Epiphany

Preparation

    Please begin by reading Matthew 2:1-12 in your Bible. If you do not have one at hand, we have provided that text for you at the end of this reflection.

Reflection--Go For the Light

  We are drawing near the end of the Christmas season and the Church’s celebration of the birth of Christ.  This week, the Church turns to its celebration of Epiphany. 

“Epiphany” means “revelation” or “manifestation,” or the showing forth of God.  In this season, we celebrate another part of the promise that was manifested in Jesus – that God has come for all people, and God will come to all of us, every one, if we seek God’s presence and invite God into our hearts.

The Magi ¾ the Wise Ones who followed the star ¾ were not the ones to whom the Messiah was originally promised in the Hebrew Scriptures.  They came from a far away land, choosing to follow the light that beckoned them away from their countries, their homes, their families.  Isaiah’s prophecy in the Scriptures though, was a message that when the Messiah came, the promise would be for everyone who came to believe, saying to the nations “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.... Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.  Foreign nations will stream to your light, and the rulers of the whole world will be drawn to you because you are a beacon of light.”  (Isaiah 60:1,3.)  They followed that light to Bethlehem.

And it happened that it was not just the star, but also those same scriptures, that led the Wise Ones to the Christ Child.  “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”  First they read the stars, and then, when they had followed the star as far as they could, they sought for what had been written of the Messiah, and found his birthplace recorded in the ancient scriptures.

Epiphany is the season of seekers.  But we do not have to mount up on camels and cross the desert to some foreign land.  Matthew’s story of the journey of the Magi manages to express many lessons in a few short verses, including the truth that people will come from afar and from many routes to discover the Light; the truth that no place on earth is too humble to kneel in and worship that Light; the truth that no one has a monopoly on the Light; and the truth that we have already received this great gift.

God's Child

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Matthew 2:1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."  When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.  They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'" 

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared.  Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage."  When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.  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.  And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.