The Magi and the Epiphany

Today, January 6, we celebrate the Epiphany.  The celebration is also called “Theophany”.  Essentially, the term refers to the appearance, or revelation, of God.  In many countries the day is called “little Christmas”.  A common sight in many houses of eastern European descent is the chalk-written inscription over doorways; B+C+M 2023.  This is written when the home is blessed and remembers the traditional names of the three magi, or kings; Balthazar, Caspar, and Melchior.  The exact date of their visit to Jesus and Mary is a matter of scholarly debate.

Epiphany is a holy day that celebrates the revelation of Jesus to three Wise Men (or Kings) when they arrived at His place of birth after following the unusual star in the sky. Often, we picture the Wise Men arriving on Christmas night and gathering around the manger of the newborn Jesus along with the shepherds, but in fact they arrived perhaps as much as two years later, which is why Epiphany is celebrated 12 days after Christmas.  January 6, for those churches where it was kept, was the equivalent of Christmas (December 25) in the Roman Church. The feast was introduced at Rome in the second half of the sixth century and became the complement and, so to say, the crown of the Christmas festival.

After first being made known to the shepherds of Bethlehem, representing the Jewish race, He is revealed to the Magi who have come from the East to adore Him. Christian tradition has always seen in the Magi the first fruits of the Gentiles; they lead in their wake all the peoples of the earth, and thus the Epiphany is an affirmation of universal salvation.

The Catechism, article #528, contains beautiful words regarding the Epiphany;

“When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” (Mt 2: 1-2)

The Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Savior of the world. The great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the wise men (magi) from the East, together with his baptism in the Jordan and the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee. In the magi, representatives of the neighboring pagan religions, the Gospel sees the first-fruits of the nations, who welcome the good news of salvation through the Incarnation.

The magi's coming to Jerusalem in order to pay homage to the king of the Jews shows that they seek in Israel, in the messianic light of the star of David, the one who will be king of the nations. Their coming means that pagans can discover Jesus and worship him as Son of God and Savior of the world only by turning towards the Jews and receiving from them the messianic promise as contained in the Old Testament. The Epiphany shows that "the full number of the nations" now takes its "place in the family of the patriarchs", and acquires Israelitica dignitas (is made "worthy of the heritage of Israel").

The traditional gifts of the Magi represent this royal circumstance.  The first gift mentioned is gold. Because of its scarcity and immense value, gold was particularly associated with royalty and nobility, as is seen in 1 Kings 10 when the Queen of Sheba visits King Solomon bearing great quantities of gold as a gift. By bringing a gift of gold, the wise men showed that they did indeed consider Jesus a king. The next gift was frankincense. The burning of frankincense was closely associated with ceremonial worship of a deity. In this way, the inclusion of frankincense as a gift for Jesus may have indicated that the wise men understood that the prophecy of the newborn king carried with it a claim of deity.  Myrrh was a different kind of gift.  It was known to the Hebrews as an anointing oil, part of the Levitical rite narrated in Exodus 30:23-30.  It was a product from Arabia, and had two main uses: perfume (Esther 2:12) and embalming (John 19:39). In fact, when Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus go to bury Jesus, they bring myrrh for the embalming process. It’s also the same substance mixed in the wine they offer Jesus on the cross (Mark 15:23). The item comes full circle. Magi present this gift to him at birth, he receives a taste of it right before he dies, and they embalm him in it.  However, because of the nature of its uses, myrrh had a greater value than gold when Jesus was born.

Therefore, the Magi knew that something extraordinary was associated with the “star of Bethlehem”, probably a combination of the planets of Jupiter and Saturn.  There is little reason to doubt their visits, as thy came from the East, probably Persia or Babylon.  We have found astronomical calculations from these regions from over 1000 years before the birth of Jesus.  With these findings, there is little reason to doubt that this was a historical event, even though the details may have been telescoped or set in mythic-type language.  It can simply be seen as another proclamation of the Kingship of Jesus.