St Luke has told us of the Jewish Shepherds who came to the manger to worship the new born Christ child. Today St Matthew’s Gospel tells us of the foreign and rather exotic Magi who are drawn to worship the new born King.

A cartoon Christmas card tells the story of the Bethlehem shepherds watching the approach of the three wise men, from what looks like a bus shelter. (I suppose historically it would have been a camel shelter.) ‘Isn’t it always the same:’ says one of the shepherds? ‘You wait a long time for a wise man and then three of them come at once!’

The point about the wise men is that they were non-Jews; they were Gentiles, they were foreigners, they were outsiders – they came from afar. It’s very likely that the Church for which Matthew was writing his Gospel was at first a Jewish community which had experienced a sudden influx of Gentiles. That Church was learning how to accept and welcome outsiders seeking to become insiders through their new found faith in Jesus Christ. In telling the story of the wise men from the east who came to worship Jesus at his birth Matthew is demonstrating that right from the start Jesus has come as the saviour and Lord of the entire world, Jews and Gentiles. Insiders and outsiders. Everybody may find their way to Jesus and through him may find their way to God.

But who were they? Who are these mysterious figures from the far away east?

Matthew’s Gospel describes them as Magi. We often refer to them as Wise men. We know that in the ancient world – especially in the eastern Empire of Persia, there were school of wisdom where men dedicated themselves to the study of the ancient arts including astrology. Then as now astrologers claimed to be able to foretell the future by studying the movement of the stars. And the rise of a new star was seen to represent the birth of either a new king, or a new empire, or a new dynasty. Nowhere in the story are these Wise Men described as Kings and nowhere are we told that there were three of them – though there were of course three gifts.

(In fact the Churches in the East which keep Epiphany as their Christmas on 6^th January claim that there were indeed twelve wise men). The tradition of them being kings comes from some verses in Psalm 72 which speak of kings from the east coming to Jerusalem and offering gifts of gold and incense to honour Israel’s king at his coronation. We know too from the ancient sources that foreign kings would travel the length and breadth of the Roman Empire in order to pay homage to Caesar and that they would nearly always present him with gifts as tokens of their respect.

The real point of this story as Matthew tells it is that among the first to worship Jesus and to acknowledge him as King and Lord of all where these Gentile foreigners, these outsiders. The Gospel of the love of God in Our Lord Jesus Christ is for everyone. There is no type of person, no class or race or nationality who is neither more nor less favoured - The Gospel is for everyone. It is for the young and for the old. It is for those of us who know the joy of worship week by week and it is for those who have not set foot in a church for years or perhaps ever. The feast of the Epiphany and the Gospel story of the worship of Gentile outsiders which underlies it is the antidote to any Church succumbing to the danger of becoming inward looking. By that I mean concerned only with its present membership and little concerned with those as yet outside its membership; a Church concerned with its life or its own survival and little concerned with the world outside its doors.

It is very easy for Churches to imagine that you have be our type of people to be happy worshipping amongst us. It is easy to put up invisible but very effective barriers to keep the outsiders on the outside and the insiders safely on the inside. How do we measure up? Are we as outward looking and welcoming and open as we could be?

Notice that the wise men did two things when they found their way to Jesus. First they fell down and worshipped. Worship is the appropriate response to the love of God made known in Jesus. These Gentiles fell down and worshipped, outsiders though they were they knew instinctively what they must do. It is our task to welcome all who would come to worship with us. We will need to recognise that for some both churches and church services are foreign territory. What can we do to provide worship and teaching that is appropriate for all and accessible to all and above all welcoming and relevant to all?

Second the Wise Men offered their gifts. All of us are called to offer ourselves – our gifts our talents and our abilities - to the Lord in the service of him and his people. It has been my experience that new Christians when fully welcomed and accepted into the life of a Church bring wonderful gifts of new found faith and vitality and encouragement to a Church as well as a wealth of new talent and ability.

So on this Festival of the Epiphany let us look for, hope for, pray for and welcome any who would come with us to worship the new born king - no matter how far they have travelled or where their journey began.