The Epiphany of the Lord

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/010812.cfm

A tree once lived here. 

Nations shall walk by your light,
and kings by your shining radiance.
Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you:
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters in the arms of their nurses....
Caravans of camels shall fill you,
dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;
all from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense,
and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.


Describing the journey of the magi to worship the new born King of the Jews, Saint Matthew remembered Isaiah's prophecy. Their gifts of gold and frankincense recall the tribute captive nations would pay to Jerusalem. Later exegetes would go further, transforming the wise men into kings who walk by the shining radiance of Bethlehem's star. We can well imagine Mary and Joseph raising their eyes and looking about as the magi arrived. (Unfortunately few others did.) Since camels and dromedaries were as common then as 18-wheeled semis are today, and served the same purpose, the magi might well have had a few camels with them. 


Isaiah promised a restoration of Jerusalem. As it had once been an important city under King David and King Solomon, so it would be again. The babies of the Diaspora would be carried in the arms of their nurses from afar as they returned; and the Jews would certainly proclaim the praises of the Lord. Saint Matthew saw Isaiah's prophecy fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. All nations would honor him in Jerusalem. 

The Church calls this feast Epiphany, which means a revelation of God to the whole world. The magi represent the honor the entire world will certainly give to Jesus of Nazareth, whom we honored recently as Christ the King. 

I look at it this way. All religions have myths about how the world came to be. These stories encapsulate everything they believe about life, its order and its structures. Usually these myths happened "a long time ago," somewhere before living memories began. But Christians celebrate the very fresh memory of Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem, which is now in modern Israel. He traveled roads that are still familiar; he died outside of Jerusalem which is still a living city. The story of Jesus is our myth; it shapes the way we understand everything; but this myth really happened in our history. 


Because it is a true historical event, it cannot be forgotten or erased. Because it is of signal importance, it will reshape all human history and every human life around itself. We have forgotten who invented the wheel and who melded copper and tin to make bronze -- these were "prehistoric" events -- but Jesus lived well within our history. 

Someday that historic event will belong to everyone. My ancestors of two thousand years ago certainly never heard of Jesus. I suppose they were in present-day Ireland and Germany, a long way from Bethlehem. But eventually the story of Jesus was announced to more recent ancestors who believed in him. They in turn passed that word down the ages, so his story is now my story. I remember his life and death as if it happened only yesterday. I'm sure there are people in this world who have yet to be touched by the gospel; he has not yet entered their history. 

To try another analogy: astrophysicists speak of four dimensional light cones, which spread through the universe. A star explodes. Half-way across the universe, no one sees it when it happens, although it is an enormous explosion. The brilliant light races at light-speed (of course) through the universe until observers see it -- as if it is happening right now. When did it happen? A long time ago? or just now? One thing is sure; it can't be replayed. If you see the light now, you see the event now. Look again a week from now and you won't see it; you'll see only what happened a week later, half-way across the universe. 

When did Jesus appear in Bethlehem? When you saw the light. You saw it as it happened. The light-cone of the gospel finally arrived in your heart. Although it seems to take a long time, it will certainly, gloriously, and inevitably arrive in everyone's heart. However, not all will accept the light; some will reject it, as Herod did. 

But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by man's decision but of God. 

On this feast of the Epiphany we celebrate the Light that is speeding through our history and will consecrate the entire universe.