The Birth of Jesus was full of surprises. As if the virgin birth was not enough, the night that Christ was born, shepherds came with news of the announcement of a heavenly host of angels, looking for the Christ in amazement. The parents were equally amazed at their words.

But another day a greater surprise awaited them. There was this curious star setting above the place where they were living. Every night they wondered at the curious sign until one night a very strange company knocked at their door. When they opened that door they meet a group of unusual characters coming on a caravan from a far away country. They had the signs of strange travelers, men of reputation, learning and power. Why would they come so far to knock at their door that night?

The wise men explained. Their explanation was even more baffling. They were coming from Jerusalem after inquiring from Herod about the king which had been born. It had been revealed to them by the means of a star that the king of the Jews had been born and they had come to worship him. The same star had guide them to the house.

How much these wise men knew or understood of this revelation is not known to us, but we should not assume that they were ignorant about the promises of the Old Covenant. The Jews had been captive in the East for many years, and it is certainly possible that copies of the Scriptures may had been available to some educated in the East, and it is possible, that like that other eunuch from Ethiopia who was reading the prophet Isaiah, these wise men may had also read the prophecies of the Old Testament, and wondered about the coming of the promised Messiah who would be the hope of all the Nations; in whom the gentiles would trust.

The details of that part of the story we do not have, but what we do have tells us that they knew enough to interpret the sign of the star correctly while all others were unable to do it. We also know that God revealed his will in dreams to them, as he did with Joseph, so that they would not return to Herod. They were obedient. They followed the star, and the star lead them to the hope all the nations.

So we see how two big surprises accompanied Christ's birth. The announcement to the shepherds and the announcement to the wise men from the East. Each one of these is very important.

The first surprise was relative to the low state of those who received the message. The shepherds were people of no reputation, little wealth and no education. They were not priest or elders, not governors or Pharisees. God chose modest and humble people in a humble and modest place to announce the truth of his coming to this fallen world. This is an indictment of the values of the world; a reminder of the teaching of the prophets, often ignored, concerning God's care for the humble and the poor.

The humble shepherds were the first members of Jewish society, apart from the direct family of Christ, to share the good news with other people. Yet, still they were Jews and therefore it was not entirely surprising that they would receive a word in spite of their low state.

A second surprise also came along in the glorious event we celebrate today; another group of no reputation in Jewish society was given the same message.

The problem with this second group was not its wealth or power or education. They had plenty of all these. They had no reputation in Jewish eyes because of their ethnicity. They were strangers. They were 'gentiles' a word that had an awful load of prejudice attached to it. Gentiles, were people from other nations, people who had no value in the eyes of the common Jew. All gentiles must become Jewish converts in order to enjoy the benefits of God's Covenant with his people. The only alternative for a gentile was to convert, be circumcised, and become one of them like them, a Jew keeping the law.

These two surprises are no accident. It is no accident that the good news were revealed first to the most unlikely people. In fact, this should had not been surprises at all, since God had clearly revealed in anticipation these truths, that the poor and the gentiles would receive the good news. God's priorities had been clearly laid out through the prophets for any one who cared to listen. But not all people care for such a part of the message.

The inclusion of gentiles within the covenant and the salvation announced to the poor were part of the key features of the ministry of the Messiah, but because it implied a transformation of the previous stage of salvation history and the status quo, these truths were often ignored or set to a margin to the extent that when they were finally fulfilled many were unable or unwilling to receive them.

In our epistle lesson St. Paul states the central truth of his ministry to the gentiles; the revelation of God's mystery. This mystery is

"that the Gentiles are FELLOW heirs, members of the SAME body, and PARTAKERS of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel."

Epiphany is important because it highlights the first instance in which this mystery was manifested and realized. These wise men from the East were the first gentile worshipers of the New Born king; Inaugurating the universal worship characteristic of the New Covenant, in which every knee from every nation shall bow to confess that Jesus is the Lord.

But the key thing is that they were not required to become Jews in order to partake of this privilege. They approached the newly incarnate tabernacle of God uncircumcised as they were, because God's intent was to destroy the wall of separation between Jews and Gentiles once and for all to make of the two one new Body through the Gospel of Christ. In Christ God made from both, one; only one and the same body, all its members equally partakers in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.

We must be careful, because like the Jews then, we also have our own preconceptions which may also blind us and make us unable to acknowledge the scope and depth of the reconciling power of the Gospel of Christ.

All humans tend to organize their understanding of life by separating that which is familiar from the unfamiliar. We all naturally tend to think in terms of 'them' against 'us' The 'other' is naturally seem as a threat because it is different.

