In the Western Church Epiphany has been celebrated since the 4th Century. The feast marks the coming of the Magi, Kings or Wise men from the Orient. According to Scripture, on their way from the East the Magi stopped in Jerusalem and asked King Herod where to find the infant King of the Jews. They explained that they had seen his star as it rose and had come to do him homage. This news disturbed Herod who called together the chief priests and scribes and enquired of them where the Christ, the anointed one of God, was to be born. He was reminded of the prophecy that this would occur at Bethlehem in Judea. Herod sent the Magi on their way telling them once they had found the infant to return with details so Herod himself could go and pay homage. They set out following the star which halted over the place where the infant Jesus lay. They found the child Jesus with his mother Mary and falling on their knees did homage. Opening their treasures they offered him precious gifts of gold (for a king), frankincense (incense for priesthood) and myrrh (an embalming spice). The Magi were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod so they returned to their own country by a different route. The Magi were the first Gentiles to acknowledge Jesus as King. Thus God revealed himself to the world through the incarnation of Jesus.
In our Christmas cribs the Three Kings, Magi or Wise Men do not usually appear until the Epiphany. In some churches and homes though they appear earlier gradually getting closer to the crib over the days of Christmas.
Epiphany is the climax of the Advent/ Christmas season and the twelve days of Christmas which are usually counted from the evening of December 25th to the morning of January 6th, therefore the evening of January 5th is Twelfth Night. In some countries Epiphany is known as Three Kings Day or El Dia de los Reyes and it is on this day, not Christmas Day, that gifts are exchanged. Many other traditions are observed throughout the world including the baking of special cakes and the blessing of homes.
In the Roman Catholic tradition Epiphany is observed as a single day with the Sundays following being counted as in Ordinary time. For those in the Protestant tradition the season of Epiphany extends from 6th January until Ash Wednesday.
There is a lesson for us in the events of the Epiphany. The Magi who brought gifts to the infant Jesus were the first Gentiles to acknowledge Jesus as king and so were the first to show or reveal Jesus to a wider world as the incarnate Christ. This act of worship which corresponded to Simeon’s later blessing that this child would be a light for revelation to the Gentiles (Luke 2:32), was one of the first indications that Jesus came for all people, all nations, all races and that the work of God in the world was not limited to a few.
Judy Freegard