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Weekly Bible Notes 

The Epiphany Year A, Colour = White / Gold

Introduction

Opening Verse of Scripture John Chapter 8:12

Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
 

Collect Prayer for the Day

Creator of the heavens, who led the Magi by a star to worship the Christ-child: guide and sustain us, that we may find our journey's end in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Common Worship Shorter Collect

O God, who by the leading of a star manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: mercifully grant that we who know you now by faith, may at last behold your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen. Common Worship

Almighty God, your Son our saviour Jesus Christ is the light of the world. May your people shine with the radiance of his glory, that he may be known, worshipped and obeyed to the ends of the earth; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Methodist Worship
 

First Bible Reading  Isaiah Chapter 60:1-6 

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. "Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD.

Second Reading  Ephesians Chapter 3:1-12

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles-- Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Gospel Reading  Matthew Chapter 2:1-12

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'" Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Post Communion Prayer

Lord God, the bright splendour whom the nations seek: may we who with the wise men have been drawn by your light discern the glory of your presence in your Son, the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Commentary

The story of the wise men has been widely reported in the media this year following the remarks of the Archbishop of Canterbury when he said that we should be careful and not read into scripture what is not there, whether it be about the number and nature of the wise men or the weather conditions in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth. The story of the wise men, he went on to say, seemed to work well as a legend, certainly with the accretion of the stories and traditions which have built up around it. Indeed, the Greek historian Herodotus (500 BC) says that the Magi were a caste of priests from Persia who could interpret dreams – and interestingly there are five dreams in Matthew's birth narrative, with four of them warning of the murderous intentions of King Herod and his son Archelaeus who succeeded him.

Whoever the Magi were, and we may never know for certain, we should follow the Archbishop’s guidance and not over emphasise details of which we are not sure and have little basis in scripture. Equally importantly neither should we under-estimate the truth of what is contained in scripture and, in particular, the Christian message of Christmas; the message that when Christ was born, God himself came down and dwelt among us. And it was to that Christ that the wise men travelled, guided by the star. However they travelled, however long it took, it must have been quite a surprise when they found the Messiah in surroundings that they would not normally associate with a Messiah King. But in the story of the kings and in their response to the infant Jesus we begin to see the changes that were occurring on earth through God’s cosmic intervention. Whilst we know relatively little about the wise men it is unlikely that they were Jews. The coming of the wise men to Jesus was symbolic of the fact that this Messiah Christ was for all people, not just the Jews. This Christ would be Lord of all who acknowledge Him and respond to His love and grace. The wise men visibly demonstrate that all who are looking for Christ can find Him and recognise Him, whatever the surprising surroundings they find Him in. And once they had found and recognised the Christ, their immediate response was to kneel before Him in silence and worship Him.

Sometimes when we enter the presence of God we feel that we need to say something, to start praying or singing a hymn. The wise men remind us that sometimes all we are called to do is to come before God and be silent. Sometimes it will be the silence of awe and majesty, as it probably was with the wise men. Other times it may be more like the companiable silence that breaks out between two friends who have no need of constant conversation to sustain their friendship. In all the noise and activity of the Christmas and New Year celebrations, all the hubris of a new birth, there was a silence as the wise men knelt and worshiped Emmanuel, God with us on our earth, the Messiah, Peace on earth, the redeemer of the world. It was only after the wise men had worshiped that they brought out their highly precious and valuable gifts to offer to the infant child. Gifts that were at the same time so rare and yet so inadequate. Gifts that would foretell the destiny that the baby Jesus would have in the years ahead. The destiny of a Prophet, the destiny of a Priest and ultimately the destiny of the Suffering Servant, crucified as King of the Jews nailed to His cross. Their response to an encounter with the living God was to willingly offer gifts of great value to Christ from generous hearts. After they had seen Him, recognised Him, worshipped Him and offered Him their gifts they then journeyed on, taking the experience of that meeting with them for the rest of their lives. As we journey through our lives we too take the experience of our daily encounter with God with us. Like the wise men we need to see Him, recognise Him, worship Him and offer our gifts to Him, that the world may be changed by the God who is with us and continues to intervene in His cosmic manner. A God who continues to be Lord and Saviour for all who kneel, worship and acknowledge Him.  Sam Cappleman