Because of our common human nature, often there is much that the familiar and the unfamiliar share in common, yet we are unable to appreciate it because of our natural inclination to reject the unfamiliar.

Yet, one of the key features of the New Covenant as the fulfillment of Old Covenant is its universality. There is only one Body. Christ is not divided. When we consider Christians from other cultures and languages and branches of Christ's church, what we may naturally experience as a threat, the differences between 'them' and 'us', should not divide us, for we are all one in Christ.

I am not saying that differences do not matter, that we can ignore them because they make no difference. No, they matter. But the unity and universality of God's work in Christ matters more. It is the one thing that will remain for ever and therefore that and not the differences among the various branches of Christ's church is what really matters at the end.

Our culture is characterized by a radical individualism, which tends to legitimize in our minds the right to separate ourselves from any one who does not agree with our personal opinions. The result of this is divisions and more divisions and party spirit. We tend to associate only with people that are 'like us', while building barriers keeping the 'stranger' safely at bay. We live in the midst of a strong division within the Church which hinders the witness of the Body of Christ to the world.

This is so bad, that as the Jews of Christ's time, perceiving the gentiles as dogs, ignored the various prophecies of their inclusion in the Covenant, so the Church today has grown accustomed to ignore the truth concerning the unity of the Body of Christ; That there is only one Body; Christ's commandment to his disciples is to love one another as he loved us, and to go to all the nations teaching all to do the same, while he prayed that we all be one, as He and the Father are one.

Unity does not mean uniformity. There has always been diversity in the Church. Even the twelve were a diverse group. That diversity grew with the ministry of St. Paul as the Church grew over cultural barriers. We easily miss the point that there has always been diversity in the Church of Christ. Even in apostolic times, the experience of worship and community life of the Church in Jerusalem and the Church in Antioch were quite different. And there was the temptation to define the Church narrowly, so that any one not 'like us' would be left out. But the apostle's were faithful to the message of Christ and in the midst of great opposition, rejected that temptation. The church was one, universal and diverse from the beginning.

Therefore, St. Paul never ceased teaching that in order for gentiles to become Christians they need not become Jews or vice versa. They both could remain what they were and serve Christ with their differences. There was unity in the midst of diversity. Jewish Christians were different to Gentile Christians, and that was fine, because they were both one in Christ.

That is God's plan, and that is what we must learn to experience in our own lives in a commitment to the truth of the Gospel that would lead us to enjoy the unity and universality of Christ's communion with all fellow believers who hold that truth in the love of Christ.

Of course, this is not always easy, or straightforward, some challenges require careful evaluation, planning and maturation. But the principles should be clear. God wants his people to live in unity, truth and charity towards one another, not judging each other, but forgiving each other. We must learn to see the 'other' not as a stranger to be feared but as a fellow worshipper of Christ to be welcome.

Mary and Joseph opened the doors of their humble house to receive these wise men from the East. They welcome these strangers into their home. The strange people came in as fellow worshippers of Jesus and humbly presented their sacramental gifts in adoration for the honor of Christ. When these wise men with their strange customs, their strange clothes, their strange language and accent, their strange treasures and gifts came to bow before the child, something greater than a big surprise happened. The universal Church met there for the first time before the altar of Christ. These wise men were the first of a multitude of 'strangers' to come, and present a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. They were welcome as they joined the people of God in the service of the Christ.

Today it is us who follow their footsteps. If it had been us walking into that house that night certainly we would have appeared more than strangers to all of them there present. We are the ones far off scripture spoke off; We were strangers, away from the promise, we were gentiles. Yet, we are welcome before the altar of Christ to present our offerings of praise and thanksgiving.

We have followed the path of the wise man to that threshold. We have received the message of the star. And that makes us one with them there, and one with all everywhere whom like them come before Christ to bow their knee before the Lord of Lords and the king of kings.

As we come before the Lord's table this morning celebrating the epiphany, let us remember with thanksgiving that in partaking from this Holy Communion we are not alone, we are joining a Communion of Saints that is one, in spite of all differences, encompassing all races, and nations and tongues, serving the same Lord, the same Messiah; Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the World.

Let us pray.

O GOD, who by the leading of a star didst manifest thine only-begotten Son to the Gentiles; Mercifully grant that we, who know thee now by faith, may after this life have the fruition of the glorious Godhead; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Providence Reformed Episcopal Church
1201 Morgan Ave. Corpus Christi, TX 78404; Tel. 1 (361) 728-3720