The Feast of the Epiphany: What will you give to the Lord?

Last updated on: January 3, 2016 at 6:55 pm by David Cruz-Uribe

The Feast of the Epiphany: What will you give to the Lord? 2016-01-03T18:55:21-05:00 David Cruz-Uribe

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Another week, another attempt at a homily. Thanks to all for the feedback on my homily for the Feast of the Holy Family. This week I got started earlier–in fact, as soon as I posted the last one, I went to check out the readings for today.

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany, the revelation of Jesus in the Incarnation to the world. In many parts of the world, particularly in Italy, Spain and throughout Latin America, this feast is celebrated on January 6, bringing to an end the twelve days of Christmas. In these countries it is also called the Feast of the Three Kings, and Christmas gifts are exchanged on this day rather than on December 25. My favorite custom is that little children put out their shoes to receive a treat from the three kings, and often leave out hay and water for their camels.

The readings today all focus on the Kingdom of God as inaugurated by the birth of Jesus. The Old Testament reading is from the Isaiah, and is a joyful prophecy of the end of the Babylonian exile and the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. In this reading we return to the double theme we saw in the Advent readings: Isaiah is predicting both the coming of Jesus in history, but he is also revealing what his Kingdom will be like when Jesus comes again in glory at the end of time, when, as St. Paul put it, “all things will be placed under his feet.” The new king of Israel would not just rule the small kingdom of Israel: he will make Israel a light for all nations, and as today’s Psalm says, he will “rule from sea to sea, and from the River [Jordan] to the ends of the earth.” All nations will be guided by his light.

Though the monarchy was restored at the end of the exile, Israel had a rocky political history, and by the time Jesus was born it was subject to the Roman empire, and ruled by a puppet king, Herod. Herod was not a descendant of David; indeed, he was not even a Jew, but rather an Idumean who family converted to Judaism. Throughout these years the prophecy of a new king, the messiah, the anointed one, persisted, a promise whose deeper meaning was obscured by an overtly political interpretation. This new king would “save” Israel, not by restoring its covenant with God, but rather by driving out the foreign oppressors. The universal mission of this king was either secondary or forgotten in dreams of earthly glory.

In the Gospel reading, Matthew recounts the arrival of magi, “wise men”, from the East, seeking the “newborn King of the Jews”. He tells of the consternation this caused to both Herod and all of Jerusalem. Some of this alarm would have been based on immediate political concerns: Herod was getting old and his hold on the throne, always maintained by force and violence, would be weakening. The birth of a prophesied king would be a direct threat to his rule, one which he would respond to as violently as he had crushed previous challengers.

But beyond this, at least some of the confusion in Jerusalem must have come from the source of the news. Why would magi come “from the East” (perhaps far off Babylon or Parthia) to pay homage to a new King of Israel? Why would they care enough about an inconsequential kingdom on the edge of the Roman Empire to undertake a long journey to find him? Matthew never gives their motives, only telling us that they had come to do him homage. But clearly, Matthew sees in them the beginning of the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah. These wise men saw a “star” rising–the light of the Lord was shining upon far off lands. Bearing gifts—the wealth of nations, gold and frankincense as Isaiah foretold—they came to offer praise to the new king.

Matthew also does not tell us what the Magi thought when they discovered that the new king was not in Jerusalem, the capital, but rather the poor village of Bethlehem. When they discovered he was not born into a royal or priestly family, but to an a carpenter, that he was not born in a palace but, as Luke’s Gospel describes it, a stable. Was Jesus, held in his mother Mary’s arms, what they were expecting to find? We do not know what they felt, but only what they did: the prostrated themselves and did him homage–the sign of respect paid to kings in the East–and gave him lavish gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

The gifts themselves were not practical ones–though when Joseph took his family and fled to Egypt they were easy to transport and could be sold to provide their livelihood. Rather, the gifts were themselves rich in symbolism. Gold was the sign of kingship—kings were crowned in gold. Frankincense, on the other hand, was associated with the Lord. In the Law, God commanded that incense be burned in the Temple as an offering. And the prophet Malachi foretold that incense would be offered in the name of the Lord by all nations. These gifts, mentioned by Isaiah, point directly to a divine kingship. Myrrh was an aromatic, associated with the Temple, but it was also associated with pain and death. It was a mild narcotic, used to dull pain. Mark’s gospel recounts that at the crucifixion, Jesus was offered wine mixed with myrrh. It was used in embalming the dead: in John’s gospel, Nicodemus brought myrrh and aloes to help prepare the body of Jesus for burial. Through this gift, the magi foreshadow the tragedy of this newborn king: before Jesus can rule in glory, he must first suffer and die.

