Something to Think About – Epiphany 2024
January 6 is the day designated as Epiphany in the Christian year. “Epiphany” is a Greek word that means “to shine upon” (to reveal; appear). For Christians, Epiphany refers to the star shining in the sky the night Jesus was born. That star revealed Jesus’ birth to the world, and it appeared to magi living in the east. They saw the significance of that star as signaling the birth of a new king whom they wished to visit. They most likely resided in the Parthian kingdom (Persia, or modern-day Iran) and since that journey from Persia to Bethlehem lasted 12 days, these magi would have arrived in Bethlehem on January 6. Thus, Epiphany – the day the Jesus was revealed to the Magi – is celebrated 12 days after Christmas.
Who were these magi? In popular culture we think of them as kings, but scholars and historians are sure they were not kings. Sometimes we refer to them as wise men – which is fine. They probably were wise. But the best way to name them is “magi” – which would have been a cross between philosopher-astronomer-theologian. Moreover, we tend to think there were three of them. But did you know that scripture never gives us a number? The only place the magi are referenced is in Matthew 2:1-12. There, no number of magi is ever given. A number of gifts brought to Jesus is mentioned however. Three. The magi brought gold, frankincense and myrrh as gifts to the newborn Jesus. And these gifts they brought are far more significant for us than the number of magi who brought them.
First, there was gold. Since the most ancient of times, gold has been associated with royalty. Giving Jesus the gift gold signifies that Jesus is a king. That is not surprising to us. The prophet Isaiah described Jesus as a King of Kings when he prophesied about the coming messiah. From a spiritual standpoint, calling Jesus a king means seeing in him the source of ultimate authority in this realm. It challenges us to allow Jesus to transcend all the ways earthly authority can be divisive. What if we allowed our faith in Christ to be preferential over our political affiliations? What if we engaged one another on the basis of our shared faith in Christ and allowed that affiliation to have priority of the ways we are divided over other issues like abortion and gun control? Jesus prayed (John 17:20) that all his people might be one. What if we took that desire more seriously without also making other issues conditions of that unity?
Next came frankincense. Frankincense was just one of may “incenses” used in the ancient world. It was a resin collected from trees and then burned slowly for the fragrance it produced. Incense was also used when the gods were worshiped. In polytheistic cultures, the way a god was “worshipped” was by waving burning incense around a statue of that god. The fragrant smoke would surround that statue and was seen as a way of honoring that god. To bring Jesus incense was to signify that he was God. Not only was he a king with authority over all earthly kings, he was also God. Jesus would have the power to grant salvation that no one on earth could; that none could but God.
Finally, there was myrrh. Myrrh was highly fragrant and because of this was used to embalm corpses in ancient Egypt. To bring Jesus myrrh was to acknowledge his death; that he would one day die as all earthly bodies die. Jesus would be a god of a different nature than all other gods with which people were familiar at the time. Gods were immortal. God’s didn’t die. But this God – Jesus the Christ – would bring us victory over death by doing what no one would have believed and first dying himself.
Taken together, the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh reveal a faith in Jesus a king; a king who was also God; who held in his very being both human and divine natures; who wished to be seen as authoritative over both heaven and earth; and whose salvation would come by means of embracing death in order to overcome it. Personally, I find interesting the conversations about these magi (how many there might have been, what their names were…), but not nearly as interesting as the significance of the gifts they brought to Jesus.
Blessings, Michael