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Reflection by Fr Paul Zaher
Happy Epiphany! This celebration concludes the Christmas Season. We end the season with the magi’s acknowledgement of the newborn king.
Through the Advent Season, we saw the trust that Mary and Joseph placed in God and his angel. Now, we see the trust that the magi places in God and the message left for them. The wise men were put on quite a dangerous mission. They are to find a fugitive on behalf of the king and then report to the king where this fugitive is. In their wisdom, they follow what was said to them in a dream. They did not return to King Herod but instead travelled a different way. These men would be people who would show great loyalty to their king and would be men of great honour and highly trusted by the king. They still prove obedience and loyalty to their king, however, what has changed is who they recognise to be their king.
The Gospel of Matthew leans towards a more traditional way of looking at events, with a keen eye on formalities. Matthew’s Christmas story begins with the genealogy of Jesus (Joseph’s family tree), Joseph’s encounter with the angel and Mary and then the acknowledgment of Jesus through the wise men sent by a king. It is through ancestry and royalty that Matthew shows the power and authority of Jesus.
The magi or wise men would be high in stature, well educated and knowledgeable, and usually only lower and humble themselves before the king. Here, we see them lowering themselves to a baby, which highlights how high they place the child Jesus. Gold, frankincense and myrrh – the very first Christmas presents, are gifts and signs that Jesus is king. There may have been other gifts, but all that we hear from Matthew are the gifts that show that the wise are paying homage to Jesus, the homage paid to a king.
An epiphany is a sudden realisation. And the celebration of the Epiphany occurs twelve days after Christmas – hence the twelve days of the Christmas Season. It may not seem like a sudden realisation when it occurs almost two weeks later. By this point, most of you have already taken down your Christmas decorations, but the realisation is the acknowledgement of those with authority. In Luke’s Gospel, the shepherds have already seen the angel and visited Jesus. But here we see the men sent by the king fall to their knees at this baby and his mother. We see Jesus as a king through the shepherds, but through the magi, we realise Jesus is the king above all kings.
