Calvary Episcopal Church
Memphis, Tennessee
January 4, 2004
The Feast of the Epiphany

Light, Water and Wine
The Rev. George S. Yandell

Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12
(This homily is also available in audio.)

When I was a young boy, I thought Persia was a small spot in the corner of the dining room in our house. It still is, in a symbolic sense.

My little brother and I learned annually about symbols while waiting for Epiphany. My mother erected the crèche in our living room in mid-Advent, empty but for straw and animals. My brother and I shifted the animals around as Christmas grew near, as if to speed up the process of filling the crèche, and thus, our stockings. My mother orchestrated the arrival of the Mary and Joseph figures before we went to the service on Christmas Eve, and on Christmas morning, baby Jesus had appeared, and the shepherds. The angel sat on the roof of the little shed.

The most intriguing aspect of the crèche as our symbolic teaching tool was what happened in the dining room, along the baseboards into the living room, and eventually into the crèche on Epiphany. My mother must have decided early on that the sideboard in the dining room was Persia, or close enough. That’s where the Magi started their long journey through the Yandell miniature version of the Middle East. (The word magoi in Greek means ‘sages.’)

There were 3--Did any of you have more than 3 wise men in your crèches? Interesting isn’t it--Those impressions of the magi’s number, based on the number of gifts presented to baby Jesus, have altered our interpretation of the Bible story. The wise men had two camels, laden with bags that trailed along behind them. By the time Christmas came, of course, we got a little distracted by our presents, but the wise men kept journeying--by the grandfather clock, under the side table, along the hem of the sofa, under the other side table.

By early January, they had made the leap across the living room, toward the table where the crèche sat. Then Epiphany. The wise men finally presented their gifts, the crèche could be put away, and we could get on with more normal living room life. Mom gave the story life for us, prompting ancient symbolic figures to engrain in us. So much so, that I have always since imaged the Magi as very small people, but incredibly devoted in their journey.

The power of symbol for us is often overlooked; overlooked, that is, until events recall the meanings of the symbols to us. Witness America’s re-discovery of the uniting power of the stars and stripes banner. Witness, too, the welcoming power of a wreath, hung on homes, Church doors, tombs and places of business as a symbol of hope, completeness and wholeness.

The Epiphany, the feast of the manifestation of Jesus to the world, really had its roots in ancient Egypt, not Persia. By the end of the second century, Christians in Egypt had begun to celebrate Epiphany as the feast of the Lord’s Baptism. For thousands of years prior, that date had been sacred to the winter solstice, and was marked as the day of Osiris, to be celebrated with light, water and wine--Three gifts holy to the god. The Christians appropriated the day as a feast of the Incarnation, and connected it with the gospel stories of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, and the wedding feast at Cana. The symbols of light, water and wine are just as potent now for us Christians of the third millennium as they were for Egyptians 5000 years ago.

Osiris was one of the most influential gods among the hundreds of gods worshipped in ancient Egypt. Osiris possessed generative powers that enabled the Egyptian land watered by the Nile to be fertile and productive for crops. Osiris is the fore-runner of the pharaoh, specifically the deceased pharaoh who vacates the throne in the upper world and functions as ruler of the underworld.

Osiris was thus the king and judge of the dead, and head of the cult of the dead. The Egyptians believed that every night the sun descended into the underworld, giving light down under, and then Osiris made it rise anew each day in the upper world. As such a potent god, Osiris met the dead when they died, gave them entry into the light of the underworld, united with them, and then resurrected the believers into fertile, joyful new life. New wine was the symbol of the soul’s resurrection at Osiris’ hand. Does any of this sound familiar? It should. The ancient symbols carry the hopes of the faithful now as then.

The symbols of the early Egyptian Epiphany--light, water and wine--translate the ways we are bound to Jesus: light, showing the illumination of our souls and our world by the en-fleshing of God in Jesus; water, the means of our initiation into Christ’s life, death, and resurrection; wine, the mystical symbol of Jesus’ blood poured out for us, saving and uniting us to God forever. Our identity and our work as Christians emerge from ancient rituals and beliefs. Our predecessors in faith knew that without divine inspiration, humans live lowly, self-serving lives. What do we gain from celebrating the Epiphany today?

In a word, power. Strong symbols hold power that can transform humans. In the myths of Osiris, in the visit of the magi to witness God’s birth into this world, in the teaching of Jesus, his life given freely for us, and especially in his resurrection, the symbols give power, when they take life in us. Light, water and wine--the essential elements of our journey with God in our faith in Jesus.

So today, let the light of Christ’s birth shine into you, and be reflected into our dark world. Let the water of your baptism propel you into service, linked to all who own Jesus’ death and resurrection. And let the wine of his sacrifice be to you a heady draught, inspiring you to go into God’s world in love, to share the joy of resurrection life with everyone you encounter. That’s the power of Epiphany, renewed in us today.

Copyright 2004 Calvary Episcopal Church

Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12
2 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,a 2 asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'" 7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage."
9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. NRSV

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