Script:
Maggi: Good morning. Today we're celebrating the Epiphany, a long held tradition that focuses on God's revelation of himself to the world through the incarnation of Christ. The feast actually falls this coming Tuesday, and it's a feast of hope and celebration, revolving around the exotic story of eastern travellers following a star. It's inspired poets, writers and composers, including the hymn- writer William Chatterton Dix who wrote this hymn on the Feast of the Epiphany in 1860: As with gladness:

MUSIC: As with Gladness [Choir, Congregation, Organ]
Music: "Dix," adapted by William Henry Monk from the original "Treuer Heiland, Wir Sind Heir" by Conrad Kocher, Stimmen aus dem Reiche Gottes, 1838.

Mike: Lord God, thank you for revealing yourself to us through Jesus Christ. As we worship, open our eyes to see you in new ways. Lord, we search for you:

All: Open our eyes that we might see you

Maggi: The retail industry would have us believe that the twelfth day of Christmas is Christmas Day itself, turning the previous eleven days into bumper shopping days. But in fact the twelfth day of Christmas is Epiphany. Like many of the feasts of the Church, Epiphany came about partly through disagreements over dates; while Christmas was celebrated on the 25th of December in the West, in the East it was on the 6th of January and it was the debate over these two dates that eventually produced the twelve-day Feast we now observe, with Epiphany, or twelfth night marking its end.

All kinds of folk-customs are associated with Twelfth Night. As a child, I remember the ceremonial taking down of the tree, and packing away the decorations, before the new year started in earnest. A colleague of mine, who used to live in Bavaria, told me of how she used to watch Star Singers going from house to house, singing Epiphany carols, and sprinkling the doorways with water. The initials C and M and B would be written in chalk over the door, originally standing for the Magi's names, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, but later taking on another meaning: "Christus Mansionem Benedictat" - Christ bless this home.

But the feast of the Epiphany has more to offer us than folk lore. It's traditionally the day on which we remember the wise men -- scientists, philosophers, or mystics -- travelling from far and wide to find the new-born king. This is how St Matthew told the story:

James: After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:
" 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.' "

Maggi: This ancient story is full of resonances for us in contemporary society, where so many people are rediscovering the idea of spiritual journeys. Over the last few years there's been a noticeable growth in interest in what is usually termed 'spirituality' - a renewed awareness that at the deepest level we are more than just physical; that when all our material needs are met, there's still a hollowness in our souls that demands attention. Recently I read an interview given by Simon Rattle, conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, in which he speaks of music as a 'spiritual necessity'. "People are looking for spiritual things", he said, "…They need it more than ever."

Music has always been one of the ways through which people have prayed and worshipped - as the Jewish proverb says, 'He who sings prays twice'. So it's no wonder that music touches the soul in a special way. But our search for spiritual meaning is not restricted to the world of the arts - it's led to the re-examination of traditional religious practices, and also to a profusion of alternative therapies, self-help programmes, retreats, meditation groups and so on.

These are by no means a minority interest: Cosmopolitan magazine has seen such a rise in "spirituality seeking" among its readers that a spirituality editor has recently been appointed.

But ways of satisfying our spiritual curiosity are frequently presented in a highly consumer-oriented way, offering a sort of bespoke spirituality package. It's been called 'spiritual tourism' - and it's amazing how much money people are willing to spend on it. But it doesn't address the big questions: it "ignores teachings on sexuality or lifestyle", focusing instead on individual "happiness in the here and now." It seems that we want to be spiritual, but not religious - to have peace of mind without accepting rules or restrictions; to be healed and cared for without being rebuked.

But while this pick'n'mix approach to spiritual truth may work as a kind of personal self-help programme, it puts strict limits on the possibility of actually encountering God. Why? Because a tailor-made spirituality that is chosen and controlled by the individual doesn't allow for God to be greater than ourselves. An encounter with God presupposes that we're not entirely in control; it takes us beyond our own boundaries, into a two-way relationship. It's not a programme to meet my needs for which I give money in exchange; it's a relationship that involves me giving my whole self in worship to God. This Carol reminds us that just like the Magi, if we want to find God, the search will cost more than a bit of our leisure time or money: it will demand wholehearted dedication.

MUSIC: The Three Kings [Choir only]
Words: Die Konige, Peter Cornelius (1824-74), trans. H. N. Bate Music: Peter Cornelius, arr. Sir Ivor Atkins

Lorna: Lord, help us to dare to search for you with all our hearts. Surprise us with a revelation of yourself; Lord, we search for you:

All: Open our eyes that we might see you.

