RonBlog

From the Ron Blog—Epiphany

If by any stray chance the story related in today’s Gospel didn’t actually happen, it certainly should have. It is an odd little cameo with some unanswered questions, but as a statement of policy, it is spot–on. My great sadness, for very many years, is that this Season of the Epiphany is hidden away in our Australian culture by the January holidays, and the importance of the issues are overlooked almost completely.

I have mentioned my fight with the Apostle Paul, who seemed to think that the inclusion of the Gentiles was a great secret hidden away until after the Resurrection. That is surely just the old Jewish propaganda — that only the people of Israel were ever the intended recipients of the interest and largesse of God. However the Old Testament points very clearly and indisputably in the other direction. From the call of Abraham on, the goal of this then-budding new faith was focussed on all humans on the planet. And that is the point of Epiphany.

This is an evangelistic faith, by which I mean it is one that is for ever looking to offer better alternatives to any human being who will listen and respond. It is always offer, never demand, and all humans are free to accept or reject. And what is perhaps the greatest surprise to anyone looking at this faith for the first time, it has far less to do with ‘religion,’ and far, far more to do with operating with justice, truth, integrity, love and compassion. One need only to read through all of the remarkable books of the OT prophets to see quite clearly where the emphasis lies.

That lovely story of the Magi is so evocative and even somewhat startling in the context of what was apparently the Jewish orthodoxy of the day. I remember as a young person being quite shocked to realize that ‘magi’ meant magician; worse, it has to do with those who practice the magic arts. The occult, bejasus. What is more, as the tale unfolds it became quite obvious that those people from a foreign culture and persuasion seemed far more aware of the realities of Jesus than the most religious of Jews. Mind you, old Herod saw the threat, although he did not understand a skerrick of it.

Gold, frankincense and myrrh. King and God and sacrifice, as the carol has it. But the nature of that King, and God and sacrifice bear rather closer attention than is often given. (I often ask people, as we recite the Eucharist each Sunday, to understand that the ‘power and wisdom and honour and glory’ are never to be understood in normal human terms. Mind you, such ‘translations’ are necessary with a lot of the language of liturgy, as it is true of the Biblical language also.)