The Feast of the Epiphany

(january 02, 2010) This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany our Lord. This feast is acclaimed as the universal manifestation of the Saviour to the Universal Church. From the early days of the Church, this feast has been considered as an important feast receiving at times more attention than the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord. Celebrated on the 6^th of January and in some areas on the first Sunday in the month of January, this feast recalls the arrival of the magi or the three kings to Bethlehem in search of the King of the Jews. Originally this feast contained the commemoration of the Nativity of Jesus, the visit of the Magi or the Wise Men to Bethlehem, all of Jesus' childhood events, up to and including his Baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist; and the miracle at the Wedding of Cana in Galilee. It is also called Theophany, meaning the Manifestation especially by Eastern Church. At present on the feast day of Epiphany only the coming of the Magi is celebrated, while other feasts are celebrated individually. The day of the Epiphany of our Lord is an important and ancient Christian holy day. Unfortunately, in recent years its importance has been reduced considerably. The word epiphany comes from the Greek noun epiphaneia, which means "shining forth," "manifestation," or "revelation." In the ancient Greco-Roman world, an epiphany referred to the appearance of one of the gods to mortals. Since Hellenistic kings and Roman emperors were considered by many to be gods, the word epiphany was also used as a term for divine majesty. The Epiphany of our Lord is the Christian festival that celebrates the many ways through signs, miracles, and preaching that Jesus revealed Himself to the world as Christ, God Incarnate, and King of kings. Epiphany celebrates God's revealing or manifesting of Jesus' identity as true God, Messiah, and Saviour of the world. It not only commemorates the fact that Jesus appeared to save us, but that God revealed the identity of Jesus to the world.
Historically, the first Christians did not celebrate an annual day of the Epiphany. Nor did they annually celebrate Christ's birth, death, or resurrection. The New Testament documents show us that the early Church gathered on a weekly basis in some places, specifically on the first day of the week, their weekly day of worship in remembrance of Christ's resurrection. The first explicit mention of Epiphany is in a writing of 361, but there are other evidences that suggest that it was observed earlier than this in some places. Since the time of Pope Leo I of Rome and St. Augustine and following their example late 4th to mid 5th Century, Roman Catholicism and the Reformation churches have focused on God's revealing of Jesus' identity to the magi/wise men, as recorded in Matthew 2:1-12. But throughout history other revelations have been emphasized, including Christ's birth, His baptism, and His first miracle at Cana. In fact, among Christians living in the eastern portion of the Roman Empire, the event of Christ's life that was predominately celebrated on the day of the Epiphany was His baptism. This is explained in a 4th Century document called The Apostolic Constitutions.
The document speaks of the festival of the Epiphany, as a manifestation that took place of the divinity of Christ, for the Father bore testimony to Him at the baptism; and the Paraclete, generally called the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, pointed out to the bystanders Him to whom the testimony was borne. Christ's baptism was seen as an exemplary "epiphany" because both the Father by His voice and the Spirit by His action in alighting upon Jesus clearly revealed who Jesus was: God's Beloved Son. The visit of the Magi indicates that God is revealing the true identity of Jesus as God and Messiah. Through the star and the Scriptures interpreted by the theologians of the time, God revealed Jesus to the Gentile Magi. These men received Him and responded by worshiping Him and bestowing gifts. Though the epiphany to the magi is our main focus on the day of the Epiphany, we do emphasize Christ's baptism in the Epiphany season that follows, specifically, on the first Sunday after the Epiphany.
God’s revelation of Jesus of Nazareth to us is a gift. He condescended to us and revealed Jesus to us in ways that we could understand. He sought out the magi and revealed Jesus' Person and Mission to them through the star and Scripture. They never could have discovered this on their own if He hadn't revealed it by grace. He had mercy on John the Baptist and others at the Jordan on the day of Jesus' baptism. No one there on that day could have possibly perceived the true identity of Jesus as John baptized Him. But God condescended to them and allowed them to hear and see the testimony of the Father and the Spirit. Once again, God took the initiative by His grace and revealed Jesus as eternal God as well as man. Remembering the Epiphany reminds us that we also have been sought out. God has come looking for us through His Word and Sacraments.
The Magi were members of the religious hierarchy of ancient Persia and Media (the region corresponding to modern Iran). They were scholars and practitioners of astrology, divination, and the interpretation of dreams. Their expertise in these sacred or mystery subjects is the reason they were often referred to as "wise men." The Magi of Babylonia undoubtedly came into contact with exiled Jewish priests living among them. They are mentioned only in the Gospel of Matthew which says that they came "from the east" to worship the Christ, "born King of the Jews". As part of their religion, these priests paid particular attention to the stars, and gained an international reputation for astrology, which was at that time highly regarded as a science. Many pious legends about the wise men have arisen over the centuries. In the western Christian churches, these include the traditions that there were three Magi who visited Jesus, that their names were Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, and that they were kings. These derive from an early 6th century Greek manuscript in Alexandria. Since the earliest days of the church, these wise men have been considered to be representatives of all the peoples of the earth.
According to the Gospel of Matthew, the Magi found Jesus by following a star, which thus traditionally became known as the Star of Bethlehem. Various theories have been presented as to the nature of this star and its movement and the interpretation. The Magi accept the interpretation of the star and follow it to discover the King. On finding him, they gave him three symbolic gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Warned in a dream that Judean king Herod intended to kill the child, they decided to return home by a different route. This prompted Herod to resort to killing all the young children in Bethlehem, an act called the Massacre of the Innocents, in an attempt to eliminate a rival heir to his throne. Jesus and his family had, however, escaped to Egypt beforehand. After their visit of Bethlehem, the Magi leave the place by returning another way so as to avoid Herod, and they do not reappear again in the Scriptures.
