Killer Whales bringing Gold, Myrrh and Incense

Corso Umberto is still busy in January. The sales are on, discounts of 70% are not uncommon. But 70% off Sicilian prices still mean that goods are too expensive for a retired clergyman to consider purchasing.

The views out across the Straits of Messina are magical with the sun glinting on the blue of the Mediterranean. Whenever I look out from the terrace I imagine that I can see the Orca.

Whales that have left the waters of Greenland to winter in the Mediterranean.

To date no sightings to report but we keep watching.

However we are not here just to whale watch. We are here to assist in maintaining the Anglican presence in this rather special corner of the world.

We arrived in time for Epiphany.

Of course 2000 years ago the Magi, wise men, just showed up in order to show the Christ child to the world.

Today however it wouldn’t be that easy to just show up from Persia to Bethlehem.

Apart from the fact that Persia no longer exists, and Iraq the land of the Euphrates struggles to recover from its battle weary past, Syria seems to exist in name only and Gaza is surrounded  by concrete and barbed wire.

So the Caravan with Magis and Astrologers, wives, children, camels, drivers and attendants would have been hard pressed to cross borders in search of a King, bringing their gifts that foretell both his royal, status and his future death.

But on Sunday we shared the good news with three members of this small but loyal congregation, ourselves, two visitors on their way home to Paris and Salvatore the sacristan.

This coming Sunday however we look forward to joint worship with our Lutheran friends. The service will be conducted in German and English with the word broken in both languages.

Tragically as the UK seeks to pull itself away from it’s European friends we will join in prayer and worship with the Lutheran community in Sicily and prayer that, as on the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus, so we are all members of the same Christian family with neither borders or separation.

As Jesus embraced John the Baptist’s ministry of Baptism so we will embrace each others ministries, as Jesus embraced a proper way of doing things honouring the path that leads to the fulfillment of his mission so we will embrace each others mission as fulfilling Gods purpose, as Jesus embraced the wilderness we will recognise that the way to embrace the left behind is to live where they live and as God demonstrates his contentment with Jesus by affirming that all is well, he is ‘my’ son. So we will be content that we have shown up as christian brothers and sisters to praise God in harmony.

We have two more Sundays and 14 weekdays to maintain our lookout in the hope that the Orca will also ‘show up’.






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