Epiphany Thoughts

Epiphany Thoughts
Phillippians 2:10-11
It usually feels like the Christmas holiday ends around New Year’s Day. After New Year’s Day people are getting back to their normal routines. It is time for back to school and back to work, and most of the decorations have probably been packed away until next Christmas. It feels like Christmas is over.
But in the church calendar, the Christmas season continues until January 6, the day of Epiphany. This is the day that celebrates the visit of the Wise Men to the baby Jesus, the story told in the 2nd chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. So, in the church calendar there are twelve days of Christmas, beginning on Christmas Day and ending on the day of Epiphany. This reminds me of the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, but I’m not sure that there is any connection between the song and the Christian calendar except the number of days.
The day of Epiphany reminds me of an email note that I saw several years ago. The subject was the Wise Men and the question it asked was: Do you know what would have happened if it had been Three Wise Women instead of Three Wise Men? The answer: They would have asked directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, and brought practical gifts.
Everyone has probably heard something about the Wise Men. The story says that it is unlikely that they were at the stable where Jesus was born, because Matthew records that they entered a house when they came to see Jesus. The story also tells us that it may have been as long as two years after the birth of Jesus that the Wise Men made their visit, because Matthew records that King Herod ordered that all Hebrew boys two years old and younger be killed. The story also doesn’t say how many Wise Men there were. Tradition says that there were three, but the story only says that there were three gifts.
So who were these Wise Men? Studies tell us that they were a respected class of scholars devoted to study of the natural sciences, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, and astrology. They were scientists, and academics. To say that they were astrologers is probably a stretch. For Matthew they represent the most powerful, wealthy, and educated people. They were also the most likely to doubt. But they were not kings, even though the best known song about them is “We Three Kings”. Although they were not kings, they did represent the world’s power and wealth. And they came to bow down before the new king of Israel.
As we recall the story of the Wise Men, we may also note the words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians. He writes, “…every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” The Wise Men tell us that Christ came not only for the religious and chosen people, but for the outsiders, the undeserving, and those not chosen. Eventually everyone will bow before the King as the Wise Men did. Their story tells us that Christ is the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. The story calls us to come and offer our gifts and ourselves to God and to Christ. Today is a good day for us to bow and worship God.