The Feast of the Epiphany, Sunday, January 8, 2022

Matthew 2, 1–12

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.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.”  Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.” After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.

The visit by the Magi to the Infant Jesus and his parents was celebrated in the Church from very early times, and it was always celebrated in January, on January 6, in most places.  It seems to predate the celebration of Christmas, though our knowledge of the early Christian liturgical calendar is not complete.  This visit by the wise men of the East (for whom the Gospels do not give a number or any definite point of origin) seems to have come after the visit by the shepherds described by St. Luke due to the fact that St. Matthew speaks of the wise men finding the Lord and his Virgin Mother in a “house” whereas St. Luke tells us that at first the Lord was born in a place where animals were kept.  The supposition is that Jesus was born before Joseph could find proper quarters for his wife and Son and that a little later, perhaps at the time of the Presentation in the Temple, they were more comfortably established.  The chronology would then go something like this: December 25, the Birth of the Lord and the visit by the shepherds; January 1, the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple; January 6, the visit by the Magi.  We can feel secure with these dates because knowing the dates and locations of the Lord’s deeds was very important to the early generations of Christians, as we see throughout the Gospel of St. John, to take one example.

Matthew includes this event in order to remind the Galilean Christians, persecuted by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, that these same leaders had failed so badly at recognizing the coming of the Lord that the Gentiles had recognized him before them; and also to shed light on the fact that while the Faith was growing only slowly in Jewish lands, the Faith was spreading quickly among the Gentiles: the Gentiles were searching for the truth and receptive of it while the leaders of the Jews were not, and did not even send emissaries with the Magi to see if the King had indeed been born.  They showed not even the slightest curiosity, whereas the Magi “were overjoyed at seeing the star”, after apparently losing sight of it when they came to Jerusalem.  This losing sight of the star at that time is quite significant, for the Magi did not find the Lord in the mighty city where the Jewish leaders held court, but in the humble place where animals were kept.  

“They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”  As they were from the East, they would have thrown themselves on their faces, as was the custom there.  Their appearance in Bethlehem would have excited the people since the town itself was not particularly significant except for its situation near Jerusalem, with a population of no more than four hundred souls.  

We give thanks to Almighty God that he has made us, through baptism, “houses” of his Son and beg him to so let our faith shine in our words and deeds that others may find him there and rejoice.