On the Twelfth Day of Christmas …. Epiphany!

Each year on January 6 – twelve days after Christmas - Christians around the world  celebrate the feast of Epiphany, also known as Three Kings Day.    [ In the United States, in modern times, the Catholic Church celebrates Epiphany on the Sunday following Christmas.]    For many,  this day ends the Christmas season and Christmas decoration are taken down and put away for next year.

Epiphany is a holy day that celebrates the revelation of Jesus to the three Wise Men (or Kings/Magi), when they arrived at His place of birth after following the unusual star in the sky.   Often, we picture the Wise Men arriving on Christmas night and gathering around the manger of the newborn Jesus along with the shepherds but, in fact, they arrived perhaps as much as two years later, which is why Epiphany is celebrated twelve days after Christmas.   Although it is often neglected, the feast of Epiphany is a day with a long history and many beautiful traditions. 

Epiphany is  also called Theophany  (from Greek epiphaneia, “manifestation”) , and is the celebration of the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Savior of the world.   In addition to celebrating the adoration of Jesus by the Wise Men from the East, Epiphany celebrates the revelation of His divinity at his baptism in the Jordan and at the wedding feast of Cana, when He performed His first public miracle.

At Christmas, the Light of Christ shined, but only to those gathered around the manger:  Joseph, Mary, and the shepherds.  On Epiphany, the light shines forth to people of all nations.  The revealing of Christ to the kings at Bethlehem is a symbol of His revelation to the entire non-Jewish world.  Epiphany shows that “the full number of the nations” now takes its “place in the family of the patriarchs”.   All peoples are called to the Kingdom of the Messianic King. 

 Pope Francis illuminates this reality:

“The destiny of every person is symbolized in this journey of the Magi of the East: our life is a journey, illuminated by the lights which brighten our way, to find the fullness of truth and love which we Christians recognize in Jesus, the Light of the World.  (…)       

As we recall Jesus’ manifestation to humanity in the face of a Child, may we sense the Magi at our side, as wise companions on the way.    Their example helps us to lift our gaze towards the star and to follow the great desires of our heart. They teach us not to be content with a life of mediocrity, of ‘playing it safe’, but to let ourselves be attracted always by what is good, true and beautiful… by God, who is all of this, and so much more! And they teach us not to be deceived by appearances, by what the world considers great, wise and powerful. We must not stop at that. It is necessary to guard the faith.    We must press on towards Bethlehem, where, in the simplicity of a dwelling on the outskirts, beside a mother and father full of love and of faith, there shines forth the Sun from on high, the King of the universe. By the example of the Magi, with our little lights, may we seek the Light and keep the faith.”