Epiphany

Epiphany

Epiphany: Jesus Shown for Who He is!

We have just celebrated the Feat of the Epiphany at St Peter’s Church. This is a beautiful feast for us: the three kings come from the East in all their fine clothes, bringing exciting gifts for the Baby Jesus, lead to Bethlehem by the shining star!

The word Epiphany means showing what something is. Or in this case, who somebody is: Jesus. The glory of God is shown, shining from Jesus: the colour of our vestments in church is shining gold! The three kings are also called the magi, which means wise ones. They come to adore, Jesus, to kneel and worship the new-born king. Their coming from far away shows that Jesus has come for all people. And they bring three gifts for Jesus: gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and each gift shows something about who Jesus is.

Gold shows Jesus’s royal identity as King of kings and Prince of peace. He has come to build a kingdom where children are very special. A kingdom where if we want to be close to God, Jesus tells us we have to become like little children. A kingdom where the King, Jesus, shows us how to serve our fellow humans with love and joy.

Frankincense is the sweet smelling resin, or gum, which we still burn in our worship at St Peter’s today. This gift shows that Jesus is going to help people to worship God and teach us to pray so that we can live close to God.

Myrrh is the last gift, and it’s always hard to spell! It shows that when Jesus dies, something important will happen, and we’ll be thinking about this when Lent comes in March.

What amazing, mysterious gifts the magi brought! Thank God for all the wonderful gifts we receive. And thank God for all the wonderful gifts we have: our talents, our ability to love God and our neighbour. How will we show the glory of God in what we do and who we are this new year?

May the glory of God be shown in our lives this Epiphany!

Epiphany blessings,
Father Andrew