The Vicar Writes
January 2010
Journeying in hope
Dear Friends,
Journeying in hope
I hope that you had, or if you are reading this before the twelfth night, are still having a very good Christmas. And I wonder what New Year’s resolutions you have made, and what you are hoping for in 2010. I suppose that could beg the questions: what resolutions did you make at the beginning of last year? Did you keep them? And did you receive what you hoped for?
However 2009 proved to be for us personally, surely we all need to journey on into 2010 with hope.
Good news for the whole world.
One of the first things that we do in each new year is celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. The danger is that, having already thought about the Wise Men thousands of times with the help of Christmas carols being sung since the middle of December, we come to regard 6th January (the Feast of the Epiphany) as the end of the festivities, rather than the day when we move from one festival to another. Have you ever noticed how we keep the crib in place in church through January: through the season of Epiphany? Epiphany reminds us that the Good News of Christmas isn’t to be put away in the loft with all the decorations. It is to be proclaimed as good news for the whole world.
A lesson in how to journey in hope
Epiphany gives us a lesson in how to journey into the coming year with hope. Just think about the Magi, the Wise Men: why did they do it? Why did they endure a long, arduous, dangerous, journey just to see a baby boy? They could have seen one of those in their own countries.
As T.S. Eliot put it, A cold coming we had of it, Just the worst time of the year For a journey, and such a long journey… At the end we preferred to travel all night, Sleeping in snatches, With a voice singing in our ears, saying That this was all folly.
It's not all of us who experience challenging, uncomfortable, life threatening journeys. We don't all attempt to sail around the globe single-handedly, say, or to climb Everest. At the same time, however, many of us have experienced sightseeing tours on holiday which have been long and uncomfortable, probably in excessively high temperatures, all to see something which we simply couldn't miss before returning home. Does that bring back any memories? Sometimes such journeys can be a real treat, and on other occasions they can be really disappointing, leaving us wondering why we ever bothered. Was there that danger for the magi? Presumably, yes.
These men, of course, were supposed to be wise! That's the point. Historically, in Christian art, they are variously seen to be scholars, astrologers, magicians and kings. They come to represent all nations, all ethnic groups, and all parts of the earth. Realising that messianic vision, seen by Isaiah, of all the nations and kings flocking to Jerusalem, the Wise Men come to Jesus.
If you think about it, they must have known what they were looking for. And knowing what they were looking for, they were able to recognise it when they found it: When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage (worshipped him).
Being really wise, they not only recognise, but they knew how to respond. Satisfaction was perfected in worship.
What makes the journeying worthwhile for us?
The Magi, then, knew what they were looking for. Do we? What would make that journey worthwhile for us? Have we the remotest idea?
Perhaps, that is the purpose of Epiphany. It reveals what we are looking for - what we actually want in our inner-most selves - but which we may not have recognised.
Riches were brought to Christ by the magi: gold, frankincense and myrrh. They came to represent kingship, divinity, and suffering, but really they are the expensive gifts of rich nations. In placing them before the Christ and bowing down in worship, the magi acknowledge that all that they have, and the world and religions that they represent, are subordinate to Christ. The thing that is worth journeying for, that is worth wanting, is the only thing which nothing on earth can surpass. And the ultimate prize brings the ultimate satisfaction and joy.
What do we want, then? Why do we strive for certain things? Why is wealth so important to us, for example? If it becomes an idol - then it fails to satisfy. If it is only an end in itself - to what is it an end? If security and peace of mind are our goals, all well and good. But what are we like when we have security and peace of mind? What do we do with them?
What do we really want that makes the journeying worthwhile? Will we recognise it when we see it and will it fill us with joy?
Not knowing what we want, we can easily look for the wrong things in the wrong places. False gods, false philosophies and religions, turning the blessings of life - such as riches - into idols: all these things fall short, they fail to satisfy and to fill us with joy.
Epiphany reminds us that it is only finding God and gazing on him that brings total satisfaction. The God who was revealed in Christ as a gift for the whole world is worth the journeying. And the joy of encountering him is perfected when our living becomes nothing but worship.
With every good wish and blessing
John