NOTES:
1] Epiphany means a revealing. 2] Herod (the 'Great', actually 'the Pits'!) was on a par with the Saddam Husseins of our day. He ruled Judea & Galilee from 37-4 'BC', so Jesus must have been born no later than 4BC!!! 3] The Magi can be traced back to the ancient wisdom (magi-c) of today's Iran / Iraq. 4] Despite many theories, there is no scientific explanation for the star. It remains beyond our capacity & thirst for explanation.

WARMING UP: Did you receive any gold, frankincense, or myrrh for Christmas?

TREASURES OLD & NEW: Afterthoughts from, follow-up to last week's Group, or since?

EXPLORING GOSPEL:

1-2        How much are world events shaped by the Herods of this world? Does Shakespeare's, 'The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones..' ('Julius Caesar', Act.3 Sc.2) hold good? Is the reverse true also? Does God sometimes bring good out of someone's evil? Why does today's world set so much store on astrology in magazines, etc.? Why would we take such predictions seriously when astronomy gives a scientific view of why 'things in the sky' move the way they do? Can a swirl of gases in space really have an effect on what happens in people's lives? How do we know when a 'star' is God's star or whether we're just 'following our own star'?

3-9a     Given the Jewish background, how much does the story contribute to our own belief in Jesus as Messiah? Is its real value God's willingness to reveal himself in the person of Jesus to the whole world community? Is there still a timely warning here to people of God not to 'get into bed' too readily with rulers & governments?

9b-12  Are we ever conscious of the kind of (dramatic) guidance God gives the Magi here? What would it take for us to be prepared to embark on such a journey into the unknown for God? Have we ever found some great joy after making such a journey, literally or figuratively? What about those who always seem to be seeking, but never finding?
           How do we know when we've seen God in a person? Is that a kind of experience we're more likely to have in unlikely places, rather than in churches, church circles, & the like, where we might expect to have it? How much does the generous giving of the Magi call into question our own generosity to God? Are we ever tempted to hold back what we might have given to God / some person / some cause because we can't bring ourself to believe that they're worth it? What lies at the heart of the Magi's willingness to travel, believe, give? Can we match that kind of response to God?
             Do dreams ever play any role in making decisions in our lives? So far in the birth stories, dreams have been given by an angel. Do we ever experience 'angelic' dreams these days? How do we know whether a dream is 'of God', from our own sub-conscious, or, maybe, indigestion?
             Are the days of messages in dreams, by angels, etc. long past? How might God get through to us today that we need to 'go home a different way'..i.e. change our direction in life?