Feast of the Epiphany, 2002
St. Matthew 2:1-12

Judges chapter seven tells how Gideon and his three hundred went up against the Midianites and Amalekites. Evidently the Canaanites used to wage war with a vast camel corps (Judges 7:12). On the urging of Lieutenant Frederick Beale, the United States Army decided to experiment with camels. They imported two boatloads of the animals to Camp Verde, Texas. Though camels had been put to military use for centuries in other parts of the world, they had never been tried in America.

Compared to oxen and mules, camels show several advantages. They travel faster and greater distances; they abstain from food and water for longer periods of time; they display greater tenacity and endurance in desert climates, and swim dexterously.

In the fall of 1856 the War Department ordered a survey made of a proposed wagon road from Texas to California. Lieutenant Beale led that caravan West joined by a couple dozen mules and a few horses. The journey took four months; the camels did supremely well. When they arrived at the Colorado River all 66 swam across without a loss, whereas ten mules and two horses drowned. On his return, Beale advised the Army to purchase at least 1000 more camels. Unfortunately, the War Between the States started and military resources shifted to more important things. After the war, the Army sold the camels. Except as zoo exhibits, the animal has had no more role to play in American culture.

At the time of Christ, camel domestication was an integral part of Middle East life. Camels were milked, ridden, loaded with baggage, eaten, harnessed to plows and wagons, turned into sandals, and made into camel hair coats such as John the Baptist wore. When the wise men traveled to Bethlehem to see baby Jesus, it is very probable that they rode on camels. The arid desert between Babylon and Palestine made it difficult to cross in any other way.

Today the Church celebrates the Epiphany, or the manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles. Let us recount the details concerning the Feast of Epiphany, and follow it up by highlighting its practical implications for us.

The primary characters in the Epiphany event are the wise men. Who were these odd fellows? In ancient times, wise men or magi, were renowned for their knowledge of astronomy, the science of stars and planets. Some speculate that their study of astronomy, a legitimate province of God's creation, was accompanied by a practice of astrology, an occult science condemned by God's Word (Isaiah 47:10-13). Astrology leads people to believe that the ups and downs of life are governed by the configurations in the sky, rather than the sovereignty of God. If it is true that the wise men were astrologers, then the grace of Christ is magnified all the more. It is similar to the prostitute Rahab who was redeemed from her lurid profession and appointed one of the Lord's ancestors. Our Savior at times heightens the grandeur of his grace by picking dreadful sinners like the wise men, Rahab; you and me.

How did the wise men find the newborn King? A star guided them. A star of extraordinary brilliance conducted the magi to Joseph, the Virgin Mary and the child Jesus. How should we understand this radiant celestial body? Was it Venus or Saturn? No, more than likely, it was a new and miraculous light sent by God Himself. Perhaps it was the same light that appeared to the shepherds. You remember the blinding light that came to the shepherds in their fields, and accompanied the angelic host. The angels proclaimed the tidings of our Lord's birth to Jewish shepherds as they watched their sheep by night. The light that came near the shepherds was the same starry light that oriented the wise men. Perhaps this natural wonder began as a light near the surface of the earth next to the shepherds; later it rose up on the horizon to be observed by the magi from afar; then dipped down again as the wise men drew near to Bethlehem. One early commentary states that the star shining over Bethlehem took the form of a child holding a scepter or a cross; some early frescoes depict precisely like that image.

How did the wise men put two and two together to figure out that this star was signaling the birth of a Savior; a King of the Jews? First of all there was a general expectation throughout the world that a universal monarch would soon appear to rule over the face of the earth. This anticipation of a Messiah infected both Jews and Gentiles.

Moreover, the appearance of new stars was understood to be an omen. It was commonly held that babies born at the time of a new star would grow up and arrive to great power.

What else could have framed the thinking of the wise men? A couple of Old Testament prophesies might have helped. The prophet Balaam in Numbers 24:17 declared: "A star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult." Balaam was the one who predicted the appearance of a universal king out of Israel, and he, like the three magi, came from the East. Thus, there may have been a common tradition from that region. But even if the wise men did understand this prophesy of Balaam they must have had further revelation from God.

In any case, the wise men prepared for a long, arduous journey across the deserts to find this new king, and pay him homage. Tradition tells us that these three were named Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. They left family and homeland. They ignored the ridicule of others who thought them eccentrics. They bought costly gifts of gold, myrrh, and frankincense and packed them on their camels. When they arrived in the house of the Holy Family they unpacked them and laid them before the Babe. Later this money would help Joseph take his family to Egypt and escape the murderous designs of King Herod.

On this Feast of Epiphany we honor the generosity and sacrifice of the magi. They brought the best they had. When they finally met the Savior, they fell down and worshipped Him. The custom of the age was to offer gifts upon receiving an audience with a king, and so they presented their presents unto Him, paying homage to His majesty.

