It is said that after the wise men came and gave their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, the three wise women came and gave them a one year supply of diapers, some casseroles and free babysitting.
I mean seriously, why these gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh? A comedian, Tim Hawkins, said, “Have you ever listened to the song about the star, and the tail and sheep speaking?” He goes on to make fun of many things but the verse I remember is, “A child, a child shivers in the cold. Let us bring him silver and gold.” The comedian muses: why not a blanket?
Why the gifts? Well, the feast is called Epiphany. The wise men are not an epiphany. Their names are not an epiphany. An epiphany is a revelation that happens that is often life changing. A bunch of stuff comes together and you have this light bulb moment and wow it makes sense. We often look at the Epiphany as the feast of the wise men, but we actually celebrate three things: the wise men’s gifts, the Baptism in the Jordan and the wedding feast at Cana. These are all Epiphany moments in the life of Christ, key moments to show who He really is. The question then is what will be our response to Him once we understand this Epiphany? Will we kneel down before this mystery and resolve to let His will be done in our lives? Will we realize after hearing the message that we are entrusted with a message?
The three kings followed a star that is very odd indeed. Apparently scholars say that the star travelled in the wrong direction. They would have watched stars their whole lives and this one would have appeared very different as it didn’t go the way of other stars. You can read more about it in Scott Hahn’s book, “Joy to the World.” What is amazing to me was the wise men were looking for a sign of something great happening. They looked for something supernatural to happen and when they saw it, they followed. This is an important lesson for us. It will not be because we live a naturally good life that others will be attracted to God. It will be because we live a supernaturally good life that others are attracted to God. That we were able to rise above certain situations that people will see God here because the feast of the Epiphany is about that, seeing God.
The gifts of the wise men show Jesus to be King, that is what the gold shows; the frankincense shows that He is God as it was incense that the Israelites were ordered only to use in the worship of God; and myrrh is a perfume that was used in burial and it shows that Jesus is man as well.
In Cana, when Jesus turns water into wine, a few more things are revealed. The simple thing is that Jesus is a miracle worker. The deeper things are this. First of all, there is no mention of the names of the bride and the groom. However, Jesus called Himself the bridegroom and Mary is revealed as the woman, which is Eve before the fall. Instead of poisoning mankind with sin, Mary brings the remedy into the world in Jesus. The old Adam died at the tree of life, the New Adam will save all at the tree of death.
The event of the Baptism reveals even more. It reveals Jesus as the beloved Son who we are to listen to and then it reveals God as a triune God – one God, three persons. God had been hinted at as a triune God before with the three visitors of Abraham and Let Us make man in Our image and likeness but He never was so bold as at the Baptism and, of course, later on in the Transfiguration, to reveal and stop hinting.
I fully agree that this stuff is great and beautiful and it is a neat Epiphany. It is beautiful to see all these things come together to form this revelation of God. It is good to know he is King and Man and God, that He works miracles, that His mother is the new Eve and He is the new Adam, and that He is beloved of God and that God is a Trinity. All wonderful things to know. But, are we living the Mystery? Seeing all this, are we like the three kings bowing down before the Mystery and letting it supernaturally change our lives? How can we do this? We have God so how are we using Him to makes us better, more supernatural, rising above the hurts of the world, not allowing the hurts to define us but the love and the saving mystery of God?