Solemnity of the Epiphany January 4, 2025
Fr. Alexander Albert St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville
Epiphany. It means “manifestation.” Having an “epiphany” is like an “aha!” moment. Funnily enough though, today’s solemnity is so rich in meaning that it can be hard to pinpoint any one insight. Because God is the ultimate author of scripture, he endows the words with the power to convey more than one truth. It’s why, despite spending 1700 years studying God’s word, there are still parts we don’t fully understand and that we’re still finding new insights in other parts. The truth of God’s word doesn’t change, but as we add more light and time, new facets and layers of meaning shine more brightly and clearly.
Epiphany isn’t just the wise men bringing gifts: it also celebrates the child Jesus found in the temple, Jesus being baptized in the Jordan river, and Jesus changing water into wine at the wedding feast of Cana. There are prophecies being fulfilled, geopolitical realities being explored, moral lessons being conveyed, theological truths to be contemplated, and plenty of material for cute pictures, plays, traditions, and songs to be made. That’s why it’s sad when people too quickly transition away from Christmas to ordinary life. The way we gloss over it is symptomatic of how our culture still doesn’t really get Christianity.
God’s word is too rich for us it seems. I don’t mean just the bible – the liturgy and tradition of the Church is also God’s word. If you approach his Word with faith, you will always benefit from it, even if you don’t gain some new insight. To do that well, though, first start with this: make the conscious choice to reject the lie that there’s nothing left in God’s word for you to gain. It’s a subconscious idea that seeps into our minds and tells us “this is boring, there’s nothing to gain, don’t pay attention.” Root that out because it is never true. Scripture, tradition, liturgy… there’s always more to gain if we come with faith.
For today, let’s use a classic method of talking about this story to give you something to ponder. The sort of top-level meaning of the Magi showing up is that it fulfills God’s promise that all nations would one day join the Jews in worshipping the One, True God. These Gentile Magi bring gifts to God and worship him as a sign of the rest of the world eventually doing the same. From there, the three gifts of the wise men can be treated like symbols in like a dozen ways to explore what kinds of gifts we can offer to God. Here’s one for today.
Every human being is made in God’s image. Jesus says “what you do to the least, you do to me.” So, one way to bring gifts to Jesus like the Magi is to bring those gifts to other human beings. We don’t worship other people, but we worship God by reverencing his image and presence in those people. Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh, therefore, can be symbols of the three kinds of “gifts” we can give to other people in order to show our love for God… and to show God to them.
Let’s start with gold and keep it simple. Gold is money or wealth. People need stuff. Everyone needs some wealth to survive. From the very beginning, God has constantly told us to give money and stuff to people in need. “How do I serve God?” Take care of the poor. Take care of their physical and human needs at your own expense. This is the reason the Catholic Church is the largest charitable organization on the planet and has been since even before it was legalized in ancient Rome. There are ten million ways to practice this, but at its core, there is no clever reinterpretation: God wants us to give “gold” to those in need.
Frankincense is a bit less direct. People don’t need literal perfumed smoke, though certainly it is nice to have. So, this is a symbol of worship since that’s what incense is often used for: to worship God. Scripture talks about offering incense to God both literally and symbolically. A holy and moral life is a “pleasing aroma” to God.
What I’m getting at is this: other people need you to worship God well. It is good for others, it is a gift to others when you worship God well. Worshipping God means, yes, going to Mass and genuinely trying to give yourself in love to him there. It also means living a life that is a pleasing fragrance to him. We worship God with our whole lives. So, confession, daily prayer, acts of service, growing in virtue, and living the truth. When someone is virtuous, moral, and dedicated to the truth, it is a gift to the people around. Sure, an honest, hardworking, prayerful person can be annoying to you, but they’re also good for you. You want to help someone? Give them the frankincense of genuinely worshipping God through sincere prayer and striving to live a truth-centered, holy life.Try to lead them to worship God with you in that same way.
Last is the myrrh. It’s kind of like embalming fluid. Classically, this symbolizes Jesus’ eventual death on the cross for our salvation. Let’s make it a symbol of our suffering. Yes, I’m saying we can give other people the gift of our suffering. For too long, Christianity in the US tried to be palatable, attractive, clean, and pleasant. That didn’t work because it’s false advertising. Christianity is hard, paradoxical, messy, and full of suffering. It’s also joyful, beautiful, the best road to real happiness, and the only road to heaven. So, you know… worth it!
But, for people in the world to see that it’s worth it, they need to see people in the Church paying that price willingly, not pretending there is no price. They need you to give them the myrrh of your suffering. I don’t mean complaining or moping. I mean being honest with it. That starts with be honest with yourself; acknowledging to yourself and in prayer to God the sufferings you endure. Then, it means consciously placing those sufferings at the foot of the cross. It means holding them up to the light of faith and hope, embracing the mystery of it. It means being willing to choose to suffer out of love, whether that’s some kind of freely chosen sacrifice or simply leaning into the difficulties that come with doing the right thing. You don’t have to pretend doing the right thing always benefits you. It sucks sometimes. Do it anyways. Why? Because you have faith, hope, and love.
The other thing myrrh means is that we acknowledge and share in the sufferings of others. “There’s a reason for everything.” That is a true statement, but far, far too often people use it wrongly. They don’t say it to help the person who is hurting, they use it to shield themselves from sharing in that person’s hurt. Do you want to give someone who is suffering a gift? Sit with them in the pain. Sometimes an explanation is helpful. Sometimes a problem can be solved. Sometimes, however, it is just the mystery of Job, the mystery of the cross. Sometimes it is admitting this world is broken, there is no fix right now, and we just endure together. Give people the gift of your suffering, the gift of sharing their suffering and you will be giving a gift to God as well.
The Magi were wise because they stayed open enough to God’s word that they recognized what people studying it for 100s of years had missed. They recognized the rising star and followed it. They were wiser still to bring gifts to give to the newborn king. Will you learn from their wisdom? Will you pay attention to God’s revelation no matter how many times you hear it? Will you follow it wherever it leads? And when you do, what can you give a king who has everything? What he asks is this: that we give gifts to those for whom he was born, crucified and raised. Give the gold of caring for the poor. Give the frankincense of bearing witness to worship, holiness, and truth. Give the myrrh of carrying your cross and helping others to carry theirs. God has given us an epiphany, a revelation of himself to us. Now it is our turn to be that epiphany to others.