With the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, the magi acknowledge–though perhaps without completely understanding whom they saw–Jesus, the son of God, fully divine but fully human, a humble king. As the Christmas season draws to a close and the new year begins, this is a good time to ask ourselves: what gifts will we bring to the new king, and will we, seeing him with the eyes of faith, acknowledge him for who he truly is? He is king: will we follow him? He is God, and rules in heaven at the right hand of the Father: will we serve him? He humbled himself to share in our humanity, accepting death on the cross for our salvation. Are we ready to accept this gift from him? At this and every mass he continues to humble himself, offering himself to us under the signs of bread and wine. Are we ready to prostrate ourselves and do him homage, as the magi did? As we receive communion, are we prepared to receive our King and our God into our hearts?

And as we leave mass, are we prepared to welcome Him when he appears to us, in the words of Mother Theresa, in the distressing disguise of the poor? Will we serve him when we see him as a homeless man? A runaway teenager, selling drugs and his body to survive? Will we welcome him as a Muslim refugee fleeing war and violence? As an immigrant, leaving home and family to make a new life here in America? Like the holy Family, they do not need literal gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Rather, they need our love and our mercy. In the Eucharist, we receive the gift of the Father’s love: now we must welcome Jesus wherever we find him, and share the gift of mercy with him.

Feast of the Three Kings

Previous Post

December 29, 2015

December 27, The Feast of the Holy Family

Next Post

January 4, 2016 Bring Boring Back

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2019 A Consistent Ethic of Life Aaron Weldon Abortion absurdity Abuse Scandal Academics Adoption Advent Africa agreement/disagreement with Church teaching Alexander Schmemann Alexham Alterity America Amnesty International Anarchism angels Anglicanism Animals Annual Statistics Anthony Anxietas Apocalyptic Apophatic Appalachia Aquinas Art Atheism Atonement Augustine Authority Baptism Beauty Bible biblical criticism biblical scholarship Bioethics Bishops Black Catholics Black Theology Blackadder Blogs Books Breastfeeding Brett Salkeld Buddhism Bush administration Byzantine Catholic Calvinism Canada Canon Law Capital Punishment Capitalism Caryll Houselander Catholic Blog Awards Catholic Blogging Catholic League Catholic Social Teaching Catholic Worker Movement Catholicity CFL Charity Children Chris West Christ and Culture Christian Democracy Christian Unity Christmas Christology Church Church Doctrine Church History Climate Change Cohabitation Colbert Collegiality Communion Communism Comparative Theology Competition Conferences conscience conscience rights Consequentialism Consistent Life Ethics Consumerism Contraception Contrition Conversion Converts Coptic COVID-19 Creation Critical Thinking Cross Cuba Culture Culture of Death Culture of Life Darfur David Cruz-Uribe David Wheeler-Reed Death Death Penalty Democracy Demons Desert Fathers Devil Dialogue dignity Disability Disarmament discernment Discipleship discrimination Dissent Distributism Division Doctrine Domestic Church Dorothy Day Double Effect Doubt Down syndrome Driving Early Church Easter Eastern Churches Ecclesiology Economics Economy Ecumenism Education El Salvador Election Election 2020 Ellul Embryonic Stem Cell Research Empire Energy Enlighenment Environmentalism Ephraim Radner Episcopal Church epistemology Equality Eschatology Ethics Eucharist Europe Euthanasia Evangelization Evil Evolution Excommunication F.X. Durrwell Facism Facts Fair Trade Faith Family Fashion Feddie Feminism Feminist theology Fertility Fetal Rights Fiction Film Finances First Things flags Folk Religion Food Foreign Affairs Forgiveness Frank Sheed Free Speech Freedom gay & lesbian persons Genocide George W. Bush George Weigel Gerald L. Campbell Girard/Mimetic Theory Global Warming Globalization Gnosticism Good Friday Grace Gratitude Greed Grey Cup 2009 Guadalupe Guest Post Guest Posts Gun Control Gustave Martelet Habitat for Humanity Hans Urs von Balthasar Harry Potter Hate Speech Health Health Care Healthcare Heather King Hebrew Bible Henri de Lubac Henry Karlson Herbert McCabe Heresy HHS Mandate Controversy