Sermon: Epiphany | 6 January 2026

Preacher:

Chris Hollingshurst

Date:

Tuesday 6th January 2026

Venue:

Cathedral

Service:

7pm Choral Eucharist

I suspect that, like me, you have seen many Christmas cards depicting the magi, the wise men of this evening’s gospel reading. Some cards are more spiritual than others, of course…

I once saw a card with a picture on the front of two wise men mounted on their camels, with the third sitting in a café with a drink, clearly not going anywhere. The caption simply read: ‘I don’t think I’ll come with you. I’m more of an Old Testament man myself’… 😊

We often think of the prophecy of Malachi or the accounts of John the Baptist as providing a connection or hinge holding the Old and New Testaments together. Yet when I was preparing for this evening, I was reminded that the wise men are actually part of this linkage too.

They come from the east, bringing not just gifts, but the wisdom of the ancient world with them. They may or may not be aware of Isaiah’s beautiful imagery – ‘arise, shine, your light has come’ – but there is something pictorial and prophecy-fulfilling about their coming.

On arrival, the wise men present their treasures before this new prince, foretold in the ancient texts, and they lay them at his feet. The gifts perhaps allude to Jesus’ kingship, divinity and death – something we will recognise in a few moments’ time – but they are also the highest expressions of reverence – the very best - that can be offered.

The magi know this young prince is special, although exactly what they discern we cannot know. What we know, with hindsight and from Scripture, is that this child will slowly be revealed as the Light of the World, the One whose long-expected presence and mission announces a new wisdom called the Kingdom of God. It’s a kingdom in which, as the psalmist reminds us, the poor, needy and helpless are delivered, preserved and protected.

Consequently, this almost unobserved event is auspicious enough to warrant a cosmic sign – the star of wonder and star of night, star with royal beauty bright. This star hallows the magi’s winding their weary way westwards, their being what one commentator calls ‘earthly pilgrims on a heavenly mission.’

We, too, are ‘earthly pilgrims on a heavenly mission.’  As I considered this yesterday, my mind drifted unhelpfully to Jake and Elwood Blues, The Blues Brothers, whose spiritual encounter, or personal epiphany, at an evangelistic meeting leads them to declare ‘we’re on a mission from God’.

They put their old band together to play a fundraising concert in aid of a Chicago orphanage headed by a slightly terrifying nun…; but as someone who sings and plays the blues, even I can see that there is usually more to it than that!

If an epiphany is a moment (or a series of moments) of revelation, of realisation, of conversion, of mystery, how might this occur?

Perhaps it may begin with a seemingly isolated, almost random, experience – maybe walking in the countryside and just glimpsing seeing something afresh, or recognising authenticity and truth.

It might be at a hinge point in a process of intellectual wrestling, like CS Lewis getting on to a bus in Oxford a convinced atheist and disembarking as a putative Christian.

It might be through an experience of love in the midst of bereavement or loss.

It might be realising what is important in a deteriorating political landscape.

It might just be recognising a changed perspective with the passing of the years.

Epiphanies might be sudden or gradual, but what they have in common is that something has changed.

Of course, ‘earthly pilgrims on a heavenly mission’ can experience many such moments, but I hazard to suggest that they are more likely – and change is more likely - to occur when we live intentional lives.

If we pause sufficiently to open ourselves to the Spirit of God, then we are more likely to notice, to absorb, to process, and, yes, to grow.

And we are more likely to be able to do this when we journey alongside others who are ‘earthly pilgrims on a heavenly mission’ – as part of the Church.

The author of Ephesians seems to have a high view of what the Church can do, growing quickly – as it was at the time – from being a collection of local gatherings into a far-reaching network. It was getting noticed for speaking truth to rulers and authorities, to what another scholar has called ‘all the tangible manifestations which power takes.’

The young prince who received the three gifts was to bring about a new order. This new order included breaking down walls between races, cultures, and lifestyles - between Jews and Gentiles. This was a revelation (an epiphany) which led the early church to grow into a community of belonging.

And together, these ‘earthly pilgrims on a heavenly mission’ revealed - in Christ and by example - the mystery of God’s inclusive love, present from the beginning of time.

More epiphanies are needed in the Church, not least in the Church of England. Many of us keep on asking why we continue to welcome some less warmly than others, and why we continue to exclude some whose lives and relationships are considered to be too different or difficult for some others to cope with.

I suspect that only divine revelation will bring about change and growth.

For the Church will not grow, in number or in depth of spirituality, if we simply invite people to join us on the basis that they will become, or have to become, more like us. The example of the wise men is of strangers and pilgrims, of difference worshipping together at the feet of Christ and finding unity and common purpose in Him. 

Growth will come when, like the imprisoned writer to the Ephesians, we live and teach in a way that breaks down barriers, models unity and cohesion, and stands up to the powers, rulers and authorities that take us and all God’s children further away from God.

More than ever, the Church and the world need ancient wisdom. We need those who are prepared to live as ‘earthly pilgrims on a heavenly mission’, those who are not afraid to speak.

We need those who are willing to be excluded for they include, rather than to be included for those they exclude.

And the Church and the world need those who will give the very best of all they have to the One revealed as Light of the World, Prince of Peace, and true King of the nations.

Will that – can that – be you and me?  Amen.