January 2010 - Vol. 32 No. 1

Dear Friends,

'January brings the snow' according to an old song. It also brings Wise Men from the east - well, not literally, but in the Church's calendar. You may be forgiven for thinking that they had already arrived. After all, weren't they there in the stable with the shepherds during all those children's nativity plays, and didn't we hear the story of their coming and sing about them on Christmas Eve, or even earlier in December? Well, yes, we do usually include them in the story of Christ's birth which we tell and sing about and celebrate at Christmas. So it may come as a surprise to some of us to discover that they probably arrived with their gifts a year or more after the shepherds, when Jesus was no longer a tiny baby, but a toddler. The Wise Men are remembered on 6th January. This date marks the end of the twelve days of Christmas and users in the season of Epiphany.

The word 'epiphany' means to show or reveal. During the Epiphany season it is traditional to include in our worship stories from the Gospels in which Christ's glory is seen and his identity revealed as the Son of God. We include in this season a celebration of the Baptism of our Lord. As Jesus was coming up out of the water a dove alighted on him and a voice from heaven proclaimed him as God's beloved Son. We also tell the story of a the first miracle of Jesus that is recorded, namely changing water into wine at the wedding at Cana in Galilee. The final story to be told is of the infant Jesus being taken to the temple by Mary and Joseph and being recognised as the long awaited Messiah by two old people, Simeon and Ann. Simeon takes the child in his arms and proclaims him as 'a light for revelation to the Gentiles' (Luke 2:32 NRSV). This occasion is sometimes celebrated under the name 'Candlemas' and brings to a close the season of Epiphany.

In all these Gospel stories there is an epiphany for the people present, as God's glory is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ and there is a recognition of who he is. The first and the last of these stories are accounts of events in the life of the infant Christ and both reveal not only his identity as the Son of God, but they also show that Jesus came for all people everywhere, not just for a few. Simeon's words indicate that Jesus, born a Jew, was not only the Saviour of that race but of the whole human race. The Wise Men were the first people outside the Jewish race to worship Jesus and to acknowledge him as King. So they were the first to reveal Jesus to a wider world.

Some of us may have had our own 'epiphany moment' when something previously hidden or puzzling has been made known to us and we have seen for ourselves who Jesus is. Others may be like the Wise Men setting off on their journey, following the star with hope and expectation that it would take them to the place where they would find the new King. Whether we have had our own personal epiphany or that is yet to come, the important thing is to set off on that journey, for as someone has said, 'Wise men (and women) still seek him.'

With my love and prayers for the coming year.

Glynis Hetherington.