Wise Men Seek Jesus (They still do)

Today is Epiphany Sunday and I led morning worship at Llanfairfechan Methodist Church not far from Bangor. It was a lovely morning as I too made a special journey to take the gospel to this tiny church in our circuit. The sun kept popping out and the sheep gave extra texture to the fields as they grazed there. The Menai Strait looked peaceful enough as I crossed along the Britannia Bridge to the mainland. But I was not following a star, just driving to a preaching appointment.

Two thousand years ago, so the scriptures tell us, there were clever astrologers looking at the night sky. They were obviously skilled in their art and, having seen a new star rise in the heavens, they followed it towards Palestine. Their knowledge led them to declare that this was a sign that a new king had been born. Legend has it that there were three of them but of this we cannot be certain. The story tells us they brought three gifts - gold, frankincense and myrr. If they were to find this new king they needed the correct gifts. Imagine their surprise to find that they were offering extremely expensive gifts to a child born in a stable.

Each year at this season we think of the Magi and their unusual gifts for Jesus. We tend to think along traditional lines about the entire story, just as we do concerning Christmas. Perhaps, therefore, we do not think about the strange gifts that were brought to Jesus. There is a great tendency to accept all that is written in the Gospels about the birth of Jesus without question. It is many years ago that I first began to harbour doubts as to the authenticity of the narrative we find in the Bible.

Of course, in the case of Epiphany, my doubts were all surrounding the ability of the astrologers to gauge the direction of the new star. How could they be sure, once they arrived that it was standing precisely above the place where the infant Jesus lay? Much fable surrounds the birth of Jesus. The stories are beautiful but not the sort of account one can rely on as absolute truth. But there is something rather appealing about this story of the Magi bringing these particular gifts.

Have you ever wondered what to buy someone for their birthday or for Christmas. We have all known this dilemma and had to deal with it appropriately. We try to think of something we can afford that the special person would value and treasure. Sometimes, we try to come up with a practical gift, such as a power tool. At other times our recipient appreciates different things and so we buy them books or CDs etc. Others are known to prefer clothing or jewellery and that decides what they receive. In other words, we try to buy the most appropriate gift we can think of. Yet, for the Magi, it had to be expensive gifts, way beyond the pocket of Mary and Joseph.

This strangeness of gifts is something we might just take a look at and see if we can make any sense of it all. The Magi were very unusual people so unusual gifts perhaps matched them as givers.

Arthur Eperon, the travel writer, was driving in Corfu with his wife one Easter when he was stopped by a huge traffic cop. He wondered what regulation he had broken as the policeman approached him. But the policeman simply handed him a hard boiled egg painted red. It is a traditional Greek gift at Easter. One year, my wife and I were on holiday in Corfu and we visited a new taverna that had not existed the previous time we had visited the island. We recognised the owner, Spiro, as having been a waiter in another taverna last time we were there. We asked if this was right and he confirmed that he had previously worked in his sister's taverna.

After the conversation he walked off and returned with a gift - a bottle of beer for me and a glass of kumquat liqueur for my wife. I had no problem downing the beer on that hot day but Pauline could not drink the liqueur. She simply did not like the taste. So I had the task of swallowing the liquid quickly whilst Spiro was not looking. We could not leave the drink untouched. But things got worse! The next day we stopped by for a snack and the waiter came over with beer and kumquat liqueur, saying, "This is from the boss." I had to go through the same procedure on Spiro's blind side as he waited on his customers.

So we can see that we ought not to think how odd the gifts of the Magi were, but accept them as traditional giving. It can be like that with hospitality. Many years ago, as a new local government officer, I took part in the annual compilation of the local Electoral Register. This was during the early years of immigration from Asia and my home town of Nelson was receiving many new Pakistani families. I called at one house to complete the form and was asked in by the Asian occupier. He showed me into his sitting room and asked me to take a seat. There was no vacant seat for a second until his son jumped up and politely asked me to sit down. I was offered a cup of tea or fruit juice but declined them. I left that house thinking what a wonderful welcome I had received from total strangers.

Whilst on holiday in Crete, we were talking to a couple who lived quite close to us back in England. We were sitting in a taverna by a lake and talking about what we had observed during our time there. The couple told us they had taken a wrong turn to get down to the sea somewhere nearby, only to discover they had stopped the car on a private access. The family there welcomed them into their home and took them onto the balcony with its lovely sea view. There were insufficient chairs so they woke a sleeping elderly relative to get them off the mattress so their guests could be seated.

I heard a story recently about a couple whose motorbike broke down in Crete. Whilst the local mechanic fixed the machine they were afforded hospitality in the local mayor's house. They were give food and the husband received a plate of boiled snails which he had a problem with and his wife had to try and eat an egg wrapped in pastry and covered in a sweet mint paste. They could not refuse these gifts of food and had to get them down quickly!

But the real point to all this is that, although there may be a strangeness about the type of gift, the giver is someone who gives what is considered the thing to give. So, although it might be thought as over the top. to bring such gifts to Jesus it was done in the very best way out of love and respect for a fellow human being. Only the best is appropriate for Jesus. This is something we remember all our lives as we live out the disciple's life and try to make a difference.