Meditation

Many threads and stories from the Old Testament feed into the New Testament account of the wise men visiting Jesus. In the book of Numbers describes an encounter between the Israelites, who by this time after their escape from Egypt had travelled to the plains of Moab and are now camped along the Jordan just across from Jericho where they will enter the Promised Land, and Balak, the king of Moab. Balak asks Balaam to come and put a curse on the Israelites so that he can defeat them in battle. Balaam and his talking donkey reluctantly get involved, but rather than curse the Israelites, Balaam blesses them three times, much to Balek’s annoyance. In their final exchange Balaam prophesies that a star will come out of Jacob, a sceptre will rise out of Israel, and a ruler will come out of Jacob. Jesus, as the Israelites before Him, would travel to Egypt before coming to live in the promised land. Herod’s threat to kill the Hebrew infants has parallels with Pharaoh’s attempts to do the same before him, which led to Moses being put in a basket in the river. History is repeating itself. Only this time it is Jesus Himself who is the true representative of Israel, He is the true child of God, the Messiah Himself, the Star of Israel. As the prophets would foretell, the best of the world’s wise would come to Zion to acknowledge Him and creation itself would proclaim Him by the code which could be read in the sky. God had broken into our world. Curious then that Herod could not find this King of the Jews. Thirty years later others would not fail to find Him, as they nailed this very title to the cross on which He would be crucified. In the birth of Jesus God was acting powerfully to save the world from sin and Christ’s birth was the first step that would lead Him to the cross. The star, the sceptre and the ruler that Balaam had foretold had come and a new chapter in the world’s history had begun to unfold.  Sam Cappleman

Hymns

1. As with gladness men of old, 39

2. Come and join the celebration, 83

3. Brightest and best of the sons of the morning, 65

4. We three kings, 740

5. Angel voices ever singing, 34

Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead

With the angels and saints, each day and each night, each shade and each light, I bend my knee in the eye of the Father who created me, in the eye of the Son who redeemed me, in the eye of the Spirit who cleansed me. In love and affection, in wisdom and grace, in love and in fear, for ever and ever. Amen Gaelic Prayer to the Trinity

Creator of the heavens, who led the Magi by a star to worship the Christ-child: guide and sustain us, that we may find our journey's end in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Common Worship Shorter Collect

Almighty and everlasting God, you have revealed the incarnation of your Son by a bright shining star, which led the wise men to offer costly gifts in adoration. Let the star of your justice give light to our hearts, that we might give as our treasure all that we possess and all that we are, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Gelasian Sacramentary

Almighty God, your Son our saviour Jesus Christ is the light of the world. May your people shine with the radiance of his glory, that he may be known, worshipped and obeyed to the ends of the earth; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen Methodist Worship

In their search for the Creator of the Universe, the wise men found you not in Herod’s palace, but among the dwellings of the poor and needy. Teach us to search for truth and beauty in unexpected places, to relieve poverty where we are able, and to share unashamedly in the cause of the outcast and despised. Amen

The God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight; and may the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen
 

