Epiphany

Epiphany
The feast of the Epiphany traditionally marks the end of the Christmas season. This is the festival that we generally envision as the visit of three kings from the east bearing gifts for the newborn “King of Kings.” It occurs 12 nights after Christmas eve and brings with it quite a different quality from the visit the shepherds make at the birth of the Jesus child. In modern times, this festival seems to be lost in the hustle and bustle of the ending Christmas season. Surely, there must be something more to this festival than the simple visit of three wise men, traveling from afar to reach Bethlehem.
One way of framing this festival to look at the trinity of images, a sort of triangle, that the story creates: on the right corner of this triangle, there are the three wise men from the east; on the left corner, there is Herod and his prophets; and at the apex of the triangle is the holy family. Let us look at the elements of this imagination to see what possible insights we can gather to better understand this festival.
The three wise men
The men who traveled from the east are wise men; they are not necessarily kings although our traditional imagination is that they are three kings. Herein lies the first possible insight into something special about these three men. They were scholarly men who studied the stars among other things. When the brilliant Christmas star appears, they know enough through their studies that this is not an ordinary event it humbles them. Hence they prepare for a journey. How do they become kings then in our imagination? Let us go back to the time of these events. Many communities still lived under the guidance of powerful rulers, men who were generally portrayed (or liked to be portrayed) as in touch with gods. For the average person, kings and priests were almost synonymous. A good king was one who could intercede on behalf of his people with the gods. Additionally, this was a time when the average person still saw the stars the messages of the gods; in other words, it was a means of communication between the godly realm and earth. The event these three men witnessed was so extraordinary that it moved them to journey to search the source of this brilliance. In many ways, only kings had the wherewithal to do this. In the subconsciousness of our language, we continue to recognize an inherent capacity former kings used to have, the capacity to read the stars and act as conduits for the messages of the gods. Thus, through our language, we transform the story of three wise men into the story of three kings.
Coming from the east reveals another possible insight: these men are not Israelites or chosen people. They are from outside that community. The east is beyond the borders of the know world of the chosen people. This also means that they are outside the know prophecies of the coming of the king of kings. They are total outsiders to the events in Bethlehem.
Herod
The three wise men are not the only wise or kingly men in this story. On the other side there is Herod and his prophets. They make an interesting entry to the story. The three wise men have now reached Jerusalem in their travels and for some reason they lose sight of the star. They meet Herod. Herod is totally unaware of the star even though he is practically under it and is a Jewish king. He is a bit perplexed that these three men have traveled this far in search for a king and that king is not Herod. This is a worrying time for king Herod. He summons his “wise men” and they remind him of a prophecy that fulfills Herod’s worst nightmares: there is a rival king. Unfortunately, unlike the three wise men, he sees no star and doesn’t know where to look. This would probably compound the worries he has. Here he is, king Herod, in touch with God, and conveniently left out of the loop. He recruits the wise men’s assistance to locate his potential rival and gives the pretext that he too wants to worship or recognize this new king. The three wise men oblige. When they leave Herod, lo and behold, the star appears once again and they find their way. As we know, an angel then appears to them and tells them not to pass Herod and they return home by a different way.
Herod, a man of the chosen people, comes to an extremely disheartening realization: he is no longer in touch with God. This has not only clouded his vision (and hence, he can no longer read the stars) but more critically, hardened his heart. To achieve his objective, once he realizes the three wise men are not return, he engages in a mass slaughter and becomes the villain in the entire Christmas festival story. Thirty-three years later, his descendent would have the chance to deny the Christ with finality.
What does this tell us
So what could all this mean? Let us consider Herod as the image of the current or past situation. He is a Jewish king, leader of his people, surrounded by his own set of wise men versed in Mosaic law and the prophecies of their ancestors. With all these advantages, he does not see the new king; in fact, he had even forgotten the prophecy. This prompts him into at least two unspeakable acts: the first is to attempt to deceive the three wise men and obtain their collaboration in weeding out his competitor. He almost succeeds; the second, is the mass slaughter of all male babies less than two years of age. The destruction of these innocent children may also be seen as the end of the innocence of the chosen people. No longer will God speak freely and openly with them; they are not innocent anymore, and, like little children who group up, the Israelites must now learn to meet God through their own efforts.
On the other hand, there are the three wise men. They see quite clearly. They see the star, they understand its meaning, they see the Holy Family and they even see the angel that warns them not to return to Herod. That they are scholarly men (wise men) tells us that this capacity to see is also the result of their scholarly work and devotion to learning what is true about the world. True scholar-scientists of their day, they are so moved that they journey, as long as necessary, even when Herod’s presence occludes their sight, with a devotion and persistence that underscores the search for the truth.
In some European countries, gift giving occurs on the Feast of the Epiphany. This coincides with the wise men bearing gifts. They bring gifts in recognition of He who will be King of Kings. This is the practice. However, there is an even greater gift that they bring, one that Herod missed, and underscores the deepest meanings of “King of Kings”: they brought sight. Yes, through scholarly, reverent, devoted work and reflection, the three wise men showed that the coming of Christ will be for everyone. No longer will the appearance be through tradition to “chosen people;” that time has passed. Now is the time for a new beginning; one where everyone, not just “chosen people” will have a chance to meet the Christ. The three wise men showed a path that was to recur through the life of Christ on earth: that His message of love and hope would be for everyone. The world was already changing even then. And this is what the three wise men saw. For me, this is the greatest gift they have brought for all mankind: we can all see the Christ.