We’re back in class on Monday, after the Christmas break, and we will begin our study of the Sacraments. While preparing the lesson, I wanted to do a quick recap of the very special feasts and holy days that we just experienced during the Christmas season.
I wanted to focus on Epiphany Sunday because I felt the students were least familiar with this day when the Son of God is made manifest to the world.
The Traditional date of the Feast of the Epiphany is January 6th which marks the end of the twelve days of Christmas. The feast was moved to always fall on the Sunday that falls between Jan. 2 and Jan 8. Despite the confusion with the timing, the significance of the feast is compelling to all Christians. The revelation of the Christ child to the three wise men symbolizes his revelation to the Gentile world. It tells us that God’s call goes out to all nations.
We don’t know if, when the wise men set out, they knew what they could expect to find at the end of their journey, but we do know that something compelled them to follow the star. They were called, and they heeded the call, reminding us of the desire within each of us to seek God.
Upon arriving at the stable, they bow down in worship before the child and offer him precious gifts. This seems completely illogical for these highly educated and worldly men – to fall down at the crib of a powerless infant, yet this is what they do.
Perhaps the most important takeaway, however, is the final line in Matthew’s gospel where the visit is recorded. He says, “And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.” (Matthew 2:12) As the story goes, Herod, was king of Judea, and he secretly asked the magi to return to him after finding the child Jesus. Understanding that Herod meant to harm the child, they instead chose not to share that information with him and returned home another way. Looking a little deeper at this scripture verse, it reveals that these men were changed by their encounter with the Son of God.
What a perfect lead-in to our study of the sacraments! At their core, the sacraments are places where we encounter Christ, just like the magi in Matthew’s gospel. And, like the magi, we too are changed by that encounter and leave following a different path.
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