Seek the Light

Today we celebrate Epiphany, even though the actual date is tomorrow, on 6th January. Epiphany commemorates the visit of the wise men to the infant Jesus. These three visitors from the East are shrouded in mystery and rich in symbolism. The name for Epiphany is derived from epiphaneia, Greek for manifestation. The visit of these learned and wise men manifested the cosmic spiritual significance of the baby Jesus and foretold a world that would be turned on its head by this child.

These visitors were astronomers, and no doubt steeped in other scientific knowledge, yet they came to worship a newborn baby. They were Gentiles, yet they came to worship a Jew. They had enough wealth to make a long and costly journey, and yet they sought a child who had no possessions or earthly power whatsoever.

Their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh were of no use to either the baby or to his parents but carried huge symbolism: gold for a king, myrrh for divinity, for someone worthy of worship and frankincense to be used to tend the body of someone who had died.

The wise men had sought this child because of a star, an unusual star, a bright and portentous star. In making the journey they were stepping out in faith, expecting to meet someone who possessed apower far beyond their own. When they saw Jesus, even though he was a baby, they recognised him as that person.

The beautiful passage from the prophet Isaiah also speaks of a great light but is not about a bright star: it is about the light of God, shining in the darkness. Isaiah sees in his vision that the light of the Lord will draw people from all over and will bring joy and abundance.

Any Jew hearing the story of the wise men as told in the Gospel of Matthew would have sensed a resonance between Isaiah’s prophecy and the birth of Jesus. Whether or not they accepted Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah, they would have been aware of the symbolism. But Matthew and the other Gospels, in particular, the Gospel of John, do not only show that Jesus was the Messiah for the people of Israel, they also hint that Jesus was much more than that. The human, Jesus, was the physical manifestation of the Christ, the eternal, uncreated, divine Being of God. The person Jesus lived in history: Christ is above and beyond history, and came not only for Jewish or Gentile believers but for all people for all time and for the whole created world.

Retelling the story of Epiphany reminds us to seek the Light, to seek God’s revelation of truth and love, to be found in Jesus 2000 years ago and still to be found in Jesus, as the risen and ascended Christ, the eternal Light of the world.

Revd Christina Rees