The Magi are described as "falling down", "kneeling" or "bowing" in the worship of Jesus. This gesture, together with the use of kneeling in Luke's birth narrative, had an important effect on Christian religious practices. Previously both Jewish and Roman traditions had viewed kneeling and prostration as undignified, reserved in Jewish tradition for epiphanies. However for Persians, they were indicative of great respect, and typically used when venerating a king. Inspired by these verses, kneeling and prostration were adopted in the early Church. Kneeling has remained an important element of Christian worship to this day. Three gifts are explicitly identified in Matthew: gold, frankincense, and myrrh which are found only in Yemen. Many different theories of the meaning and symbolism of the gifts have been brought forward. While gold is fairly obviously explained, frankincense, and particularly myrrh, is much more obscure. All three gifts are ordinary offerings and gifts given to a king. Myrrh being commonly used as anointing oil, frankincense as a perfume, and gold as a valuable precious item. The three gifts had a spiritual meaning: gold as a symbol of kingship on earth, frankincense or incense as a symbol of priesthood, and myrrh, the embalming oil as a symbol of death.
Epiphany is one of the most important festivals of the liturgical year because it shows the church how God comes to His people. We are so full of sin and deserving of divine punishment that we cannot hope to approach God. Knowing that we cannot come to Him, God took the initiative and came to us by becoming one of us. The most holy and almighty God condescended to take on human flesh in order to reveal His salvation to the world. This is the mystery of the Epiphany of our Lord. Epiphany Day itself commemorates the arrival of the Magi in Bethlehem to worship the Messiah and bring Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:1-12).

The observance had its origins in the Eastern Christian Churches, and was a general celebration of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. It included the commemoration of: his nativity, the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem up to the miracle at the Wedding of Cana in Galilee. Christians fixed the date of the feast on January 6 quite early in their history. Western Christians have traditionally emphasized the "Revelation to the Gentiles" mentioned in Luke, where the term Gentile means all non-Jewish peoples. The Biblical Magi, who represented the non-Jewish peoples of the world, paid homage to the infant Jesus in stark contrast to Herod the Great (King of Judea), who sought to kill him. In this event, Christian writers also inferred a revelation to the Children of Israel.
Today in Eastern Orthodox churches, the emphasis at this feast is on the shining forth and revelation of Jesus Christ as the Messiah and Second Person of the Trinity at the time of his baptism. It is also celebrated because, according to tradition, the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by St. John the Baptist marked one of only two occasions when all three Persons of the Trinity manifested themselves simultaneously to humanity: God the Father by speaking through the clouds, God the Son being baptized in the river, and God the Holy Spirit in the shape of a dove descending from heaven, the other occasion being the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor. Thus the holy day is considered to be a Trinitarian feast. In the Orthodox calendar the feast of the Epiphany is called 'Theophania', meaning the manifestation of God. Epiphany is the most ancient feast, after Easter, relating to the Lord and is observed by the Christian Church on January 6. In Rome December 25^th began to be celebrated as the day of the Epiphany (Nativity), while in the East January 6 remained as the Epiphany day including which also included the feast of the Nativity and the Baptism of our Lord. By the end of the 4th century, December25th was celebrated as the day of the Nativity feast in most of the East, and January 6 remained as the feast of the Magi, figuratively representing the entire heathen world, were taken to be the recipients of the saving grace of the newly manifested Christ. It is only the Armenian Church in the East that still celebrates the Nativity and Epiphany together on January 6.
Christian life, the life of God's people, is most often represented in the bible and in literature, as a journey, a journey that begins with our confession of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, and ends when we at last meet him and the Father, face to face, in God's heavenly kingdom. The story of the Magi is our story for that very reason. It is also our story because the Magi were, according to tradition, the very first Gentiles to whom God revealed his purpose in Christ Jesus and who, in the end, not only worshipped Jesus, but met him face to face. According to most people, the Magi were the first religious figures to worship Christ, and for this reason the story of the Magi is particularly respected and popular among many Christians. This visit is frequently treated in Christian art and literature as The Adoration of the Magi.
Epiphany is about manifestation of our Lord, telling us who Jesus is, and what his significance is. Neither the crib nor the cross alone does this. We discover the meaning of these and of Jesus through his life and mission. His life unfolds the meaning of the manger and the cross and resurrection discloses the significance of his life. If Epiphany is a voyage of discovery about Jesus, it is also a voyage of our self-discovery. Christian faith is about following the mystery, not about observing the event. To “do” Epiphany is self-involving and life-transforming. Jesus discloses not only the truth about himself, and not only the truth about God, but, precisely because of who he is, he discloses the truth about our world and about us. In Jesus, we learn that to be human is to be known by God. Our identity resides in the fact that we are created, known and loved by God. It is these twin themes of being known by God and called by Jesus that link the feast day texts. Epiphany is always to be travelled first-hand. We cannot rely on what we have been told, or believed, or thought. Epiphany is the time of surprises. It is the time to expect new and astonishing, earth-shaking things that we hadn’t known or realised before about ourselves, our world, our communities, and about Jesus, and the God he reveals the God who knows us, loves us and calls us.