Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh - these are three well known gifts of Epiphany which the Magi presented to baby Jesus. But the Epiphany story itself brings gifts also to its audience, its listeners or readers; three spiritual gifts, as if they were intended for us today!
Magi are misty figures, their story is clearly legendary but it is also radical, if not outright revolutionary. The magi emphatically came from a foreign land. We are not told precisely where they hailed from, but we know enough to surmise their origins as being somewhere in today’s Iran. Further, their very titles Magi (singular Magus) hint they were high ranking officials of Zoroastrian religion. And finally we are told that they observed and fallowed star/s.
Our cultural and especially political climate these days might be dimmed with ignorance, xenophobia, denial of reason/science and with suspicion if not outright hatred towards non Judeo-Christian religions. And here, in one biblical story, we are presented with this powerful refutation of all this alt-right nonsense.
At the beginning of the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew, we hear about these strange and mysterious foreigners from Iran and with them we recognize the biblical nod towards their foreign religion, and the appreciation of their insight which we would now call the science of astronomy. This story sets the stage for the rest of the Gospel of Matthew and presents us with true Epiphany Gifts - appreciation of strangers, respect to other religions, and embrace of science.
Come to celebrate with us these divine gifts of Epiphany.
Magi are misty figures, their story is clearly legendary but it is also radical, if not outright revolutionary. The magi emphatically came from a foreign land. We are not told precisely where they hailed from, but we know enough to surmise their origins as being somewhere in today’s Iran. Further, their very titles Magi (singular Magus) hint they were high ranking officials of Zoroastrian religion. And finally we are told that they observed and fallowed star/s.
Our cultural and especially political climate these days might be dimmed with ignorance, xenophobia, denial of reason/science and with suspicion if not outright hatred towards non Judeo-Christian religions. And here, in one biblical story, we are presented with this powerful refutation of all this alt-right nonsense.
At the beginning of the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew, we hear about these strange and mysterious foreigners from Iran and with them we recognize the biblical nod towards their foreign religion, and the appreciation of their insight which we would now call the science of astronomy. This story sets the stage for the rest of the Gospel of Matthew and presents us with true Epiphany Gifts - appreciation of strangers, respect to other religions, and embrace of science.
Come to celebrate with us these divine gifts of Epiphany.
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