Although one of the last celebrations of the Christmas season, Sunday’s Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord is just as hopeful and relevant to our lives as all of the other stories that surround the birth of Jesus. At the heart of its familiar story, this is what we find: astrologers from the east arrive in Bethlehem inquiring about the location of the newborn king of the Jews. We’re told that they had observed his star at its rising, and they came to pay him homage.
The story of the astrologers and the star of Bethlehem is unique to Matthew’s Gospel. If you listened carefully to it, you might have noticed that Matthew doesn’t even call the astrologers kings – nor does he give their names – nor does he report where they came from. In fact, Matthew never even specifies the number of the magi. We traditionally have just presumed that there were three since three gifts – gold, frankincense and myrrh – were presented to the Christ child. But in stripping away the romantic layers that have been added to the story, Matthew’s purpose in telling it can be better understood – a purpose that points back to us and the need to fill the emptiness that so often exists within us.
Matthew uses Old Testament images and ideas in the story of the Epiphany. The star is reminiscent of a prophecy from the Book of Numbers proclaiming that “a star shall advance from Jacob.” Many of the details that Matthew offers about the child Jesus parallel the story of the child Moses and the Exodus.
Matthew also provides a preview of what is to come later in his gospel. The reactions of various individuals to the birth of Jesus parallel the effects that Jesus’ teaching will have on those who hear it: Herod reacts with anger and hostility. The chief priests and scribes greet the news with indifference toward the Jesus who comes to give new life and meaning to the rituals and laws of the scribes.
Finally, there is one more lesson that the Matthew’s Gospel proclaims on this Feast of the Epiphany. When the magi finally encountered the Christ child, they prostrated themselves, “did him homage”, and their lives were undoubtedly changed forever. Pope Benedict XVI described such ultimate faith experiences, like those of the magi, in these words: “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person – Jesus Christ – who gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” The Holy Father went on to say that “faith is above all a personal, intimate encounter with Jesus, an experience of his closeness, his friendship, his love; only in this way does one learn to know him ever more, and to love and follow him ever more.” (Reflection by: Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L. Bishop of Scranton)