Additional Material

Commentary

Matthew 2:1 ‘After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’ 
So starts the Gospel of Matthew. It finishes in a similar way, specifically in Chapter 27 where the phrase ‘King of the Jews' is used, but nowhere more prominently than over the dying body of Jesus, fixed to the cross were the words 
THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS (Note John records 'Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews' John 19)
Matthew does not just throw his Gospel together, he uses the materials carefully and in so constructing his Gospel he makes the clear point, the death of Jesus was all part of God’s plan. The birth of Jesus was God’s idea and his death also was not just because of human hate. God gave Jesus to the world. Read the opening chapter of Matthew and this becomes clear Matthew 1:21 
‘She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us."’ 
We are being led to recognise that in the birth of Jesus God was acting powerfully to save the world from sin.
So what of these Magi, whom only Matthew mentions? The story has led to fascinating stories and hymns such as ‘We three kings of Orient are’, however nowhere does Matthew mention 'Kings' and neither does he say how many there were. There is no indication of where they came from, their racial characteristics, their names or their mode of transport. Some have said they came on ships, others say camels. Some say that there were three, because there were three gifts recorded. Western Tradition has named them as Melkon, Balthasar and Caspar. These names were first used by Origen (d. 254) and became popular from the 6th Century. We are even led to believe that Jesus was a child and no longer a baby (verse 9)
Matthew’s gospel uses the story of the Magi (or magicians) for drama: the star moves across the sky and takes up station above the place where Jesus was born. The created world is being called to bear witness to this momentous event. The heavens declare the glory of God – in yet another way Matthew is making a statement about Jesus’ ministry and the church: the gospel is to be taught to all nations. As in the subtle additions to his genealogy, which break the pattern by naming women who have been under a cloud, many of them with Gentile connections, so here Matthew wants us to see the deeper significance of the story. This is a celebration of inclusiveness: the Magi prove Jesus is for all people. Matthew shows in the story of the Magi that seekers from all nations will come to recognize Christ and be welcome in his presence. And, that the promise of Israel's being a light for the nations, as the prophets anticipated, is now fulfilled in Christ.

Matthew shows how the Magi behave and encourages us to do the same, they saw God's gift demands and so they left and followed. The story of the Magi today is not an encouragement to study the stars or to think God speaks to us in dreams. Rather it is a story of God meeting people where they are and speaking to them powerfully. The Magi were driven to visit Jesus, they did not know all the answers but they were moved to travel to discover more, to find out about Jesus. The Magi remind us that God's grace works through many different means.

 

Meditation

So what of the story for us ? Embarking upon a journey of discovery, like the Magi, is what we are all about as Christians. We are a pilgrim people, we have set off to follow Christ and learn more about God as we journey. For many this idea is an unsettling and uncomfortable idea, a journey in which we do not know the landmarks; where we will have to keep trusting the voice inside that urges us not to turn back or stop.
It is far more preferable for some to have a voice of certainty with all the answers, a voice which has a hotline to God and can speak all the truth all of the time. Sadly such voices are usually conmen (or women) and should not be listened to, no matter how comforting they appear to be. There will be questions for all of us and we will change direction and move in different ways, this is all a part of the pilgrimage and shows that we are capable of growth towards maturity. It is a frightening things to place one foot in front of another and trust that we will find the way, yet we walk that path with the hand of God.
What the Magi saw was hardly impressive; a poor family in a nondescript village and an infant. However, the Magi had been led by the light of the star. Was it really a huge star in the heavens like the Christmas show, or a small brightness of Jupiter or even as some Christians believe, an interior light that kept them looking and then shone brightly for them revealing the truth at the end of their quest? We will never know, but God was present among the obscure; hidden in an out-of-the- way place. 
Today we like the Magi, ask God to stir up a hunger in us. For the courage to let go of the comfortable and familiar and request the energy to once again go looking for God. To be open to finding the holy in unfamiliar and "unholy" places. 
May we also have a sense of wonder and awe, the spirit of a searcher, one willing to look up and follow a star beyond familiar borders. May we recognize the revelation of God, despite all appearances to the contrary.  The Revd Charles Royden

Hymns

1. The first Nowell (Hymns and Psalms 119)

2. He’s got the whole world (H&P 25)

3. We three kings(Mission Praise 740)

4. The orange of Christingle (tune The Holly and the Ivy 88 H&P)

5. Once in Royal David’s City H&P 114

Prayers

Glory to you, O Champion of all Loves, who for our sake endured the cross, encountered the enemy and tasted death. Glory be to you, O King of all Kings, who for our salvation wrestled with principalities and powers, subdued the forces of hell and won the greatest of all victories. To you be all praise, all glory and all love; now and for ever. Amen. Thomas Ken, 1637-1711

Almighty Father, whose Son was revealed in majesty before he suffered death upon the cross: give us grace to perceive his glory, that we may be strengthened to suffer with him and be changed into his likeness, from glory to glory; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.