystery is a word that appears more than once in our first reading. Paul says

“Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ.”

The mystery of Christ – that’s what both readings are all about. The word Epiphany means a manifestation – a sudden realisation of the meaning of something that was previously hidden.

Traditional mysteries often follow a set form. For some reason they are often set in a manor house in Scotland with a small cast of characters: an elderly widow, a servant with peculiar habits, and a distant relative who has inexplicably shown up for a visit after many years. The usual event is a tragic death, which turns out to be a murder. As the detective investigates the case, he often finds that there is intrigue going on over who is to receive a sizable inheritance. The clues in the case are assembled. The police are confused and follow the wrong track. But eventually the master detective solves the case and shows how the pieces of the story fit together. In the final pages, the mystery is solved. The meaning is revealed. The story is over after the Epiphany moment.

Tradition has it that today’s gospel passage concerns powerful kings from the Orient who follow a star. Somehow they evade the evil king Herod who is warned by his political and religious advisers of the birth of a rival for his throne. These wise men find a tiny baby only a few days old, present the poor family with immensely valuable gifts and disappear as quickly as they came on the scene. Herod, thwarted, murders innocent children in a vain attempt to kill his rival. The truth may be rather different, but the message is the same.

Ironically, religious leaders do the bidding of a political ruler who wants to destroy Jesus, but at the end of his life the situation is reversed. Pilate the political ruler does the bidding of the religious leaders and Jesus is condemned to death.

In the same way, the reality of the Epiphany story seems to have been reversed. The Magi became identified in the Middle Ages as Kings or Wise Men. They were neither. Kings do not prostrate themselves before a baby born in poverty, and the Magi found out little wisdom about Jesus from their visit. God does not reveal his truth to the wise and intelligent, but to infants (Matthew 11:25).

If the Magi are not kings or wise men, we still have both in the narrative. Two kings in fact – Herod and Jesus. And the many worldly-wise men who advised Herod.

What do I mean when I say the truth of the Epiphany story may be different from what we have all learned in the past? In Matthew’s gospel, kings are contrasted with servants, and wise men with infants. The Magi follow instructions, they claim nothing for themselves, and they humbly kneel before a young woman and her child. So they behave more like servants or children – and it is to the humble and meek that God reveals wisdom, and from who God accepts worship and praise.

In the same way, we can contrast Jesus the King with Herod, or the Magi with Herod’s advisers, the world’s wise men. It’s clear which of them God favours. Not the world’s wise men, but the wisdom of the infant, the humble or the meek. Not the power of worldly rulers like Herod, but the servant king, or the shepherd who is prepared to lay down his life for his flock. There’s also, of course, the fact that the Magi were Gentiles. The Gentiles are the ones to worship Jesus the King of Israel. The Gentiles are the ones to recognise and honour him, and not the Jews who were looking for their Messiah born of the lineage of David.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians follows a similar theme. Unity in Christ, and Paul’s mission the Gentiles. We are all one in the Body of Christ: there are no longer insiders and outsiders. All such distinctions are no longer valid.

So when we observe Epiphany as we do today, we should not be celebrating the coming of rich and powerful men, but servants of the Lord to whom he revealed the truth. Nor should we celebrate the thwarting of a vain ruler, but the victory of a King who was servant of all and good shepherd of his flock. One who did not lord it over his sheep but protected and nurtured them, and eventually laid down his life for them.

The message of Epiphany celebrates the underprivileged through whose humility and obedience God’s glory and grace have been revealed in the most unexpected ways. That’s why Paul says he has become a servant of the gospel, not a great leader of the church. As such, God gave him grace to bring the real riches of Christ to the Gentiles and as he says... to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God...so that through the church the wisdom of God may be made known.

Normally in a mystery, once the truth is revealed we can close the book and move on. We are satisfied when we know the answer. Not so in the case of the Epiphany. The disclosure of the mystery is at the heart of the gospel story. Now the truth has been made manifest, the next chapter follows on. This is all about what use we make of what Jesus Christ has done for us and how we confidently make known to the world God’s saving grace. Perhaps in the first few days of this New Year and decade we might make that our resolution?

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3

The Mystery of Epiphany

Reading Ephesians 3.1-12

I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles –

Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Gospel Matthew 2.1-12

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’”

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Sermon

We all love a mystery. We love to try and discover the truth, or reveal what is hidden. We love a good story with strange and powerful characters. There are few more fascinating narratives in scripture than the Magi travelling from the East led by a star which points them to the birth of a baby foretold long ago by prophets.

