All Saints' Parish Church, Leamington Spa
  • Home
  • Worship & Music
    • Service Schedule >
      • Sermons
    • Late Worship
    • Music List
    • Choir >
      • Recordings of the Choir
      • Choral Scholarships
      • Carol Singing
    • Organ >
      • Organ Specification
      • Organ History
      • Organists
    • Music Department
  • About All Saints
    • Vision
    • History & Heritage
    • Staff
    • Nightlight
    • Bell Ringers
    • Find Us
  • Friends
  • What's On
    • Bank Holiday Organ Recitals
    • Events Photo Gallery
  • Coffee Shop
  • Get Involved
    • Making a Donation
    • Repairs
  • Contact Us
    • Prayer Requests
    • Christenings/Baptisms
    • Weddings
    • Confirmation
    • School Visits
  • Blog
    • PCC Journal
    • Annual Report

Gold

5/1/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Epiphany isn't a word we use very often outside the calendar of the Church year. It means a revelation, and it's the name of the season after Christmas, starting on January 6. The season begins with the story of the wise men ('Magi') visiting Jesus. Jesus is revealed to strangers - outsiders - representatives of the wider world, who have come to worship him. And they present him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Why gold? 

If we've ever stopped to wonder (and the familiarity of the story may mean we never have), there are some obvious answers. Gold is a gift fit for a king: 'Gold I bring to crown him again', as the carol puts it. Gold reflects the paying of a tribute, or tax, to the Emperor - although in this case, it's voluntary, not forced. It speaks of the giving of worth and of value.

But this offering of gold holds particular meaning in our own age. It announces that gold is less important than the Christ child. Gold is something which should come under his authority, not the other way around. They operate in the same sphere of life and cannot be compartmentalised; spirituality is deeply this-worldly because it's about the choices we make with the life, opportunities and wealth we have. Money is deeply spiritual because it's a means by which we express our priorities and make real our faith. As Jesus said in his adult life, 'You cannot serve God and money.' There's a choice to be made, priorities to be established, and the Magi have discovered the truth.

It's a truth we need to hear afresh. Putting wealth first - in blunt terms, the pursuit of greed - was what led to the banking crisis of 2008. The repercussions have largely impacted on the poorer sections of society, even as, this last week, record levels of bonus were paid out by one of the banks. Putting wealth first through the levying of extortionate rates of interest has, again, been hugely detrimental to the well-being of the poor at times when they are least able to cope financially. And the wealth gap is growing between the rich, with six- and seven-figure incomes, and those on the minimum wage or zero-hours contracts. Yet research around the world correlates happiness and contentment with societies in which the gap between rich and poor is much narrower. It's bad for us all to live in a society divided by wealth and poverty. 

Proclaiming that gold - our wealth - is subservient to Jesus encourages us to use it in a different way: for justice, righteousness, and the relief of need.  That has implications for the way we gain wealth, as well as what we use it for.  It requires a change of heart, a change of values, from the culture which currently prevails. Jesus spoke a great deal about money and possessions, and we do well to heed what he taught.

And perhaps the sharpest challenge of all is for us to have a change of perspective; asking, not 'How much of what is mine shall I give away', but 'How much of what is God's shall I keep for myself?'







0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    All Saints' Church, Leamington Spa
    News Blog

    Welcome to our blog - we hope you enjoy reading about what goes on at All Saints!

    Find us on facebook.
    Follow us on twitter.

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

    All Saints' Parish Church Leamington Priors and/or the blog authors retain copyright of all materials posted. Copying on a small scale for non-commercial purposes is permitted providing the copyright ownership is acknowledged. Please contact us for clarification or further details.
Cookies - Like most websites, our site uses cookies to help improve our visitor experience.  If you continue to use the website without changing your settings, we assume that you are happy with receiving cookies.  If not, click here for options or more information.