The feast of Epiphany (“manifestation”) concludes the Christmas season with a celebration of God’s glory revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. In Isaiah and Ephesians, that glory is proclaimed for all nations and people. Like the light of the star that guided the magi to Jesus, the light of Christ reveals who we are: children of God who are claimed and washed in the waters of baptism. We are sent out to be beacons of the light of Christ, sharing the good news of God’s love to all people.
For centuries, Christians have celebrated Epiphany on January 6, the day following the twelve days of Christmas. Although the Bible does not give us a date, legend has it that this is the day that the Magi arrived in Bethlehem and knelt before Jesus with their gifts. The writer Matthew does not tell us how many Magi there were, but he is quite specific as to the number of gifts offered and there were three: gold, representing wealth, power, and royalty; frankincense, representing prayer and worship; and myrrh, representing the oil of anointing and embalming. These were gifts that would be expected for a king, a priest, and an embalmer, but strange gifts for a newborn.
The Bible gives us no details about the magi, but again legend attempts to fill in the gaps, even suggesting names. Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar traveled far to see the Christ child. Perhaps they talked long into the nights as they shared the journey. What compelled them to follow the star? Did they speculate on what the coming of this Holy Child could mean? Did their hearts and minds receive a gradual unfolding and illumination of the blessed Incarnation? And, after they found him, after they knelt before him and looked into his sweet face, did they experience a sudden revelation, a life-altering epiphany?
The feast of the Epiphany is the celebration of the God who comes among us. The ordinary becomes extraordinary: a child becomes the vessel of the unseen God so that earth and heaven are united. God’s love, incarnate in Jesus, captures all of creation in its embrace and we, God’s witnesses, call others to embrace that love made manifest in us and in all the works of God’s hands.