Sermons

Feast of the Epiphany
Sunday 7 January at 10am

Pat Hooker
Readings: Isaiah 60.1-6, Matthew 2.1-12

Over the past few weeks we have been celebrating the Incarnation - the mystery of the Word Made Flesh and we have been celebrating by reliving the nativity story with singing and with drama, hearing the story, candles, flowers, love and sharing and hopefully we will have felt the wonder and beauty of it all.

But now it is Epiphany and Epiphany is different. Epiphany with its story of the wise men is rife with cross cultural misunderstandings and confusion:

The enquirers re the new born heir to the throne - the man born to be king. The very idea sent Herod into a panic and led to the massacre of babies and toddlers in Bethlehem. These visitors from Iraq, Iran or wherever had followed the star to Bethlehem and just imagine their confusion as they offered gifts - chosen for a royal child - to Mary and Joseph on behalf of this baby in the temporary accommodation of a small rented house. Imagine Mary and Joseph (was there an interpreter?) wondering what on earth they would do with the presents - and should they offer these visitors somewhere to sleep and a meal … what would they like?

Then perhaps as they were relaxing came news of the threat - Herod's jealousy - and the visitors hastily said their goodbyes and left and Mary and Joseph with the baby set off straight away for Egypt. Confusion. Bewilderment? Was this what the angel had meant when he said that the baby would be Emmanuel God with us? If 'God with us' meant this sort of thing life was going to be tough.

It was if at the beginning of his Gospel Matthew was warning his readers that associating with Jesus Christ was going to be challenging. This is how Christians in Israel and the occupied territories are finding life today.

The wonder of the nativity has tipped over into bewilderment. The awe of the nativity has tipped over into fear all because of those naïve visitors who told Herod that they were searching for the King of the Jews.

This part of the church's liturgical year always seems very congested. In three short months almost to the day we will be celebrating the Resurrection. Maybe like me you feel a bit winded. We want to ponder these dramatic events yet they pile in one upon another. Indeed some theologians talk about the Christ-event seeing everything from the Annunciation to the Ascension as a single whole. I just want to suggest the link between Epiphany and Good Friday - the visit of the wise men and the interrogation of Jesus by Caiaphas and Pilate on the Friday morning.

Some of you know Honthorst's painting of 'Christ before the High Priest'. It is in the National Gallery in London.

Caiaphas is seated on the left and has one hand and one finger raised as he interrogates Jesus. Jesus stands, his hands are bound and he looks so tired, and yet so patient and compassionate. Caiaphas is bewildered. Who are you? Are you the son of God? Are you the Messiah - a prophet, a king for goodness sake and what's this about the temple destroyed and rebuilt in three days? Jesus listens, sadly perhaps he is silently thinking: 'My thoughts are not your thoughts and neither are your ways my ways.'

During his ministry Matthew tells us that Jesus had repeatedly spoken of the Kingdom of Heaven which was clearly unlike any earthly kingdom and now ironically he was going to face death on the charge of claiming to be king. Caiaphas was confused and only too glad to pass the buck - to Pilate.

More cross cultural confusion. For neither Pilate nor Jesus was Greek their mother tongue but probably it was in Greek that they tried to communicate. We can read about it in John's gospel that Pilate had somehow to get to the bottom of this charge that Jesus was claiming to be king for this was treachery and would mean a death sentence.

Pilate was trying very hard but he was bewildered and insecure as Herod had been 30 years previously and insecurity means fear and violent reactions so it was that Jesus was crucified as king of the Jews.

So Jesus is crucified - enthroned on the cross as king. Victim of the power and the rulers of the darkness of this world. He who had shown his almighty power most chiefly by showing mercy and pity.

Epiphany lets us down with a bump but let us get up and show the world that we are not overcome by darkness - real darkness, because we celebrate the resurrection of our King and our God whom we now encounter in unleavened bread and diluted wine.

© St Edmund's Church, Roundhay