The Epiphany: A Faith-Summons to a Mystery

Though the crêche and other Christmas ornaments may be packed away, we can continue to reflect all year long on the import of the stories they represent.  Epiphany – the familiar story of the wise men’s visit to the infant Jesus in Matthew 2:1-12 – is one of those. Matthew’s story of that visit is as interesting for what it doesn't say, as much as for what it does say.

Before we come to what it doesn't say, however, let's review what the story does say.

The word “magi" was originally the name of a Persian tribe with priestly functions, skilled in the interpretation of heavenly phenomena. Matthew’s “wise men” travel to the West, hunting the fulfillment of their hopes.  Versed in the movement of the planets and stars - and in tying these heavenly movements directly to human events - they discerned a phenomenon in the stars which indicated the coming of a Jewish king. The sign that sent them on their way is thought to have been the conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn which occurred in the year 8 B.C.

The journey of the Magi is a faith-summons to mystery. And here is the apparent paradox. They are pagans from an unnamed people who presumably know next to nothing about the Covenant. How can they leave everything to seek "the king of the Jews" when the Covenant nation itself is nowhere to be found? They set out filled with little more than wonder and hitch themselves, their very lives, to a star. It has been said that faith is "a journey without maps" and this faith is what gets those shamans of the ancient east going on their westward journey.

When they arrived in Judea, it would be natural for them to seek their new-born king among those who ruled the land. They sought such direction from Herod the Great, who was a vassal king under the Roman emperor, from 37 to 4 B.C. Of course, the last thing a puppet ruler would wish to hear would be of someone who had a legitimate claim to be king of the people he ruled. 

An opposition is set up here which is the rest of the gospel in miniature. Wise men and wise guys. Wise men worship the baby Jesus; wise guys plot and plan his death. Worship or persecution; so it will be throughout Jesus’ life.

The wise men: they recognized that life cannot be without a future and that nothing comes of giving up or going back. The wise men: people of hope. And hope defies logic. With hope there must be mystery, surprise, and miracles in life too. And then the journey is not in vain because the signs of God’s presence must be real.

The wise guys. They were another story. They were the chief priests and religious authorities seeking to entrap Jesus almost before the umbilical cord was cut. They were Herod, who would stoop to any duplicity, any barbarity to keep hold of their own power and position. They were so convinced of their importance that they would plot even against God's messiah. But their confidence was false - really it was fear that the world would do them in and so was no confidence at all. Their stature was above those around them only so long as they could keep others pushed down below them. 

The wise men and the wise guys. They both had the same information before them. Their response to it was radically opposite. Isaiah had prophesied, "Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising"(60:3). Jesus is later quoted as saying, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." The point here is that the Spirit of God is not captive to the community of believers (in this case Judaism but it could just as well be Christianity). The community of believers is a creation of the Spirit, and the Spirit blows where it wills, to find people of whatever background, whatever persuasion who will respond to revelation - even when the so-called faithful refuse to be open to it.

What doesn't happen in this story? 

The magi, the wise men, do not stay, do not convert, do not become Jews. They return to their own country, though, by a different way. The Spirit which found in them a willing response will continue to be with them, to work in them. The Spirit will not be limited by any factor of race, or language, culture, or for that matter religion.  The wise men returned to their former religion and yet in this story they are seen to be more faithful than the people like Herod and his advisers who are supposed to be part of the real religion.

The Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the mystery of God's plan of salvation for all peoples. The call of God is for everybody. The call is entirely a gift of God's grace. There can be no distinction of status before God. All privilege is abolished. Everyone stands in equal need of forgiveness and rebirth. 

In one of his Christmas sermons while Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams observed:

“Coming to the Christ child isn't always simple. It just is the case that people come by roundabout routes, with complex histories, sin and muddle and false perceptions and wrong starts. It's no good saying to them, 'You must become simple and wholehearted,' as if this could be done just by wishing it. The real question is, 'Can you take all your complicated history with you on a journey towards the manger? Can you at least refuse to settle down in the hall of mirrors, and go on asking where truth really lies? Can you stop hanging on to the complex and the devious for their own sake, as a theatre for your skills and recognise where the map of the heavens points?'” (Rowan Williams, Christmas, 2002).

Many people start a yoga practice in order to de-stress; deal with a back issue, or the like, but can wind up surprised after a while, to find that they also experience a spirituality. Sometimes Christians who explore yoga are surprised to find that a practice coming from outside the Christian tradition brings unexpected enlightenment. In both cases, the question arises: will we, like the magi, follow our journey of faith and worship, or are we too much caught up in acting like wise guys. What others do or do not do with the measure of revelation that God gives them is not for us to determine. We are to be thankful for what we have received and show that thankfulness by lives transformed. 

The magi are the patrons of all the late comers, of all who have to make a tedious journey to reach the truth. Christ did not reject their curious gifts (adapted from a prayer to the Magi by St. Helena, in Evelyn Waugh, Helena, [London, 1953]). When the simple come into the kingdom, the Magi too, will be there praying for the learned, the oblique, the complicated. And there will be many surprises as we find that the household of faith is far richer and wider than we could ever have asked or imagined.