Matthew 2:1-12 The Visit of the Magi (Solemnity of Epiphany)

There is a Latin maxim that says, “Tempus fugit!”, which means in English “Time flies!” Indeed time flies quickly. It seems like only yesterday when we were preparing with all excitement and joy for Christmas. Today it is already the Feast of Epiphany that we are celebrating which brings us to the last Sunday of the Christmas Season. Just a friendly reminder: In case you failed to give someone earlier a Christmas gift, you still have some time today to do it.

The Feast of Epiphany that we are celebrating today is popularly known also as the Feast of Three Kings. The Germans were the ones who “coined”  and popularized this “Feast of Three Kings.”  Based on the German tradition it was assumed that there were “three kings” because of the presence of the three gifts, namely, gold, frankincense and myrrh which were very expensive during that time that only a King can afford to give it as a gift.

If we go back, however, to the biblical texts of the Gospel According To Matthew we will discover that there was no mention of the word “king.” There was no mention also of the word “three.”  What was being mentioned only was the term “magi” which literally means “wise men,” “learned men,” or “enlightened astrologers.” But they were not the “fortune tellers” or the “manghuhulas” that we have today.

What is something definite in the story is that there were wise men from the East who, under the guidance of the star, had searched and found the infant Jesus with Mary his mother. They knelt down and worshiped the new-born King, opened their gifts and offered him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These gifts have symbolical significance to the divine identify and mission of Jesus. Gold symbolizes the kingship of Jesus. Frankincense symbolizes the divinity of Jesus. Myrrh symbolizes the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross that brought about our salvation.  Having warned not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.

What is epiphany? “Epiphany” means “manifestation” or “appearance” of God in the person or humanity of Jesus.  It is also a revealing scene and event when God was pleased to  disclose His identity, mission and plan of salvation not only to the Jews but also to the Gentiles. Epiphany also means an illuminating discovery or realization that Jesus, indeed,  is the “Immanuel” the “God-with-us.”

What  are the significance or implications of Epiphany in relation with our sanctification and salvation?

First, epiphany tells us that in Jesus, God became visible and audible for us. Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God.  In him the fullness of divinity dwells (see Col 1:15). St. John the Evangelist rightly describes the mystery of Incarnation in his Prologue when he wrote: “In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God; And the Word was made flesh; and He dwelt among us” (see Jn 1:1-5, 9-14).  For John, however, Jesus is not only the “Word Made Flesh’ but also the “Love Made Flesh” when he declared: Through him we have seen and believe in the Love of God for us (1 Jn 4:16).

Second, epiphany tell us that the in Jesus God once again became accessible to us. In Jesus we have once again access to the Father. In Jesus we have once again access to the Father’s Kingdom. In Jesus we have once again access to the fullness of truth and grace that God alone can give. As Jesus himself declared: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6).

Third, epiphany tells us the God wants all men and women to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the fulness of truth (1 Tim 2:3-4), that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (Jn 14:6). The kingdom of God is intended for all men and women of all generations. God does not want anyone to perish eternally in hell. Salvation, therefore, is inclusive not exclusive.

What are some of the challenges for all of us? Like the wise men let us keep on searching for the fullness of truth. Once we found the truth let us adhere to the truth. Like the wise men let us also acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and Savior and do him homage.  Like the wise men let us also open our gifts and offered them to Jesus which is the greatest gift of God the Father to His people. Of course, not gold, not frankincense, not myrrh but our body, our self, our whole life.  As St Paul exhorted the first early Christians in Rome: “I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is the kind of spiritual worship God wants from you” (Rm 12:1).