Gifts of Light and Life

The Year is 243 BCE .. King Seleucus II Callinicus  has gathered with the high priest in the Temple of Apollo with him are offerings to the gods:  Gold, Frankencense, Myrrh.  The Book of Isaiah, when describing Jerusalem’s glorious restoration, tells of nations and kings who will come and “bring gold and frankincense and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord” (Isaiah 60:6). Although Matthew’s gospel does not include the names or number of the Magi, many believe that the number of the gifts is what led to the tradition of the Three Wise Men.

January 6th, mark the feast of the Epiphany, a word that Webster defines as “to show forth, manifest” and “the revealing of Jesus as Christ to the Gentiles in the persons of the Magi”.  But when we more commonly hear that word, we hear "I just had an epiphany, or  “a moment of sudden intuitive understanding; flash of insight.”

It is on this day, that Christian Churches in the West celebrate the arrival of the wise men and their gifts to the baby Jesus.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to our normal everyday lives,  Epiphany happens,  it's still the Christmas season, January 6th being the 12th day of Christmas.

This is also the beginning of a new season in the Church, a time that is between Christmas and Ash Wednesday which is the beginning of Lent.  In European and Latin American countries, Epiphany marks the beginning of Carnival or Mardi Gras season. It’s a time to live it up, to feast on sweet foods like Three Kings Cake, which is a bread that is sometimes braided or decorated or its an actual cake that customarily had a small bean, coin or figurine of Jesus hidden somewhere inside.  The lucky finder of the prize would be the one to host the celebration next year.

Up to the third century, the early Christians  celebrated the feast of the Epiphany as honoring the baptism of Jesus. Together, the feasts of Epiphany, Easter, and Pentecost brought together water and light as imagery representing new life. But during the fourth century, the Western church disassociated the baptism from the feast of the Epiphany, emphasizing instead the manifestation of the Good News to the Gentiles through the figure of the Magi.

But the symbolism of the Star in the East, of gifts offered to the Christ child, of light and of revealing holiness are brought, to life as we consider this time of the year.

Only weeks ago we experienced the shortest day of the year, winter solstice; and now more light, more day comes with each new dawn. Epiphany’s meaning, “to reveal” invites us to travel, following the “wonder star” toward the light so that we might see what this holiness reveals for us.

At that first Epiphany, the wise men brought with them gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.  These were gifts fit for the gods-as evidenced by the offerings of Seleucus to Apollo.  And Jesus, as God Incarnate would deserve no less.  Still, Christian tradition holds that gold was chosen to represent Jesus’ earthly kingship, Frankincense, a perfume symbolic of Jesus’ deity, and Myrrh a spice used in burial rites symbolized his death.

Literally above all this is a Star.  A star that both announces and guides the wise men as they travel to be witnesses to the birth of Jesus. They bring to him gifts that represent the best of what they can give.

In the holiday season we have been offering and opening gifts. Some we really, really, like- others more unexpected.  But more than gifts that came in  pretty wrapping or brown boxes from Amazon or the Disney Store, I wonder what are my/your gifts?  And again, I’m not talking about stuff we got,  I’m talking about the gifts and talents we have been given: are you a deep and creative thinker? Do you express yourself through things like cooking, sewing, painting or drawing; an instrument or song or dance? Each and every one of us is gifted in some way. You may say to yourself, "I can’t draw, or play piano, or get a straight A’s or succeed in everything."  Some or all of that may be true. As for me, I can’t draw, or play piano, and I didn’t get straight A’s (though it was not for a lack of trying).

But each of us is a beloved child of God, and a light to the world.  Each of us can still bring joy, peace, happiness, compassion, justice, and wholeness, to a world that  continues to desperately need it.

The challenge for us in this new year will be to use these gifts and talents in ways that bring light into the world.  Your gifts may not be just one thing,  your gifts may reveal themselves over a life time.  But use what you have now.

Light is a symbol commonly used in ceremonies and liturgies to signify a light in God’s world. But it can only shine brightly through us and our actions. Light makes things more visible, and we are called to come out from the dark places that represent complacency and false peace.  We are called to offer not just our treasures, but our whole selves.

Rather than allowing fear to dampen our spirit or darken the day, Epiphany is that time where the Light reveals itself and we have an opportunity to see the light that is directing our path and compels us to bring all our gifts, no matter how humble.