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Reading 1: Isaiah 60: 1-6

Music bed: The Clarity Winter Brings (instrumental) by Cageless Birds ()

Ann - Good morning. I鈥檓 Anne Easter.

I think many of us are glad to see the end of 2021; we鈥檙e by no means out of the woods yet but I pray that, together, we will go forward with hope, faith and love into whatever this new year brings.

And we鈥檙e welcomed into the year by the festival of Epiphany,听 when the baby Jesus and his parents were visited by some strangers from overseas who weren鈥檛 Jewish 鈥� the three Kings, or Wise Men, Magi or stargazers 鈥� they鈥檇 followed an important star to find someone that they knew would be special, amazing and wonderful.

The first hymn tells of the scene they found. It鈥檚 Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning, sung by Wells Cathedral Choir.

MUSIC 1 - Brightest and Best by Wells Cathedral Choir

Prayer 鈥� Ann -

Testimony intro 鈥� Ann -

Christmas is often a season of wonder and awe;听 in the wide eyes of a child when they see a Christmas tree all lit up and the smiles of a family as they watch a little one opening a gift.

But awe and wonder are not just reserved for Christmas time; many of us have discovered that finding things to be grateful for as our day comes to an end has helped us to sleep better and thus to survive the difficulties of the past couple of years. Each night as I reflect I try to add to those moments of thankfulness something that has made me say 鈥榃ow鈥�. The other morning, just for a few minutes, the sky was absolutely crimson 鈥� and while I knew that that probably meant rain later, for those few moments - Wow!

Whatever it is, I believe those Wow moments are gifts from God to support us through 鈥榯he changes and chances of this fleeting world鈥� and we do well to recognise and cherish them.

Today we鈥檙e going to hear from 3 people each with their own testimony of finding wonder in their walk with God: Nathan has experienced wonder as he鈥檚 travelled the world as a musician and evangelist and seen God at work in people鈥檚 lives.听 Niamh is studying theology at Oxford University and she finds听 wonder again and again in the Bible. And Manchester-based artist Lynda has experienced wonder in the ordinary, here she talks about how God has helped her to spot beauty in even the mundane.

Testimony 1: Wonder in the Ordinary

My name is Lynda. I鈥檓 a visual Artist based in Manchester.

At this time of year especially I reflect on the word 鈥業mmanuel鈥� 鈥� a name used in the book of Isaiah, prophesying the birth of Jesus Christ. Immanuel means God with us and it鈥檚 a phrase that I often hold on to when I鈥檓 creating.

Over the last 3 years I have converted an old butchers shop on a mini high street into a social enterprise with art studios, workshops and projects for the local community. My own Artistic practice centres around finding wonder in the ordinary, spotting beauty in places or objects that people would normally pass by or overlook, be that the kitchen table or an abandoned shopping trolley. We even have an alleyway gallery so people can simply view artwork on the street on their way to buy milk.

My aim is to bring light in the darkness, hope, even a little bit of humour and encourage people to look again at their surroundings or circumstance and see beauty. My art tries to reflect something of how God sees us 鈥� that nothing is too damaged,听 abandoned or forgotten about for Jesus to come, meet, and transform. 2 Corinthians 5 says 鈥榠f anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.鈥�

He is making all things new and I take great delight in trying to spot that in the world around me, seeing things through His eyes, and trying to echo his transforming love through what I create.

听

MUSIC 2 - With Us 鈥� Philippa Hanna and LIFE Worship

Testimony 2: Wonder in the Miraculous

I鈥檓 Nathan, I鈥檓 32 years old.

听For 10 years I travelled the globe as a musician and evangelist mainly as part of a Christian indie worship band.

We performed at a variety of events from festivals in Europe and the States where we played in front of thousands of people, to small intimate gigs in bars and clubs around the UK.

I encountered the wonder of God every night as we performed and shared the story of God鈥檚 love with the people who came to see us. Most nights we were able to pray with fans after shows 听and many found a new emotional freedom.

One of the most memorable experiences for me was when we got invited to play a show for hundreds of inmates in a Filipino Prison.

