In these last days God has spoken

1.      Matthew 2: 1-12

¹¹ On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. NRSV

2.      Matthew 3: 13-17; Mark 1: 9-11; Luke 3: 21-23; John 1: 15-18

Matthew 3:

 ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved,^[a] with whom I am well pleased.’

3.      Hebrews 1

 1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son,^[a] whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. ³ He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains^[b] all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. NRSVA

 ‘If God exists, how does He make Himself known to us?’ This is a central question for people of faith and of no faith. At this time of year in the Church calendar the question is addressed in the Eastern and Western traditions through two different stories:  The visit of the Magi and the Baptism of Jesus.  

According to the writer of Matthew the Magi have been granted a revelation (an Epiphany), through a story of a young child, a King (Gold), a Priest (Frankincense) and a Prophet, in particular his death (Myrrh).  To John the Baptist and presumably the onlookers in the story, the revelation is of the obedient One, the Son of God, and the Beloved, the one who brings God pleasure. Jesus is presented as the Revelation, the unveiling of God in the lives of people who encounter Him. The writer raises the same question for us in our day and time.  We have much more of the story available to us and the effect the story has had down the centuries. Perhaps we can reword the question / answer, perhaps like the writer of the story recorded in the introduction to the book of Hebrews.   

‘… in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son,^[a] whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. ³ He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains^[b] all things by his powerful word.’ NRSVA

The writers of these Epiphany stories and indeed all the stories of scripture invite us to make a response to the revelation of God in the story. This is done from within the text that they present us. The text is a situated text within the lives of the readers that is within our own lives. We are being asked to cast ourselves within the story. As we know more of the story, its characters and plot, our response will be formed and expressed. We will have become characters within the plot of scripture.  The task before us is to get to know more and more of the story of Jesus revealed in scripture and this will empower us to experience our own Epiphany moments about whom He is and who we are in relation to Him.