The Vicar’s Light Reflections

Light Reflections… “Let your light shine…” (Matthew 5.16)

During Advent we watched and waited for the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ which we celebrated on Christmas Day; however, Christmas is not yet over, we are still in the Christmas Season as we watch and wait for the coming of the Magi. We have a little tradition in our household, that when we put up the Christmas decorations and the Nativity set, the Wise Men are placed at either the end of the mantelpiece or at the end of the hearth, and bit by bit they inch forward, until they finally arrive at the stable on the 6th January, Epiphany.

The Wise Men bring their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, symbolic of Jesus the King, the Priest and the Prophet, and of course a foretaste of his death. They are costly treasures, deeply personal and prophetic of who he is and what he came to do and can be summed up by the words of the Carol Silent Night ‘Christ the Redeemer is here.’

As Jesus gave himself to us as the greatest gift there is, let us this Epiphany take time to reflect what gift we would bring him, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6) What gift can we give that is so priceless, loved, personal and fitting …I suggest that there is only really one true gift that we can offer him, and it is the only gift that Jesus wants from us. My favourite Christmas carol, the poem by Christina Rossetti, In the Bleak Midwinter, poignantly says:

What can I give Him,

poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd,

I would bring a lamb;

if I were a wise man,

I would do my part;

yet what I can I give Him –

give my heart.

This Epiphany give Jesus your heart, for there is no other gift that could ever be more precious to Him.

To help you think more about Epiphany we were delighted that Bishop Philip filmed a school collective worship in St Leonard’s Church, Balderstone, with 3 amazing pupils from Balderstone St Leonard's Church of England Primary School. Do watch it, here is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kewh1gkrS9E and kneel down and worship the Christ Child all over again.

Rev’d Karen Christ Centered…Kingdom Focused

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