It seemed like a hundred miracles took place that day, as one by one prisoners in their orange jumpsuits came to the front in floods of tears to respond to the good news of Jesus. I walked away from that moment changed! Because I realised that if God鈥檚 love can break into the heart of the hardest criminal then how much more would God鈥檚 love extend to me.

Psalm 77 says 鈥淚 will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.鈥� The Bible is full of amazing stories of wonder in the miraculous听 - Moses parting the Red Sea, Jesus turning water into wine, feeding the 5000, and even the Christmas story of the virgin birth. But my faith today is inspired not only by these historic miracles, but also by the miracle of salvation that I get to benefit from everyday in my walk with God.

听

MUSIC 3 鈥� O Lord of Every Shining Constellation by Daily Service Singers

Testimony 3: Wonder in the Word

I鈥檓 Niamh, I鈥檓 19 years old and I鈥檓 from Bolton. I鈥檓 in my first year studying Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford.

For a long time, I wouldn鈥檛 have admitted it, but I found reading the Bible to be utterly boring. That is until fairly recently. I can鈥檛 place a finger on the turning point, but I guess that it came from a gradual revelation about the relevance of scripture.

I started to feel a sense of awe when I looked closer at the narratives of the individual characters in the Bible. There are nomads, royalty, slaves, shepherds, tax collectors, fishermen and prostitutes - to mention only a few - and they have these profound encounters with God. I began to empathise with them, or get frustrated by their actions, and I found myself tied up in their storylines.

Theologian Tom Wright likened scripture to a five-act play, wherein the readers, or the people of God, are invited up onto the stage to improvise the unfinished final act. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can participate in scripture, not just read it passively. I find that incredible!

Studying theology constantly raises questions. The Bible frustrates even the people who dedicate their lives to studying it in depth because it鈥檚 messy, it鈥檚 weird, and it鈥檚 even troubling in places. But yet there鈥檚 still something fundamental about it that inspires awe - the Bible is the breath of God. The gripping narratives, the poems, proverbs and prophecies, the laws and the letters, are alive!

The Word connects me to God, it speaks to my personal situations, there is endless detail within the pages to unpack and always new things to discover. I cannot help but experience wonder in the knowledge that the Bible is not static, it鈥檚 living and breathing.

Ann 鈥� And we hear God鈥檚 word now in St Matthew鈥檚 Gospel, chapter 2 verses 1-12, and verse 16.听

Reading 2: Matthew 2:1-16 (Epiphany and Slaughter of Innocents)

听

MUSIC 4 鈥� Coventry Carol 鈥� Libera

Ann - That was the Coventry Carol sung by Libera.

Our preacher today is Dr Amy Orr-Ewing - author, speaker and theologian.

Sermon 鈥� Dr Amy Orr-Ewing

The Magi 鈥搘ho were they? Most of us are familiar with the carol 鈥淲e Three Kings鈥� and perhaps some of us played a king in a school nativity play. The Magi famously brought quite strange gifts considering they were visiting a child with his mother - gold, frankincense ( a priestly incense) and myrrh (used for preserving and burial).

But the Magi were known figures of historical significance. They are mentioned in other contemporary texts about this time. They came from Mesopotamia, they were a known part of the ruling elite of the Parthians at the time Matthew is describing 鈥� they had religious, astrological and philosophical learning and they were also political figures. Some of the Magi were Parthian diplomats who were interested in foreign leadership and governance. The Greeks and Romans knew the Magi as part of the ancient world elite. And it is a group of Magi who arrive at the birth of Jesus Christ.

But first they visit Herod hoping that he, the ruler of the area, could direct them to the child they believed had been born king of the Jews. A group of Parthian Magi turning up to visit Herod would have been politically and religiously significant to him. Magi were famous for getting their astrology right. And the historian Josephus tells us that Herod was heavily influenced by signs and omens. Now this group of foreign diplomats who are known for their astrological accuracy arrive and tell him they have discerned in the skies that a new King of the Jews has been born. They would have had enormous credibility with Herod.

