Word to the Wise
Sunday, January 7, 2018 - The Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord - ABC [This feast was traditionally celebrated on Jan. 6; in the USA it is now on the Sunday after Jan. 1]
[Isa 60:1-6; Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6; Matt 2:1-12]When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the East arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage." [Matthew]
The Epiphany of the Lord is celebrated in many places the same way that Christmas is celebrated, and is sometimes referred to as the feast of the three kings. These mysterious figures with their gifts have captured the imagination. The number of them and their gifts have more or less been determined by popular tradition, but because three gifts are mentioned, the number of magi has rested on that. The feast, however, is not about them. It is about the revelation of Jesus to the world! The magi came from outside the Jewish world. Isaiah's vision, in today's first scripture, speaks of caravans of camels coming from all over the known world.
Revelation is represented by the star, and we are told how great a joy that star gave to those magi. The whole journey they made was by the light of that star. This is why the theme of light is so prominent in this feast. Can we be a star - a light - to others? We may have taken down the tree and even put away the magi figurines, but we cannot put away the light of revelation which can shine from us as baptized Christians. Someone we may not even know may see that light and come to find out what it means. We can become an "epiphany" ourselves. AMEN