Epiphany Day, 2015
06/01/15 05:24
When it comes to the visit of wise men from the East to the infant Jesus, there is probably more that we don’t know than what we do know. The story is reported in only one of the Gospels: Matthew. The other Gospels are silent on the subject.
We don’t know how many there were. The Bible reports three gifts, and it is probably from this report that the tradition of three wise men arose. In Eastern Christianity, it is common for pageants and religious art to depict more than three. In Syriac churches, there are often twelve.
We don’t know how soon after the birth they arrived. Many of our traditional nativity scenes depict the magi arriving at a stable with Joseph, Mary and the infant. Often there are angels and shepherds present as well. Matthew reports the event at an unspecified time, mentions that they entered the house, and notes only the presence of Jesus and Mary at the time of their visit.
We don’t know their roles in society. Tradition pictures them as kings. That probably comes from a reference in Psalms: “May all kings fall down before him.” Matthew doesn’t say any thing about kings. The word used in the gospel is mags, a word derived from ancient Persian. In Persian the word refers to the religious caste into which Zoroaster was born. The Latin “Magi” refers to the priestly caste of Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrian priests paid special attention to the stars as part of their religion. Since Matthew’s gospel reports that they had “seen his star at its rising,” it has been assumed that they were students of the movements of stars. Were they kings? Probably not. Were they wise? It is unknown.
Traditions in the Western church, however, have given much more detail to the magi. They have been given names and regarded as saints. Melchior is said to have been a Persian scholar. Caspar is to have been a scholar form India. Balthazar is known as a scholar from Arabia. In some parts of the church they are depicted as the kings of their three respective countries.
In the Syrian church the Magi are named Larvandad, Gushnasaph, and Hormisdas. These names have a far greater likelihood of being originally Persian, though that does not mean that they are the names of those who visited the Christ child. Ethiopians name them Hor, Karsudan, and Basanater. Armenians have named them Kagphga, Badadakharida and Badadilma. In China, where Christianity is currently experiencing an explosion of growth, the tradition is that one of the magi was from China.
Just as tradition has added detail to the wise men themselves, tradition has also assigned special meanings to the gifts. While not traditional gifts for the birth of a child, gold, frankincense and myrrh would all have been acceptable offerings to be made to a king. The value of the precious metal, gold, has long been recognized and in many areas the possession of gold was seen as a sign of nobility. Frankincense was used as a perfume and was employed to mask any number of unpleasant smells that were common in the days before centralized sewer systems and modern waste management. Myrrh was an oil, commonly used for anointing. It could have been used as an anointing oil for the coronation of a king.
We have added layers of meaning to those gifts as well. Gold is the symbol of earthly kingship, frankincense is a symbol of the deity of the Christ child, and myrrh is an embalming oil and symbol of death. The three gifts thusly are interpreted to demonstrate the understanding that Jesus is an earthly ruler, fully God and subject to human death.
The three gifts are mentioned in earlier texts as gifts to a king. Thus it is possible that Matthew was aware of other occasions on which the gifts were presented and used those gifts in his gospel report as signs that those outside of the Jewish tradition were aware that the Christ child was the long-awaited messiah. The acknowledgement of outsiders might have added weight to Matthew’s religious argument about the role and reality of Christ.
Today is the day that has emerged in the Western church as the day to celebrate the arrival of the magi. In some traditions Christmas gift giving is reserved for the feast of the three kings, also known as Epiphany. The word “epiphany” comes from a Greek root meaning “to appear.” It is often associated with a sudden appearance, a surprise or a fresh awareness. The word is used in the bible to refer to Jesus’ birth, his appearances after his resurrection and also to his second coming.
Ancient and modern liturgies for today’s celebrations include themes of illumination, manifestation and declaration. Jesus is celebrated as the light of the world. Illumination enables us to see more clearly. Jesus is the manifestation of God in human form. Our response to the illumination and manifestation is to declare or proclaim Jesus as Lord.
Special meals, pageants, dramas, gifts and music are all part of the celebration of Epiphany. As is true with other significant celebrations of the church, Epiphany is not a single day, but rather a season. Epiphany begins after the 12 days of Christmas on January 6 and continues until Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. The length of the season varies because the date of Christmas is fixed on the modern calendar whereas the date of Easter (and therefore the timing of the six weeks of Lent) moves about the modern calendar in response to the phases of the moon. It can be confusing. Even more confusing are the traditions that have grown up in various parts of Protestantism. Presbyterians, for example, do not observe Epiphany as a season, but rather a day. The same is true of Pentecost. The days between Epiphany and Lent as well as the days between Pentecost and Advent are observed as “ordinary” time.
Our particular denomination has roots in both the traditions of ordinary time and in the traditions of extended seasons, so practices vary congregation by congregation.