Why did God manifest His Son to the Gentiles? Surely the ingathering of the Gentiles was God's plan all along. The prophets predicted it dozens of times (Isaiah 2:2; 54:3; etc.). Who were the Gentiles? The Gentiles were all the non-Jewish, non-Israelite peoples. The wise men from the East were Gentiles. Isaiah declared: "Nations who do not know you shall run to you, Because of the Lord your God, And the Holy One of Israel; For He has glorified you" (Isaiah 55:5). The Lord never intended to restrict his salvation to Israel. Israel was a foreshadow of the Church to come, a Church that would embrace all nations. The ingathering of the Gentiles awaited the birth of the Lord. Once Christ came, an omni-ethnic, omni-racial community would be formed. All nations of the globe would be gathered into a society of God's love and justice. The ingathering of the Gentiles was represented by the arrival of the wise men.

During most of the Old Testament era there were essentially three groups of people: the Gentile nations, national Israel, and true Israel. When Jesus was born, God brought the wise men to Bethlehem as a way of setting in motion the process of bringing the Gentiles into the true Church. Since Pentecost, more and more Gentile believers have been grafted in, and Jew and Gentile both stand on equal ground. The star's appearance to the wise men signified that the wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles was now to be broken down. It signified that all races and ethnic groups of earth would be part of one sheepfold, under one Great Shepherd. That one sheepfold would be the Church, and that one Great Shepherd would be Jesus Christ.

What do we learn from the observance of this festival?

First of all, we learn that great learning and understanding are not sufficient to make a great person, nor give him a wise, gracious character. One may be very competent in his field of study or profession, but his life is empty, and his knowledge worthless, if he does not practice what he was created to do; that is, worship and enjoy God. The wise men were eminent scholars and astronomers, but they recognized their primary and most vital need to adore the King of kings and Lord of lords. They understood that learning and knowledge separated from God's will and glory has little eternal value, and is prone to bring about pride and arrogance.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau combined brilliance and immorality. A captivating and original writer, Rousseau introduced the myth of the noble savage, the innate goodness of man, and other political concepts. Yet, as he advanced his ideas, he fathered five children, each one of whom he deposited in an orphanage, an orphanage so run down that it spelled certain death to his children. Rousseau despised the Lord, and his life reflected it. History and experience tell us over and again that intellectual ability does not always translate into good morality. Our scholarly and artistic gifts ought to be used for the glory of God.

What is another consequence of the Epiphany message? Epiphany sets forth a motivation for global missions. Like the wise men we should be willing to leave our home and all its familiar sights, sounds, and smells in order to gather the nations into the Church. Christ has commanded us: "baptize and disciple the nations." Based on the Great Commission of Christ, a good percentage of believers should be getting out of California and the United States so as to carry out church-planting evangelization. Missionaries must be willing to leave loved ones, learn a foreign language, adapt to a different culture, and spend years in distant lands in order to proclaim the Gospel, plant churches, and weave a Christian worldview into the lost regions of the world. Why are not more of us doing this? Why do we cling to our comfort zones? On this Epiphany let us emulate the disposition of the wise men. Let us follow their willingness to forsake the familiarity of their own land and people, to take risks, run dangers, and sacrifice their lives in order to obey the Lord.

What are the other ramifications of epiphany? We should see that in Christianity there is no place for racism. Early Christian and medieval illustrations routinely portrayed one of the magi as black. Racial and cultural differences are overcome by Christian brotherhood. Those who harbor hostility toward a particular race know nothing of the Gospel. In the New Heavens and New Earth, all nations, tribes, tongues, and peoples gather around the celestial throne to worship the Lamb of God. The heavenly vision is one of a rainbow of colors serving the mighty King, and sitting at the marriage banquet of the Lamb.

Lastly, we should comment on the gifts of the magi. The gold, myrrh and frankincense each possessed special symbolic significance for the Early Church. That symbolism may be helpful for us today. The gold was a symbol of charitable giving and works of mercy. The gold should remind us today that God loves a cheerful giver. Besides giving our tithes and offerings to the local Church, we should look for ways to help the poor and needy.

What about frankincense? Frankincense is a type of incense; in worship it symbolizes the prayers of the saints ascending to heaven. Our extemporaneous prayers and set liturgical prayers ascend to God's throne as a sweet-smelling odor. May our prayers to rise like frankincense.

Then there is myrrh. During Bible times, myrrh was utilized to preserve corpses from decomposition and noxious smell. The Early Church interpreted this in an ethical sense. We should mortify the flesh with its evil desires, lusts, wrong attitudes and so on. Though we die daily to sin and mortify the flesh, the myrrh nevertheless preserves our bodies as living sacrifices, holy, acceptable unto God.

Epiphany calls us to renew our Christian commitments in a number of areas: Like the wise men of old, we are ready to journey to distant lands to spread the Gospel, we work to bring all nations and races into the orbit of the Church, we give generously of what we possess to the Church and the poor. Our prayers steadily rise to Heaven. We daily mortify the flesh, and kill off that powerful propensity to sin that dwells there and afflicts us. May God's grace assist us in all these endeavors during Epiphany.

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