The Magi`s gifts (Epiphany 7 Jan).

Do you know what would have happened if the three wise men had been three wise women? Well for a start, they would have asked directions, and so arrived on time for the birth of Jesus. Then they would have helped to deliver the baby, cleaned out the stable, and made a tasty supper. And, of course, they would have brought practical gifts!

In fact, the Bible does not actually say that these characters were men, and it doesn't say that there were three of them either. What Matthew does say is that they "opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh." We know about the gifts, even if we don't know about the givers. And these gifts continue to have a deep symbolic meaning.

Yesterday, in the Chapel Royal of St James Palace, a small private service took place, one dating back c500 years. At this service the monarch - or their representative - bears to the high altar gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. The Queen thus symbolically makes her way to a grotty cow shed in Bethlehem, and there bows down in worship to One who was born as a homeless Jewish child.

Just as other Gentiles - the Magi - once did long ago. Prompted by the appearance of a star, these Eastern sages had set out on a journey to find the One born king of the Jews. And when they found Him, they "presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh." Gifts that would indeed raise a few eye brows amongst modern customs officers!

Yet these gifts were also very meaningful. For they speak about who Jesus Christ is, what He came to do, and what this cost Him. The first gift of gold was a gift fit for a king. The Magi had travelled to find the One born to be the king of the Jews. Led by the star, they had come to worship the newborn King. But this King was not like Herod, or any other king, then or since. His reign would not be based on force but freedom, and His rule would show not the love of power but the power of love. He would not rule over human hearts from the splendour of a royal throne, but from the shameful cross. For this was the anointed One of whom God had spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "I will make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6). Gold for Christ, the One born to be King.

The second gift of incense was a gift for a priest. It was in the sacrificial worship of the temple that Jewish priests used the sweet perfume of incense - a sign of prayers ascending to God. The priest was called to be a bridgebuilder between God and humanity. And Jesus was to be the permanent bridge between heaven and earth, the One who - as the writer of Hebrews puts it - has opened "a new and living way for us". For Jesus was the true high priest entering into the holy of holies, offering total obedience to God and the perfect sacrifice of Himself, made once and for all. Incense for Christ, the One born as a priest forever, who ever lives to intercede for us.

The third gift of myrrh was a gift for One who would die. It was a symbol of death because of its use in embalming dead bodies. So this gift spoke of the future suffering of Jesus, His death on a cross, and burial in the stone tomb. For the One born to be King was also the One born to die. Yet through His innocent suffering, countless others would find healing. Through His agonizing death, others would find life in all its fullness. Myrrh for Christ, the One born to die that we might live.

Three gifts brought to Jesus by the Magi. But they not only opened their treasures for Jesus. They also offered themselves to Him - through their faithful journey to that place, and in their worship of Christ. Doubtless they had no idea what would happen when they set out. They saw the special star, and followed it. Yet their journey to Christ, and their encounter with Christ, must have changed them forever. In his poem Journey of the Magi, TS Eliot captures this sense of life never being the same again : "We returned to our places, these Kingdoms, But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation, With an alien people clutching their gods…"

The start of a New Year is a good time for us to reflect on our own life's journey. To give thanks for the light which has led us to Jesus Christ, or perhaps still encourages us to seek Him. And so we arrive here today, and here we are invited to offer our lives to God, and to allow ourselves to be changed by our encounter with Jesus Christ.

Of course that encounter can happen anywhere, at anytime. We can encounter Jesus Christ in the world around us and in the people we meet, as well as by His speaking to us through His Word and Sacrament, and by the inner working of His Spirit. The question for us - as it was for the Magi - is this: are we open to see the light of Christ, and to follow wherever it leads? What do we bring Him in our worship, and offer in His service? And how does your life and mine reflect the transforming reality of our encounter with Christ? For as you and I commit ourselves to follow the light of Jesus Christ, then God is able to be at work in us and through us, revealing His glory in our midst.

I'd like to close with an action prayer, which I invite you to join in with as you remain seated. When I say 'king' the action is to put your hands on your head with fingers pointing upwards to make a crown - like this. When I say 'God' the action is to raise your hands and look up - like this. When I say 'die' the action is to make a cross shape with your arms - like this. When I say 'You love us' the action is to cross your arms over your chest - like this.

Lord Jesus, the Wise Men gave you gold; they knew You were a King (put hands on head to make crown).

The Wise Men gave you incense; they knew You were God (raise hands and look up).

The Wise Men gave You myrrh; they knew You would die (stretch out arms into cross shape).

We give You ourselves. We know that You love us (cross arms over chest to hug yourself).

The Wise Men followed the light of a star to find You in Bethlehem. Help us to follow Your light, so that we can live as children of God. Amen.

John Barr