Epiphany Sunday

This is our first Sunday Gospel article for the Year 2010 and it falls on the Sunday of the Epiphany. It is also popularly known as the Feast of the Magi or the Visit of the Three Kings. An Epiphany is a manifestation of the Divine, where God himself is revealed through his only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Today’s reading is found in Luke 2:1-12.

“1 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: 6 And for you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel. 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word that I too may go and do him homage.”

9 After their audience with the king they set out. And lo and behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 They were overjoyed at seeing he star, 11 and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.”

Epiphany is the celebration of the “Manifestation of the Lord. If you didn’t know, the Three Kings isn’t the only Epiphany in the Catholic Church calendar… it starts with the birth of Jesus, the visit of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River and his first Miracle at the Wedding in Cana. So today, is the second Epiphany or the Three Kings.

When we talk about the Three Kings, the first question to come to mind is who were they? If they were kings of faraway lands, then they most probably where not Jews? Church tradition assumes that there where three Kings because each one gave specific gifts. Magi came from the Latin word Magoi, which was transliterated from an Old Persian sect.

The popular names for the Three Kings or the Three Wise men were Gaspar, purportedly the King of India, Melchior, the King of Persia and Balthasar, King of Arabia. Modern day scholars believe that the Three Kings represent the Gentiles or the nations or people that did not belong to the Jewish religion or God’s chosen people. I tend to believe in the latter because in the end, it was the Gentiles who embraced Christianity.

The Magi also bore the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Tradition says that gold represents the Kingship of Jesus, while frankincense was a spice used in his priestly role and myrrh was an embalming ointment in anticipation of his death on the cross a death that would bring us eternal salvation for all mankind.

That the Magi came to pay homage to Jesus as written in today’s gospel teaches us that when Christ was born, his message of salvation were given first to humble people, like the shepherds in the fields who were poor in spirit and the Magi, who were wisemen or kings in their own right, yet they followed God’s star from their faraway land where it must have took them a few months or weeks travel to get to Bethlehem. The road to Bethlehem in those days wasn’t easy to travel as there really where no roads to follow, rather they crossed the desert, crossed rivers or streams and climbed on rocky terrain just to pay homage to a little child.

If they were indeed Royalty, then they each must have a huge caravan carrying their belongings including those that escorted the king on their journey. Somehow they must have meet at a specific point before their entry to Jerusalem. It was there that scripture mentions that they followed the star to where the holy child laid. And as today’s gospel says, “They were overjoyed at seeing he star, 11 and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage.”

Today, whenever the Sacred host is lifted up by the priest in the Consecration, people inside the church kneel. But no one who goes to mass in a shopping mall even cares to kneel. This is why I love going to mass in St. John’s Priory in Banawa because the faithful together with the priests and nuns prostrate themselves in reverent homage to our Lord Jesus Christ. Happy Three Kings!

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