At the sacrament of baptism, we are reminded that Jesus -was anointed as priest, prophet and king.
In the gospel reading today we are told that the Three Magi presented gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Gold is like a gift for a king. It was the custom that no one approach a king without a gift. And gold, the king of metals, is the gift fit for a king of the people. Jesus was born to be king.
But he was to reign, not by force, but by love; and he was to rule over people’s hearts, not from a throne, but from a cross. Our response is to surrender our lives to him.
Frankincense is the gift for a priest. It was in the temple worship and sacrifices that the sweet perfume of frankincense was used. The function of a priest is to open the way to God for all people.
The Latin word is pontifex, a bridge-builder. The priest is the one who builds bridges between the people and God. This is what Jesus did.
He opened the way to the presence of God; he made it possible for people to enter into the very presence of God.
Myrrh is the gift for one who is to die. It was used to embalm the bodies. Jesus came into the world to die, to live for all people and, in the end, to die for them. He came to give his life and his death for us.
The gifts of the Three Wise Men offered at the cradle of the Christ foretold that he was to be the true king, the perfect high priest and, in the end, the supreme saviour of all people.
The central point of this feast is not the Three Wise Men, nor the gifts they bore, but the Epiphany, the manifestation of God’s glory in our world.
It also helps us focus on God’s loving generosity. God is not just the God of the Jews, but is the God of the world, of all nations and peoples.
The Wise Men used their understanding of astrology to learn that a king was to be born. The star they followed was to help them discover the place. On reaching Jerusalem they needed the scribal wisdom of Israel to locate the one whose birth the star announced.
The human gifts and learning of these Gentiles, together with natural wisdom and biblical prophecy, played an essential role in leading them to the saviour.
The mystery of the Epiphany is well known to us in our day and age, but it isn’t something that we just look to as being in the past. Jesus lives in us today if we have faith, hope and love. It is our task to make this star shine within us and to share this great news with others in our lives.
Father Fernando Armellini SCJ
Claretian Publications (bibleclaret.org)
Translated by Father John Ledesma SDB
Abridged by Father Jijo Kandamkulathy CMF
