Happy New Year to folks. And may this be a better year than last year. On this day of Epiphany, many of us say farewell to Christmas and hold on to the fact that the realisation of who Jesus is makes all the difference. I use ‘realise’ deliberately. Realising (from a state of confusion to knowing true meaning), is not the same as understanding (mere comprehension of facts).
Epiphany is not so much about the visit of the Three Wise Men (for a start the scriptures do not tell us how many wise men there were. We simply know that they came from the East). Epiphany is of course about ‘the big reveal’ – but a kind of reveal that is deeper than Jesus simply showing Himself to us like a jack-in-the-box. (For those of you who question whether a baby could, if they wanted, jump out of a box, it is worth reminding ourselves that the infant Jesus had more likely grown into a toddler by the time that the wise men arrived, so I am consider it quite possible that they encountered a playful Jesus). If we were to allow ourselves to question what the toddler Jesus might have been like, we would not doubt find a wealth of rich material, both salutary and comedic. Unfortunately however, because so much would be hypothetical it would be difficult to come away with any certainties that could encourage us. Apart from one thing. If Jesus, as the creeds state, is both truly God and truly human, he would have experienced all the frustrations that we did as we developed. I continue to recoil at the line of ‘Away in a Manger’ that says, ‘The little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes’. I think it needs more clarity, ‘no crying he makes for a brief period, and then He reverts to screaming His head off because he is hungry or needs changing’. And why should that encourage us? Because God is there, in the messiness of life. Because every child needs to scream, otherwise they do not grow powerful lungs. Because we need to scream at times, for our own sanity. Because God is there, supporting Mary and Joseph throughout it all.
Anyway, that is not the point of Epiphany. The point is that the wise men found Jesus and realised who Jesus was and the difference that He would make. It was their ‘Epiphany’. It was a moment in time where they finally began to see how the promises of God would coalesce to a point where hope for the future was viable. So, what might we take from this? Well there are times in our Christian journey where we may well suddenly reach a deeper understanding about the presence and purpose of God in our lives – which enables us to follow and find the ‘Life in all its fullness’ (John 10:10) that Jesus promises. Others may struggle to see this, but you will. Do not forget that there would have been those in Jesus day who visited, who just saw another child – but the wise men saw more. There is a natural link here as we remember how, anointed by the Spirit, we see the world differently to others. We see purpose, potential, hope where others see nothing. Our role is to communicate that hope. To share our faith, to ask people if we can support them though prayer, to help in practical terms, and to invite them to become part of a new community.
There is a link back to Advent of course, even though we are now rooted in Epiphany. The common thread, for me is the wilderness. John the Baptist preaches in it. The wise men journeyed through it to reach Jesus. However, just because something is a wilderness does not mean that it is lifeless – and just because something is challenging does not mean that it is ‘bad’. Sure, the coronavirus is by every definition of the phrase ‘bad news’. However, despite the hostility of the disease, good things – the absolute best of our human nature – has come to the surface. So, as we journey through this barren landscape, and this second lockdown, may we be encouraged that the Kingdom is coming, and that the virus is being beaten, despite the sting in its tail. My prayer is that we can be uplifted, as were the wise men (and women) with the realisation of the presence of God and find hope for the future. And may this pandemic continue to deepen our relationship with God through Christ, and our resolve. Remember, we are supposed to be those people who survey the same scene as everyone else but see differently. May God give us the grace to encourage others.