History Holidays Holiness Holy Spirit Homiletics Homily Homosexuality Hope Hospitality How Far Can We Go? How Far Can We Go? Human Person Human Rights Humanae Vitae Humility Humor Hunger Hunting Identity Idolatry Ignacio Ellacuría Imagination Immigration In Memoriam Income Inequality Inculturation Indigenous People Individualism Inklings Intellect Interdependence Internet Interpretation Interviews Introduction Iraq War Islam Israel Jain James Alison James Martin Jazz Jesus Christ Jews Joe Biden Joe Hargrave Johann Baptist Metz John Allen John Henry Newman John Paul II John the Baptist John XXIII Jonathan Josef Pieper Joseph (the husband of Mary) Joseph Bernardin Joseph Ratzinger Josh Brumfield Journals Joy Judgment Just War Justice Kari Lundgren Karl Rahner Katerina Ivanovna Kenya Keynes Kingdom of God Kyle R. Cupp Labor Language Latin America Law Leanne Ogasawara Legion of Christ Leisure Lent Liberalism Liberation Theology Libertarianism Libya Lies Life life & dignity & responsibility of the human person Literature Little Way Liturgical music Liturgical Year Liturgy Living Simply Living Wage Local Church Lombard Lord of the Rings Louis Dupre Love M.Z. Magic Magisterium Mark DeFrancisis Mark Gordon Marriage Martin Luther Martin Luther King Jr. Martyrdom Marxism Mary Masculinity Matt Talbot Matthew Fish Matthew Levering McCain Media Memorial Day Mennonites Mental Illness mercy Michael Iafrate Middle East militarism Miroslav Volf Mitt Romney Modesty Moral Theology Morality Mormonism Morning's Minion Mother Teresa Music Muslims Natalie Nate Wildermuth Nationalism Native Americans Nature Nazis Neuhaus New Evangelization New York City News NFP nihilism Nonviolence Not Abortion Nova's Ordo Nuclear weapons Nuns Obama Occult Old Age Opus Dei Ordination ordination of women original sin Orthodoxy Oscar Romero Other Voices Pacifism Palestine Palin Papacy Papal Peace Messages Papal Social Encyclicals Particular Affections Partisanship Patriotism Paul Paul Ryan Paul VI Peace Pentimento persecution Personalism Phantastes Philosophy PKD Planned Parenthood Pluralism Poetry Policraticus Politcal Apathy Politics Poll Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis Pope John Paul II Pope Leo XIV Population Postcolonialsim Poverty Power Prayer Preaching Predictions Predictions for 2012 President Barack Obama priestly formation & discernment Pro-Life Progress Prophetic Witness Proportionalism Public Diplomacy Public Policy Question Quotes Rachel Maddow Racism Radical Catholic Mom Radical Catholicism Raymund Schwager Real Catholic TV Real Presence Reconciliation Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange Religion religious freedom Responsibility Ressourcement Resurrection Rick Garnett Ridiculous Crap You Never Thought You'd See Robert Barron Roe v. Wade Roman Curia Rome Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation History Sam Harris Sam Rocha Same-sex Marriage Saskatchewan Roughriders Satire School of the Americas Science Scripture Seamless Garment Second Vatican Council Seeing Sex sexual violence Sexuality Sia Sin social justice Social Security Socialism Society of Jesus Sofia Loves Wisdom Solidarity Sophia soteriology Soutenus Spirituality Sports St. Dismas St. Joseph Stanley Hauerwas Statistics Stimulus Suffering Sunday Reflections Supernatural Supreme Court Symbolism Syria Taxing Technology Terrorism The State The Tea Party The Trump Administration Theological Anthropology Theology Theotokos Thomas Merton Throwaway Culture Tim Muldoon Tim Riley Tim Tebow Time Titian Tolkien Torture Toys Trade Traditionalism Transgender Transportation Transubstantiation Trinity Truth TV U.S. Affairs Uncategorized Unions unity among people who disagree US Catholicism USCCB Usury Utilitarianism Utopia Valentine's Day Vatican Vatican II Veterans Vicarious Suffering Video Violence Virgin Mary Vocations Voluntary Associations Voluntary Poverty Voting Vox Nova vox nova blog war War and Peace War Strategy Wealth Weirdness Welfare state Women Women Priests Work Woundedness Youth

Select a Month June 2026 May 2025 February 2025 January 2025 July 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 July 2023 March 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 November 2021 September 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which animal did Jesus ride into Jerusalem on, fulfilling prophecy?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Camel Horse Donkey Ox