Is 60:1-6
Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-13
Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6
Mt 2:1-12
One of the challenges of the Christmas season is coping with the sickly sweet images imposed on the narrative of Jesus' birth: the toddler-sized newborn, Mary clad in blue and white watered silk encrusted with pearls and rhinestones, and winged angels reflect nothing of the reality. Morbidly obese Santa, reindeer with glowing noses, and elf cards are beneath contempt. Many are embarrassing and some approach the sacrilegious. Christmas is not a holiday “for children.” It is a holy day for all peoples of the world. There is no magic of Christmas. It is not a panacea for sorrow. Epiphany, marking the end of the Church’s Christmas season is not exempt from the treacly goo.
The word epiphany derives from the Greek meaning to show forth. Among the dictionary definitions one finds, "a sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something, . . .a sudden intuitive realization." One can say that it is a gut feeling that is difficult to explain when it occurs, when all the pieces of the puzzle suddenly come together. The intuitive realization of Jesus as Messiah is the perfect description of this feast. But then there is the problem of the “kings."
The word "kings" does not appear in Matthew's Gospel. The description of the gentiles who brought gifts as ‘kings’ did not begin until the sixth century. Matthew used the word magi or wise men. They were not monarchs. Matthew used the plural but did not give a specific number. There could have been as few as two or many more than three. Because the gifts were described as gold, frankincense, and myrrh, tradition holds that there were three magi. Despite the custom of calling them Kasper, Melchior, and Balthazar their names are not included in scripture. They remain anonymous.
In the end their number, names, and royal or non-royal status are irrelevant distractions. The true significance of the magi is their journey, their meaning is found in their pilgrimage in search of Jesus as a result of an intuitive realization, the result of an epiphany.
Pope Benedict XVI of happy memory described the importance of that journey: “The journey of the wise men…is just the beginning of a great procession that continues throughout history. With the Magi, humanity’s pilgrimage to Jesus Christ begins. It is a journey toward God who was born in a stable, who died on the Cross and who, having risen from the dead, remains with us always,
until the end of the world.”
The Magi are important not because they brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They are important because they were the first Gentiles to worship Jesus. They were the first Gentiles to experience the intuitive realization of Jesus as Messiah. That epiphany was not exclusive then nor is it exclusive now.
We will hear of more epiphanies in the cycle of readings throughout the year. There will be many epiphanies scattered throughout our lives, if we are willing to notice them.
The true reality of Jesus’ incarnation and birth is apparent in today's Gospel. "When King Herod heard of this he was greatly troubled and all Jerusalem with him." Herod's jealousy and the duplicity in his conversation with the magi is closer to the reality of Jesus’ birth than the interminable song “We Three Kings of Orient Are.”
Herod's jealousy and evil desires revealed the first shadow of the cross. His malevolence traced the path from Bethlehem to Calvary "Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage." This, from a crazed and cruel megalomaniac.
Yeah, right. If that is true I know this bridge for sale . . . .
In the first reading Isaiah assured Jerusalem that the glory of the Lord would shine upon her. With that prophecy in the background the reading from Ephesians is consoling because it assures the Gentiles that they are included in the promise and are part of the new covenant. Once we wash away the treacle, once the sloppy sentimentality is discarded, once the word magic is forever disassociated from Christmas, we can begin to understand its true meaning. When we get rid of all the gooey stuff we can begin to understand that the "Christmas story" did not end when the magi returned home.
Christmas does not end when the tree is kicked to the curb or popped back into the box on December 26 or January 2. Christmas is only the beginning of the journey that led to Calvary and our salvation from sin and death. The full commemoration of that journey requires an entire liturgical year.
A small volume of random thoughts published as Markings was discovered after Dag Hammarskjöld’s death, It includes a number of haiku. One of them captures the true meaning of Christmas in the twelve words totaling seventeen syllables spread over the three lines that constitute a haiku.
There is nothing gooey, sticky, or treacly about Christmas. It is not magical. It does not need a celebration of food, booze, ugly sweaters, and consumer insanity. It has nothing to do with a holiday. It has everything to do with a holy day.
"On Christmas Eve Good Friday
was foretold them
in a trumpet fanfare."
We cannot and must not separate the wood of the manger from the wood of the cross. Neither event was magical.
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Photos are from Lyon, France
The altar to Mary illuminated by sun streaming through stained glass. 
Main altar in the Basilica Notre Dame de Fourvière in Lyon. 
Woman lighting candle in the crypt church in Fourvière 
Altar dedicated to St. Joseph. I like the simplicity. 
Walking through the Jesuit novitiate with camera over shoulder. Could never have captured this otherwise.
Fr. Jack, SJ, MD
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