James: Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Maggi: Gifts! Those Magi have a lot to answer for! A couple of weeks ago I was in a very Scrooge-like mood, too stressed out with all the planning and the shopping and the wrapping. The days leading up to Christmas can get very pressurised.

But I wouldn't really want to change it - because although people say Christmas has become too materialistic, giving gifts to the people we love is one of the joys of Christmas. It's true that our consumer society walks dangerously closely to one of the seven deadly sins - that of greed, the sin of consuming more than you need just for the sake of it. But while the Christian faith takes us beyond consumerism, it is by no means a faith that separates us from the physical realities of life - in fact, it would be profoundly un-Christian to separate our spirituality from flesh and blood.

There's a tendency to imagine that true spirituality transcends the physical aspects of life. But, as the story of the Magi illustrates, the Christian faith is supremely expressed in physical ways: When God set out to reveal himself to the World, he didn't send us a ghost, a vision, or a philosophy, he sent us a baby. And, as every mother knows, it doesn't get much more physical than that.

True Christianity isn't about the rejection of material or physical things to lift ourselves onto a higher spiritual plane. Food and presents, hugs and kisses, clothes and shelter - all these are legitimate parts of our human and spiritual life. But it's different from consumerism. Consumerism can seem to fulfil our needs, but it's actually an impersonal exchange - I give money to get stuff. Whereas the heart of the gospel is relationship - not giving something to get something, but a true meeting of selves. God doesn't demand obedience in exchange for meeting our spiritual needs. Rather, he reveals himself in the most raw, physical way possible in order to make relationship with us - to meet us on a level far deeper than mere surface needs and wants. This is why the Magi's gifts are important. It isn't that God needs anything - what could I possibly have that God would want? It's that God wants to have a relationship of love with us, not a partnership of trade.

All the gifts that we can give to Christ - whether they're as costly as gold, frankincense and myrrh, or as meagre as the widow's mite - are less an indication of what we can give to God, and more a recognition of what he means to us. But giving something to God is important. It takes us out of the consumer mentality: if we go on a spiritual journey in order to GET something, it will always elude us. It's only once we are willing to give the very core of our being, that we find the priceless treasure.

Some years ago I was working as a musician on a recording project, making an album of music for worship. Out on the steps during a coffee break, the new assistant engineer at the studio picked up his guitar and sang me a song he'd just finished writing. 'I want to know whether you think it's any good,' he said, and proceeded to sing me this simple and beautiful song, that perfectly sums up the idea that if our search for God is authentic, no sacrifice is too great.

MUSIC: Lord you have my heart [Dan and Band]
(Martin Smith)

Mike: Lord, help us to journey beyond mere religious practices - help us to find relationship with you. Lord, we search for you:

All: Open our eyes that we might see you

Maggi: One of the most delightful things about the story of the Wise Men is their willingness to travel beyond familiar territory to reach their goal. Their journey had a purpose; they knew they were searching for a new baby. But they didn't know exactly who or where he was, and when they eventually found the infant Jesus, he was not at all what they were expecting. What kind of royalty is born in a garden shed? What kind of King makes himself that vulnerable?

Our own spiritual journeys are similar: they need some kind of purpose or guideposts if they are to lead us anywhere at all. But they also have an element of the unknown about them. We half-know, but we're not EXACTLY sure what we're looking for until we find it. And when we do, it's almost always NOT quite what we were expecting.

Often those of us who are steeped in religious tradition need a fresh revelation of God to free us from the restrictive aspects of religion. Some years ago, I went through a long period of doubting all the religious truth I'd believed in for many years. I'd understood God to be somewhat severe, a perfectionist in the worst sense of the word. Despairing of ever being able to live up to his standards, I dared to question many of the doctrines I had been taught, dared even to contemplate giving the whole lot up. And there, in the midst of doubt, some truths began to come into sharper focus for me: that God is more interested in life than in rules; that God is a God of grace, not of condemnation. I began to see that God was far nicer, far kinder, far more liberating, far more interesting than I'd ever realised. Christianity is not a religion of guilt, restrictions and grey-ness, but a relationship with a living God who makes life bigger, more exciting, more challenging than we could dare to hope for. And the discovery of God - what for me is the fulfilment of the spiritual journey - is not an end in itself, but always the beginning of a new journey; not going back the way we came, but setting off on another route. To stay alive spiritually means allowing our expectations of God to be changed, as well as allowing God to change us, and it was with this thought in mind that I wrote this next song.

