Dear all,

Happy New Year to you and I hope despite all the restrictions you have had a good Christmas.  This week we celebrate Epiphany or the visit of the three kings to see the baby Jesus, who were guided by a star.  There has been some speculation in recent weeks about the star and whether it was caused by the planetary conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn.  The reason this has gained so much publicity is that this year, 2020, the same occurrence happened again so is this what guided the kings to Jesus?  The account comes from the book of Matthew 2: 1-12 and we tend to use the term ‘kings’ and say that there were three, but the text doesn’t state that.  It calls them magi or wise men, but we assume they were three of them because three gifts are presented to Jesus, but again the text does not say this.    The passage begins with the wise men who the text says came from the east, though it does not actually say where from, asking where the one is born king of the Jews.  This made King Herod suspicious and caused him to ask the chief priests and teachers of the law where Jesus was to be born.  The answer given is that of Bethlehem in Judea.  They then quote what the prophet Micah said: ‘…for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’   So, we find the hope prophesised all those hundreds of years before, being quoted and then coming to fruition.  This was good news for the people at the time and is for us today, but Herod felt threatened. 

Herod then calls the wise men and pretends to want to go and worship Jesus himself and asks them to keep him informed of the whereabouts of the Christ child.  After they resume their journey once again the star appears before them and leads them to the place where Jesus is.  They were overjoyed, how awesome and amazing is this?  Notice the text states child not baby so we can assume this visit may not have taken place immediately after the visit of the shepherds.  The verse also tells us they came to the house not the stable so again the holy family may have moved or perhaps a room became available in the inn, we just do not know.  As soon as they see the child they bow down and worship him.  They instantly recognise Jesus for who He is, the saviour of humankind.  They present Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh said to represent elements in the later life of Jesus.  They leave and return to their homeland by a different route because they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod. 

Is it not amazing that Jesus having been born, is visited by shepherds, said to be the lowliest of all and hardly recognised at all as having any importance of status.  And then being visited by wise men or kings said to represent those at the other end of the spectrum of being highly esteemed and respected dignitaries.  This shows us that Jesus came for all, people at both ends of the spectrum and everyone in between.  This week we give thanks for the amazing gift of Christ and how his birth was celebrated and recognised.  As we begin this new year as with the birth of Jesus, there is new life and new hope, let us put the difficulties of the past behind us and look to the future and brighter days ahead. 

May our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, bless us now and always,