Did your email inbox fill up with ads for the Epiphany sales? Yeah, neither did mine. Even among church-going people, Epiphany is typically not a big deal. However, it used to be. In fact, Epiphany was celebrated in the early church centuries before Christmas was a recognized feast day.
For many of us, Epiphany conjures images of kids in fake beards and bathrobes carrying their gifts to the baby Jesus in the Christmas pageant. For us sturdy traditionalists, Epiphany is the day when we can finally put the wise men in the manger scene. It is the day that marks the end of the Christmas season. (My Christmas lights on the house go dark after the 6th.)
The story of the Magi is not about kings, despite that great hymn. We don’t know how many there were; we are only told about three gifts, not about the number of those presenting the gifts. Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar are not names we find in the Bible. They are among many names attributed to the Magi at various times and places in the church’s history.
The Magi were priests of the Zoroastrian religion in ancient Persia (Iran). The founder of the religion (Zoroaster) was said to have a divine origin and was reputed to be born of a virgin. His birth was attended by the appearance of a star. Zoroaster predicted that other prophets like him would come after him, also by virginal conception, sent by God and accompanied by astrological signs.
Zoroastrians used astrology as part of their religious life. They believed that astronomical events were indications of the divine will. So we shouldn’t be surprised that they came to find Jesus because of their star-gazing.
It’s helpful to know this little thumbnail sketch of the Magi so you might better understand their significance. These were strangers to Israel. Jews would consider them pagans – totally outside the covenant with the God of Israel.
Yet these pagans – these foreigners whose ancestors had utterly conquered the people of Israel – manage to ‘see the light’ and recognize that God has sent a king to be born for the people of Israel. These pagans, who might justifiably see the birth of a new foreign king as a threat to their own country, come to pay homage. At the same time, Herod, the actual king of Israel (appointed by the Romans) seeks to kill the baby before he can grow up and pose a threat.
Epiphany is our story. This is not because we are so insightful or because we are so pious. Epiphany is our story because it is the story of Gentiles (like us) who recognize Jesus as their king. The early church, comprised of Jews, had to really struggle to adjust its thinking to accept that Gentiles could be part of what God was doing through Jesus. The story of the Magi was one of the ways they reminded themselves that God sent Jesus to all the world and not only to the people of Israel.
Epiphany reminds us that Christmas is for the whole world. Epiphany teaches us that sometimes outsiders ‘get’ what Jesus is about better than those of us who think his story belongs exclusively to us.
The Magi presented costly gifts – symbolically offering themselves to Jesus. Who today is giving himself to the way of justice and reconciliation, care for the needy and forgiveness? Who is giving herself to fighting oppression and injustice? Who is welcoming the stranger?
These are the modern-day Magi. They may not be Christians. They may not even be people of any conscious faith. They may be outsiders, pagans, heretics. And yet they give precious gifts of service to Christ’s Kingdom.
Epiphany is about Christ’s light being for the whole world. It is about recognizing that where light is shining, that light reveals Christ, even if he is not known by name.
The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:5)
Prayer: Luminous God, shine on us and lead us by your light to the places where we can offer ourselves in service that will bring homage to Christ. Amen.