Word to the Wise
Sunday, January 3, 2010 - The Epiphany of the Lord
[Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3A, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12]Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance.....All shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the Lord.
Those three kings you may have put away already are really just arriving in the story of Jesus' birth. In many cultures outside our own Anglo-oriented one, the feast of the Epiphany is as important as Christmas and is celebrated with the same solemnity! The Eastern rites consider it their "Christmas." The emphasis is not on the birth of Jesus so much as on the proclamation of that birth to the entire world, represented by the Magi. (Some very early traditions speak of more than the three we are used to.) The story is one of a star, perseverance, light, gifts and intuition as to the evil intent of Herod - all of it high drama! Matthew's gospel will mention the extension of the kingdom to gentile nations. The "mini-gospel" of his infancy narrative, therefore, uses this incident to show how all of this is in fulfillment of great prophecy! Epiphany means to "shine out" and on this feast day we are challenged to look beyond the fancy figures of the Magi (that some of us have wrapped up and put away already, and to reach not only toward the birth of Christ but also to the proclamation of it by word and deed. AMEN
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