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Epiphany

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40 views2 pages

Epiphany

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au4r5y
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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CELEBRATING EPIPHANY

With “The 12 Days of Christmas” ringing in their ears many people are ready to be done with Christmas
by the day after. But to end Christmas too soon neglects one of the most important elements of the
Christmas story.

In some churches, the Christmas season on the church calendar begins on Christmas Day and runs for
twelve days, ending on January 5th. January 6—tomorrow—brings both the final story of Christmas and
launches a new liturgical season, Epiphany.

The word “epiphany” means “to show” or “to make known,” and the feast of Epiphany celebrates the
arrival of the magi, or Three Kings, as some traditions call them. As recorded in Matthew 2, after a long
and arduous journey, and guided by a mysterious star, these wise men find the Christ-child in
Bethlehem.

In Christian legend, the three wise men hailed from the near mid-East and were named Caspar,
Melchior, and Balthasar. Various stories describe them as coming from Persia, Yemen, and even India.

Recently, I shared the amazing history of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. But I didn’t mention a
legend from the time that the Persians invaded Palestine in 614. It is told that the invaders spared the
church because of a mosaic depicting the magi in Persian dress.

While we don’t know many factual details about the magi, the Bible tells us that when they saw the
baby Jesus, they fell to their knees and worshipped Him, offering gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
From their example comes our practice of giving gifts at Christmas.

However, Epiphany isn’t so much about the gifts of the magi, but about an even greater gift—the
fulfillment of a promise for the long-awaited messiah, Jesus Christ.

I’m sure you recall the stirring words of the aged Simeon who took the infant Jesus in his arms at the
Temple and blessed God, saying:
“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen
your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the
Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

At Epiphany we’re reminded that the promise of redemption has always been for the whole world. God
came not only to His own, but to us outsiders—like the Magi—the lost and darkened souls who had
never even heard about God’s promise. That’s the reason that Epiphany is also known as the
Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.

Which is why this feast day is a particularly joyful celebration Epiphany is the fulfillment of Isaiah 9:2:
“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light.”

But here’s another critical message in the Epiphany event. One of the gifts of the Magi, myrrh, was used
for burials. As the famous carol goes, “its bitter perfume/breathes of life of gathering gloom/Sorrowing,
sighing, bleeding dying/Sealed in a stone-cold tomb.”

Jesus didn’t come to Earth to stay a cute baby boy, but to grow up, manifest God’s love through words
and deeds, and ultimately die on the cross to atone for the sins of the entire world. Starting with
Epiphany, the next few months of the church year follow the Incarnate Word of God as He journeys to
the cross.

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