What exactly had the Magi seen? And why did they seek this king of the Jews? It seems likely that they had noted a conjunction of stars and planets rising in a certain configuration that only someone with a trained eye would see. An astrological configuration. Ancient world astrologers associated each geographical region with one of the 12 traditional constellations. The land of the Jews was associated with Aries the Ram.听 Astronomer Michael Molnar suggests that the star of Bethlehem, mentioned in Matthew鈥檚 gospel, may have been a reference to- Jupiter (鈥渁nd wisemen saw his star at its rising in the east鈥�). In Graeco-Roman astrological terms this would have been a big sign of something to do with Jewish royalty 鈥� this happened in April 6BC.

Matthew鈥檚 gospel tells us that whatever the Magi saw in the heavens it made them want to worship this king of the Jews. This shows us something very significant about Jesus. Yes, he has been born in poverty and humility to an oppressed people under occupation. But these eminent, powerful, scholarly, men have discerned from the evidence that one who is worthy of their worship has been born.

Light 鈥� the constellation 鈥� has attracted them to worship the one they believe has been born. Isaiah prophesied 鈥� 鈥渁rise shine your light has come鈥� 鈥� in Jesus this is fulfilled, Light has come鈥�

The Magi learn from their enquiries that the King of the Jews must be born in Bethlehem so they go and following the star and they find Jesus with Mary. And they worship him, a baby 鈥� something as astonishing in that culture, as it would be in ours today.

They give 3 gifts 鈥� signifiers of the light and why he has come. Gold for Kingship, Frankincense because he is fulfilling the role of priest, and myrrh 鈥� because his death will be sacrificial.

But amidst all of this light, Epiphany happens in the real world 鈥� Isaiah describes it this way: 鈥渟ee darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples.鈥� The Bible does not describe our world as a stylised religious bubble where everything is nice and neat and polished. What Isaiah calls 鈥渄arkness鈥� is also the broader context of Matthew鈥檚 account

This, after all, is a world where power is corrupted and corrupting. Herod is a megalomaniac ruler, a deceptive character with a fake religious veneer, he even pretends to want to worship the new born King of the Jews himself, whilst having no such intention. In reality He hopes to find and crush any threat to his own position, he is a consummate and brutal power abuser.

When Herod realises that the Magi aren鈥檛 coming back to see him after finding the child and that they aren鈥檛 going to show him the way to the baby, born to be king of the Jews, he decrees that all the boys under 2 years of age in the Bethlehem area be slaughtered. This massacre of the innocents has horrified readers of the text in every generation and has been captured by artists like Giotto (1305) or Bruegel in the 1500s. But this is the kind of man Herod was. Ancient sources tell us that on his deathbed, Herod realised that the Jews would celebrate, not mourn, his death. So to ensure that the Jews did mourn when he died, Herod commanded various Jewish nobles be murdered 鈥� so that as their families mourned there would be a period of mourning after his own death.

Matthews Gospel does not flinch from describing reality even as we think about Epiphany- Darkness is real. But there is hope in this - Jesus has been born into this dark world of pain, abuse, power and suffering. The darkness of our world is not ignored or denied. And against the backdrop of darkness what a contrast we find with the light of the star, and the joy of the Magi who humble themselves before the baby of Bethlehem.

At the beginning of this new year, we may feel surrounded by darkness, anxiety, lament and fear but the hope of Epiphany is possible for all of us. As did the Magi in their own way, are we able to discern the signs of the presence of God? There are signs in the Old Testament pointing to Jesus 鈥� his birth, life and death are the fulfilment of 108 biblical prophecies, many given 100s of years before his birth. There are signs in the testimonies of believers 鈥� like the three we have heard today, people who have experienced the wonder of God in their lives. The signs are there for each of us to see. But might we like the Magi have the humility and open heartedness to bow in worship?

At the beginning of 2022 may we acknowledge the darkness around us and in us and accept the invitation to come into the brightness of the Lord鈥檚 dawn and light.

Amen

MUSIC 5 鈥� Father of Light 鈥� Celtic Worship

Ann - That was Father of Light written and sung by the Scottish band Celtic Worship.

And now to our prayers:

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

听

MUSIC 6 鈥� Joy to the World 鈥� The Spirituals Choir