However we designate the season, we acknowledge that life moves on and the days of celebration give way to days of work and preparation for even greater things that are yet to come.
We don’t know how many there were. The Bible reports three gifts, and it is probably from this report that the tradition of three wise men arose. In Eastern Christianity, it is common for pageants and religious art to depict more than three. In Syriac churches, there are often twelve.
We don’t know how soon after the birth they arrived. Many of our traditional nativity scenes depict the magi arriving at a stable with Joseph, Mary and the infant. Often there are angels and shepherds present as well. Matthew reports the event at an unspecified time, mentions that they entered the house, and notes only the presence of Jesus and Mary at the time of their visit.
We don’t know their roles in society. Tradition pictures them as kings. That probably comes from a reference in Psalms: “May all kings fall down before him.” Matthew doesn’t say any thing about kings. The word used in the gospel is mags, a word derived from ancient Persian. In Persian the word refers to the religious caste into which Zoroaster was born. The Latin “Magi” refers to the priestly caste of Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrian priests paid special attention to the stars as part of their religion. Since Matthew’s gospel reports that they had “seen his star at its rising,” it has been assumed that they were students of the movements of stars. Were they kings? Probably not. Were they wise? It is unknown.
Traditions in the Western church, however, have given much more detail to the magi. They have been given names and regarded as saints. Melchior is said to have been a Persian scholar. Caspar is to have been a scholar form India. Balthazar is known as a scholar from Arabia. In some parts of the church they are depicted as the kings of their three respective countries.
In the Syrian church the Magi are named Larvandad, Gushnasaph, and Hormisdas. These names have a far greater likelihood of being originally Persian, though that does not mean that they are the names of those who visited the Christ child. Ethiopians name them Hor, Karsudan, and Basanater. Armenians have named them Kagphga, Badadakharida and Badadilma. In China, where Christianity is currently experiencing an explosion of growth, the tradition is that one of the magi was from China.
Just as tradition has added detail to the wise men themselves, tradition has also assigned special meanings to the gifts. While not traditional gifts for the birth of a child, gold, frankincense and myrrh would all have been acceptable offerings to be made to a king. The value of the precious metal, gold, has long been recognized and in many areas the possession of gold was seen as a sign of nobility. Frankincense was used as a perfume and was employed to mask any number of unpleasant smells that were common in the days before centralized sewer systems and modern waste management. Myrrh was an oil, commonly used for anointing. It could have been used as an anointing oil for the coronation of a king.
We have added layers of meaning to those gifts as well. Gold is the symbol of earthly kingship, frankincense is a symbol of the deity of the Christ child, and myrrh is an embalming oil and symbol of death. The three gifts thusly are interpreted to demonstrate the understanding that Jesus is an earthly ruler, fully God and subject to human death.
The three gifts are mentioned in earlier texts as gifts to a king. Thus it is possible that Matthew was aware of other occasions on which the gifts were presented and used those gifts in his gospel report as signs that those outside of the Jewish tradition were aware that the Christ child was the long-awaited messiah. The acknowledgement of outsiders might have added weight to Matthew’s religious argument about the role and reality of Christ.
Today is the day that has emerged in the Western church as the day to celebrate the arrival of the magi. In some traditions Christmas gift giving is reserved for the feast of the three kings, also known as Epiphany. The word “epiphany” comes from a Greek root meaning “to appear.” It is often associated with a sudden appearance, a surprise or a fresh awareness. The word is used in the bible to refer to Jesus’ birth, his appearances after his resurrection and also to his second coming.
Ancient and modern liturgies for today’s celebrations include themes of illumination, manifestation and declaration. Jesus is celebrated as the light of the world. Illumination enables us to see more clearly. Jesus is the manifestation of God in human form. Our response to the illumination and manifestation is to declare or proclaim Jesus as Lord.
Special meals, pageants, dramas, gifts and music are all part of the celebration of Epiphany. As is true with other significant celebrations of the church, Epiphany is not a single day, but rather a season. Epiphany begins after the 12 days of Christmas on January 6 and continues until Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. The length of the season varies because the date of Christmas is fixed on the modern calendar whereas the date of Easter (and therefore the timing of the six weeks of Lent) moves about the modern calendar in response to the phases of the moon. It can be confusing. Even more confusing are the traditions that have grown up in various parts of Protestantism. Presbyterians, for example, do not observe Epiphany as a season, but rather a day. The same is true of Pentecost. The days between Epiphany and Lent as well as the days between Pentecost and Advent are observed as “ordinary” time.
Our particular denomination has roots in both the traditions of ordinary time and in the traditions of extended seasons, so practices vary congregation by congregation.
However we designate the season, we acknowledge that life moves on and the days of celebration give way to days of work and preparation for even greater things that are yet to come.