Epiphany Journey

Tuesday 12th January Matthew 2:11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. 

This picture could be seen as perhaps bringing meaning to the saying seeing is believing or could it be read in another way, that the faith of the Magi is ratified when they enter the Bethlehem house. There is another aspect of the Epiphany narrative that we need to look at; namely what was the driving force that caused these foreign visitors to take this epic journey, what was the nature of their faith that called them to follow this star? 

Right at the outset of the gospel’s forth-telling is a challenge to those who hold a conservative faith that tries to restrict the scope of the Christian faith and reminds me of something Jesus was later to confirm in his teaching. “I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” John 10:6

Whereas the John 10 teaching seems to imply that the other sheep are second in order to enter the Good Shepherd’s fold, here, in the arrival of the magi we find foreigners, so deemed by the ‘chosen’, are indeed among the first to pay homage to the New Born King. They are from the East, surely a sign that the Messiah is for all peoples, not just the Jews.

What does this say about my attitude to ‘the outside ones’ that the bible speaks of as ‘the widow, the orphan and the stranger.’?

A Prayer: Christ the good shepherd, who laid down his life for the sheep, draw us and all who hear your voice, to be one flock within one fold. We thank You for being an all-loving, faithful and everlasting God. Your Word says that You do not show favouritism because You do not prefer one nation over another. We pray that You renew our minds so that we may reflect Your love to all people. Help us to embrace diversity and not exclude people because of prejudices we hold in our hearts.  Amen.