I hope you had lots of presents from Father Christmas! Maybe some useful gifts or presents that are a little indulgent? Are they gifts that will give you many days of pleasure or perhaps a short-term gift? Someone said on that, “The day after Christmas we find out what presents people had for Christmas as they will all be on eBay”. I hope you didn’t receive any gifts to which that statement could apply!
It is always nice to receive a gift that has meaning or which is useful either in everyday life or perhaps for a hobby. We traditionally think at this time of the year about the Wise Men bringing their gifts to the Christ Child – Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. Gifts with meaning and purpose for the years that lay ahead. Gold for a king who was to be the Saviour of the world, frankincense being symbolic of God, and myrrh representing his forthcoming death.
These gifts are probably the most meaningful gifts of all time as they are all representative of the Christian faith. As we move from Epiphany towards Easter, Sunday by Sunday we follow the complete manifestation of God through the earthly ministry of Jesus. God’s plan is fully shown when we reach his death on Good Friday, followed by the resurrection on Easter Day.
I hope that we can all discover and experience the growth of Jesus from the baby, born in a stable at Bethlehem, to the man who sacrifices his all on the cross for our salvation. May God bless you all in the coming year, and I hope that we can catch hold of the love of God in our lives.
With God’s peace and blessing in this season of Epiphany.
Revd Graham
