Isaiah 60.1-6;・Ps. 72.2+4, 7+8, 10+11, 12+13・Ephesians 3.2-3,5-6・Matthew 2.1-12
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, the second of the four (4) Great Manifestations of God in our midst. In today`s liturgy, we use the word Epiphany though the term Epiphany itself applies also to the other three Great Manifestations.
We may not have emphasized on Christmas day (the Nativity) that we consider the birth of Christ as one of the four great manifestations of God. The birth of Christ is God`s revelation of Himself in a form of a newborn infant. God revealed and presented Himself as born homeless and in a somehow poor (in poverty) environment.
At least for this year`s calendar year, we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord (the Theophany, cf. Mark 1.11), the third Great Manifestation of God, on Monday, January 8, that is the day after the Feast of the Epiphany. We commemorate the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist in the Jordan River.
As we read the Gospel according to John, we find the account about the wedding banquet in Cana. As we do further reflections about how God revealed Himself during the wedding banquet, we learn about the wedding banquet itself symbolizing the Kingdom of God that promotes love, justice and peace through Jesus. There is water symbolizing the old covenant while the new wine symbolizes the new covenant that is geared towards better understanding of the Cross in Calvary.
The emphasis however in today`s Feast of the Epiphany is the coming of the three Magi (wise men – the three Kings as we understand) to the manger. The story about offering gifts are famously attributed to these wise men while at the same time we learn these offering of gifts mentioned in the Book of Isaiah (cf. 60.6).
The fruit of our reflection in commemorating the Feast of the Epiphany may depend on how well we take into heart and understand the meaning of the gifts brought by the wise men to the new born Child. It may also depend on how we discover what represents these wise men. The gift of gold came to symbolize Christ`s Kingship, the gift of incense came to symbolize Jesus` Divine Nature, and the gift of myrrh came to symbolize Jesus` Redemptive Suffering and Death.
The three Kings (wise men) are considered strangers, foreigners, or total outsiders coming to give/pay homage to the recently born Child, Jesus. This feast is telling us that for God there are no foreigners and outsiders. The revelation of God, His presence and His closeness is for all of us. Further, in our time most especially, the Feast of the Epiphany also brings us other issues such as racism & immigration.
Let us celebrate the revelations of God in our midst and always find unity and inclusivity in Christ. Let us also acknowledge that God continue to reveal Himself to us daily in our personal experiences and in many other different ways.