Tuesday 06 January 2009

Background

Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Epiphany, when thewise men visited Jesus and presented their gifts of gold,frankincense and myrrh. You can read the story in Matthew'sGospel here.

We can tell this passage from Isaiah relates to the Epiphanybecause its final verse mentions gold and frankincense. There canbe very little doubt that Matthew was aware of this passage when hewrote down the story. However, the inclusion of 'myrrh' is asignificant addition, and perhaps picks up on the image of the'Suffering Servant' that Isaiah writes about most poignantly inchapters 52 and53.

The word 'epiphany' means a moment of sudden and great revelation,and today's passage is full of contrasts suggesting a dramaticchange. Verses 1-3 move between the image of darkness, which coversthe whole earth, and a glorious light, which will attract all toit. In verse 4 this idea is developed into an image of movement:people from far-away lands will gather together and families whohave been dispersed will be reunited.

But the focus - the worship of God - is always the same, whether itis through the gifts of gold and frankincense, or the proclamationof "the praise of the Lord".

To Ponder

Some people describe their decision to followJesus as a dramatic change, whereas for others it is a gradualgrowing in commitment. Think about your life story, whatever it maybe. What epiphanies or moments of revelation have you had, whichmeant that life could never be the same again?

How have these moments of revelation changedyou?

Isaiah spoke these words to offer hope to theIsraelites in dark times. How can your moments of revelationsupport you, or others, when things become difficult?