Part B of Guilsborough Evensong, 6th January 2008.
When I lived the United States some years ago I met a man who was working to reconcile warring factions of Korean and African Americans after the City of Long Beach had been badly damaged in race riots.  The nub of the problem was, he told me, that Korean shop owners did not wish to employ blacks, whom they regarded as feckless and dishonest.  And of course the blacks resented that attitude and happily attacked Korean owned shops. 
I asked him how he got involved in this volatile situation and he replied, unforgettably for me,  “Oh, I had an epiphany” – as if he’d had a minor operation of some kind.  I had not heard the word used in that way previously so when I got home I went to the dictionary and discovered that its secondary meaning, the manifestation of a supernatural being to humanity.  
Nineteenth century poems, like nineteenth century paintings, can convey a theme or describe action in an unmistakeable, vivid and colourful way whether it’s  “The Boy stood on the burning deck whence all but he had fled….”  Or something more romantic like “tira lira by the river sang Sir Lancelot” .
So the link between Longfellow’s vivid, narrative, poem and to-day’s festival is, of course, that the monk had his epiphany.  The Vision only said seven words  - and that was only after the monk returned  -   “Hads’t thou stayed I must have fled”.  Fortunately the monk, described as indecisive, made the right decision to carry out his Christian duty.   I don’t know what form my friend in Long Beach’s epiphany took. But clearly he was a man inspired. 
The Magi were inspired, too, travelling from Persia or wherever, to find the Christ child.  The Bible tells us very little about them:  We can only guess at three because there were the three gifts. Their names are not mentioned, nor their mode of transport. And the gospel describes them as Wise men rather than Kings.  Most of the story turns out to be, then, the pious embellishment of later years. 
I don’t think the detail, the lack of it or the contradictions matter very much.   The story reminds us of what we have to do: submit our lives, the only real gift we have, to Christ. We have the advantage over the Magi because we know what Jesus Christ grew up to be and what he stood for.   They only knew that the child was divine.  
While we may not have a sudden epiphany ourselves, at least we know the kind of gifts he wants from us in terms of our behaviour towards God and our fellow men and women.  Let’s use this day – the anniversary of the day when Christ was first made manifest to the Gentiles - review our Christian lives in the round, from church attendance & worship to charitable giving. Let’s add some value to someone’s life in the coming year so that when the next Epiphany comes around we can look back on a year of Christian achievement.  Who knows that may include your epiphany?  
Holy spirit think through us till Your ideas are our ideas – Amen.
