The Epiphany of the Lord (Fr. Vinner)
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Child Jesus,
Epiphany means manifestation. What the Church celebrates today is the manifestation of our Lord to the whole world; after being made known to the shepherds of Bethlehem He is revealed to the Magi who have come from the East to adore Him. Christian tradition has ever seen in the Magi the first fruits of the Gentiles; they lead in their wake all the peoples of the earth, and thus the Epiphany is an affirmation of universal salvation. St. Leo brings out this point admirably in a sermon, read at Matins, in which he shows in the adoration of the Magi the beginnings of Christian faith, the time when the great mass of the heathen sets off to follow the star which summons it to seek its Savior.
The word Epiphany comes from the Greek meaning “to appear” or “to be shown forth” According to Roman Catholic tradition, Epiphany signifies the first appearance of Christ to the gentiles in the story of the visit of the three wisemen to the divine infant Jesus. As the three wisemen represent all the known peoples of the world, this signifies an appearance to the entire world, not just a few who call themselves Christians.
The three wisemen were named Melchior, Balthazar and Gaspar. Each of them came from a different culture: Melchior was Asian, Balthazar was Persian and Gaspar was Ethiopian, thus representing the three races known to the old world. These three priest-kings and wisemen brought royal gifts to the divine infant: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Melchior brought a golden cup, which, according to legend, was preserved by the Blessed Virgin Mary and was the same cup used in the institution of the Holy Eucharist. Balthazar brought a gold box of frankincense. Gaspar brought a curiously chased flask of myrrh, a royal embalming oil.
The gift of gold symbolizes the kingship of Christ, which represents our own true royal Selfhood and our giving of love and service as directed and commanded by that Self. The gift of frankincense symbolizes the Godhead of Christ and our own gifts of honor and reverence to our indwelling Divinity. The gift of myrrh is a prophecy of the death and burial of the earthly body of Christ, which represents our understanding and empathy for the suffering of humanity.
The Star over Bethlehem is a light that recalls the lights, the fire, and the warmth of God’s love. The star points backward through history to the God who revealed Himself to Moses in a burning bush, the God who manifested Himself in the fire and lightning that surrounded Mt. Sinai, the pillar of fire that lead the Jews through the desert to the Promised Land, and the Star of David, their greatest king. That same Bethlehem star points ahead to the tongues of fire that will come on Pentecost which the Jews observed on the fiftieth day after Passover and which also commemorated the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai. Epiphany tells us that God has decided to come to us where we are. In amazement St. John writes his Gospel: “That which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands was made manifest. And we saw it.” This is the permanent amazement, the awe, the wonder, and the mystery the Church celebrates continually in the epiphanies of her Sacraments.
What we are therefore concerned with today is our vision. What the Church wants us to do is to see the Light of the World, to see things in God’s Light as He presents Himself to us in our lives. That Light has come into our world and the darkness will not overcome it. Christ’s cure of the man born blind is our own cure. It is the call of God to us. It is His urging to see things as He sees them. God continues to reveal Himself to us. God’s Light comes to us in the beautiful insights of people we meet who give us a way of seeing things in truly striking ways. You and I have all met such people. They move us to feel that God is near. Those are grace filled moments in our lives. God continues to give us epiphanies in those moments.
God Bless you,
Fr. S.Vinnerraj HGN.