Epiphany of Our Lord -- Fr. John

Today, we come together and commemorate the Epiphany of the Lord. On this weekend, we gather together for one of the most celebrated feasts of the Church – in the East and in the West. It is truly celebrated all over the world. The Epiphany -- which in Greek, means, “to reveal or to manifest.” It is also known as the    Theophany,  the appearance, or self-revelation of God, or it is simply known as Three Kings Day. In some parts of the world, the Feast of the Epiphany is heralded with even more exuberance than Christmas. For instance, in parts of Europe and in the Latin countries, Christ is seen as revealed, not only as hope and salvation made as a promise to Israel but the Messiah is revealed to all, including the Gentiles, to all of us.
 
Hardly any biblical narrative has caught the imagination or stimulated so much biblical research as the account of the Magi from the land of “sunrise” -- the East. This wonderful story of the three visitors to Jesus and the Holy Family plays out for us in our tradition as we know and love it. First, why three magi or three kings?  On the   number of kings, Sacred Scripture has   remained silent. The number mentioned through the discovery of ancient writings (not in the Bible) and folklore said that the number was three. The number three is an important number in biblical history. Three often illustrates the manifestation of our God. The number three is beautifully seen in the feast we just celebrated last weekend in the Solemnity of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Jesus’ earthly family involves three and then at the same time, the number illustrates the heavenly family of Jesus as we hold in glory, the Trinity, Three Persons in our One God -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Also, three primary events called days are highlighted in John’s Gospel. On the First Day, Jesus is   manifested as the John the    Baptizer announces the coming of the Lord as Jesus is baptized. On the second day, God proclaims Him His Son, and He is revealed to the disciples during the Transfiguration and his disciples are told to listen to Him and follow Him. And on the third day, after three days in the tomb, Jesus is manifested in His    Resurrection which is the foundation of our faith. And today, we acknowledge, three kings, inspired to come and adore the Infant Christ Child representing the three corners of the then, known ancient world, Persia, India and Arabia. All the people in world would now be represented in the plan of salvation.
 
The “Gifts” we associate with the three kings helps establish our tradition of gift-giving at Christmas time as we celebrate the Lord’s birth and the   giving of gifts on our birthdays. Because there were three wise men or kings, perhaps this is why we have the three gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. Gold for kingship, Frankincense for Priestly role and holiness and Myrrh, a spice used in  burial. Strange gifts but not so strange as gifts for a heavenly King. The gifts that correspond to the three roles of the mission of Christ – gold for His Kingship, His shepherding of us and taking care of His people, frankincense for His Priestly role, His holiness and divine sonship, and myrrh, a spice often used for preparing one for burial, as the prophets proclaimed the Paschal Mystery of Jesus’ Life, Death and Resurrection to new life.
 
The Epiphany is a wonderful Feast in the life of the Church and is one of the foundations of our faith. It is a beautiful story of God’s manifestation, revelation to the world and the goodness brought forward through His birth. The imagery that is used is forever part of our traditions and seen in our manger displays in our homes, in our worship sites from the Vatican to our beautiful Basilica. But what significance does this feast have in our current lives? How do we live out our lives in our Baptismal roles and our mission shared with Christ as Priest, Prophet and King which we  received as we have become part of God’s Holy Family on this earth? What gifts do we bring to Our Lord as we become an Epiphany, a manifestation of the Lord to the world around us? This New Year, let us strive to make the Lord manifest in our lives to others, just as the wise men, the three kings, let us discover the gift we are to bring to our Lord so we can be a star, a beam of grace, a light, leading others to Him, to His mission and His love this Christmas season and always. 
 
A blessed Christmas Season and a Grace-filled New Year,      
Fr. John
 
Stay tuned next week as we explore our  participation in the Epiphany of the Lord, Part II . . .