In the Living Brook Benefice we are transferring the feast of the Epiphany to this Sunday, and in the services I'll be preaching at I'll be considering the theme of gifts for the King. There are no prizes for seeing that the theme comes from the two readings we'll be hearing: Isaiah 60:1-6, and Matthew 2:1-12.
In the first, a magnificent vision of the LORD God restoring the fortunes of Israel and appearing on the holy mountain, Zion, is filled out by glad hearted Israelites returning from exile and bringing with them items of great value. They bring flocks of sheep to sacrifice to God, silver, gold and incense to give to Him. They are things that most of the Israelites who heard the prophecies at the time could only dream of being able to give to their King, because they lived in poverty. So the appearance of such wonderful things in the prophecy is a sign that God would restore His people and end their poverty. They would them use the new wealth not for their own benefit but to worship and adore God. The wealth would benefit others by refitting the lost Temple.
Matthew tells a story in which the people of Israel are not able or willing to recognise and worship their God and King. News of the arrival of the divine child reaches not only Herod (who. Ivor have a reason to feel threaten by the child), but all the people of Jerusalem. And all of Jerusalem, Matthew says, is unhappy at this news. None of the Lord's people in the the city of the holy mountain wish to worship their King; instead they deny and ignore the signs and the birth of the holy child.
But while the people of Israel behave in the opposite way from that of Isaiah's prophecy, a group of astrologers from 'the East' (probably Persia) are determined to seek out the child, to worship him, and to bring the sort of Kingly gifts that Isaiah thou appropriate. And so it is not the children of Abraham who welcome their Messiah, but people from the land that persecuted the Israelites and sent them into exile.
The magi - a word that can indicate magicians, wisdom, members of a priestly caste of Zoroastrians from Persia or people who made it their business to study the revelations and activity of God through the movements of the stars - bring gifts that are consider eminently suitable for a King. Gold has always been considered to be the stuff of Kingship, whether it represents the material that makes the crown, or the coinage that the King must use to finance his kingdom and kingly activities. Frankincense is also indicative of wealth and importance, and points to a divine kingship, since it was burned in the Temple, an offering of prayer and delightful scent to the King of Kings. Myrrh was also very much a royal gift. It was used as the base for the mix of scented oils used to anoint a King or a High Priest, and so can be seen as a sign of a priestly Kingship, perhaps not so afar removed from our british concept of Kingship today, as we see our monarch as the head of a church and expect to hear spiritual advice and encouragement amongst the rest of the message from the Queen on Christmas Day.
This Sunday in Living Brook our 11am service will include a baptism. Young James will no doubt receive quite a few gifts of his own in the course of the day. Many of them will have been carefully thought about, and will reflect his preferences (he is old enough to have some), and also the hopes that the givers have for him as he grows up. He may not receive gold, frankincense or myrrh, but he will be anointed with the oil of baptism, which holds much of the same significance for him as the oil of anointing does of or a King or a priest. James will be told as he is anointed that he is called by God, to follow and serve God in all that he does. He is called to be loved by God and to love God in return. The anointing is a symbol of the wonderful gift of grace that James is given just for being a child of God.
And the most important gift of the Epiphany is precisely that gift. Not a gift given but the gift we are asked to receive. The gift that the magi received as they gave their worthy and wealthy gifts. The America gifts that empty handed shepherds had received months earlier, and that countless others would receive from Jesus. Jesus is worthy of Kingly gifts from the magi and he is worthy of kingly gifts from us too, whether expressed as generous giving to the church or the needy or in our service and worship of Him (hopefully both!). He is worthy of our gifts because he is a King, and we can recognise his Kingship because of His kingly gift of grace to us.
As you consider the theme of kingly gifts this week, perhaps you might think and pray about your response to the kingly gift which Christ offers to you. What does it mean to you that you are offered the grace of salvation and the love of God by Jesus? What gifts do you bring to Him as part of your response?
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