Mystery is a word that appears more than once in our first reading. Paul says

“Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ.”

The mystery of Christ – that’s what both readings are all about. The word Epiphany means a manifestation – a sudden realisation of the meaning of something that was previously hidden.

Traditional mysteries often follow a set form. For some reason they are often set in a manor house in Scotland with a small cast of characters: an elderly widow, a servant with peculiar habits, and a distant relative who has inexplicably shown up for a visit after many years. The usual event is a tragic death, which turns out to be a murder. As the detective investigates the case, he often finds that there is intrigue going on over who is to receive a sizable inheritance. The clues in the case are assembled. The police are confused and follow the wrong track. But eventually the master detective solves the case and shows how the pieces of the story fit together. In the final pages, the mystery is solved. The meaning is revealed. The story is over after the Epiphany moment.

Tradition has it that today’s gospel passage concerns powerful kings from the Orient who follow a star. Somehow they evade the evil king Herod who is warned by his political and religious advisers of the birth of a rival for his throne. These wise men find a tiny baby only a few days old, present the poor family with immensely valuable gifts and disappear as quickly as they came on the scene. Herod, thwarted, murders innocent children in a vain attempt to kill his rival. The truth may be rather different, but the message is the same.

Ironically, religious leaders do the bidding of a political ruler who wants to destroy Jesus, but at the end of his life the situation is reversed. Pilate the political ruler does the bidding of the religious leaders and Jesus is condemned to death.

In the same way, the reality of the Epiphany story seems to have been reversed. The Magi became identified in the Middle Ages as Kings or Wise Men. They were neither. Kings do not prostrate themselves before a baby born in poverty, and the Magi found out little wisdom about Jesus from their visit. God does not reveal his truth to the wise and intelligent, but to infants (Matthew 11:25).

If the Magi are not kings or wise men, we still have both in the narrative. Two kings in fact – Herod and Jesus. And the many worldly-wise men who advised Herod.

What do I mean when I say the truth of the Epiphany story may be different from what we have all learned in the past? In Matthew’s gospel, kings are contrasted with servants, and wise men with infants. The Magi follow instructions, they claim nothing for themselves, and they humbly kneel before a young woman and her child. So they behave more like servants or children – and it is to the humble and meek that God reveals wisdom, and from who God accepts worship and praise.

In the same way, we can contrast Jesus the King with Herod, or the Magi with Herod’s advisers, the world’s wise men. It’s clear which of them God favours. Not the world’s wise men, but the wisdom of the infant, the humble or the meek. Not the power of worldly rulers like Herod, but the servant king, or the shepherd who is prepared to lay down his life for his flock. There’s also, of course, the fact that the Magi were Gentiles. The Gentiles are the ones to worship Jesus the King of Israel. The Gentiles are the ones to recognise and honour him, and not the Jews who were looking for their Messiah born of the lineage of David.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians follows a similar theme. Unity in Christ, and Paul’s mission the Gentiles. We are all one in the Body of Christ: there are no longer insiders and outsiders. All such distinctions are no longer valid.

So when we observe Epiphany as we do today, we should not be celebrating the coming of rich and powerful men, but servants of the Lord to whom he revealed the truth. Nor should we celebrate the thwarting of a vain ruler, but the victory of a King who was servant of all and good shepherd of his flock. One who did not lord it over his sheep but protected and nurtured them, and eventually laid down his life for them.

The message of Epiphany celebrates the underprivileged through whose humility and obedience God’s glory and grace have been revealed in the most unexpected ways. That’s why Paul says he has become a servant of the gospel, not a great leader of the church. As such, God gave him grace to bring the real riches of Christ to the Gentiles and as he says... to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God...so that through the church the wisdom of God may be made known.

Normally in a mystery, once the truth is revealed we can close the book and move on. We are satisfied when we know the answer. Not so in the case of the Epiphany. The disclosure of the mystery is at the heart of the gospel story. Now the truth has been made manifest, the next chapter follows on. This is all about what use we make of what Jesus Christ has done for us and how we confidently make known to the world God’s saving grace. Perhaps in the first few days of this New Year and decade we might make that our resolution?

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3