The Feast of the Epiphany

May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O Lord, my refuge and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

SEASON: The Feast of the Epiphany
PROPER: A
PLACE: St. John's Parish, Kingsville
DATE: January 6, 2002

TEXT: Matthew 2:1-12 – “On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

ISSUE: Matthew’s account of the coming of the Magi to Jesus marks the beginning of the Epiphany season. It tells of the acceptance of his reign for the poor and the Gentiles and the rejection of the Judeans symbolized by Herod. It is also the story of the manifestation or epiphany of Jesus to the world, and is the first mission of the church. The church today may need to consider more fully its call to the proclamation of Christ to a secular world, often devoid of spiritual hope and love.
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January 6th is the Feast of the Epiphany. It is and has long been one of the more important feasts of the church year. In fact, in the early Christian Church, Epiphany was in fact the celebration of what we now know as Christmas. Still today some people refer to this twelfth day of the Christmas Season as “Little Christmas.” Unfortunately the feast falling more often on weekdays has lost its popularity as a major feast in our secularized world.
Supposedly Christmas, the celebration of Jesus’ birth and incarnation was changed from the Jan. 6th date in the early church because it coincided with the Egyptian dating of the winter solstice which honored the sun god Horus. Inadvertently, the Dec. 25th date is close to the Celtic celebration of winter solstice and some of our customs and traditions have been based on that celebration. Paganism has been bountiful in our world.
At Christmas we use the Lukan story of Jesus being born in Bethlehem, which includes the story of the shepherds led by the angels to the manger, and then the shepherds go and proclaim what they have observed.
The Matthean account of Jesus’ birth centers on the star, and the coming of the Magi to the home of Mary and Joseph. Presumably they are coming to see a new king of some sort. We think in terms of there being three kings who come to Jesus. Actually, there is no accounting of how many kings there were only that they gave three gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The kings or the Magi, and the better name is Magi, because they were not really kings. They may have been kings in the sense that they ruled some small fiefdom, but nothing significant. Magi were, however, political figures. They were consulted and advised other kings. They were astrologers (not really like quite like what we think of as astrology today) watching the stars and had some other scientific concerns. They were considered to be educated, and therefore wise men.
According to Matthew the Magi become aware of some sign in the heavens, a star or comet, is seen by them. Strange astrological movements or comets in this period were believed to be indicators of some significant political event about to take place, or the birth of a new king. Hence, the Magi go following the comet to where it seems to be leading, which is Bethlehem. On the way they stop for an encounter with the King of Judea, Herod. He was not known for being a very loveable character. He murdered his wife and several of his sons because they were a threat to his throne. His obvious interest in where the Magi are going is to take matters in his own control, and slaughter the child who may be a new king. In this culture anything that was done in secret was considered dishonorable and suspicious. Herod’s meeting with the Magi secretly, would indicate he was up to no good.
The Magi continue led by the star to Bethlehem where they find the child Jesus, and bow downs to worship and adore him. They offer him their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The gifts themselves are meaningful gifts so far as Matthew is concerned. Frankincense was a gift you would give to a priest. The priest would use frankincense as a part of the rituals of offering up prayers on behalf of the people and as a part of his offering of sacrifice. The gold would have been the container on the altar that held the burning incense. The myrrh was a spice used for the embalming. This gift anticipates the sacrificial life that the child and man Jesus will offer on behalf of the people. Fortunately, the Gentile Magi return home another way saving the child from Herod, and Joseph and Mary will take flight into Egypt.
Underneath all of this symbolism that Matthew gives us is also the understanding that Jesus is the fulfillment of Hebrew Scripture prophecy, or is at the very least an outcome of the hope for a messiah routed in Hebrew traditions.
Notice the Isaiah passage (60:1-6,9):
“They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.”
Note Psalm 72:1-2,10-17:
“The kings of Arabia and Saba offer gifts. All kings shall bow down before him, and all the nations do him service. For he shall deliver the poor who cries out in distress, and the oppressed who has no helper. He shall have pity on the lowly and poor; he shall preserve the lives of the needy. He shall redeem their lives from oppression and dear shall their blood be in his sight. Long may he live! And may there be give to him gold from Arabia.”
And we can go on. From the Book of Numbers 24:17 from the mouth of the prophet Baalam:
“I look into the future, And I see the nation of Israel A king, like a bright star, will arise in the nation. Like a comet he will come from Israel.”
And from the prophet Micah 5:2:
The Lord says, “Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are one of the smallest towns in Judah, but out of you I will bring a ruler for Israel, whose family line goes back to ancient times.”
And of course from Isaiah 11:10:
A day is coming when the new king from the royal line of David will be a symbol to the nations. They will gather in his royal city and give him honor.
Matthew has crafted his own story around the birth of Christ that challenges his Judean community. The Magi, a symbol of the Gentiles, are smart enough to know that Jesus is Lord! Why don’t you Judeans, symbolized by Herod, get it? Why can’t you understand that Jesus is Lord, worthy of honor, respect, and adoration? He is our King of Love and Prince of Peace; proclaim him! In Luke it is the simple Jewish shepherds who proclaim the Lord. In Matthew it is the Magi, the Gentiles, while the high and the mighty Pilate and Herod, many Pharisees and Sadducees can’t seem to get it at all.
The Epiphany is our season of manifestation, of shining forth. It is essentially and officially the church’s missionary season. All of us have to grapple with what the meaning of Christ Jesus is in each of our own lives, as a church and as individual people. The understanding of Jesus Christ can be resisted and has often been so. People can believe there was a Jesus who lived a long time ago who did good works. But the Christian understanding of Jesus goes deeper than that. We see him as the way of life, a living presence of love, forgiveness, and hope. We see him as the living expression of God. He is for us a way of life to be expressed and lived because he lives in us. We bow down to and adore his love. We bow down to and adore his forgiveness. We pray to him and with him. He becomes the source of the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit within us.
We live in a very secular world. In that world there is much violence and abuse. There is great cruelty and hatred, sometimes in the name of religion. While some people suffer from hunger and oppression, others hold to their possessions and security without a profound sense for the need for sharing and sacrificial generosity. There is also in a world without attention to the Divine. Human beings can come to feel empty in spite of all of their accomplishments and material affluence and wealth. They feel an emptiness of meaning and purpose. We live in a world that is often perceived as very scientific and sophisticated with our medical advancement, technology, and electronic gadgetry. With our telescopes we can look into the past almost seeing the beginning of the creation. Yet even in science there is mystery, the whys and wherefores are still unanswered. New discoveries bring new and deeper questions. There seems to be some ultimate wisdom, reason, rationale still far beyond our comprehension that is more than a mere accident. Wise folk will look to God and find God in Jesus Christ the one who lived and gave love, sacrificial love and service to those in material need and those in spiritual need.
We must not sell ourselves short as Christians. We must not hoard the gospel as unique to our selves and our family traditions. For God reveals himself in loving and giving of himself through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. He called us to join him, to be baptized and immersed in that love, and to provide that sacrificial love for the needy and the spiritual needy of the world.
We must really reclaim our missionary calling. We have lost that in the past and rely too much on ancestry and nominal acceptance of our faith. The world cries out for a spirituality that has meaning and hope. The Magi saw that hope in the mystery of Jesus Christ.
They knelt down and worshipped him providing him with honorable gifts, and he said, “Go forth and baptize all nations in the name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”