The Season of Epiphany - Epiphany
We celebrate the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child. The divinity of our Lord was made manifest to the world, including the Gentiles.
Meanings
The word "Epiphany" comes from the Greek word for "appearance". The divinity of our Lord was made manifest to the world, including the Gentiles, when the Wise Men followed the star to find the King of the Jews.
The account of the visit of the Wise Men or Magi is found in Matthew 2:10. While there is no mention of the number of Wise Men, there is mention of three gifts - gold, incense, and myrrh - which may have inspired the popular idea of three Wise Men. Jesus, as Prophet, Priest, and King, was worthy of the kingly gift of gold, the gift of incense used by priests to offer prayer, and the gift of myrrh used to embalm the body after death. Never forget the fulfillment of the sacrifice that was prophesied from of old!
We know that the Baby was taken to the temple in Jerusalem for circumcision at the age of eight days, and again to be consecrated to the Lord at forty days (Luke 2:21-24). Hence, the Magi would have visited sometime between the forty day consecration and the flight to Egypt. This logic invalidates the picture of the Wise Men at the stable, because the child was no longer newborn when they visited.
Epiphany, like Christmas borrows the date from the pagan solstice festival. In the course of time, the solstice began to cease falling on January 6th, but the festival continued. In many parts of the world, January 6 (the day after the Twelve Days of Christmas) is the day on which the birth of our Lord is celebrated and gifts are exchanged. The feast of Epiphany has also been known as the Theophany, the Feast of the Manifestation, the Feast of Lights, and the Feast of the Appearing Christ.
When Christ Church celebrates Epiphany, we display the mosaic at right on the front of our altar.
