Readings for the Epiphany Sunday 6th January 2013 might include
We all have a very clear picture of those who came looking for the infant Jesus
There were of course the shepherds
and today we think about the Wise Men.
They widen the story
Not just those who happen to be around
like the shepherd, working nearby,
but strangers from far away.
By extension we are invited to think......
Those who are outside the usual sphere
like you and me.
It is a simple idea that Matthew is presenting us with
not just the cultic Messiah
of a small group of Jews
but the very reality of the universal God.
I suspect the Wise Men didn't quite know what they were looking for
nor what they would find
and we don't really know what they made of it all.
Like you and me!
So the Epiphany question for us is
What are we looking for?
Do we recognise it when we see it?
And What do we make of it.
What are we looking for?
This is a place to begin.
What do you want God to do and be for you?
It would be interesting to go home and write a list
...fame, fortune, success..perhaps
happiness, security,
maybe freedom and justice.
Healing, wholeness...
Take some time to think about it this week
Do we recognise it when we see it?
Take some time to think about it this week
The Kings come...expecting to find something
that fits in with their own idea of kingship
...they almost miss it
Do we miss God in our midst?
In the day to day encounters that we have with each other,
in our ordinary lives.
If we ask ourselves questions like
Where do I feel most alive?
What am I most grateful for?
Perhaps there we will begin to find
as new parents do with their child
what we are seeking
Where am I alive?
What fills me with deepest thanks?
What do we make of it.
We do not know what the Wise Men made of this encounter
they go on their way
We do know that countless others
have accepted the offer of God
to live life differently
with love and forgiveness
with hope and joy
with openness to the Holy Spirit.
Can we,
will we
open ourselves to the transformation
that is made manifest to us
at this time.
Jesus, with us.
Our Immanuel---God with us.
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