Epiphany 2012

"We three kings of orient are..."

It’s a great hymn, based on the colorful & compelling account in Matthew’s gospel

(enhanced with some notable amount of tradition). Through the years it has lent itself well to works of art—paintings, stained glass windows, musical and dramatic representations— and the endearing final episode in the ubiquitous Christmas pageant (or Ceremony of Lessons & Carols, as we do at Christ Church). Mysterious men (perhaps women, too) traveling hundreds or thousands of miles across the desert on camels; following a unique event in the night sky that had captured their imaginations and kindled their hopes; nearly tricked into becoming pawns in the schemes of a powerful but paranoid King Herod; bringing peculiar and precious gifts to honor the infant heir to the throne of an obscure kingdom, the Light of the World born in a dark corner of the Roman Empire. The story has so many points of contact with our common human experience, with universal hopes and dreams, that it is no wonder the “star of wonder”
with its regal wanderers invites so many varied re-tellings and frequent re-hearings.

Lest we get so caught up in the drama and mystery that we miss the
point, let us remember the descriptive sub-title of the Epiphany
feast: The Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles (or “the
Nations”). It is instructive that Matthew, who—more than Mark, Luke,
or John—depicts the Jewishness of Jesus, his context, and his
message, is at pains to make clear from the beginning of the story
that the Messiah who came as a Jew to the Jews did not come only for
Jews, but for all people. And these Magi are depicted as the first
missionaries, in a sense: having learned of, and worshiped Jesus
Messiah, they return to their home country, and it’s impossible to
imagine they kept silent about their adventure. Though it is
speculation, it is not improbable that Matthew understood these
gentile seers from the East were led to the new-born King, in part,
by the words of another gentile seer from the East over a thousand
years earlier: Baalam (of talking donkey fame), who, though brought
in and paid to pronounce a curse on the advancing Hebrew horde, was
compelled instead to speak this prophetic blessing: “The oracle of
him who hears the word of God...I see him, but not now; I behold
him, but not nigh: a star shall come forth out of Jacob, and a
scepter shall rise out of Israel...” (Numbers 24:16-17)
During the longer, “green” seasons of the Church year—Epiphany and
Pentecost—the Sunday lessons focus on Jesus’ earthly ministry: the
season of Pentecost emphasizing the words of Jesus; the season of
Epiphany the works of Jesus, as a way of manifesting His identity,
framed by Gospels on the first and last Sundays of Epiphany in which
God explicitly declares Jesus to be His son (in Jesus’ baptism &
Transfiguration, respectively). In Pentecost we are reminded of the
gift of the Spirit, empowering us for mission; in Epiphany we are
reminded of Him who is the foundation and goal of mission. The
Catechism instructs us that the mission of the Church, inherited
from our Lord himself, is “to restore all people to unity with God
and each other in Christ.” (BCP p.855). King Herod clearly resisted
Jesus’ mission of restoration; the Magi, along with Mary and Joseph
and the shepherds, were among the first to hear and respond to that
mission call. In this season of mission may we follow the Magi to
know and worship Jesus, and then return to the world “by another
way”—i.e., on a different & new path—with the works and words of the
world’s Savior.
Collect for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany: Almighty God,
whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant
that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine
with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known,
worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ
our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one
God, now and for ever. Amen.

the Reverend William Geiger
Rector, Christ Episcopal Church
Indiana, Pennsylvania

 

 

Click HERE  to see the complete Harvest Newsletter.