SERMON AT WINTERSLOW ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH, MORNING WORSHIP
– SUNDAY 8
JANUARY 2023 – EPIPHANY
Isaiah
60:1-6; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12
May I speak
in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and may my words be a blessing
to all who listen to them.
I guess it
won’t be a surprise to many of you that our Gospel reading this morning is one
of my favourites for quite a number of reasons!
First of
all, it describes an astronomical event that happened over 2,000 years ago, and
secondly, whenever we had the school nativity play I always wanted to be one of
the “kings” wearing a crown rather than a shepherd or heaven forbid, the
donkey! That probably says more about me
and my aspirations for life rather than anything else. I usually ended up as a
shepherd – there was no limit on the number they needed!
The story,
though, has always captivated me and led me to ask more questions than I have
ever received answers. Who were these
wise men? Where did they come from? Were
they really “kings” or just rich merchants? What is clear is that they must
have been well educated and therefore probably quite rich. In all probability they had servants and
possibly even astrologers, or may have been astrologers themselves, who kept
tabs on what was happening in the cosmos.
Here for a
moment I must digress, slightly to explain the difference between astrology and
astronomy. Only last week someone referred to me, on our Walk and Worship
morning, as an astrologer. So, for the avoidance of any doubt, whilst I do
study the heavens (both from a theological and astronomical perspective) I do
not tell fortunes. Astronomy is the
study of celestial objects from a purely scientific point of view – what they
are, where they are, how they are composed, how they were formed, how they will
develop, and above all establishing the composition and dimensions of the
universe. Astrology, on the other hand
is the “fake or false science” (in my view at least) of the study of how these
phenomena affect our lives.
Astrology,
back then, therefore, was primarily for the purpose of trying to understand
what might happen to us here on earth, both individually and corporately. Monarchs and leaders would consult
astrologers to establish whether the stars were auspicious to embark upon
certain ventures such as going to war, or entering into alliances or even
marrying; and although I talk of it as a false science, modern astronomers have
to be grateful for the ancient astrologers (not those who write horoscopes in
the press) but those learned individuals whose role it was to study the heavens
to provide this information to decision makers. This is because they made and
recorded meticulous observations in ancient texts which have led to astronomers
being able to predict, for example, the orbital period of solar system objects
such as planets and comets.
Comets in
particular were considered to be messengers from the Heavens – often associated
with doom and gloom. WE now know, for
example, that the comet depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry was that most famous of
all comets – Halley’s Comet – because it was worked out that the same comet
re-appeared every 76 years and that it would have been in the sky in 1066.
So, back in
the days of the Nativity, there must have been something rather unusual in the
sky to attract the attention of these three wise astrologers, as I think we
must call them. I am sure that they would not have mistaken the planets Venus,
Jupiter or Saturn for this unusual apparition but it is clear that it moved –
just as the planets do – indeed the word planet means “wanderer” because they
appear to move relative to the fixed stars. That would rule out a Supernova for
instance (that is a bright exploding star).
There are
therefore, I think, three plausible explanations therefore, in my view. One is
that there was a special conjunction of two or more planets similar to that
which we saw two years ago with Jupiter and Saturn, or second, that it was a
comet (and there is indeed some evidence for both of these conjectures) or that
it was truly an amazing inexplicable phenomenon. Many paintings, such as Giotto’s “Adoration
of the Magi”, depict the Star of Bethlehem as a flaming comet. It was for this
reason that the space probe sent up to intercept and study Halley’s Comet was
called “Giotto”. I am convinced,
therefore, from a purely scientific point of view, that the most likely culprit
is a comet. Comets tend to travel through our skies slowly and when they reach
the sun they will “disappear” from view for a while to reappear as they begin
their travel back into the outer realms of our solar system. We read that the
wise men halted their journey at Jerusalem and that the star reappeared. As to
it stopping over the birthplace of Jesus, I cannot give an explanation except
that it may very well have dimmed or arrived close to a bright fixed star. We shall never know for certain. I was very fortunate to receive a book this
Christmas entitled “The Great Christ Comet” which claims to reveal the true
star of Bethlehem. I haven’t yet read it
but maybe, if you invite me back to preach here next year, I’ll have some
further theories.
Well, I hear
you think, that’s all very erudite and scientific, but where is the theology in
this sermon or is it a lecture?
First of
all, we don’t know whether to story is true or not. Interestingly, the Three Wise Men appear in
only one of the synoptic gospels – Matthew.
Neither Mark, the quick-fire gospeller, nor Luke, the more loquacious
writer, make any reference at all to these figures. Of course, following on
from the passage read this morning, we then encounter the horror of the
Massacre of the Innocent and it is interesting to note that Herod’s Decree was
for all male children under the age of 2 years which suggests that the Wise Men
may very well have arrived well after Christ’s birth itself. It is only our Nativity narratives which have
placed the “kings” with the shepherds in the stable/barn.
For me, the
essence of the story and why Matthew included it in his account of the birth od
Christ is that the Wise Men were seen to come from a far away place. They were not Jewish but we are told “came
from the East”. Indeed, the famous carol
begins with “We three kings from Orient are”. The significance then is
that the birth of Jesus was not an event solely for the Jewish people. He wasn’t just the Jewish Messiah, the person
who would save the Jews from their oppressors, but that he had come into the
world to save all Humankind. It was a sign, just as was the “star” to proclaim
the dawn of Christianity throughout the world – to all who would come to
believe and worship him. We are told
that the wise men brought a gift each – symbols of Christ’s status and mission
on Earth – gold, as he was to be regarded as a king – ruler of the Kingdom of
Heaven, frankincense – a spiritual leader of all people and myrrh, that bitter
perfume used in the embalming of bodies to signify that he would die for us on
the Cross to save us from our sins.
The final
piece of the story, which intrigues me, is that of the dream which warned them
that Herod had tried to trick them in going back and telling him where Jesus
was, so that he might slaughter him.
Herod was fearful that his authority, and indeed his Crown, would be
usurped by this infant “King of the Jews”.
It has
always struck me how dreams play such a large part in biblical narratives –
both Old and New Testament - Joseph, Daniel, Joseph the Carpenter, Paul, Peter
were all great dreamers who received messages from God through dreams.
A lot of
people have said to me that they have never heard God speaking to them. Well,
maybe like me, you have not received an auditory communication – a voice
speaking to you – but just like those radio telescopes listening to the noise
of the Cosmos, something which we can’t hear without the use of special
equipment, so too God can communicate to us through other means – dreams being
one of them. As with radio telescopes,
we need to distinguish between background earthly noise and sounds coming from
the distant universe. So to we need to distinguish between our own thought and
those coming from God. Samuel was
convinced that God’s voice was that of the priest Eli.
So, the
message of this passage is, I think, to remind us of these three basic things:
· Jesus was born for all Humankind, not
just the Jewish people
· To remind us, by the three gifts of
his status and mission – as king, priest and sacrifice
· Of God’s love and creation literally
universal.
Amen MFB/05012023/180
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