MUSIC: Change my heart [Dan and Band + guitar solo]
Words and music by Maggi Dawn © 1999 Maggi Dawn

Maggi: "Lord - re-create your image within me". Re-create, not start all over again! For although our journeys may lead us into unfamiliar places, the surprising revelation is often that God was right there under your OUR nose all the time. And although an encounter with God inevitably involves some kind of transformation, Christian teaching doesn't suggest that we change into someone else. One of the paradoxes of the gospel is that whereas in order to have this relationship of love with God, we have to change, yet at the same time we stay exactly the same.

It's a misunderstanding of the gospel to think that we are so ruined, so far from God that we are entirely beyond redemption. It's true that it's only through the grace of God that we are saved, but it is also true that we are made in God's image. Some Christians put so much emphasis on the fallen-ness of humanity that there's no longer any recognition of the image of God within us. But one of my favourite theologians is Athanasius, who lived in the fourth century.

He tells us that we can, in fact, find the direction to God right inside our own hearts - precisely because we are made in God's image. 'The Kingdom of God is within you', said Jesus; and Athanasius takes this to mean that even though we are flawed and imperfect, the likeness of God is still there within our hearts. Without the salvation of Christ, we will never be restored, never become fully human, and God's image within us is like a smeared and dirty mirror - it's difficult to make out a clear reflection. But what is required is not a re-fit, but a clean-up job; not to change us fundamentally, but restore the image.

Sometimes we journey far beyond ourselves, trying to find God somewhere 'out there', when in fact he's as close to us as the next breath. God doesn't want to take away our dreams, our lives, our hopes, - what he wants is to bring them to life. Far from turning us into someone else, the discovery of God makes us more authentically ourselves - more fully human.

Lorna: Lord, give us the courage never to settle for less than a true encounter with you. Recreate your image within us that we might reflect your glory. Lord, we search for you:

All: Open our eyes that we might see you

Mike: Help us as we journey into you To recognise the glory within us, and to be willing to let you transform us so that your love will be reflected in our lives. Lord, we search for you:

All: Open our eyes that we might see you

MUSIC: Lead me on [Maggi and Band]
Words and music by Maggi Dawn © 1998, Maggi Dawn

Lorna: Lord, we offer you our gifts:
Guide us as we use and enjoy our possessions,
Make us generous and imaginative in the use of our resources
Make us aware of the whole world as we give and receive.
But most of all, we offer you ourselves:
Our lives and our relationships,
And ask that you will bring us to life in new ways.
Lord, we search for you:


All: Open our eyes that we might see you

Maggi: In the end, the journey into God is not a journey of consumer spirituality, nor a programme of self-improvement; neither is it a journey of religious self-denial to earn God's blessings. The journey into Jesus Christ is a journey of Grace, that leads us into relationship with him. We will find ourselves changed by our discovery, and yet as a result will be more authentically ourselves than ever. God draws out from us a response of worship and self-sacrifice, yet at the same time fills us with his gifts of grace. The God we find in unfamiliar forms and in unexpected places - is worth taking any risk, making any sacrifice, travelling any distance we need to, in order to find him. And when we do find him, "With gold of obedience, and incense of lowliness, Kneel and adore Him: the Lord is His Name!"

MUSIC: O worship the Lord [Choir, Congregation, Organ]
Words: John S. B. Monsell, Hymns of Love and Praise, 1863

Music: "Was Lebet, Was Schwebet," Choral-Buch vor Johann Heinrich Reinhardt (Uttingen, Germany: 1754)

Maggi:
God the Father bless you with his presence;
God the Son surprise you with joy,
God the Spirit guide you to find new life;
And the blessing of God Almighty
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
Be upon you and remain with you
This day and always

All: Amen

Maggi: Go in the name of Jesus Christ, and take his love and peace wherever you go!

All: Amen !!

Maggi: We end this morning with an African setting of the song that Simeon sang when he saw the infant Jesus and realised in that moment that his own life's journey had been fulfilled.

MUSIC: Now Lord [Choir, and Band (keyboard)]
African Nunc Dimittis Music: Trad / Janice Hobday © Church Missionary Society